Project Management, Sixth Edition

Project Management, Sixth Edition

by G. Michael Campbell
Released March 2014
Publisher(s): Alpha
ISBN: 9781615645336

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Book description

Successful project management requires organization, skill, and a systematic approach to ensure that projects are delivered on time, and on budget. Idiot's Guides: Project Management, 6th Edition is updated to reflect all of the latest project management methodologies for anyone who is looking to avoid the chaos that can ensue if project leaders don't possess the necessary understanding of the right principles and practices. Readers of this new edition will benefit newly added sample PMP prep exam questions at the end of each chapter, as well as newly organized, updated content that aligns with the knowledge areas as the PMI (Project Management Institute) defines them.

The book covers the 5th Edition of the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge).

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Introduction
  6. Part 1: The Power of Project Management
    1. 1 Linking Projects to Performance
      1. Meeting Business Needs with Projects
      2. Four Classic Phases of a Project
      3. Viewing Change from a Different Perspective
      4. Balancing the Schedule, Budget, and Scope
      5. Defining Project Success
      6. Running a Project Step-by-Step
    2. 2 What It Means to Be a Project Manager
      1. The Business Connection
      2. What Are Your Responsibilities?
      3. What Do You Need to Do?
        1. Learn to Plan and Act
        2. Focus on the Project’s End
        3. Be a Manager and a Leader
      4. The Leadership Roles of the Project Manager
        1. Interpersonal Roles
        2. Informational Roles
        3. Decisional Roles
        4. The Other Business Management Roles
      5. Seven Traits of Good Project Managers
        1. Enthusiasm for the Project
        2. Ability to Manage Change Effectively
        3. Tolerant Attitude Toward Ambiguity
        4. Team-Building and Negotiating Skills
        5. Customer-First Orientation
        6. Adherence to Business Priorities
        7. Knowledge of the Industry or Technology
    3. 3 The Rules of the Project Game
      1. Universal Project Success Criteria
      2. Project Failure: The Reasons Are Simple
      3. Twelve Golden Rules of Project Management Success
        1. Gain Consensus on Project Outcomes
        2. Build the Best Team You Can
        3. Develop a Plan and Keep It Up to Date
        4. Determine What You Really Need to Get Things Done
        5. Have a Realistic Schedule
        6. Don’t Try to Do Too Much
        7. Remember That People Count
        8. Gain the Support of Management and Stakeholders
        9. Be Willing to Change
        10. Keep Others Informed of What You Are Doing
        11. Be Willing to Try New Things
        12. Become a Leader
    4. 4 The 10 Knowledge Areas
      1. Project Integration Management
        1. Integration Management as Part of Planning
        2. Integration Management During Project Execution
        3. Integration Management of Project Changes
      2. Project Scope Management
      3. Project Time Management
        1. Time and the Schedule
        2. Controlling the Schedule During Execution
      4. Project Cost Management
        1. Financial Issues Outside of Your Control
        2. Competing for Funds with Other Projects
      5. Project Quality Management
      6. Project Human Resource Management
        1. Organizational Planning
        2. Staff Acquisition
        3. Making Them a Team
      7. Project Communication Management
      8. Project Risk Management
      9. Project Procurement Management
      10. Project Stakeholder Management
    5. 5 Starting Off on the Right Foot
      1. The Project Life Cycle
      2. Project Phases and the Project Life Cycle
      3. Project Life Cycle vs. Product Life Cycle
      4. The Project Manager (That’s You)
      5. Project Definition Phase
        1. Preparing the Leadership
        2. How Involved Should the Leadership Be?
        3. Focusing on the Project Team
  7. Part 2: The Project Definition Phase
    1. 6 Identifying and Analyzing Stakeholders
      1. Identifying Stakeholders
        1. Classifying Stakeholders
        2. The Customer
        3. The Project Sponsor
        4. The Steering Committee or Governance Board
        5. Functional Management
        6. The Working Committee
      2. Working Together: The Magic Success Formula
      3. Stakeholder Analysis Tool
    2. 7 Scoping Out Project Success
      1. Starting with the Business Case
      2. Understanding the Requirements
        1. Facts of Life—Why Are Requirements So Important?
        2. Acceptance Criteria
        3. Conducting a Feasibility Study
        4. Clear Project Requirements That Make Sense
      3. The Primary Goals of Every Project
      4. Six Criteria for Setting Great Goals
        1. Goals Must Be Specific
        2. Goals Must Be Realistic
        3. Goals Must Have a Time Component
        4. Goals Must Be Measurable
        5. Goals Must Be Agreed Upon
        6. Responsibility for Achieving Goals Must Be Identified
      5. Establishing Goals Step-by-Step
      6. Developing the Project Charter
        1. Working with the Sponsor on a Case for Change
        2. Putting It in Writing
        3. The Components of the Charter
      7. Seeing Eye to Eye
    3. 8 Managing Risks and Constraints
      1. The Three Common Types of Risk
        1. Risk Areas
        2. Don’t Forget Business Risks
        3. The Ultimate Risk: Acts of God
        4. Developing a Risk Breakdown Structure
        5. Risk Tolerance
      2. The Basics of Risk Management
      3. Tracking Risks with a Risk Register
      4. Constraints vs. Risks
      5. Constraints to Consider
        1. The Budget
        2. The Schedule
        3. The People
        4. The Real World
        5. Facilities and Equipment
      6. Risky Business
  8. Part 3: The Project Planning Phase
    1. 9 The Breakdown of Work
      1. Breaking Your Project into Bite-Sized Pieces
        1. The WBS and Your Project
        2. Organizing the WBS
        3. Five Steps to the WBS
      2. Identifying Dependencies
      3. Making Sure You Have Identified All the Work
        1. Defining the Deliverable in the Work Package
        2. Refining the WBS
      4. 10 Establishing the Schedule of Work
        1. The Schedule or the Budget: Which Is First?
        2. The Schedule Synchronizes the Project
        3. Estimating Time: Your Best Guess at Effort and Duration
        4. Some Other Options
          1. Representative Team Members for Each Part of the Project
          2. Outside Vendors and Service Agencies
          3. Experienced Project Managers
          4. Management and Other Project Stakeholders
        5. Weighing the Risks
          1. A Compromise Between Best and Worst Case
          2. The Confidence Factor
        6. Details, Details …
          1. Applying Calendars to a Resource
          2. Developing the Initial Schedule
          3. Schedule Charting Pros and Cons
        7. More on Gantt Charts
        8. Other Schedule Considerations
          1. Revisions
          2. Learning Takes Time
          3. The Heat Is On
          4. Team Member Estimate Errors
          5. The Just-in-Time Strategy for Scheduling Resources
          6. What Happens When They Want to Rush Me?
      5. 11 Critical Path and the Schedule
        1. Determining a Project’s Critical Path
        2. Not Just Floating Around
          1. The Different Views of Critical in Project Management
          2. Establishing the Critical Path
          3. Myth or Reality?
        3. What’s a Network Diagram?
        4. Normalizing the Schedule
        5. Loading Up and Leveling Out
        6. The Reallocation Questions
        7. Ready for Leveling Out
        8. Options for Adjusting the Schedule
        9. Charting the Final Schedule and Seeing Whether It Works
      6. 12 Budgeting and Cost Control Options
        1. How to Avoid the Classic Budgeting Mistakes
        2. Three Levels of Accuracy for Estimating
        3. Sources of Data for Building the Budget
        4. Direct and Indirect Costs
        5. Building the Actual Budget
        6. Getting Expert Opinions
        7. Refining the Budget
        8. Adding a Little Insurance Money
        9. Mastering Budget Control
        10. The Time Value of Money
          1. Cash Flow Analysis
          2. Payback
          3. Net Present Value (NPV)
          4. Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
          5. Using the Cost of Money to Make a Decision
      7. 13 Building a Winning Project Team
        1. The First Step
        2. Building the Core Project Team
        3. The Complete Execution Team: Where the Work Is Done
        4. Matching Skills to Tasks on the WBS
        5. Where Will the People Come From?
          1. Your Own Staff and Other People from Your Department
          2. Staff from Other Departments
          3. Contracting with Consultants and Temporary Agencies
          4. Hiring and Training New Staff
        6. Assessing and Assigning People
          1. Skills and Knowledge of the Project Team
          2. The Best of the Best: Making Your Selections
          3. Sometimes You Have to Compromise
        7. The Problem of Imposed Team Members
      8. 14 Getting Supplies, Equipment, and More
        1. The Additional Resources You Need
        2. Planning for Outside Vendors, Contractors, and Suppliers
          1. Determining What Kind of Contract to Use
          2. Getting an Estimate
        3. Working with the Procurement Department
        4. The Final Steps in Procurement
      9. 15 Getting the Plan Approved
        1. Reasons to Plan in the First Place
        2. The Reality Check Before Approval
          1. What to Do If Discrepancies Appear
          2. Other Last-Minute Issues to Consider
        3. Putting It All Together
          1. Conducting a Peer Review
          2. Reviewing the Plan with the Key Stakeholders
        4. Presenting the Project Plan
        5. Plan Approval
        6. From Plan to Action, Finally
  9. Part 4: The Execution Phase
    1. 16 Getting Started on the Right Track
      1. Always Get Your Own Act Together First!
      2. Doing It Now and Doing It Right
        1. The Formal Kickoff
        2. It’s a Go
        3. Between Kickoff and Team Meeting: Using the Time Wisely
      3. The First Project Meeting
        1. One-on-Ones: The Individual Starting Events
        2. Setting the Right Expectations
      4. Information Everyone Needs to Get Started
      5. Managing Global Projects
        1. Schedule
        2. Budget
        3. Technology
        4. Quality
        5. Human Resources
        6. Procurement
    2. 17 Leadership: Providing Direction
      1. The Importance of Establishing Your Leadership
        1. Filling the Big Shoes
        2. A Style That Gets the Job Done
      2. Four Sources of Power for Project Managers
      3. How to Lead Change
      4. Competing with Other Projects for Attention
        1. Lines of Communication
        2. Where Do Projects Fit Together?
        3. Critical Path Conflict
        4. Keeping Your Project Front and Center
      5. Leading a Technical Project When You Don’t Have Expertise
      6. Being All Things to All People
    3. 18 Establishing Operating Guidelines
      1. Project Process Groups in Each Phase
      2. Project Processes vs. Project Procedures
      3. The Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle
      4. The Things That Need to Get Done
      5. Handling Business Process Changes
        1. Start with the Project Team
        2. Now It’s Time for the Working Committee
        3. Making the Decision
        4. Using a RASIC Chart
        5. Escalating the Decision
      6. Setting Up a Work Authorization System
      7. Administrative Procedures That Won’t Hurt
        1. The Reports You May Need
        2. Simple Forms to Create Useful Reports
        3. Every Report Needs a Purpose
        4. Ask Two Final Questions Before You Start
      8. Why You Should Keep a Project Diary
      9. The Bottom Line
    4. 19 Making Your Communications Count
      1. The Basics of Communications: It’s All About Perception
      2. What Does a Communication Plan Look Like?
        1. Stakeholder Analysis
        2. Sensitivity Analysis
        3. Information Needs
        4. Media Requirements
        5. Delivery Personnel and Power Bases
        6. Timing Requirements
        7. Common Definitions
        8. Feedback Loops
        9. Macro and Micro Barriers
        10. Jargon and Acronyms
        11. Don’t Forget the Project Team
      3. Executing the Communication Plan
      4. Communication and Leadership
        1. Purpose of Communications
        2. Developing Effective Messages
        3. Listening as Part of Communicating
        4. Communications to Manage Risks
        5. Communicating a Scope Change
      5. Integrating the Communication Plan
  10. Part 5: The Monitoring and Controlling Processes
    1. 20 Monitoring and Controlling the Plan
      1. Taking Charge and Getting Control
        1. Success Criteria for Project Control
        2. What Should You Monitor?
      2. What Monitoring Should Accomplish
      3. Using Earned Value Analysis to Determine Project Status
      4. Using Gantt Charts to Control Your Project
      5. 90-Percent-Done Syndrome
      6. The Project Review Meeting as a Control Process
      7. The Project Audit
      8. Monitoring and Controlling the Budget
      9. Integrating Everything
    2. 21 Preparing Operations for Success
      1. Five Requirements for Operations Integration
        1. Create and Communicate the Conclusion
        2. Have the Skills to Use the Deliverable
        3. Create Incentives
        4. Help Users Make the Transition
        5. Let Stakeholders Know the Schedule
      2. Developing the Training Plan
      3. Signs That Operations Is Not Ready
      4. Overcoming Resistance to Change
        1. Fear
        2. Feelings of Powerlessness
        3. Simple Discomfort
        4. Absence of Self-Interest
      5. Creating a Leadership Plan
    3. 22 Changes, Changes, and More Changes
      1. Developing a Process for Integrated Change Control
        1. What Might a Change Process Look Like?
        2. The Rules of Change Control
      2. Understanding and Estimating the Impact of Changes
      3. The Balancing Act
      4. Comparing Changes with Trade-Off Analysis
      5. Changing the Charter When the Changes Are Approved
      6. Communicating a Scope Change
      7. Alerting Your Sponsor to Problems
      8. Creating an Issues Log
    4. 23 Quality: Delivering the Best
      1. What Exactly Does Quality Mean in a Project?
      2. Planning for Quality Is the Starting Point
      3. The Project Peer Review
      4. Doing Technical Reviews Along the Way
      5. Quality Planning Tools and Techniques
      6. Quality Control: It’s All About Results
  11. Part 6: The Close-Out Phase
    1. 24 Closing Out the Project
      1. Is There Life After Project Termination?
      2. Why Is a Close-Out Phase Necessary?
      3. Preparing for the Final Shutdown
      4. Closing a Small or Large Project
      5. Writing Out Your Lessons Learned
      6. Some Additional Details for Project Shutdown
      7. The After-Implementation Review
      8. Three Ways to Release a Workforce
      9. Give It Up!
    2. 25 The Final Evaluation
      1. Evaluating Your Project
        1. Meeting with Core Team Members and the Working Committee
        2. Comparing Goals to Achievements
      2. Writing the Final Report
        1. Packaging Options for the Report
        2. The Political Impact of Final Reports
      3. Who Accomplished What and How Well?
      4. The Bottom Line and You
  12. Appendixes
    1. A Building an Organization
    2. B The Project Management Office (PMO)
    3. C Web Resources for Project Managers
    4. Index

Product information

  • Title: Project Management, Sixth Edition
  • Author(s): G. Michael Campbell
  • Release date: March 2014
  • Publisher(s): Alpha
  • ISBN: 9781615645336