Sách EBOOK: The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management SECOND EDITION - ERIC VERZUH

EBOOK: The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (417 pages)
SECOND EDITION - ERIC VERZUH



PREFACE xiii
PART 1
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1—PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN
A CHANGING WORLD 2
Introduction 2
Project Management Is the New Critical Career Skill 3
The Increasing Pace of Change 5
Everyone Benefits from Understanding Project
Management 6
Downloadable Forms for Project Management 6
Project Management: Art Informed by Science 7
Project Management Magnifies Other Strengths 9
End Point 10
CHAPTER 2—THE PROJECT ENVIRONMENT 12
Introduction 12
Projects Require Project Management 12
The Evolution of a Discipline 15
The Definition of Success 18
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The Cost-Schedule-Quality Equilibrium 19
The Ultimate Challenge: No Damage 20
Project Management Functions 20
Project Life Cycle 22
Organizing for Projects 25
Project Managers Are Leaders 29
End Point 30
PART 2
DEFINING THE PROJECT
CHAPTER 3—PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS 36
Introduction 36
Stakeholders Are the Heart of a Successful Project 37
Stakeholder Roles: Project Manager 37
Stakeholder Roles: Project Team 38
Stakeholder Roles: Management 39
Stakeholder Roles: Sponsor 41
Stakeholder Roles: The Customer 42
Lead the Stakeholders 44
End Point 44
CHAPTER 4—MAKING THE RULES 46
Introduction 46
Project Rules Are the Foundation 46
Publish a Project Charter 48
Write a Statement of Work 51
Statement of Work: Minimum Content 52
Responsibility Matrix 58
Creating a Communication Plan 61
The Project Proposal Launches the Project 67
End Point 71
PART 3
THE PLANNING PROCESS
CHAPTER 5—RISK MANAGEMENT 85
Introduction 85
The Risk Management Advantage 86
C O N T E N T S
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All Project Management Is Risk Management 86
The Risk Management Framework 88
Step One: Identify the Risks 90
Step Two: Developing a Response Strategy 94
Step Three: Establish Contingency and Reserve 105
Step Four: Continuous Risk Management 106
End Point 107
CHAPTER 6—WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE 113
Introduction 113
Defining the Work Breakdown Structure 113
Building a Work Breakdown Structure 117
Criteria for a Successful Work Breakdown Structure 120
Work Package Size 122
Planning for Quality 126
Breaking Down Large Programs 128
Watch for Different Terminology 128
Contractors or Vendors Can Provide a WBS 130
End Point 130
CHAPTER 7—REALISTIC SCHEDULING 131
Introduction 131
Planning Overview 132
Planning Step Two: Identify Task Relationships 133
Planning Step Three: Estimate Work Packages 136
Planning Step Four: Calculate an Initial Schedule 143
Planning Step Five: Assign and Level Resources 155
End Point 162
CHAPTER 8—THE DYNAMICS OF ACCURATE
ESTIMATING 166
Introduction 166
Estimating Fundamentals 167
Estimating Techniques 172
Building the Detailed Budget Estimate 182
Generating the Cash Flow Schedule 189
End Point 190
C O N T E N T S
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CHAPTER 9—BALANCING THE PROJECT 203
Introduction 203
Three Levels of Balancing a Project 204
Balancing at the Project Level 205
Balancing at the Business Case Level 217
Balancing at the Enterprise Level 222
End Point 223
PART 4
CONTROLLING THE PROJECT
CHAPTER 10—BUILDING A
HIGH-PERFORMANCE PROJECT TEAM 232
Introduction 232
A Framework for Building High-Performance Teams 237
Leadership Responsibilities 240
Building a Positive Team Environment 244
Ground Rules 244
Team Identity 245
Team Listening Skills 250
Meeting Management 254
Summary of Building a Positive Team Environment 256
Collaborative Problem Solving 256
Problem Analysis 257
Decision Modes 260
Conflict Management 263
Continuous Learning 266
Summary of Collaborative Problem Solving 269
Job Satisfaction 270
End Point 270
CHAPTER 11—COMMUNICATION 272
Introduction 272
Project Communication 272
Communicating within the Project Team 273
Communicating with Management and Customers 281
Control Documents 282
The Change Management Process 282
C O N T E N T S
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Configuration Management 286
Change Management Guidelines
Are Essential for Managing Expectations 288
Closeout Reporting 288
End Point 289
CHAPTER 12—MEASURING PROGRESS 305
Introduction 305
Measuring Schedule Performance 305
Measuring Cost Performance 309
Earned Value Reporting 311
Cost and Schedule Baselines 320
End Point 322
PART 5
PUTTING THE DISCIPLINE TO WORK
CHAPTER 13—ENTERPRISE PROJECT
MANAGEMENT 324
Introduction 324
Defining Enterprise Project Management 326
Three Tiers of Management within EPM 328
The Four Components of EPM 332
Establish Consistent EPM Processes 332
Technology Enables EPM Processes 339
The People Who Deliver Projects 346
Support Project Management: The Project Office 348
Organize for Project Management 355
Managing the Change to Enterprise Project
Management 361
End Point 367
CHAPTER 14—APPLICATION IS THE ART:
SOLVING COMMON PROJECT PROBLEMS 371
Introduction 371
Responsibility Beyond Your Authority 371
Disaster Recovery 372
Reducing the Time to Market 373
When the Customer Delays the Project 374
C O N T E N T S
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The Impossible Dream 375
Fighting Fires 376
Managing Volunteers 376
Achieving the Five Project Success Factors 377
End Point 377
APPENDIX: THE DETAILED PLANNING MODEL 379
NOTES 389
INDEX 393



“What makes the second edition different?” That’s my first question
when I see a second edition. Project management hasn’t changed too
much since the first edition, so this edition is primarily justified with
additional content.
ã Chapter 10, “Building a High-Performance Project Team,” is brand
new. It assembles proven team management techniques for transforming
a group of people who happen to be assigned to the same
project into a cohesive unit committed to a common goal.
ã Chapter 13, “Enterprise Project Management,” has been significantly
revised to incorporate lessons learned in the past five years
as firms attempt to institutionalize project management.
ã Several chapters have added content. Chapter 5, “Risk Management,”
includes additional proven risk management techniques.
Chapter 4 describes the content for a project proposal. Chapter 12
has more advice on using earned value management techniques.
ã Stellar performers—profiles of companies that put project management
principles to work—have been added in Chapters 1 and 11. A
new feature of this edition is the Fast Foundation for Project Management,
a series of templates and checklists designed to make it just a
little easier to put the concepts to work on your project. You’ll find
these tools located at the end of the chapters in which the concepts
were presented. The templates are available for download at www.
versatilecompany.com/forms, and called out in text with an icon.
It is pretty exciting to have a book that is popular enough to justify
a second edition. More than anything, I am proud of how many people
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have said this book is practical—it makes project management make
sense. The book is intended to present a realistic look at the challenges
of the project environment and the skills you need to successfully
bring a project to fulfillment. On the way, you will learn the tools
necessary to achieve each of the five essential success factors. Part 1
lays the groundwork. In addition to simple terminology, it contains
global concepts that tie project management to other disciplines, such
as quality and product development. Part 1 also includes examples of
the organizational changes companies are making to take advantage
of project-oriented work.
Parts 2, 3, and 4 present the tools and techniques—the real science—
of project management. Because this is a how-to book, the techniques
in these chapters are described in detail. These techniques
start with simple examples, then progress to tips for managing larger
projects. In these sections, you will learn the major responsibilities of
a project manager, the definition of a project, and the best ways to
plan and control projects. Part 2 deals specifically with setting the
goals and constraints of the project. Part 3, “The Planning Process,”
offers the most effective techniques for managing budgets, monitoring
a project’s scope, and keeping on schedule. Many of these techniques
are features of popular project management software. After reading
this section, you will know how to make better use of this software.
Part 4 offers methods for controlling a project and keeping it on track.
This section focuses on the many tools used to keep a project on track
and bring it to successful completion, regardless of whether everything
goes as planned. Together, these three sections provide the tool set
every project manager needs.
Part 5 describes how the tools presented in this book can be used
by organizations and by project managers. We look at the ways in
which project management techniques are being adopted by a growing
number of organizations. Finally, we look at the kind of problem
situations that project managers are likely to face—and how to deal
with them using the tools presented in this book.
Eric Verzuh
Seattle
January 2005