Introduction. 1. So You're Going to Manage a Project? The Elements of a Project. Project Planning. Implementation. Control. Possible Project Players. 2. What Makes a Good Project Manager? A Doer, not a Bystander. Many Hats All the Time. Principles To Steer You. Seven Ways to Succeed as a Project Manager. Seven Ways to Fail as a Project Manager. 3. What Do You Want to Accomplish? To Lead and to Handle Crises. Key Questions. Okay, So What are We Attempting to Do? Tasks Versus Outcomes. Telling Questions. Desired Outcomes that Lend Themselves to Project Management. 4. Laying Out Your Plan. No Surprises. The Holy Grail and the Golden Fleece. From Nothing to Something. 5. Assembling Your Plan. The Critical Path for Completing the WBS. The Chicken or the Egg? Is Planning Itself a Task? What About Your Hours? Internal Resources Versus External Resources. Helping Your Staff When It's Over. What Kinds of Tasks Comprise the WBS? Keeping the Big Picture in Mind. The Big Picture Versus Endless Minutia. From Planning to Monitoring. 6. Keeping Your Eye on the Budget. Money Still Doesn't Grow on Trees. Experience Pays. Traditional Approaches to Budgeting. Traditional Measures. Systematic Budgeting Problems. 7. Gantt Charts. Chart Your Progress. Variations on a Theme. Embellishments Offer Detail. Getting a Project Back on Track. Thinking Ahead. 8. PERT/CPM Charts. Projects Can Get Complex. Enter the PERT and CPM. A Short Course. What If Things Change? I Feel the Need, the Need for Speed. Let's Network. Me and My Arrow. Don't Fall in Love with the Technology. 9. Reporting Results. More Communications Channels Lead to Less Accessibility. Incorporate the Thoughts of Others. 10. Choosing Project Management Software. With the Click of a Mouse. Leave a Good Thing Alone. Whose Choice Is It? What's Your Pleasure? Dedicated PM Software. How Will You Use PM Software? 11. A Sampling of Popular Programs. Yesterday's News. Armed and Online. 12. Multiple Bosses, Multiple Projects, Multiple Headaches. Participating on More Than One Project at a Time Complexity Happens. A Diffuse Pattern. A Tale of Two Offices. Extravagance is Not Necessary. Reporting to More Than One Boss at a Time. Workaholic For Hire. 13. A Construction Mini-Case. Helping Construction Site Managers to be More Effective. Let's Assign It to a Project Manager. Arm Chair Analysis Versus Onsite Observation. Tower of Babel. 14. Learning from Your Experience. Life Is Learning, and So Are Projects. Master the Software. Keep Your Eyes Open. Preparing for the Next Project. Appendix A. Glossary. Appendix B. Further Reading. Index.
