The Handbook of Project Management: A Practical Guide to Effective Policies and Procedures

by Trevor Young

Overview

Project management skills are hugely desirable for managers at all levels of an organization. Most people today can benefit from the application of these skills to some areas of their daily operations. From large undertakings, such as the Channel Tunnel or North Sea oil rigs, to the unique but smaller projects that take place in every type of organization, special skills are required if project management is to produce the right results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780749439651
Publisher:	Kogan Page, Ltd.
Publication date:	09/01/2003
Edition description:	Includes CD-Rom
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.14(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Trevor L. Young is an independent consultant specializing in the introduction of program management. He is a member of the Institute of Personnel and Development and is the author of The Handbook of Project Management (also published by Kogan Page).

Table of Contents

Preface to the revised second edition     vii
The programme and project environment     1
Introduction     3
What is special about programmes and projects?     4
Who is this book for?     5
Change: programmes and projects     7
Change and the programme and project manager     8
What is a project?     9
Projects and sub-projects     10
What is a programme?     12
An example programme     14
Why programme management?     14
What is programme management?     16
What is project management?     17
Why is programme management different from project management?     18
What is different about programme and project management?     19
How are programmes and projects derived?     21
The dynamic life cycle     23
The dynamic action cycle     24
The programme and project process phase gates     26
Is the phase gate a constraint?     28
Is this control necessary?     29
Summary     30
Organizing for programme management     31
Organizing for ownership     33
Establishing the programme steering team     34
Continuous improvement and problem solving: are they projects?     36
The programme register     37
Operating a programme register     37
The key responsibilities of the programme steering team     41
Meetings of the programme steering team     42
Managing the portfolio: selection of programmes and projects     44
The inputs to effective selection     46
The secondary screening     48
The result of effective selection     49
Summary     51
The key roles     53
The project steering team administrator     54
The sponsor     55
The programme manager     55
The project manager     56
The functional manager     56
The stakeholders     57
Frequently used terms     59
The programme and project manager as a leader     60
The dimensions of leadership in the programme and project environment     62
Managing stakeholders     63
Managing the dynamic life cycle     66
Managing performance     66
Programmes, projects and teamwork     67
Building your team     70
Customer satisfaction      71
Summary     72
The programme and project processes and techniques     75
Starting up: ideas and opportunities for projects     77
The fundamental data needs     78
What are the constraints?     79
What data does the programme steering team require?     80
Preparing the initial business case     80
Through Gate Zero to Gate One     81
Presenting the business case to the programme steering team     87
The kick-off meeting     88
Project documentation     91
The project brief and specification     95
Summary     97
Defining the project     99
What is necessary to define a project?     99
The stakeholder list     100
The project brief     101
The scope of work statement     105
Risk management     107
Risk assessment     110
Quantifying identified risks     114
Risk monitoring     120
Getting your project definition approved     120
Summary     123
Planning your project     126
What is not going to be done?     126
Who needs to be involved?      127
Where does planning start?     127
Identifying the key stages     128
The project work breakdown structure     131
Allocating responsibility     132
What is an estimate?     134
Avoid some classic pitfalls     135
The golden rules     137
Effort and duration     137
Estimating the durations     139
Contingencies     142
Time-limited scheduling and estimates     143
Identifying the critical path of your project     145
The programme evaluation and review technique     146
Analysing the logic diagram     149
Using the PERT analysis data     149
Analysing your resource requirements     154
Optimizing your schedule     155
Reviewing your project risk log     159
Reviewing your project budget     160
Intermediate phase gates     161
Seeking approval to launch your project     162
Summary     164
Launching your project     166
Establishing key stage work plans     166
Deriving a milestone schedule     169
Critical success factors     171
Ensuring effective communication      173
Project status reports     174
Deriving a meetings schedule for your project     177
Managing project changes     178
Holding a launch meeting     185
Summary     188
Executing the project work     190
The project control system     191
Monitoring progress     195
Managing issues     198
Reviewing project issues     206
Tracking your project     207
Taking corrective action     212
Problem solving     214
Progress meetings     217
Progress reporting     220
Encouraging good time management     222
Controlling the project costs     228
Balancing the project     234
Approaching the closure phase     238
Summary     239
Closing your project     242
Why have a closure phase?     243
Establishing completion criteria     244
The acceptance process     246
The close-out meeting     247
Evaluating your project     251
Closing down the project     252
Post-project evaluation     254
Post-project appraisals      258
What next?     259
Summary     261
Using a computer     263
What can software do?     264
Using a software program     267
What software does not do     270
Selecting project software     271
The programme management office     271
Common project problems     274
Problem analysis     274
How projects succeed     280
Postscript     282
Glossary of terms     283
Further reading     289
Index     291

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This excellent handbook provides you with all you need to make your project a success.  [It] is easy to read and has many diagrams, and flow charts that support the text very well.” - Paul Duffy, APM Group, formerly the trading arm of the Association for Project Management, in a review of an earlier edition.

Editorial Reviews

"This excellent handbook provides you with all you need to make your project a success. [It] is easy to read and has many diagrams, and flow charts that support the text very well. You will find in the book standard forms for every occasion, templates for reporting and check lists for each stage. Use of these standardized documents can help the manager to spend more time on setting up the organization and defining the task." — Paul Duffy, APM Group, formerly the trading arm of the Association for Project Management, in a Review of the First edition

From the Publisher