Harvard Business Essentials Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental Skills for Delivering on Budget and on Time

Table of contents

1. The Harvard Business Essentials Series
2. Title Page
3. Copyright Page
4. Table of Contents
5. Introduction
6. 1 - Project Management As a Process
   1. Defining and Organizing the Project
   2. Planning the Project
   3. Managing Project Execution
   4. Closing the Project
   5. Summing Up
7. 2 - The Cast of Characters
   1. Project Sponsor
   2. Project Manager
   3. Project Team Leader
   4. Project Team Members
   5. Characteristics of Effective Project Teams
   6. Summing Up
8. 3 - A Written Charter
   1. A Mandate for Action
   2. Clarify Objectives
   3. Make It Time-Bound
   4. Be Specific About Project Scope
   5. Summing Up
9. 4 - A Framework for Action
   1. Decisions, Decisions
   2. Tracking and Disposing of Unresolved Issues
   3. Documenting Decisions and Actions
   4. Creating a Communications Plan
   5. Bringing People into Contact
   6. Developing the Budget
   7. Summing Up
10. 5 - Work Breakdown
    1. Work Breakdown Structure
    2. Time and Resource Estimates
    3. Assigning the Work
    4. An Extended Example
    5. Shall We Proceed?
    6. Summing Up
11. 6 - Scheduling the Work
    1. Examine the Relationships Between Tasks
    2. Create a Draft Schedule
    3. Optimize the Schedule
    4. Using Scheduling Software
    5. Summing Up
12. 7 - Adjustments and Trade-Offs
    1. When the Project Won’t Fit
    2. Challenge Assumptions
    3. Revisit Tasks and Times
    4. Summing Up
13. 8 - Managing Risk
    1. What Is Risk Management?
    2. Identify and Prioritize Project Risks
    3. Take Actions to Avoid or Minimize Risks
    4. Develop Contingency Plans to Handle Potential Setbacks
    5. Summing Up
14. 9 - Project Adaptation
    1. Sources of Unanticipated Risk—and Their Consequences
    2. The Adaptive Management Approach
    3. Summing Up
15. 10 - Getting Off on the Right Foot
    1. Why Launch Meetings Matter
    2. Create Integrative Mechanisms
    3. Establish Norms of Behavior
    4. Summing Up
16. 11 - Keeping on Track
    1. Monitoring and Controlling the Project
    2. Dealing with People Issues
    3. The Role of Communication
    4. Handling Problems
    5. Summing Up
17. 12 - The Closedown Phase
    1. Performance Evaluation
    2. Documentation
    3. Lessons Learned
    4. Celebration
    5. Summing Up
18. APPENDIX A - Useful Implementation Tools
19. APPENDIX B - A Guide to Effective Meetings
20. Notes
21. Glossary
22. For Further Reading
23. Index
24. About the Subject Adviser
25. About the Writer