Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project Management

by Horine, Greg

• ISBN13: 9780789738219
• ISBN10: 078973821X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-16
• Publisher: Que Publishing

Summary

Why learn project management the hard way?Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project Management, Second Edition will have you managing projects in no time! Here's a small sample of what you'll learn: - Key concepts and fundamentals behind best-practice project management techniques- The mindset and skill set of effective project managers- Project techniques that work in any industry, with any tools- The common elements of successful projects- Lessons from failed projects- The value and importance of project leadership versus project management- How to manage growing project trends and tough project types that first-time project managers are likely to encounter- How to make better use of Microsoft Project- How to respond when project reality does not match textbook scenarios- Expert insight on key project management concepts and topics You've just been handed your department's biggest project. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project Management will show you exactly where to start-and walk you step by step through your entire project! Expert project manager Gregory Horine shows you exactly what works and what doesn't, drawing on the field's proven best practices. Understand your role as a project manager...gain the skills and discover the personal qualities of great project managers...learn how to organize, estimate, and schedule projects effectively...manage deliverables, issues, changes, risks, quality, vendors, communications, and expectations...make the most of technology...manage virtual teams...avoid the problems that trip up new project managers! This new edition jumpstarts your project management expertise even faster, with all-new insights on Microsoft Project, challenging project situations and intriguing project management topics of the day.

Author Biography

Gregory M Horine (Indianapolis, IN) is a PMP/CCP-certified business technology and IT project management professional who has achieved nineteen years of successful results across multiple industries through the use of servant leadership principles. His primary areas of expertise and strength include project management and leadership; complex application development; enterprise solution development; business process analysis and improvement; data analysis and transformation; package implementation and integration; vendor and procurement management; regulatory and process compliance; and the effective use of project management tools. He is co-author of PMP Exam Cram 2.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
About This Book	p. 1
Who Should Read This Book?	p. 3
How This Book Is Organized	p. 3
Conventions Used in This Book	p. 4
Project Management Jumpstart	p. 5
Project Management Overview	p. 7
What Is Project Managementhellip;Exactly?	p. 8
What Is the Value of Project Management?	p. 12
Why Are Projects Challenging?	p. 13
Growing Demand for Effective Project Managers?	p. 15
Trends in Project Management	p. 16
The Project Manager	p. 21
One Title, Many Roles	p. 22
Key Skills of Project Managers	p. 23
Qualities of Successful Project Managers	p. 25
15 Common Mistakes of Project Managers 27
Essential Elements for Any Successful Project	p. 29
What Exactly Is a ldquo;Successfulrdquo; Project?	p. 30
Learning from Troubled Projects	p. 31
Learning from Successful Projects	p. 34
Essential Project Manager Toolkit	p. 36
Project Planning	p. 41
Defining a Project	p. 43
Setting the Stage for Success	p. 44
How Does Defining a Project Relate to Project Planning?	p. 44
Project Definition Document	p. 45
Project Definition Checklist	p. 49
Planning a Project	p. 55
Key Project Planning Principles	p. 56
Important Questions Project Planning Should Answer	p. 58
Building a Project Plan	p. 59
Summary of Supplemental Project Plan Components	p. 66
Project Plan Checklist	p. 69
Developing the Work Breakdown Structure	p. 71
What Is a WBS Exactly?	p. 72
Why Is the WBS Important?	p. 78
The Process of Building a WBS	p. 79
Estimating the Work	p. 85
Next Step in the Schedule Development Process	p. 86
Managing the Risk, Managing the Estimates	p. 88
Reasons for Estimating Woes	p. 88
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Introduction IntroductionAs organizations continue to move toward "project-based" management to get more done with fewer resources, and as the demand for effective project managers continues to grow, more and more individuals find themselves with the opportunity to manage projects for the first time.In an ideal world, every new project manager candidate would complete certified project management training programs and serve as an apprentice before starting his or her first project manager opportunity, but...this is the real world. In many cases, a quicker, more accessible, and more economical alternative is needed to guide these candidates in managing projects successfully the first time.The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project Management, Second Edition , is intended to provide this alternative with a helpful, fun, and informative style. About This BookLet's review the objectives and approach of this book. ObjectivesThe objectives of this book include the following: To be an easy-to-use tutorial and reference resource for any person managing their first project(s). To teach the key concepts and fundamentals behind project management techniques. If these are understood, they can be applied effectively independent of toolset, environment, or industry. To reduce the "on-the-job" learning curve by sharing the traits of successful projects and "lessons learned" from less-than-successful projects. To balance the breadth of topics covered with adequate depth in specific areas to best prepare a new project manager. To review the skills and qualities of effective project managers. To emphasize the importance of project "leadership" versus just project "management." ApproachConsistent with the Absolute Beginner's Guide series, this book uses a teaching style to review the essential techniques and skills needed to successfully manage a project. By teaching style, we intend the following: A mentoring, coaching style. A fun, easy-to-read, practical style. Assumes that the reader does not have previous hands-on experience with project management. Teaches the material as if an instructor were physically present. Task-oriented, logically ordered, self-contained lessons (chapters) that can be read and comprehended in a short period of time (1530 minutes). Emphasis on understanding the principle behind the technique or practice. Teaches the material independent of specific tools and methodologies. Teaches the material with the assumption that the reader does not have access to organizational templates or methodologies. Provides a summary map of the main ideas covered at the end of each chapter. Research has shown that this type of "mind-map" approach can drive better memory recollection when compared to traditional linear summary approaches.Out-of-Scope -The scope of this book is clearly outlined in the table of contents, but as we will cover later, it is always good to review what is out of scope to ensure understanding of the scope boundaries. Because the field of project management is extremely broad, and we needed to draw the line somewhere, t