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Book Details
Abstract
Anything from an office move to the Olympic Games can be termed a project, and 97 per cent of successful projects are led by an experienced project manager. Presenting over 250 years of professional project management experience in a highly accessible format, this entertaining yet practical book will help project managers get up to speed quickly with good practice, avoid pitfalls and deliver business value. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2014 CMI MANAGEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR.
Elizabeth Harrin MA MBCS FAPM is a project and programme manager with a decade of experience managing IT and business change projects. She is the author of Social Media for Project Managers (PMI, 2010) and writes the award-winning blog A Girl’s Guide to Project Management (www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com). Elizabeth is a PRINCE2, MSP and P3O Practitioner and a member of PMI.
Lives up to the 'real world' promise in its title, providing concise, practical advice for leaders of large projects, small projects, and everything between. The interwoven examples from actual projects illustrate clearly why the guidance provided here matters.
Tom Kendrick, MBA, PMP
Anything from an office move to the Olympic Games can be termed a project, and 97 per cent of successful projects are led by an experienced project manager. Presenting over 250 years of professional project management experience in a highly accessible format, this entertaining yet practical book will help project managers get up to speed quickly with good practice, avoid pitfalls and deliver business value. This fully updated edition reflects changes to working practices such as the use of social media and collaboration tools. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2014 CMI MANAGEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR.
Elizabeth Harrin has done it again! This new edition of her book 'Project management in the real world' is packed with hard-won insights on how to make projects work in today's pressurised business environment. It shares the stories of people grappling with projects all over the world. I reckon that these lessons learned are worth their weight in gold to anyone with a challenging project to accomplish. Apply what it suggests and you're likely to save your company a fortune and yourself heaps of frustration!
Dr Penny Pullan
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Copyright | iv | ||
| CONTENTS | vii | ||
| LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES | x | ||
| AUTHOR | xi | ||
| FOREWORD | xii | ||
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | xiv | ||
| GLOSSARY | xv | ||
| PREFACE | xviii | ||
| SECTION 1: MANAGING PROJECT BUDGETS | 1 | ||
| INTRODUCTION | 1 | ||
| 1 CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET | 3 | ||
| 1 IDENTIFY THE RESOURCES REQUIRED FOR THE PROJECT | 4 | ||
| 2 ESTIMATE THE COST FOR EACH OF THOSE RESOURCES | 4 | ||
| 3 DOCUMENT THE COSTS AND CALCULATE THE OVERALL ESTIMATE | 5 | ||
| 4 SUBMIT THE BUDGET TO YOUR STEERING COMMITTEE OR SPONSOR FOR APPROVAL | 5 | ||
| 5 FIND OUT YOUR BUDGET CODE | 6 | ||
| 2 CALCULATE THE TRUE COST | 7 | ||
| 3 TRACK ESTIMATE TO COMPLETE | 11 | ||
| 4 AGREE A BUDGET TOLERANCE | 14 | ||
| 5 HAVE A CONTINGENCY FUND | 18 | ||
| 6 GAIN BUY-IN FOR COLLECTIVE BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY | 21 | ||
| 7 AGREE WHO HOLDS SIGNING AUTHORITY | 26 | ||
| 8 ARRANGE FOR A PEER REVIEW | 28 | ||
| 9 MANAGE PROJECTS WITH NO BUDGET CAREFULLY | 32 | ||
| 10 USE TIMESHEETS FOR TRACKING TIME | 35 | ||
| 11 BUDGET FOR CHANGE MANAGEMENT | 38 | ||
| 12 UNDERSTAND THE BENEFITS | 40 | ||
| FURTHER READING FOR THIS SECTION | 42 | ||
| SECTION 2: MANAGING PROJECT SCOPE | 43 | ||
| INTRODUCTION | 43 | ||
| 13 KEEP IT SMALL | 45 | ||
| 14 KNOW WHERE YOU FIT | 48 | ||
| 15 WORK OUT HOW TO MANAGE CHANGES | 51 | ||
| 16 INCLUDE QUALITY PLANNING IN SCOPE | 55 | ||
| 17 WORK OUT HOW TO TRACK BENEFITS | 58 | ||
| 18 ELIMINATE AMBIGUITY | 63 | ||
| 19 USE VERSION CONTROL | 66 | ||
| 20 PUT A POST-PROJECT REVIEW IN SCOPE | 70 | ||
| 21 IDENTIFY RISKS UPFRONT | 74 | ||
| 22 MANAGE RISKS | 77 | ||
| 24 DOCUMENT ASSUMPTIONS | 86 | ||
| 25 INVOLVE USERS IN SCOPE DEFINITION | 89 | ||
| 26 COMMUNICATE AND DOCUMENT CHANGES | 93 | ||
| 27 PLAN FOR HANDOVER INTO PRODUCTION | 97 | ||
| 28 ACTIVELY MANAGE REQUIREMENTS | 100 | ||
| FURTHER READING FOR THIS SECTION | 102 | ||
| SECTION 3: MANAGING PROJECT TEAMS | 103 | ||
| INTRODUCTION | 103 | ||
| 29 SET THE VISION | 105 | ||
| 30 KNOW THE CULTURE OF YOUR TEAM | 108 | ||
| 31 AGREE WHO IS GOING TO SIGN OFF | 111 | ||
| 32 DON’T FORGET THE SOFT STUFF | 113 | ||
| 33 TRAIN YOUR SPONSOR | 116 | ||
| 34 CARRY OUT STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS | 120 | ||
| 35 PRESENT YOUR STUFF INTERESTINGLY | 125 | ||
| TIPS FOR PRESENTATIONS | 126 | ||
| TIPS FOR OTHER PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS | 127 | ||
| 36 ORGANISE A PARTY | 128 | ||
| 37 MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE PMO | 130 | ||
| 38 BE A LEADER | 133 | ||
| 39 MANAGE A MATRIX ENVIRONMENT | 135 | ||
| FURTHER READING FOR THIS SECTION | 137 | ||
| SECTION 4: MANAGING PROJECT PLANS | 139 | ||
| INTRODUCTION | 139 | ||
| 40 KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM | 141 | ||
| 41 PLAN FIRST – SET END DATE LATER | 143 | ||
| 42 MANAGE FIXED DATE PROJECTS CAREFULLY | 146 | ||
| 43 HAVE SHORT TASKS | 149 | ||
| 44 UNDERSTAND THE CRITICAL PATH | 152 | ||
| 45 BASELINE YOUR SCHEDULE | 155 | ||
| 46 MAKE MEETINGS PRODUCTIVE | 158 | ||
| 47 DELEGATE SUB-PLANS TO WORKSTREAM LEADERS | 160 | ||
| 48 MANAGE PROJECT DEPENDENCIES | 163 | ||
| 49 MANAGE MULTIPLE PROJECTS AT THE SAME TIME | 165 | ||
| FURTHER READING FOR THIS SECTION | 168 | ||
| SECTION 5: MANAGING YOURSELF | 169 | ||
| INTRODUCTION | 169 | ||
| 50 GET ORGANISED | 171 | ||
| 51 DON’T DO ZOMBIE PROJECT MANAGEMENT | 173 | ||
| 52 KEEP YOUR RECORDS TIDY | 175 | ||
| KEEP THESE IN PAPER FORMAT: | 175 | ||
| KEEP THESE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT: | 176 | ||
| SHRED THESE: | 176 | ||
| BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL WITH THESE: | 176 | ||
| 53 MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND | 177 | ||
| 54 NAVIGATE OFFICE POLITICS | 181 | ||
| 55 KNOW WHAT’S A SHOWSTOPPER | 184 | ||
| 56 LEARN HOW TO FACILITATE | 187 | ||
| 57 GET A MENTOR | 191 | ||
| 58 DO DOCUMENTATION | 194 | ||
| 59 DON’T BE AFRAID TO SUGGEST THEY PULL THE PLUG | 198 | ||
| 60 ARCHIVE EFFECTIVELY | 200 | ||
| FURTHER READING FOR THIS SECTION | 201 | ||
| JOIN THE CONVERSATION | 202 | ||
| SHARE THESE IDEAS | 202 | ||
| APPENDIX 1 RISK LOG | 203 | ||
| APPENDIX 2 ISSUE LOG | 205 | ||
| APPENDIX 3 CHANGE LOG | 207 | ||
| APPENDIX 4 FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION | 209 | ||
| END NOTES/REFERENCES | 211 | ||
| INDEX | 218 | ||
| Back Cover | 222 |