This book is about the aspects of project management, i.e. an overview of the issues, responsibilities, and challenges that fall in the area of project management. It does not dive into the science and art of project management, i.e. someone should not expect to become a better project manager after reading this book on a project.
The book is lively and engaging, and will be helpful to non-PM stakeholder on a small project. For someone who is interested in an intro to the software project management concepts, I'd recommend "Head First Software Development", and if you are up to the challenge of becoming a project manager on a larger project, read "Head First PMP".
Author(s): Meri Williams
Series: SitePoint: Project Management
Publisher: SitePoint
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 224
Table of Contents......Page 9
Who Should Read This Book?......Page 15
Project Management Cheat Sheets......Page 16
Your Feedback......Page 17
Acknowledgments......Page 18
Tips, Notes, and Warnings......Page 19
So What Is Project Management Anyway?......Page 21
What Is Project Management?......Page 22
Understanding the Project Life Cycle......Page 23
Failure to Launch … or Land......Page 24
It’s Boring......Page 26
It’s Too Hard......Page 27
What Project Management Isn’t......Page 28
What’s In It for Me?......Page 29
Doing PM Right Is an Investment In Making the “Real Work” Matter......Page 30
People Problems Can’t Be Solved with Software......Page 31
The Best Tool Is the One that Works and Gets Used......Page 32
Choosing the Right Tools and Processes Is the PM’s Most Important Job......Page 34
Summary......Page 35
Discovery: Finding the Projects......Page 37
Identifying the Opportunities......Page 41
Comparing the Opportunities......Page 43
Ranking and Choosing Opportunities to Pursue......Page 44
Spotting Bad Projects......Page 46
Project, or Day-by-day Improvement?......Page 48
Project Proposals......Page 49
Value Creation......Page 51
Stakeholders......Page 53
The Project Board......Page 55
The Project Team......Page 58
The Project Organization Chart......Page 59
The Communication Plan......Page 62
The Purpose of Initiating......Page 63
The Project Initiation Document......Page 64
The Kickoff Meeting......Page 69
Seven Essential Steps for a Successful Initiation......Page 70
Summary......Page 71
Planning......Page 73
Why Plan?......Page 74
What to Plan......Page 75
How to Plan......Page 76
Breaking Down the Deliverables......Page 77
Identifying Dependencies......Page 79
Estimating Time......Page 80
Adding Contingency......Page 83
Considering the Risks......Page 86
Representing the Plan......Page 89
The Work Breakdown Structure......Page 91
The Gantt Chart......Page 93
Plan Reviews......Page 94
Dealing with Set Deadlines......Page 95
Let Your Team Have Ownership......Page 97
Adding Ownership to Your Existing Plans......Page 98
Stand-up Meetings......Page 99
Are You on Track?......Page 100
Measuring Deliverables......Page 101
Measuring Everything Else......Page 102
Risks, Issues, and Bugs......Page 104
Verification Versus Validation......Page 105
Issue Lists......Page 106
Adding to Your Planning Tools......Page 107
Summary......Page 108
Communication and Collaboration......Page 111
Form......Page 112
Method......Page 114
Content......Page 117
Creating the Feedback Loop......Page 118
Turning Groups into Teams......Page 119
Fostering a Collaborative Environment......Page 124
Working Remotely......Page 125
Transitioning from Project to Personal Plans......Page 127
Effective Leadership and Management......Page 129
Email Etiquette......Page 133
Meeting Standards......Page 134
Project Status Updates......Page 136
Issue Tracking Software......Page 137
The RASCI Matrix......Page 139
Managing Multiple Projects......Page 141
Types of Change......Page 142
The Change Control Process......Page 144
Change Request or Project Deliverable?......Page 146
Stakeholder Reviews......Page 147
Change Review Boards......Page 149
Replanning Sessions......Page 150
Summary......Page 151
Closing the Project......Page 153
Knowing When You’re Done......Page 154
Gaining Customer Agreement......Page 155
Handling a Total Disconnect......Page 157
Review......Page 159
Agree......Page 160
Celebrate......Page 161
The Project Review Meeting......Page 162
Project Sign-off......Page 163
Customer Feedback and a Key Measures Score......Page 164
The Lessons Learned Session......Page 165
The Closure Celebration......Page 166
Defining Your Role......Page 167
Knowing When to Renegotiate......Page 168
The Superstar Handover......Page 169
The Project Documentation Pack......Page 171
Operational Contracts......Page 172
Looking to the Future......Page 173
The Next Project … and the Rest......Page 174
Value Creation......Page 175
Measuring Value Creation......Page 176
Project Organization Chart......Page 178
Project Initiation Document......Page 179
Project Plan Template......Page 182
Work Breakdown Structure......Page 183
Risk Management Plan Template......Page 184
Estimation Techniques......Page 185
Issue List Template......Page 186
Change Request Template......Page 189
Planning Software......Page 190
Tracking Software......Page 194
Project Sign-off Template......Page 195
Customer Feedback Questionnaire Template......Page 196
Lessons Learned Summary Template......Page 197
Project Documentation Template......Page 198
Books......Page 201
Blogs and Web Sites......Page 203
Associations and Qualifications......Page 205
Glossary......Page 207
Index......Page 213
