The Project Workout

Table of contents

1. Cover
2. Title
3. Copyright
4. Dedication
5. Contents
6. List of project workouts
7. Foreword by Robert Heller
8. Acknowledgements
9. About the author
10. Preface to the Fifth Edition
11. Introduction
12. Part I Challenges to be Faced
    1. 1 Challenges we need to face
       1. Problems, more problems
       2. Initiatives fail, are cancelled, or never get started – why?
    2. 2 Advice the best organizations give us
       1. The study
       2. The lessons and their implications
       3. But we're different!: organization context
       4. Using a staged project framework increases the likelihood of success
    3. 3 Projects in the context of businesses, portfolios and programmes
       1. Whose project is it?
       2. Business-led and enabling projects
       3. Projects within a programme or portfolio
       4. Putting it all together
13. Part II A Walk through the Project Life cycle
    1. 4 The project framework: An overview of its gates and stages
       1. Projects as vehicles of change
       2. Stages and gates
       3. The project framework
       4. Some key questions
       5. How can I apply the framework?
    2. 5 Who does what?
       1. The players
       2. The originator
       3. The project sponsor
       4. The project board
       5. The project manager
       6. The team managers and members
       7. Project assurance
       8. Project coach/facilitator
       9. Project support
       10. Specialist roles
    3. 6 The proposal: Identify the need!
       1. Overview
       2. Key deliverable
       3. Process steps
    4. 7 The initial investigation stage: Have a quick look at it!
       1. Overview
       2. Key deliverables
       3. Process steps
    5. 8 The detailed investigation stage: That looks promising ... let's have a closer look
       1. Overview
       2. Key deliverables
       3. Process steps
    6. 9 The develop and test stage: Do it!
       1. Overview
       2. Key deliverables
       3. Process steps
    7. 10 The trial stage: Try it out
       1. Overview
       2. Key deliverables
       3. Process steps
    8. 11 The release stage: Let's get going!
       1. Overview
       2. Key deliverable
       3. Process steps
    9. 12 The post-implementation review: How did we do?
       1. Overview
       2. Key deliverable
    10. 13 Tailoring the staged framework
        1. Tailoring – making it work for everyone
        2. Four types of project
        3. Fitting into the staged framework
        4. Small stuff, or "simple" projects
        5. "Just do it" projects: loose cannons
        6. Agile or rapid "projects"
        7. Concurrent engineering
        8. Projects which impact a lot of people – the two stage trial
        9. Big stuff, or projects, subprojects and work packages
        10. The extended project life cycle
    11. 14 A few related projects: Simple programmes
        1. Simple programmes
        2. Sharing project deliverables: interdependencies
        3. Phased programmes
        4. Simple programme organizations
14. Part III The Essentials You Need to Know
    1. 15 Project teams and style
       1. Culture: the way we do things around here
       2. Project teams
       3. Leadership and influence
       4. I thought you were doing that!: accountability
       5. RACI tables
    2. 16 Project governance
       1. So what is governance?
       2. Constraints on project governance
       3. Aspects of project governance
       4. Project gating
       5. Recording agreement on deliverables
    3. 17 Project setup
       1. How to go about it
       2. Set up the project team
       3. Prepare a business case and definition
       4. Prepare the project plan
       5. Define your project organization
       6. Define how you will manage the project
       7. Identify and engage your stakeholders
    4. 18 Monitoring, controlling, and reporting
       1. Who, what and when?
       2. Making reporting work for you
    5. 19 Managing benefits
       1. Benefits and drivers
       2. Needs, benefits, outcomes and outputs – mapping
       3. Forecasting benefits
       4. Timing of benefits
       5. Business cases
    6. 20 Managing the schedule
       1. The project schedule
       2. Summary and detailed schedule plan
       3. Critical path, float, slack, and other jargon
       4. Tracking progress toward your objectives
       5. Schedule reports
       6. Reports used when drafting a plan
       7. Report used to update the forecast
       8. Reports used for progress reporting
       9. So why are we nearly always late?
    7. 21 Managing resources
       1. Resources – the toughest constraint?
       2. Different types of resources
       3. Planning your resources
       4. Reports used when managing your resources
    8. 22 Managing the finances
       1. The financial plan
       2. Financial management controls
       3. Estimating the costs
       4. Authorization to spend funds
       5. Recording actual costs and committed costs
       6. Financial reporting
       7. Earned value
    9. 23 Managing what might go wrong (or right): Risks
       1. Considering possible threats and opportunities
       2. Addressing threats at the start of the project
       3. Addressing opportunities at the start of the project
       4. Monitoring risks once the project is in progress
       5. Tips on using the risk log
       6. More sophisticated risk evaluation techniques
    10. 24 Managing what has gone wrong (or right!): Issues
        1. What do we mean by "issues?"
        2. When an issue is identified
        3. Tips on using the issues log
    11. 25 Let's do it differently: Change control
        1. Controlling change
        2. Accountabilities for change decisions
        3. The change control process
        4. The change request form
    12. 26 Keeping your stakeholders engaged
        1. Why stakeholder management?
        2. Identification, analysis, and planning
        3. Engagement and monitoring
        4. Signs of resistance
        5. Why communications?
        6. Right audience, right message, right time, right media
    13. 27 Reviews and more reviews: Assurance
        1. Keeping sight of the objectives
        2. Review when a proposal is raised
        3. Review at the detailed investigation gate
        4. Reviews during the project
        5. Project closure review
        6. Post-implementation review
    14. 28 Coping with all that documentation
        1. Before you skip to the next chapter, read this
        2. What does document management give you?
        3. A bit about document features
        4. Key document management activities
        5. Document management roles
        6. What to look for in a document management solution
    15. 29 Closing the project
        1. Project closure
        2. The closure report
        3. The closure meeting
        4. Closure actions
15. Part IV Making Project Management Work for You
    1. 30 Being a project manager
       1. Keep the business objective in mind
       2. Justifiably different – tailoring
       3. Don't forget the people!
       4. Make each project an opportunity to learn
    2. 31 Project management methods
       1. Designing your project method: teach me to cheat
       2. Deciding how to document your project management method
       3. A framework for your project management approach
       4. The project management activities
       5. The supporting activities
       6. Project frameworks or life cycles
16. Appendix A Glossary
17. Appendix B Document outlines
18. Appendix C Method and standards commentary
19. Appendix D Good meetings
20. Appendix E Brainstorming
21. Index