Project Manager Development Paths


Book Description

This study has investigated the professional development of project managers through interviews, surveys, and personality inventories from a sample of practitioners.Results from the research reveal how learning experiences as well as personal characteristics comport with professional development.




The Data-Driven Project Manager


Book Description

Discover solutions to common obstacles faced by project managers. Written as a business novel, the book is highly interactive, allowing readers to participate and consider options at each stage of a project. The book is based on years of experience, both through the author's research projects as well as his teaching lectures at business schools. The book tells the story of Emily Reed and her colleagues who are in charge of the management of a new tennis stadium project. The CEO of the company, Jacob Mitchell, is planning to install a new data-driven project management methodology as a decision support tool for all upcoming projects. He challenges Emily and her team to start a journey in exploring project data to fight against unexpected project obstacles. Data-driven project management is known in the academic literature as “dynamic scheduling” or “integrated project management and control.” It is a project management methodology to plan, monitor, and control projects in progress in order to deliver them on time and within budget to the client. Its main focus is on the integration of three crucial aspects, as follows: Baseline Scheduling: Plan the project activities to create a project timetable with time and budget restrictions. Determine start and finish times of each project activity within the activity network and resource constraints. Know the expected timing of the work to be done as well as an expected impact on the project’s time and budget objectives. Schedule Risk Analysis: Analyze the risk of the baseline schedule and its impact on the project’s time and budget. Use Monte Carlo simulations to assess the risk of the baseline schedule and to forecast the impact of time and budget deviations on the project objectives. Project Control: Measure and analyze the project’s performance data and take actions to bring the project on track. Monitor deviations from the expected project progress and control performance in order to facilitate the decision-making process in case corrective actions are needed to bring projects back on track. Both traditional Earned Value Management (EVM) and the novel Earned Schedule (ES) methods are used. What You'll Learn Implement a data-driven project management methodology (also known as "dynamic scheduling") which allows project managers to plan, monitor, and control projects while delivering them on time and within budget Study different project management tools and techniques, such as PERT/CPM, schedule risk analysis (SRA), resource buffering, and earned value management (EVM) Understand the three aspects of dynamic scheduling: baseline scheduling, schedule risk analysis, and project control Who This Book Is For Project managers looking to learn data-driven project management (or "dynamic scheduling") via a novel, demonstrating real-time simulations of how project managers can solve common project obstacles




Managing Change in Organizations


Book Description

Managing Change in Organizations: A Practice Guide is unique in that it integrates two traditionally disparate world views on managing change: organizational development/human resources and portfolio/program/project management. By bringing these together, professionals from both worlds can use project management approaches to effectively create and manage change. This practice guide begins by providing the reader with a framework for creating organizational agility and judging change readiness.




Project Management in Product Development


Book Description

Project Management in Product Development: Leadership Skills and Management Techniques to Deliver Great Products is written for new and aspiring project managers in product development. Although texts on project management are common, the material presented here is unique, instead focusing on product development, a challenging segment of project management because of the high level of uncertainty, the need for a robust set of problem-solving techniques, and a demand for broad cross-functional teams. The book also focuses on more than just project management techniques, including a thorough treatment of transformational and transactional leadership. Other topics covered include problem-solving techniques, development, and continuous improvement of processes required in product development, risk recognition and management, and proper communication with mangers and other stakeholders. Finally, project management techniques used in product development are presented, including the critical path method, scrum and XP, and Kanban/lean project development, along with the strengths and weaknesses of each. - Provides ways to successfully manage product development projects by teaching traditional and advanced project management techniques like Gantt, CPM, Agile, Lean, and others - Covers transformational and transactional leadership, how to create a vision and engage the team, as well as tactics on how to manage a complex set of tasks - Uses a practical, common sense approach to the day-to-day activities of a project manager, including project planning, project process development, problem-solving, project portfolio management, reporting, and more - Presents a thorough comparison of popular project management tools - Includes many examples, cases, and side-bars that are included throughout the book




Agile Project Management


Book Description

Best practices for managing projects in agile environments—now updated with new techniques for larger projects Today, the pace of project management moves faster. Project management needs to become more flexible and far more responsive to customers. Using Agile Project Management (APM), project managers can achieve all these goals without compromising value, quality, or business discipline. In Agile Project Management, Second Edition, renowned agile pioneer Jim Highsmith thoroughly updates his classic guide to APM, extending and refining it to support even the largest projects and organizations. Writing for project leaders, managers, and executives at all levels, Highsmith integrates the best project management, product management, and software development practices into an overall framework designed to support unprecedented speed and mobility. The many topics added in this new edition include incorporating agile values, scaling agile projects, release planning, portfolio governance, and enhancing organizational agility. Project and business leaders will especially appreciate Highsmith’s new coverage of promoting agility through performance measurements based on value, quality, and constraints. This edition’s coverage includes: Understanding the agile revolution’s impact on product development Recognizing when agile methods will work in project management, and when they won’t Setting realistic business objectives for Agile Project Management Promoting agile values and principles across the organization Utilizing a proven Agile Enterprise Framework that encompasses governance, project and iteration management, and technical practices Optimizing all five stages of the agile project: Envision, Speculate, Explore, Adapt, and Close Organizational and product-related processes for scaling agile to the largest projects and teams Agile project governance solutions for executives and management The “Agile Triangle”: measuring performance in ways that encourage agility instead of discouraging it The changing role of the agile project leader




Project Management Best Practices


Book Description

PROJECT MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES Best practices from 50+ world-class organizations to improve project management, add business value, and increase benefit realization Featuring senior executives and project managers from more than 50 world-class companies offering their best practices for successful project management implementation, the newly revised Fifth Edition of Project Management Best Practices contains updates throughout to reflect the latest project management best practices that add value and efficiency to every level of an organization. The text offers guidance on a wide range of project management best practices, with new coverage of the impact of COVID-19, the growth of nontraditional projects, cultural and emotional intelligence, and much more. Project Management Best Practices features insights and best practices from world class organizations like Siemens, Deloitte, GEA, Heineken, Sony, Dubai Customs, Philips Medical, IBM, Boeing, Comau, and Hitachi. Case studies from many of these organizations are included in each chapter to practically illustrate various concepts. This Fifth Edition includes updated information from companies covered in the earlier books along with contributions from new companies. Project Management Best Practices includes information on: Project management best practices throughout modern history and how the best of intentions can quickly become migraines Responding to changing customer requirements, what to do when the wrong culture is in place, and handling the internal politics of any project Strategic planning for project management, roadblocks to excellence, and seven fallacies that delay project management maturity Recognizing the need for project management methodology development and where/how artificial intelligence (AI) slots into the project management field Following the same successful format as its predecessor in terms of content, the Fifth Edition of Project Management Best Practices is an essential resource for senior level and middle level corporate managers, project and team managers, engineers, project team members, business consultants, and students in related programs of study.




The Complete Project Manager


Book Description

The Complete Project Manager: Integrating People, Organizational, and Technical Skills is the practical guide that addresses the “soft” project management skills that are so essential to successful project, program, and portfolio management. Through a storytelling approach, the authors explain the necessary skills—and how to use them—to create an environment that supports project success. They demonstrate both the “why” and the “how” of creatively applying soft project management skills in the areas of leadership, conflict resolution, negotiations, change management, and more. This guide has an accompanying workbook, The Complete Project Manager's Toolkit , sold separately.




The Accidental Project Manager


Book Description

Why do so many software projects fail? The reality is that many of these projects are led by programmers or developers thrown into the role of project manager without the necessary skills or training to see a project through successfully. Patricia Ensworth has written a hands-on survival guide designed to rescue the "accidental project manager" and help them to quickly ramp up on all key areas involved in software project management. This book provides a no-nonsense, jargon-free approach to getting the job done. With the help of useful templates, checklists, and sample forms, as well as pointers to essential resources, Ensworth gives concise, easy-to-understand advice on everything needed to hit the ground running--including phases of project development, role assignment in the development team, the tools of the trade, and criteria for success.




Fundamentals of Project Management


Book Description

Updated concepts and tools to set up project plans, schedule work, monitor progress-and consistently achieve desired project results.In today's time-based and cost-conscious global business environment, tight project deadlines and stringent expectations are the norm. This classic book provides businesspeople with an excellent introduction to project management, supplying sound, basic information (along with updated tools and techniques) to understand and master the complexities and nuances of project management. Clear and down-to-earth, this step-by-step guide explains how to effectively spearhead every stage of a project-from developing the goals and objectives to managing the project team-and make project management work in any company. This updated second edition includes: * New material on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) * Do's and don'ts of implementing scheduling software* Coverage of the PMP certification offered by the Project Management Institute* Updated information on developing problem statements and mission statements* Techniques for implementing today's project management technologies in any organization-in any industry.




Project Management Best Practices: Achieving Global Excellence


Book Description

The comprehensive guide to project management implementation, updated with the latest in the field Project management has spread beyond the IT world to become a critical part of business in every sphere; built on efficiency, analysis, and codified practice, professional project management leads to the sort of reproducible results and reliable processes that make a business successful. Project Management Best Practices provides implementation guidance for every phase of a project, based on the real-world methodologies from leading companies around the globe. Updated to align with the industry’s latest best practices, this new Fourth Edition includes new discussion on Agile and Scrum, tradeoffs and constraints, Portfolio PMO tools, and much more. Get up-to-date information on the latest best practices that add value at every level of an organization Gain insight from more than 50 project managers at world-class organizations including Airbus, Heineken, RTA, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Cisco, Nokia, and more Delve deeper into implementation guidance for Agile, Scrum, and Six Sigma Explore more efficient methodologies, training, measurement, and metrics that boost organization-wide performance Adopt new approaches to culture and behavioral excellence, including conflict resolution, situational leadership, proactive management, staffing, and more Ideal for both college and corporate training, this book is accompanied by an Instructor’s Manual and PowerPoint lecture slides that bring project management concepts right into the classroom. As the field continues to grow and evolve, it becomes increasingly important to stay current with new and established practices; this book provides comprehensive guidance on every aspect of project management, with invaluable real-world insight from leaders in the field.