The Handbook of Project Management: A Practical Guide to Effective Policies, Techniques and Processes 2nd Edition

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. Review "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. 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 environment1 IntroductionWhat is special about programmes and projects?Who is this book for?2 Change: programmes and projectsChange and the programme and project managerWhat is a project?Projects and sub-projectsWhat is a programme?An example programmeWhy programme management?What is programme management?What is project management?Why is programme management different from projectmanagement?What is different about programme and project management?How are programmes and projects derived?The dynamic life cycleThe dynamic action cycleThe programme and project process phase gatesIs the phase gate a constraint?Is this control necessary?Summary3 Organizing for programme managementOrganizing for ownershipEstablishing the programme steering teamContinuous improvement and problem solving: are they projects?The programme registerOperating a programme registerThe key responsibilities of the programme steering teamMeetings of the programme steering teamManaging the portfolio: selection of programmes and projectsThe inputs to effective selectionThe secondary screeningThe result of effective selectionSummary4 The key rolesThe project steering team administratorThe sponsorThe programme managerThe project managerThe functional managerThe stakeholdersFrequently used termsThe programme and project manager as a leaderThe dimensions of leadership in the programme andproject environmentDimension 1: Managing stakeholdersDimension 2: Managing the dynamic life cycleDimension 3: Managing performanceProgrammes, projects and teamworkBuilding your teamCustomer satisfactionPart 2 The programme and project processes and techniques5 Starting up: ideas and opportunities for projectsThe fundamental data needsWhat are the constraints?What data do the programme steering team require?Preparing the initial business caseThrough Gate Zero to Gate OnePresenting the business case to the programme steering teamThe kick-off meetingProject documentationThe project brief and specificationSummary6 Defining the projectWhat is necessary to define a project?The stakeholder listThe project briefThe scope of work statementRisk managementRisk assessmentQuantifying identified risksRisk monitoringGetting your project definition approvedSummary7 Planning your projectWhat is not going to be done?Who needs to be involved?Where does planning start?Identifying the key stagesThe project work breakdown structureAllocating responsibilityWhat is an estimate?Avoid some classic pitfallsThe golden rulesEffort and durationEstimating the durationsContingenciesTime-limited scheduling and estimatesPractical estimatingThe programme evaluation and review techniqueAnalysing the logic diagramUsing the PERT analysis dataAnalysing your resource requirementsOptimizing your scheduleReviewing your project risk logReviewing your project budgetIntermediate phase gatesSeeking approval to launch your projectSummary8 Launching your projectEstablishing key stage work plansDeriving a milestone scheduleCritical success factorsEnsuring effective communicationProject status reportsDeriving a meetings schedule for your projectManaging project changesHolding a launch meetingSummary9 Executing the project workThe project control systemMonitoring progressManaging issuesReviewing project issuesTracking your projectTaking corrective actionProblem solvingProgress meetingsProgress reportingEncouraging good time managementControlling the project costsBalancing the projectApproaching the closure phaseSummary10 Closing your projectWhy have a closure phase?Establishing completion criteriaThe acceptance processThe close-out meetingEvaluating your projectClosing down the projectPost-project evaluationPost-project appraisalsWhat next?Summary11 Using a computerWhat can software do?Using a software programWhat software does not doSelecting project softwareThe programme management office12 Common Project ProblemsProblem analysisHow projects succeed