Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1 Congratulations! You're the Project Manager! 1
The Accidental Project Manager 2
What Might You Encounter Out There? 3
About the Art and Science of Project Management 5
About This Book 6
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 1 7
2 An Overview of Projects and Project Management 9
Project Management: The Business Perspective 10
Project Management: The Process Perspective 10
Project Management: The Interpersonal and Behavioral Perspective 15
Project Management: The Organizational Management Perspective 18
Defining Project Success 22
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 2 24
3 About the Role of Project Manager 27
The Inherent Responsibilities of a Project Manager 27
Common Challenges You Can Expect to Face 29
Skill Requirements of the Project Manager 32
Functional Competencies of the Project Manager 37
The Project Manager's "Unofficial" Job Duties 39
The Value of Introspection and Self-Awareness 40
Communication Skills and the Project Manager 41
Conducting High-Quality Meetings 48
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 3 51
4 How Companies Identify and Select the "Right" Projects 53
Where Projects Should Come From 54
Critical Process #1 Identify Projects Through a Needs Analysis 55
Critical Process #2 Ensure a Solid Return on Investment 57
Critical Process #3 Assess the Relative Value of Your Project 62
Getting Off to a Good Start 63
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 4 64
5 Planning and Estimating: The Foundation of Project Management 67
An Introduction to Project Planning 68
An Introduction to Estimating 76
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 5 81
6 Defining and Launching Your Project 83
A Common Challenge in Project Definition 84
First, Thoroughly Understand the Problem, Need, or Opportunity 86
Second, Determine the Optimum Solution to the Problem, Need, or Opportunity 93
Third, Refine the Optimum Solution and Develop a Preliminary Project Plan 98
Fourth, Formally Launch the Project 104
The Unspoken Imperative: Evaluate the Political Environment 107
Key Documentation Used in the Project Definition Stage 108
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 6 111
7 Building and Maintaining an Effective Team 113
The Mechanics of Building a Team 114
Team Leadership Starts on Day 1! 118
Getting the Most from Your Team 123
Getting the Most from Individual Team Members 127
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 7 129
8 Managing the Project Interfaces 131
What Are Project Interfaces? 132
Internal Stakeholders and Their Roles 135
External Stakeholders and Their Roles 139
Other Interfaces 141
Special Considerations in Interface Management 143
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 8 147
9 Preparing an Integrated Project Plan 149
But First… Develop a Project Management Configuration Plan 150
Identifying What Needs to Be Done (Scope Management) 151
Identifying How Long It Will Take to Do Everything (Time Management) 160
Identifying How Much You'll Spend (Cost Management) 172
What About Project Management Software? 174
Key Documentation Used to Develop an Integrated Project Plan 176
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 9 178
10 Addressing Risk and Uncertainty 181
Overview of Risk and Uncertainty 182
Managing Risk: An Overview 184
Step 1 Identifying What Can Hurt You (Risk Identification) 185
Step 2 Assessing the Potential Damage (Risk Quantification) 188
Step 3 Determining the Biggest Threats to Your Project (Risk Analysis) 189
Step 4 Address the High-Threat Problems (Risk Response) 190
Managing Project Risk Is a Mindset 192
You Can't Fix Everything: Learn to Accommodate Uncertainty 192
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 10 198
11 Ensuring Successful Project Execution 201
What Project Control Really Means 202
Establishing a Baseline of Measurement 205
What Information Do You Need? 206
How Do You Gather Information? 206
Making Sure You Get Good Information 209
Analyzing the Information 210
How Should You React to the Information? 218
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 11 224
12 Bringing the Project to a Successful Conclusion 225
Early Termination: Not as Bad as You Think 225
Management Challenges at the End of the Project 227
Key Elements of Successful Project Closure 228
A Few More Words About Punch List Management 230
Developing a Project Completion Checklist 232
Transferring What You've Learned to Others 232
And So We've Reached the End 237
Manager's Checklist for Chapter 12 238
Index 239
