How to Manage Projects : Essential Project Management Skills to Deliver On-time, On-budget Results

Are you overwhelmed by project management jargon? Interested in developing a project management career, but bewildered by the plethora of costly courses and qualifications? Then this is the book for you. How to Manage Projects explains the fundamentals of this essential skill in a clear, practical and accessible way, making it the perfect introduction to managing better projects in your current role, or even that first step to developing a professional career as a project manager. This new 2nd edition features practical exercises and top tips, and takes you through successfully and confidently managing a project from conception to completion. Essential reading for anyone who wants to manage their own projects well without all the unnecessary jargon, How to Manage Projects makes this vital skill easily accessible with one handy, easy-to-use book. The Creating Success series of books... Unlock vital skills, power up your performance and get ahead with the bestselling Creating Success series. Written by experts for new and aspiring managers and leaders, this million-selling collection of accessible and empowering guides will get you up to speed in no time. Packed with clever thinking, smart advice and the kind of winning techniques that really get results, you'll make fast progress, quickly reach your goals and create lasting success in your career. Halftitle Page Creating Success Series Title Page Copyright Page Contents About the author Acknowledgements 01 Project success is more than just one thing How to use this book 02 The accidentalproject manager What is a project? A short, practical definition of what is a project manager: superhero! Self-inventory: do I have what it takes to be a project manager? 03 Where does a project manager fit in the organization? If a PMO exists What if a PMO does not exist? 04 Project governance The project’s governance team: fit and function The governance team: form The governance team: operational considerations 05 Project scope Defining the scope Buy-in Change control Involve your friendly organizational lawyer 06 The project quality plan Meet the customer’s requirements Small mistakes enable big successes (aka prototyping) Design for tolerance of variation and interactions Regulatory and compliance plan 07 Different types of project lifecycle models The classic waterfall project lifecycle (aka the predictive method) The V-model The rapid prototyping lifecycle The Agile concept The blended lifecycle – reality 08 Planning the project What is an activity? Sequencing the activities Estimating the durations of the activities Scheduling the activities Managing the schedule 09 The project staffing plan Staffing Defining the resource need – skill traceability Schedule timing and resource loading Resource management 10 Design and configuration management A deadly serious example So who is responsible for managing configuration management? Formally defining configuration management Configuration management and project requirements Design traceability matrix Capturing the configuration and the supporting system for using it 11 Cost planning and cost management Tendencies towards managing outcomes and money Current data, historical data and estimates vs contracted prices The project plan, the components and your organization Cost management, or driving through the rear-view mirror 12 The project’s supply chain plan A note on vertical integration Take a balanced approach How to develop a supply chain plan 13 Project execution The best-laid plans – and doing better than the best-laid plans Re-planning and monitoring Tracking frequency Types of check-in Keeping everyone current Upward reporting Getting acceptance 14 Evaluation, lessons learnt and improving the next project When boring has exciting implications Evaluate like an airline Where does a project evaluation fit? The accidental, not-so-accidentally successful project manager Endorsements All the books in the Creating Success series