Book Description

The secret to project success is to get the planning stage right. However the one thing that no-one will teach you is how to run a project planning workshop, until now. This step-by-step guide shows you exactly how to organise and run successful project kick-off workshops using the Index Card Planning method. Once you have learned how to plan with Index Cards you will have the skills you need to plan any project, large or small, with complete confidence. Updated book includes over 40 pages of new content including examples, pictures and case studies.You'll learn how to: * Engage project stakeholders and get their support * Boost team collaboration and eliminate silo working * Set realistic goals that don't change from month to month * Get the funding and resources you need to deliver your project * Turn the results of your workshop into effective schedules quickly and easily using Microsoft Project or other project management software tools. Whether you are new to project management, a PMI associate member or an experienced project management professional (PMP), you will love this new approach to project planning. Table of Contents: 1 - A Crisis Just Around The Corner - Why organisations struggle to attract and retain people with project leadership skills, and why project planning is the missing ingredient in project success. 2 - A Comparison Of Different Project Planning Approaches - A summary of different methods for planning projects, including advantages and disadvantages, and why Index Card Planning is a new take on planning that boosts leadership, engagement and collaboration. 3 - Why Index Card Planning Works - A description of the Index Card Planning method and why it outperforms other forms of planning. 4 - Planning Your Workshop - How to get started, getting your project Sponsor's support, Agreeing who should attend and who should not, and booking your venue and other facilities. 5 - What You Need for Your Index Card Planning Workshop - The five essential items you need for your first workshop (all of which you can buy for just a few dollars) 6 - Preparing For Your First Index Card Planning Workshop - What you need to do in the days before your workshop, and what to do on the day itself so that you get off to a perfect start. 7 - Running Your Index Card Planning Workshop - How to run your workshop from start to finish. This chapter breaks down the workshop into specific steps and shows you how to engage your attendees, how to create a shared vision for your project, and how to get your attendees to produce a detailed plan for achieving that vision. 8 - Following Up After Your Workshop - How to maintain the momentum from your workshop and why you should complete a debrief with your project sponsor.9 - How To Convert Your Index Card Plan Into Your Project Schedule - The exact steps you should take to create a project schedule based on the results of your workshop using Microsoft Project or other project management software tools. 10 - The Key Business Benefits of Facilitated Planning Workshops - The benefits of using a facilitator and what you can expect from a facilitated planning workshop 11 - Frequently Asked Questions about Index Card Planning - The questions that most people ask about the Index Card Planning Method from over five years of organising and running workshops for projects of all shapes and sizes and across many different industry sectors. Appendix A - Case Studies And Example Plans. This new section of the book contains case studies describing the results from real Index Card Planning workshops, including the work streams and key project milestones for a data and analytics project, a data migration project and an enterprise data warehouse project. This is a no-fluff, step-by-step guide to organising and running project kickoff workshops that you can use on your very next project. If you are ready to become a better project manager then this is the book for you.