Wiley Pathways Project Management

by Portny, Stanley E.; Mantel, Samuel J.; Meredith, Jack R.; Shafer, Scott M.; Sutton, Margaret M.; Kramer, Brian E.

• ISBN13: 9780470111246
• ISBN10: 0470111240
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-09
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Where do you want to go? You might already be working in the business world and may be looking to expand your skills. You might be setting out on a new career path. Or, you might want to learn more about exciting opportunities in project management.

Author Biography

Stanley Portny, PMP, president of Stanley E. Portny and Associates, LLC, is an internationally recognized expert in project management and project leadership. During the past 28 years, he has provided training and consultation to more than 100 public and private organizations in the fields of finance, consumer products, insurance, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, information technology, defense, and health care. He has developed and conducted training programs for over 25,000 management and staff personnel in engineering, sales and marketing, research and development, information systems, manufacturing, operations, and support areas.

Table of Contents

Defining Project Management Today	p. 1
Introduction	p. 2
Understanding Project Management	p. 2
Defining Projects	p. 2
Defining Project Management	p. 3
Why Projects and Project Management?	p. 4
Self-Check	p. 4
Defining Project Success	p. 5
Meeting Specifications	p. 6
Factoring in Uncertainty	p. 6
Self-Check	p. 7
Comparing Project Management and General Management	p. 7
Self-Check	p. 9
Defining Project Roles	p. 9
Considering the Project Manager's Role	p. 10
Considering the Functional Manager's Role	p. 11
Considering the Functional Employees Role	p. 11
Considering the Role of Executives and Upper Management	p. 12
Self-Check	p. 13
The Project Manager as a Planning Agent	p. 14
Self-Check	p. 14
Identifying Project Champions	p. 15
Self-Check	p. 16
Meeting the Demands of Project Management	p. 16
Self-Check	p. 18
Classifying Projects	p. 19
Self-Check	p. 20
Managing Projects Off-site and On-site	p. 20
Self-Check	p. 20
Summary	p. 22
Key Terms	p. 22
Summary Questions	p. 24
Applying This Chapter	p. 24
You Try It	p. 26
Case Study	p. 27
Identifying Project Needs and Solutions	p. 29
Introduction	p. 30
Defining Projects	p. 30
Identifying Project Needs	p. 31
Confirming That a Project Addresses Identified Needs	p. 31
Determining How Important a Project Is to an Organization	p. 32
Self-Check	p. 33
Laying the Groundwork for Project Work	p. 34
Considering Project Strategy	p. 34
Establishing Project Objectives	p. 34
Self-Check	p. 37
Defining Project Boundaries	p. 37
Identifying Limitations	p. 37
Determining Project Limitations	p. 39
Incorporating Limitations into a Project Plan	p. 40
Self-Check	p. 40
Dealing with Unknowns	p. 41
Self-Check	p. 42
Developing a Statement of Work	p. 42
Identifying Components of Statements of Work	p. 43
Developing a Statement of Work	p. 44
Comparing Statements of Work to Other Project Documents	p. 45
Self-Check	p. 46
Using Software to Manage a Project	p. 47
Using Computer Software Effectively	p. 47
Choosing Software	p. 48
Self-Check	p. 51
Summary	p. 51
Key Terms	p. 51
Summary Questions	p. 54
Applying This Chapter	p. 54
You Try It	p. 56
Case Study	p. 57
Organizing Projects	p. 59
Introduction	p. 60
Exploring Traditional Project Organization Structures	p. 60
Working within Centrally Organized Structures	p. 60
Working within Functionally Organized Structures	p. 63
Self-Check	p. 65
Choosing Matrix Organization	p. 65
Self-Check	p. 68
Mixed Organizational Systems	p. 69
Self-Check	p. 70
Summary	p. 70
Key Terms	p. 71
Summary Questions	p. 72
Applying This Chapter	p. 72
You Try It	p. 73
Case Study	p. 74
Planning Projects	p. 75
Introduction	p. 76
Planning a Project Based on Life Cycle Phases	p. 76
The Conceive Phase: Starting with an Idea	p. 77
The Define Phase: Establishing the Plan	p. 78
The Start Phase: Getting Ready, Getting Set	p. 79
The Perform Phase: Go!	p. 80
The Close Phase: Stop!	p. 80
Appreciating Differences in Project Life Cycles	p. 80
Self-Check	p. 82
Filling Participants' Roles	p. 82
Confirming Team Members' Participation	p. 83
Drawing up Work-Order Agreements	p. 83
Assuring That Others Are on Board	p. 84
Recruiting People to Fill Project Positions	p. 85
Self-Check	p. 86
Using Work Breakdown Structures	p. 86
Thinking Hierarchically with Work Breakdown Structures	p. 86
Incorporating Conditional Activities in Work Breakdown Structures	p. 88
Including Activities with No Obvious Break Points	p. 90
Planning Long-Term Projects	p. 90
Developing Work Breakdown Structures	p. 91
Self-Check	p. 92
Displaying Work Breakdown Structures	p. 93
The Organizational-Chart Format	p. 93
The Indented-Outline Format	p. 93
The Bubble-Chart Format	p. 94
Self Check	p. 95
Illustrating Work Relationships with Linear Responsibility Charts	p. 95
Assigning Responsibilities	p. 96
Reading Linear Responsibility Charts	p. 96
Developing Linear Responsibility Charts	p. 98
Improving the Quality of Charts	p. 99
Self-Check	p. 100
Working with Multidisciplinary Teams	p. 101
Using Concurrent Engineering	p. 101
Interface Coordination and Integration Management	p. 103
Self-Check	p. 103
Examining Why Plans and Projects Fail	p. 104
Anticipating Common Mistakes	p. 104
Responding to Reality	p. 106
Detecting Potential Pitfalls Early	p. 106
Self-Check	p. 108
Summary	p. 108
Key Terms	p. 109
Summary Questions	p. 111
Applying This Chapter	p. 112
You Try It	p. 114
Case Study	p. 115
Budgeting Projects	p. 117
Introduction	p. 118
Examining Methods of Budgeting	p. 118
Understanding the Challenges of Project Budgets	p. 119
Focusing on Cost per Unit	p. 120
Top-Down Budgeting	p. 122
Bottom-Up Budgeting	p. 123
Self-Check	p. 124
Cost Estimating	p. 124
Identifying Different Types of Project Costs	p. 125
Developing Project Budgets	p. 126
Developing Project Costs	p. 127
Reviewing Budget Estimates	p. 129
Self-Check	p. 131
Improving Cost Estimates	p. 132
Using Forms	p. 132
Using Learning Curves	p. 134
Using Tracking Signals	p. 134
Considering Other Factors	p. 134
Self-Check	p. 137
Dealing with Budget Uncertainty	p. 137
Re-estimating Project Budgets	p. 138
Identifying Causes for Change	p. 138
Responding to Changes	p. 140
Revising Budgets	p. 141
Self-Check	p. 141
Summary	p. 142
Key Terms	p. 142
Summary Questions	p. 144
Applying This Chapter	p. 144
You Try It	p. 146
Case Study	p. 147
Establishing Project Schedules	p. 148
Introduction	p. 149
Exploring Schedule Possibilities with Diagrams	p. 149
Drawing Network Diagrams	p. 150
Considering Network Diagram Options	p. 151
Choosing Network Diagram Formats	p. 154
Self-Check	p. 154
Analyzing Network Diagrams	p. 154
Following Two Rules	p. 155
Determining Critical Paths, Noncritical Paths, and Earliest Start and Finish Dates	p. 157
Determining Slack Times and Earliest Start and Finish Dates	p. 158
Sequencing Activities on Diagrams	p. 161
Self-Check	p. 164
Using Network Diagram to Analyze a Simple Example	p. 165
Self-Check	p. 171
Developing Project Schedules	p. 171
Laying Down Initial Schedules	p. 171
Avoiding the Pitfall of Backing in to Schedules	p. 172
Meeting an Established Time Constraint	p. 172
Reducing the Required Time	p. 173
Self-Check	p. 179
Estimating Activity Duration	p. 179
Describing What Happens	p. 180
Considering Resource Characteristics	p. 181
Finding Sources of Supporting Information	p. 181
Improving Activity Span Time Estimates	p. 181
Self-Check	p. 182
Displaying Project Schedules	p. 183
Choosing Presentation Formats	p. 183
Displaying Project Schedules as Gantt Charts	p. 183
Precedence Diagramming	p. 189
Self-Check	p. 191
Summary	p. 191
Key Terms	p. 192
Summary Questions	p. 195
Applying This Chapter	p. 195
You Try It	p. 199
Case Study	p. 200
Estimating and Allocating Resources	p. 201
Introduction	p. 202
Estimating Who, How Much, and When	p. 202
Planning Personnel Needs	p. 203
Describing People's Skills and Knowledge	p. 203
Self-Check	p. 207
Estimating Needed Commitment	p. 207
Describing Needed Personnel	p. 208
Estimating Required Work Effort	p. 209
Factoring in Productivity, Efficiency, and Availability	p. 210
Supporting Estimates with Historical Data and Experience	p. 211
Improving Work Effort Estimates	p. 214
Juggling Multiple Commitments	p. 216
Preparing an Initial Commitment Analysis	p. 216
Resolving Potential Resource Overloads	p. 218
Coordinating Assignments Across Multiple Projects	p. 221
Working in Everything Else	p. 222
Resource Loading and Leveling	p. 224
Loading Resources	p. 224
Leveling Resources	p. 228
Allocating Scarce Resources	p. 235
Establishing Priorities	p. 235
Allocating Scarce Resources to Several Projects	p. 237
Self-Check	p. 240
Summary	p. 240
Key Terms	p. 241
Summary Questions	p. 243
Applying This Chapter	p. 243
You Try It	p. 245
Case Study	p. 246
Being an Effective Project Manager	p. 247
Introduction	p. 248
Selecting a Project Manager	p. 248
Self-Check	p. 252
Leading in a Project Environment	p. 252
Practicing Both Management and Leadership	p. 252
Developing Personal Power and Influence	p. 253
Establishing Bases of Power	p. 255
Self-Check	p. 256
Holding Others Accountable to Projects	p. 256
Involving People Who Really have Authority	p. 257
Getting the Desired Results	p. 257
Monitoring Others' Work	p. 258
Self-Check	p. 259
Handling Employee-Manager Problems	p. 260
The Reasons Behind Micromanagement	p. 260
Helping Micromanagers Gain Confidence	p. 261
Working with a Micromanager	p. 262
Self-Check	p. 262
Handling and Avoiding Project Management Pitfalls	p. 263
Determining How and Why Projects Get Off Track	p. 263
Reaffirming Project Details	p. 263
Introducing New Project Plan Elements	p. 264
Self-Check	p. 265
Summary	p. 266
Key Terms	p. 266
Summary Questions	p. 267
Applying This Chapter	p. 267
You Try It	p. 269
Case Study	p. 270
Involving the Right People in Projects	p. 271
Introduction	p. 272
Knowing and Engaging a Project's Audience	p. 272
Engaging a Project's Audience	p. 272
Using Categories to Create an Audience List	p. 273
Ensuring that Audience Lists Are Complete and Useful	p. 275
Developing an Audience List Template	p. 277
Self-Check	p. 278
Identifying Drivers, Supporters, and Observers	p. 280
Deciding When and How to Involve Drivers, Supporters, and Observers	p. 280
Using Different Methods to Involve Drivers, Supporters, and Observers	p. 282
Self-Check	p. 282
Involving People with Authority in Projects	p. 283
Self-Check	p. 285
Summary	p. 285
Key Terms	p. 285
Summary Questions	p. 287
Applying This Chapter	p. 287
You Try It	p. 289
Case Study	p. 290
Managing Project Teams	p. 292
Introduction	p. 293
Defining Team Roles and Responsibilities	p. 293
Agreeing to Three Team Concepts	p. 293
Assigning Project Roles Through Delegation	p. 295
Delegating with Confidence	p. 297
Sharing Responsibility	p. 298
Holding People Accountable When They Don't Report to You	p. 298
Self-Check	p. 301
Establishing New Project Teams	p. 301
Developing Team and Individual Project Goals	p. 302
Defining Team Member Roles	p. 303
Defining a Team's Operating Processes	p. 303
Supporting the Development of Team Member Relationships	p. 304
Helping Teams Become Smooth-Functioning Units	p. 304
Self-Check	p. 306
Motivating and Sustaining Project Team	p. 306
Clarifying Project Benefits	p. 307
Demonstrating Feasibility	p. 308
Reporting and Rewarding Progress	p. 308
Self-Check	p. 310
Summary	p. 310
Key Terms	p. 310
Summary Questions	p. 312
Applying This Chapter	p. 312
You Try It	p. 314
Case Study	p. 315
Tracking Progress and Maintaining Control	p. 316
Introduction	p. 317
Understanding the Plan-Monitor-Control Cycle	p. 317
Making Time for Planning, Monitoring, and Controlling	p. 317
Monitoring Projects	p. 318
Controlling Projects	p. 320
Self-Check	p. 321
Collecting, Analyzing, and Reporting Data	p. 321
Data Collecting	p. 322
Data Analysis	p. 323
Reporting	p. 324
Self-Check	p. 326
Performing Earned Value Analysis	p. 327
Defining the Key Elements of Earned Value Analysis	p. 327
Considering an Example	p. 330
Determining the Reasons for Observed Variances	p. 331
Calculating Budgeted Cost of Work Performed	p. 332
Self-Check	p. 334
Designing Monitoring and Control Systems	p. 334
Monitoring Schedule Performance	p. 335
Monitoring Work-Effort Expended	p. 338
Monitoring Expenditures	p. 341
Developing Comprehensive Monitoring and Control Procedures	p. 342
Identifying Possible Causes of Delays and Variances	p. 343
Identifying Possible Corrective Actions	p. 344
Self-Check	p. 345
Responding to Scope Creep and Change Control	p. 346
Self-Check	p. 348
Summary	p. 348
Key Terms	p. 348
Summary Questions	p. 351
Applying This Chapter	p. 352
You Try It	p. 354
Case Study	p. 355
Communicating and Documenting Project Progress	p. 356
Introduction	p. 357
Forms of Communication	p. 357
Choosing the Best Communication Approach	p. 357
Sharing Information in Writing	p. 358
Sharing Information Through Meetings	p. 359
Self-Check	p. 361
Preparing Progress Reports	p. 361
Self-Check	p. 364
Holding Key Project Meetings	p. 364
Regularly Scheduled Team Meetings	p. 365
Ad Hoc Team Meetings	p. 366
Upper-Management Progress Reviews	p. 366
Self-Check	p. 367
Summary	p. 367
Key Terms	p. 367
Summary Questions	p. 369
Applying This Chapter	p. 369
You Try It	p. 371
Case Study	p. 372
Managing Risk	p. 376
Introduction	p. 377
Understanding Risk and Risk Management	p. 377
Defining Risk and Risk Management	p. 377
Choosing the Risks to be Managed	p. 378
Developing a Risk Management Process	p. 379
Communicating About Risks	p. 380
Self-Check	p. 381
Identifying Risks	p. 382
Recognizing Risk Factors	p. 382
Defining Risks	p. 387
Self-Check	p. 388
Assessing and Analyzing Risks	p. 388
Assessing the Likelihood of a Risk Occurring	p. 388
Assessing the Magnitude of the Consequences	p. 390
Self-Check	p. 392
Selecting the Appropriate Response Mechanism	p. 393
Creating Risks Management Plans	p. 393
Risk Monitoring and Control	p. 395
Self-Check	p. 396
Summary	p. 396
Key Terms	p. 396
Summary Questions	p. 398
Applying This Chapter	p. 398
You Try It	p. 400
Case Study	p. 401
Evaluating and Ending Projects	p. 403
Introduction	p. 404
Evaluating Projects	p. 404
Preparing for a Post project Evaluation	p. 404
Determining Evaluation Criteria	p. 406
Self-Check	p. 407
Project Auditing	p. 407
The Project Audit Process	p. 408
Participating in an Audit Report	p. 410
Self-Check	p. 413
Terminating Projects	p. 414
Deciding When to Terminate a Project	p. 414
Types of Project Termination	p. 414
The Termination Process	p. 415
Preparing the Project Final Report	p. 417
Self-Check	p. 418
Summary	p. 419
Key Terms	p. 419
Summary Questions	p. 420
Applying This Chapter	p. 420
You Try It	p. 421
Case Study	p. 422
Glossary	p. 424
Index	p. 440
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