Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management

I. PROJECT MANAGEMENT POWER. 1. Projects, Projects Everywhere. Why You Need a New Project-Oriented Outlook. All Projects Are Work, but Not All Work Is a Project. Above and Beyond the Ordinary Work. If It's Not a Project, It's Just Plain Work. Project Success: A Balance Among Time, Resources, Results, and Perceptions. It's Not Magic. They're Not Always Created Equal. How Many Projects Are You Responsible For? All Projects Great and Small. The Next Step. 2. The Processes That Work. Why Do You Need to Learn About Project Management? What Is Project Management All About? Tools for Modern Times. All Projects Mundane and Marvelous. Can Project Management Help You? The Five Processes of Project Management. A Rose by Any Other Name. How the Project Processes Work Together Over Time. Project Lifecycles Versus Product Lifecycles. Not Just the Same Old Routine. 3. The Rules of the Project Game. Universal Project Success Criteria. Project Failure-The Reasons Are Simple. 12 Golden Rules of Project Management Success. Keep Your Eyes on the Prize. 4. You? A Project Manager? The Accidental Project Manager. Dealing with Dual Responsibilities. What Do You Need to Do? The Leadership Roles of the Project Manager. The Seven Traits of Good Project Managers. Be the Best Leader You Can Be. II. THE PROJECT INITIATION PROCESSES. 5. Identifying Stakeholders and Defining Their Roles. Start by Identifying the Stakeholders. The Stakeholder Roles. The Other Implementation Team Members-Who Are They? Working Together: The Magic Success Formula. 6. Selecting the Projects That Are Worth Doing. The First Step in Project Initiation: Deciding What to Do. Telling Good from Bad. Eight Steps to Determine the Most. Important Projects. The Project Charter Gets Things Going. So, How Will It All Get Done? 7. Scoping Out the Goals for a Project. Why Bother with the Goals? I Know What. I Want to Do! Clear Project Goals Make Sense to Everyone. The Primary Goals of Every Project. Six Criteria for Setting Great Goals. Establishing Goals Step-by-Step. Project Scope. Seeing Eye to Eye. 8. Understanding Risks and Constraints. Risk Management IsPart of Your Job. Constraints Versus Risks on the Project. Look at the Upside and the Downside. Risky Business. The Three Types of Risk. Constraints to Consider. The Basics of Risk Management. Keep a Weather Eye. III. THE PROJECT PLANNING PROCESSES. 9. The Breakdown of Tasks: What Really Needs to Be Done? The All-Important Task. Tasks: What Exactly Are They? A Tisket, a Task ... Over and Over Again. The Work Plan and Your Project. Five Steps to the Work Plan. The WBS. Levels and the WBS. Criteria for Ensuring Quality Work. 10. The Network Diagram: A Map for Your Project. What's a Network Diagram? Why Do I Need a Network Diagram? The WBS and the Network Diagram. Precedence Relationships in a Project Network. How It Works: Symbols and Conventions. Diagramming the Relationships. Five Steps to Create a Network Diagram. Complex Time Relationships for Critical Projects. When Is Enough Enough? Slaying the Goliaths of Project Networks. When Is a Network a Waste of Time? Three Major Network Methods and Others You May Encounter. 11. Getting What You Need: Supplies, Equipment, and Other Stuff. The Seven Resources You Need. Three More Things to Consider. Planning for Outside Vendors, Contractors, and Suppliers. Talking Turkey. Choosing the Outside Sources and Suppliers. The Ghost in the Machine. Don't Skimp on the Team's Needs. From the Plan to the Stuff. 12. Building a Winning Implementation Team. From Core Team to Complete Team. The Complete Implementation Team: The Worker Bees on the Project. People First, Please. Matching Skills to Tasks on the WBS. More Questions About Whom to Choose. Where Will the People Come From? Snakes and Consultants. Hiring and Training New Staff. Individual Contributors Versus Team Players. Assigning People and Skills to a Job Description. The Problem of Imposed Team Members. Putting Your Best Foot Forward. What About Next Time? 13. Project Start to Finish-Establishing the Time to Get Things Done. The Schedule or the Budget: Which Is First? The Schedule Synchronizes the Project. Estimating Time: Your Best Guess at Effort and Duration. Who You Gonna Call? Details, Details ... More on Gantt Charts. Scheduling on the Network Diagram. 14. The Steps to the Critical Path and a Balanced Schedule. How to Determine the Critical Path on Any Project. Not Just Floating Around. Use the Critical Path Worksheet to Calculate Path and Float. Calculate the Dates on the Calendar. Normalizing the Schedule. Loading Up and Leveling Out. The Reallocation Questions. Ready for Leveling Out. Options for Adjusting the Schedule. Adjusting a Schedule to Meet a Forced Deadline. Chart the Final Schedule and See If It Works. 15. Budgeting Options for Your Projects. The Five Horsemen of the Project Apocalypse. Developing Budgeting Skills. Building a Budget. Direct and Indirect Costs. Types of Budgeting Methods. Refining the Budget. Stuffing the Pillow with Money. Master Budget Control. Removing the Lid from the Pressure Cooker. 16. Putting It All Together: The Approved Plan. Reasons to Plan in the First Place. Putting It All Together. From Plan to Approval. The Reality Check Before Approval. Getting the Plan Approved. From Plan to Action, Finally. IV. THE EXECUTING PROCESSES. 17. Getting Started on the Right Track. The Great Leap Forward. Always Get Your Own Act Together First! Are You Ready? Do It Now and Do It Right. The First Project Meeting. Information Everyone Needs to Get Started. Avoid the Floating Start Date. 18. Leadership and You: Taking the Bull by the Horns. The Importance of Establishing Your Leadership. Wearing the BIG Shoes. A Style That Gets the Job Done. How to Be a Leader. Leading a Technical Project When You Don't Have Expertise. Being All Things to All People. The Leader in Times of Crisis. 19. What an Organization! No Easy Task, but Someone Has to Organize These Guys. The Proud, the Few, the Project Team. On Becoming a Team-The Basic Ways to Organize People. Which Structure Should You Use? Working with the Outsiders. Focus on the Launch. 20. Operating Guidelines: Setting Up to Get Things Done. The Things That Need to Get Done. Formal and Informal Ways to Tell What's Going On. Administrative Procedures That Won't Hurt. Overdoing It. Dear Diary-Do You Need One? Keeping People Up to Date. The Bottom Line. 21. Making Your Communications Count. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Communications. Selecting the Best Medium for Your Message. Developing Effective Messages. Listening Is Part of Communicating. You Are Responsible for What Other People Hear. V. THE CONTROLLING PROCESSES. 22. Monitoring and Control: Keeping on Top of Schedules and Expenses. Taking Charge and Getting Control. Control Is a Good Thing. Getting a Handle on Project Status. The Project Review Meeting as a Control Process. The Project Audit. Monitoring and Controlling the Budget. What's Really Going On? Quality and Goal Assessment. Putting It All Together. Clue 'Em In ... 23. Conflicts: Resolving and Benefiting from Them. Questions to Ask to Scope Out the Issue Conflicts Are Inevitable in Projects. The Four Kinds of People Conflicts. Conflicts Are Strongest at Project Initiation. Decide on the Best Approach. Conflicts Aren't Always Negative. 24. Changes, Changes, and More Changes. Managing Change Is Part of Control. The Battle Cry of Change: Flexibility. The Marriage of Review and Change. The Rules of Change. Understanding and Estimating the Impact of Changes. The Balancing Act. The Steps for Measuring and Accommodating Change. The Basic Changes You Can Make. Comparing Changes with Trade-Off Analysis. Use the Zero-Based Budget Approach. Sometimes Quitting Is the Only Choice. People Predictably Resist Change. 25. When Push Comes to Shove, You Can Always Negotiate. The Three Sides of the Negotiating Table. What Will You Negotiate For? Negotiations of All Sizes. What to Do. A Room with a View. 26. Common Project Problems: Get Them Before They Get You. Recognizing All Problems, Large and Small. The Floating Start Date. There's Not Enough Time for Everything. Too Many Reports and Not Enough Communication. They Always Need It Faster. The 90-Percent-Done Syndrome. Moving Target Objectives. The Key Person Always Quits. Costs Spiral Out of Control. The Staff Has More Enthusiasm Than Talent. The Impossible Remains Impossible. Politics, Politics, and More Politics. Dopey Fads Mandated by the Boss. Taking Care of Yourself to Remain Sane. A Parable of Last Resort. VI. THE CLOSING PROCESSES. 27. Will the Last One Out Please Turn Off the Lights... Is There Life After Project Termination? Why Is a Closing Phase Necessary? Under the Microscope, Again ... Project Shutdown. Three Ways to Deep-Six a Workforce. Give It Up! 28. The Final Evaluation: The Short and Long of It. Understanding Why Some Projects Succeed and Others Flop. Your Evaluation of the Project. The Final Report. Packaging Options for the Report. Confidential Reports. The Political Impact of Final Reports. Who Accomplished What and How Well? The Bottom Line and You. VII. THE ORGANIZATION AND TOOLS TO MAKE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROSPER. 29. The Project-Enabled Organization. Understanding the Benefits of Formalizing Project Management. Is Your Organization Ready for Projectization? Define the Organizational Boundaries First. Now Come the Standards. Establish a Lifecycle Standard. Manage Projects Like an Investment in Your Future. Putting a Project Office in Place to Support the System. In the End, It's Leadership That Makes It Work. 30. Software for All Projects Great and Small. Software That Simplifies the Details. What Can Project Management Programs Do? The Virtual World of the Project Needs Virtual Tools. The Types of Project Management. How Do You Choose? Things Project Management Software Can't Do. Go Get Yourself Some! APPENDIXES. A. Project Lingo-A Glossary of Project Terms. B. Resources for Project Managers. Index.