The Handbook of Project Management: A Practical Guide to Effective Policies, Techniques and Processes - Softcover

YOUNG, Trevor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0749449845 ISBN 13: 9780749449841

Publisher: Kogan Page, 2007

Synopsis

Project management skills are hugely desirable for managers at all levels within an organizations, and special skills are required to produce the right results. The Handbook of Project Management is written specifically to help project managers improve their performance using tried and tested techniques.

Written by an experienced practitioner, it will be particularly useful if you are: looking to develop project management skills; starting a new project; wishing to acquire new skills; or training others in project management skills. Online resources include checklists, score cards and guide notes for optimizing your project management. Packed with concepts and processes, and tools, this comprehensive handbook will assist anyone responsible for converting strategy into reality.

About this title

About the Author

Trevor L Young was, for many years, a senior consultant for the Industrial Society where he designed and conducted two public training courses in project management techniques and project leadership.

Trevor Young was an independent consultant specialising in the introduction of programme management. He was a member of the Institute of Personnel and Development and the author of The Handbook of Project Management, also published by Kogan Page.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Part 1 The programme and project environment

1 Introduction

What is special about programmes and projects?

Who is this book for?

2 Change: programmes and projects

Change and the programme and project manager

What is a project?

Projects and sub-projects

What is a programme?

An example programme

Why programme management?

What is programme management?

What is project management?

Why is programme management different from project

management?

What is different about programme and project management?

How are programmes and projects derived?

The dynamic life cycle

The dynamic action cycle

The programme and project process phase gates

Is the phase gate a constraint?

Is this control necessary?

Summary

3 Organizing for programme management

Organizing for ownership

Establishing the programme steering team

Continuous improvement and problem solving: are they projects?

The programme register

Operating a programme register

The key responsibilities of the programme steering team

Meetings of the programme steering team

Managing the portfolio: selection of programmes and projects

The inputs to effective selection

The secondary screening

The result of effective selection

Summary

4 The key roles

The project steering team administrator

The sponsor

The programme manager

The project manager

The functional manager

The stakeholders

Frequently used terms

The programme and project manager as a leader

The dimensions of leadership in the programme and

project environment

Dimension 1: Managing stakeholders

Dimension 2: Managing the dynamic life cycle

Dimension 3: Managing performance

Programmes, projects and teamwork

Building your team

Customer satisfaction

Part 2 The programme and project processes and techniques

5 Starting up: ideas and opportunities for projects

The fundamental data needs

What are the constraints?

What data do the programme steering team require?

Preparing the initial business case

Through Gate Zero to Gate One

Presenting the business case to the programme steering team

The kick-off meeting

Project documentation

The project brief and specification

Summary

6 Defining the project

What is necessary to define a project?

The stakeholder list

The project brief

The scope of work statement

Risk management

Risk assessment

Quantifying identified risks

Risk monitoring

Getting your project definition approved

Summary

7 Planning your project

What is not going to be done?

Who needs to be involved?

Where does planning start?

Identifying the key stages

The project work breakdown structure

Allocating responsibility

What is an estimate?

Avoid some classic pitfalls

The golden rules

Effort and duration

Estimating the durations

Contingencies

Time-limited scheduling and estimates

Practical estimating

The programme evaluation and review technique

Analysing the logic diagram

Using the PERT analysis data

Analysing your resource requirements

Optimizing your schedule

Reviewing your project risk log

Reviewing your project budget

Intermediate phase gates

Seeking approval to launch your project

Summary

8 Launching your project

Establishing key stage work plans

Deriving a milestone schedule

Critical success factors

Ensuring effective communication

Project status reports

Deriving a meetings schedule for your project

Managing project changes

Holding a launch meeting

Summary

9 Executing the project work

The project control system

Monitoring progress

Managing issues

Reviewing project issues

Tracking your project

Taking corrective action

Problem solving

Progress meetings

Progress reporting

Encouraging good time management

Controlling the project costs

Balancing the project

Approaching the closure phase

Summary

10 Closing your project

Why have a closure phase?

Establishing completion criteria

The acceptance process

The close-out meeting

Evaluating your project

Closing down the project

Post-project evaluation

Post-project appraisals

What next?

Summary

11 Using a computer

What can software do?

Using a software program

What software does not do

Selecting project software

The programme management office

12 Common Project Problems

Problem analysis

How projects succeed

Edition details

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0749449845
• ISBN 13: 9780749449841
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 304