Your Project Management Coach

Bonnie Biafore is a PMI-certified project manager, as well as a trainer and award-winning author. She has written numerous books on project management, small business accounting, and other topics. Teresa Stover is a technical communications and project management consultant for software, manufacturing, and education. Both are prolific writers and conduct training on project management.

Introduction xxix Part I Understanding Projects and Project Management 1 Chapter 1 Getting to Know Projects 3 What Is a Project? 3 A Project Is a Unique Endeavor 5 A Project Has Clearly Defined Objectives and Deliverables 5 A Project Has a Beginning and an End 7 A Project Usually Has a Budget 8 How Do Projects Differ from Other Work? 9 Summary 10 Coach s Review 10 Test Your Knowledge 10 Project Challenge 10 Chapter 2 Getting to Know Project Management 11 What Is Project Management? 12 Project Management Processes: Start to Finish 13 Initiating a Project 14 Planning a Project 15 Executing a Project 17 Monitoring and Controlling a Project 18 Closing a Project 19 Balancing Scope, Time, Cost, and Quality 20 Project Management Methodologies 21 Traditional Waterfall Project Management 21 Iterative and Agile Project Management 22 Project Management Knowledge Areas 23 Scope Management 24 Time Management 25 Cost Management 25 Human Resource Management 25 Procurement Management 26 Communication Management 26 Quality Management 26 Risk Management 27 Integration Management 27 Who Makes a Good Project Manager? 28 Business Savvy 28 Technical Skills 28 Soft Skills 29 Varying Viewpoints 29 Delegating 30 Leadership and Interpersonal Skills 30 Flexibility 30 Doing the Right Things for the Project 30 Summary 30 Coach s Review 31 Test Your Knowledge 31 Project Challenge 31 Part II Planning a Project 33 Chapter 3 Getting a Project Off the Ground 35 From Idea to Project: An Overview of Project Initiation 36 Defi ning a Project 37 Discovering the Problem or Opportunity 40 Articulating the Project Goal and Objectives 44 Developing the Project Goal 44 Creating the Project Objectives 45 Deciding on the Project Strategy 46 Brainstorming Possibilities 46 Identifying Constraints 47 Choosing the Right Strategy 48 Gathering Requirements 49 Starting with Broad Requirements 49 Mining for Requirements 49 Differentiating and Prioritizing Requirements 50 What Constitutes Success? 51 Documenting Project Scope 52 Elements of the Scope Statement 53 Controlling Scope Creep 55 Specifying the Deliverables 57 Identifying Risks, Assumptions, and Constraints 58 Working with Risks 58 Working with Assumptions 59 Working with Constraints 59 Identifying the Project Stakeholders 60 Preparing the Project Proposal 62 Getting Approval or Sign-Off 65 Publicizing the Project Charter 66 Preparing a Project Charter 67 Distributing the Project Charter 68 Assembling the Project Notebook 68 Using the Project Notebook for Approved Projects 69 Using the Project Notebook for Tabled or Denied Projects 69 Choosing the Form of the Project Notebook 69 Summary 71 Coach s Review 71 Test Your Knowledge 71 Project Challenge 72 Chapter 4 Getting to Know a Project Plan 73 What Work Has to Be Done? 74 Identifying Work 74 Organizing Work into Major Categories 74 How Much Will the Project Cost? 75 Obtaining Early Cost Estimates 75 Building a Budget 75 Who Will Do the Work? 76 An Introduction to Project Resources 76 Identifying Resources 77 When Will the Project Be Done? 77 What You Need to Build a Schedule 78 Brick Wall Deadlines Versus Soft Date Targets 80 How Will the Project Be Managed? 80 The Project Manager and Managing Stakeholders 81 Setting Ground Rules 81 Defining Management Processes 81 Remembrance of Projects Past 82 Summary 83 Coach s Review 83 Test Your Knowledge 83 Project Challenge 84 Chapter 5 Identifying the Work to Be Completed 85 Understanding the Work Breakdown Structure 86 What Is a Work Breakdown Structure? 86 Why Is the WBS Essential? 87 Identifying Work 88 Who Helps Identify Work? 88 Jump-Starting with Other Sources 88 Planning as a Group 89 Identifying Work from the Top Down 90 Identifying Work from the Bottom Up 92 How Much Is Enough? 93 Validating the WBS 95 Organizing Work in the WBS 96 Calling Out Deliverables 97 Formatting Your WBS 97 Naming Your WBS 99 Numbering Your WBS 99 Specifying Task Details 101 Summary 102 Coach s Review 102 Test Your Knowledge 102 Project Challenge 103 Chapter 6 Estimating Work and Cost 105 Who Should Estimate a Project? 106 Using a Core Planning Team 106 Obtaining Estimates from Team Members 107 Managing the Uncertainty of Estimates 107 When to Use Different Levels of Estimates 108 Preventing Problems from Padded Estimates 109 Preparing Estimates 110 The Difference between Duration and Effort 110 Estimating Methods 111 Reusing Existing Information 112 Engaging Experts 112 Using a Parametric Model or Estimating Tool 112 Applying the Delphi Technique 113 Using Optimistic, Pessimistic, and Most Likely Estimates 114 Estimating from the Top Down 115 Estimating from the Bottom Up 115 Estimating Project Costs 115 What Goes into Labor Costs? 116 Material, Equipment, and Facility Costs 116 Estimating Other Costs 117 Building a Budget 117 Summary 118 Coach s Review 118 Test Your Knowledge 118 Project Challenge 118 Chapter 7 Planning Project Resources 121 Documenting Roles and Responsibilities 122 Who s Involved with What 123 Levels of Involvement 124 Identifying Resource Needs 125 Types of Resources 125 Breaking Down Resource Needs 126 Building a Project Organization Chart 127 Preparing a Resource Plan 127 Summary 128 Coach s Review 128 Test Your Knowledge 129 Project Challenge 129 Chapter 8 Building a Schedule 131 Tools for Building a Schedule 132 Sequencing with Dependencies 135 Setting Up Predecessors and Successors 135 Understanding the Dependency Types 136 Starting to Schedule 137 Understanding the Critical Path 138 Scheduling with Lead and Lag Time 139 Applying Date Constraints 140 Keeping Date Constraints Flexible 141 Scheduling Specific Dates 142 Marking Deadlines 142 Indicating Milestones 142 Assigning Resources to Tasks 143 Adding Generic Resources 143 Adding Specifi c Resources 144 Assigning Multiple Resources to One Task 144 Modeling a Realistic Schedule 145 Scheduling around Nonworking Time 146 Defi ning Non-Project Time 146 Adjusting Tasks for Resource Productivity 147 Managing Part-Timers and Multitaskers 147 Scheduling with the Critical Chain Method 148 Working Back from the Finish Date 148 Balancing Constrained Resources 149 Adding Buffers 149 Optimizing the Schedule 149 Shortening the Schedule 150 Reducing Project Costs 151 Balancing Resource Assignments 152 Summary 153 Coach s Review 154 Test Your Knowledge 154 Project Challenge 154 Chapter 9 Planning for Quality 155 Defining Quality 156 Quality and the Requirements Document 157 Constraints on Quality 158 Quality Standards and Methods 158 Developing the Quality Plan 159 Elements of the Quality Management Plan 160 Understanding the Cost of Quality 161 Integrating the Quality Management Plan 161 Taking Responsibility for Quality 161 Building in Excellence with QA 162 Evaluating Quality Results 162 Implementing Corrective Actions 163 Verifying the Standards with QC 164 Measuring and Recording Quality 165 Finding Causes of Quality Problems 166 Summary 166 Coach s Review 167 Test Your Knowledge 167 Project Challenge 167 Chapter 10 Setting Up a Communication Plan 169 Guidelines for Good Communication 170 What Is Communication? 170 How to Get Your Message Across 172 The Importance of Listening 174 The Components of a Communication Plan 175 Who Are the Audiences? 176 The Project Sponsor 177 Management Stakeholders 177 Team Members 177 External Audiences 177 What Do You Communicate? 178 What Information Do Audiences Need? 178 Information for Management Stakeholders 178 Functional Managers 180 Team Members 180 Status Reporting 180 Status from and to Team Members 181 Status for Management 183 What s the Best Communication Method? 184 In-Person Meetings 184 Videoconferencing and Conference Calls 184 Email 185 Telephone 187 Written Documentation 187 Who s Responsible? 187 Frequency and Timing 188 Summary 188 Coach s Review 189 Test Your Knowledge 189 Project Challenge 189 Chapter 11 Setting Up a Change Management Plan 191 When to Manage Changes 192 When You Don t Manage Changes 192 When You Do Manage Changes 193 Who Sits on a Change Review Board 193 The Anatomy of a Change Management Process 194 Defi ning the Baseline Documents 195 Documenting a Change Request 195 Using a Change Request Form 195 Tracking a Change Request 197 Evaluating a Change Request 198 Making Decisions about Change Requests 199 Updating the Baseline Documents 200 Monitoring Change Requests 201 Summary 201 Coach s Review 201 Test Your Knowledge 201 Project Challenge 202 Chapter 12 Managing Risk 203 Identifying Risks to a Project 204 Analyzing the Risks 208 Rating Risks as Low, Medium, or High 208 Rating Risks Numerically 209 Recording the Risk Ratings and Scores 210 Choosing the Risks to Manage 210 Planning Risk Responses 211 Planning Responses to Negative Risks 212 Planning Responses to Positive Risks 214 Compiling the Risk Management Plan 215 Establishing Contingencies 216 Building in a Schedule Buffer 217 Setting Up Contingency Funds 218 Tracking Risks 218 When a Risk Becomes Reality 220 Tracking Issues 221 Summary 222 Coach s Review 222 Test Your Knowledge 222 Project Challenge 223 Part III Executing a Project 225 Chapter 13 Kicking Off a Project 227 Preparing to Execute the Project 228 Obtaining Approval 228 Saving Project Baselines 229 Updating the Project Notebook 230 Obtaining Resources 231 Obtaining In-House Resources 231 Procuring Resources from Vendors 232 Soliciting Vendors 232 Selecting Vendors 233 Contracting 233 Next Steps 234 Holding a Kickoff Meeting 235 Implementing Your Plans 235 Summary 236 Coach s Review 236 Test Your Knowledge 236 Project Challenge 237 Chapter 14 Taming Processes, Problems, and Confl icts 239 Defi ning Project Processes 240 What Makes a Good Process? 240 Making Processes a Success 241 Defeating Poor Processes 243 Guidelines for Effectiveness 244 Making Decisions and Solving Problems 244 Focus on What s Important 244 Define the Problem 246 Prioritize 246 Consider Your Options 246 Ask for Help 247 Making Things Happen 247 How to Resolve Confl icts 248 Summary 250 Coach s Review 250 Test Your Knowledge 250 Project Challenge 250 Chapter 15 The Keys to Successful Meetings 251 Running Effective Meetings 252 Planning a Meeting 252 Setting the Agenda 253 Inviting Participants 254 Preparing for the Meeting 255 Starting on Time 256 Setting Expectations 256 Facilitating the Meeting 257 Ending on Time 258 Types of Project Meetings 258 Kickoff Meetings 258 Project Status Meetings 259 Management Meetings 260 Brainstorming Meetings 261 Planning Meetings 262 Following Up after Meetings 263 Documenting Decisions and Action Items 264 Adjusting the Project Plan 264 Summary 264 Coach s Review 265 Test Your Knowledge 265 Project Challenge 265 Chapter 16 Transforming People into a Team 267 Developing a Team 267 Turning Individuals into a Team 268 Building Relationships with Your People 269 Increasing Your Influence 272 Evaluating People s Performance 273 Finding Out What s Going On 273 Working with Line Managers 274 Handling People Problems 275 Summary 275 Coach s Review 276 Test Your Knowledge 276 Project Challenge 276 Part IV Monitoring and Controlling 277 Chapter 17 Gathering Progress Information 279 Choosing the Data to Collect 280 Schedule and Cost Data 280 Quality Data 282 Issues and Risks 282 Determining the Level of Detail 283 Obtaining Time and Status 283 Choosing the Frequency 283 Sources of Data 284 Summary 286 Coach s Review 287 Test Your Knowledge 287 Project Challenge 287 Chapter 18 Evaluating Progress and Performance 289 Evaluating Progress and Variance 290 Reviewing Milestones 290 Evaluating Variances 291 Earned Value Analysis 293 Understanding Earned Value Measures 293 Planned Value 293 Earned Value 294 Actual Cost 294 Analyzing Performance with Earned Value 295 Evaluating Earned Value Measures in a Graph 295 Using Additional Earned Value Indicators 296 Evaluating Financials 297 Determining the Payback Period 297 Identifying the Net Present Value 298 Calculating the Internal Rate of Return 300 Summary 300 Coach s Review 301 Test Your Knowledge 301 Project Challenge 301 Chapter 19 Getting a Plan Back on Track 303 Ways to Correct Course 304 Fast-Tracking a Project Schedule 304 Which Tasks Should You Fast-Track? 304 Fast-Tracking Options 305 Crashing a Schedule 305 Which Tasks Should You Crash? 306 Other Crashing Considerations 307 Using Different Resources 308 Asking People to Work Overtime 308 Reducing Scope 309 Who Approves Course Corrections 310 Getting a Project Out of Trouble 311 Recognizing the Problem 311 Evaluating the Situation 312 Preparing a Recovery Plan 312 Monitoring the Recovery 313 Summary 313 Coach s Review 314 Test Your Knowledge 314 Project Challenge 314 Part V Closing the Project 315 Chapter 20 Obtaining Acceptance and Other Wrap-Up Tasks 317 Determining Whether the Project Is a Success 318 Developing Acceptance Tests 318 Running Acceptance Tests 319 Obtaining Sign-Off 320 Documenting the Project: The Project Closeout Report 320 Summarizing the Project 321 Quantifying Results 321 Financial, Legal, and Administrative Closeout 323 Project Transitions 324 Handing Off Information 324 Transitioning Resources 325 Summary 325 Coach s Review 326 Test Your Knowledge 326 Project Challenge 326 Chapter 21 Documenting a Project for Posterity 327 Gathering Information 328 Organizing the Project Archives 330 Beware of Too Much Information 331 Categorize Wisely 331 Do It Today 331 Offer a Roadmap 332 Storing the Project Archives 333 Summary 334 Coach s Review 334 Test Your Knowledge 334 Project Challenge 335 Chapter 22 Don t Forget Lessons Learned 337 How Lessons Learned Help 338 Gathering Lessons Learned 340 Collecting Feedback 341 Preparing for Lessons Learned Meetings 342 Conducting Lessons Learned Meetings 344 Minimizing the Fear of Lessons Learned 346 Documenting Lessons Learned 348 Deciding on the Information to Include 349 Presenting Lessons Learned 350 Disseminating Lessons Learned 352 Using Past Lessons Learned 352 Summary 353 Coach s Review 353 Test Your Knowledge 353 Project Challenge 354 Part VI Taking the Next Steps in Project Management 355 Chapter 23 Running a Project Management Office 357 Defining PMO Functions 357 Facilitating Standards and Best Practices 358 Ensuring Compliance Requirements 360 Supporting Project Methodologies 360 Providing Project Management Tools 360 Managing Resources and Communication 361 Mentoring and Training Project Managers 362 Setting Up a PMO 362 When Do You Need a PMO? 363 Understanding PMO Types 364 Specifying PMO Objectives and Services 365 Summary 366 Coach s Review 367 Test Your Knowledge 367 Project Challenge 367 Chapter 24 Managing a Portfolio of Projects 369 What Is Project Portfolio Management? 370 Evaluating and Prioritizing Projects for the Portfolio 372 Tracking and Managing the Project Portfolio 374 Tracking Portfolio Projects 375 Conducting Checkpoint Evaluations 375 Reporting on Portfolio Projects 377 Managing Portfolio Details 377 Summary 378 Coach s Review 378 Test Your Knowledge 378 Project Challenge 378 Chapter 25 Selecting the Right Projects 379 Capturing Ideas for Projects 380 Mining the Organization s Strategic Goals 380 Documenting a Project Idea 382 Tracking Project Ideas 384 Selecting Projects 385 Developing a Selection Process 385 Criteria for Selecting Projects 386 What Benefits? 387 What Cost? 387 Can It Be Done? 388 Scoring and Prioritizing Project Ideas 389 Exceptions to Selection Criteria 390 Succeeding with a Project Review Board 391 Summary 392 Coach s Review 392 Test Your Knowledge 393 Project Challenge 393 Part VII Reference 395 Appendix A Answers 397 Appendix B Forms 423 Glossary 439 Index 451