Successful Project Management

Successful Project Management

by Michael S. Dobson
Released September 2015
Publisher(s): AMA Self-Study
ISBN: 9780761215684

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Book description

Project management is an increasingly essential skill for today’s fast-moving business world—and practitioners are in high demand. Serving as a comprehensive introduction, Successful Project Management, 4th edition covers the fundamentals, focusing on practical tools and techniques students can apply immediately to complete projects on time, on budget, and on target. Packed with proven strategies, the course explains how to clarify objectives, avoid serious errors of omission, and eliminate costly mistakes.
Students will learn how to:
• Set measurable project objectives and create a practical plan to achieve them
• Control time, cost, and scope
• Obtain approval and buy-in from senior management and key stakeholders
• Create a work breakdown structure to ensure a solid foundation for project activities
• Use network diagramming to control the project schedule
• Employ standard estimating techniques, including analogous, parametric, and bottom-up methods
• Prepare a project plan using progressive elaboration and the Critical Path Method
• Lead the project team and manage relationships effectively and productively across the spectrum of project stakeholders
• Identify project risk and manage change
• Evaluate and report on project performance

Now completely revised and updated, Successful Project Management aligns with the 5thedition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), and covers outsourcing and procurement planning, the role of the Project Management Office, the use of three-point estimating and Monte Carlo simulation, earned value management, and much more. Throughout, a case study reinforces key concepts while exercises and review questions provide students the opportunity to strengthen their skills and apply what they’ve learned.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. About This Course
  6. How to Take This Course
  7. Pre-Test
  8. 1 Understanding Project Management
    1. Origins of Modern Project Management
    2. Projects and Project Management
    3. Projects and the Organization
      1. Programs and Portfolios
      2. Project Management Office (PMO)
      3. Organizational Structure and Project Management
    4. The Process of Project Management
      1. Project Initiation
      2. Project Planning
      3. Project Execution
      4. Project Monitoring and Control
      5. Project Closing
    5. The Many Hats of a Project Manager
      1. Project Time Management
      2. Project Scope Management
      3. Project Cost Management
      4. Project Communications Management
      5. Project Stakeholder Management
      6. Project Human Resources Management
      7. Project Quality Management
      8. Project Procurement Management
      9. Project Risk Management
      10. Project Integration Management
    6. Recap
    7. Review Questions
  9. 2 Defining the Project
    1. From Problem to Project
    2. Project Initiation
    3. Project or Phase
    4. Stakeholders
      1. Common Stakeholders
      2. Other Stakeholders
      3. Issues in Stakeholder Management
    5. Constraints
      1. Hierarchy of Constraints
      2. Ranking Constraints
    6. Assumptions
    7. Project Charter
    8. Obtaining Approval and Buy-In
    9. Progressive Elaboration and the Project Objective
    10. Recap
    11. Review Questions
  10. 3 Planning the Activities
    1. Iterative Planning
    2. Statement of Work
    3. Requirements Document
    4. Work Breakdown Structure
      1. Creating a Work Breakdown Structure
      2. Phases, Deliverables, or Departments?
      3. The One Hundred Percent Rule
      4. Project Management Work in the WBS
    5. Network Diagramming
      1. Constructing an Activity List
      2. Laying Out the Project
      3. Determining the Critical Path
      4. Additional Scheduling Relationships
      5. Forward and Backward Pass
    6. Gantt Chart
    7. Recap
    8. Review Questions
  11. 4 Estimating the Activities
    1. Uncertainty in Project Planning
    2. Estimating Methodologies
    3. Standard Estimating Techniques
      1. Analogous Estimating
      2. Expert Judgment and Delphi Estimating
      3. Parametric Estimating
      4. Bottom-Up Estimating
    4. Three-Point Estimating
      1. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
      2. Monte Carlo Simulation
    5. Issues in Estimating
      1. Overoptimism
      2. Parkinson’s Law
      3. Rolling Wave Estimating
    6. Recap
    7. Review Questions
  12. 5 Preparing a Project Plan
    1. Progressive Elaboration and the Project Plan
    2. Staffing and Resource Requirements
    3. Building the Project Team
      1. Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
    4. Loading and Leveling the Schedule
    5. Outsourcing
      1. Procurement Planning
    6. Critical Path Method (CPM) Analysis
      1. The Northridge Overpass Disaster
      2. Implications for Project Planning
      3. Critical Path Method
      4. Crashing a Project
    7. Communications and Stakeholder Management Plan
    8. Recap
    9. Review Questions
  13. 6 Managing Risk and Quality
    1. The Project Universe
    2. Risk
      1. Threats and Opportunities
      2. Pricing Risk
      3. Uncertainty About Uncertainty
      4. Risk Tolerance
    3. Risk Management Process
      1. Planning Risk Management
      2. Identifying Risks
      3. Performing Qualitative Risk Analysis
      4. Performing Quantitative Risk Analysis
      5. Planning Risk Responses
      6. Residual and Secondary Risk
      7. Implementing Risk Responses
    4. Quality
      1. Is Quality Scope?
      2. Process Quality and Product Quality
      3. Process Quality
      4. Product Quality
      5. Quality Tools and Processes
    5. Recap
    6. Review Questions
  14. 7 Transition to Execution
    1. From Plan to Work
    2. Plan Approval
    3. Performance Measurement Baseline
      1. Schedule
      2. Scope Verification
      3. Cost Baseline
    4. Teams and Other Resources
      1. Acquiring the Team
      2. Team Development
      3. Kickoff Meeting
      4. Work Management
    5. Change Management
      1. Fundamentals of Change Management
      2. Change Control Boards and Configuration Management
    6. Solving Problems
      1. Contingency Plans
      2. Corrective Actions and Workarounds
    7. Recap
    8. Review Questions
  15. 8 Controlling Time, Cost, and Scope
    1. Planning Monitoring and Control
    2. Monitoring Project Status
      1. Status Reports
      2. Status Meetings
      3. Inspections and Reviews
      4. Frequency of Reviews
    3. Reporting Project Status
    4. Risk Monitoring and Control
      1. New Risk Cycle
      2. Risk Reassessment
      3. Risk Audits
      4. Managing Reserves
    5. Monitoring and Controlling Quality
      1. Quality Assurance
      2. Quality Control
    6. Earned Value Management
      1. Planned Value, Earned Value, and Actual Cost
      2. Cost Variance and Schedule Variance
      3. Cost and Schedule Performance Indices
      4. Applying Earned Value
      5. Advanced EVM
    7. Updating the Project Plan and Baseline
    8. Recap
    9. Review Questions
  16. 9 Evaluating and Reporting on Project Performance
    1. Project Closeout
    2. Closeout Checklist
    3. Transfer
    4. Contract and Procurement Closure
    5. Administrative Closure
    6. Celebration and Reward
    7. Lessons Learned
    8. On to the Next Project!
    9. Recap
    10. Review Questions
  17. Appendix A: Answers to Exercises and Case Studies
    1. Exercise 1–1. Getting Started
    2. Exercise 1–2. Knowledge Areas
    3. Exercise 2–1. Stakeholder Register
    4. Exercise 2–2. Hierarchy of Constraints
    5. Exercise 2–3. PMO Project Constraints and Assumptions
    6. Exercise 2–4. PMO Project Charter Outline
    7. Exercise 3–1. Research and the SOW
    8. Exercise 3–2. Different WBS Approaches
    9. Exercise 3–3. Build a Work Breakdown Structure
    10. Exercise 3–4. Activity List
    11. Exercise 3–5. Network Diagram
    12. Exercise 3–6. Forward and Backward Pass
    13. Exercise 3–7. Create a Gantt Chart
    14. Exercise 4–1. Types of Estimates
    15. Exercise 4–2. Calculating PERT Estimates
    16. Exercise 4–3. Estimating Review
    17. Exercise 5–1. Skill Requirements
    18. Exercise 5–2. Skill List
    19. Exercise 5–3. Responsibility Assignment Matrix
    20. Exercise 5–4. CPM Analysis
    21. Exercise 5–5. Communications and Stakeholder Management Plan
    22. Exercise 6–1. Risk Tolerance
    23. Exercise 6–2. Risk Identification
    24. Exercise 6–3. Qualitative Risk Analysis
    25. Exercise 6–4. Sensitivity Analysis
    26. Exercise 6–5. Risk Response Planning
    27. Exercise 6–6. Functional and Nonfunctional Requirements
    28. Exercise 7–1. Analyzing a Tracking Gantt Chart
    29. Exercise 7–2. Problem Solving
    30. Exercise 8–1. Earned Value Metrics
    31. Exercise 8–2. Cost and Schedule Variance
    32. Exercise 8–3. Performance Indices
    33. Exercise 9–1. Closeout Checklist
    34. Exercise 9–2. Implementing the PMO
    35. Exercise 9–3. Lessons Learned Questions
  18. Appendix B: Glossary
  19. Appendix C: Bibliography and Recommended Reading
  20. Appendix D: Additional Resources
  21. Post-Test
  22. Index

Product information

  • Title: Successful Project Management
  • Author(s): Michael S. Dobson
  • Release date: September 2015
  • Publisher(s): AMA Self-Study
  • ISBN: 9780761215684