Project Management for Dummies, 4th Edition

Stanley E. Portny is a project management consultant and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP(R)). He has provided training and consultation to more than 150 public and private organizations, and he has developed and conducted training programs for more than 50,000 management and staff personnel.

Introduction 1 Part I: Getting Started with Project Management 7 Chapter 1: Project Management: The Key to Achieving Results 9 Chapter 2: Knowing Your Project s Audience: Involving the Right People 29 Chapter 3: Clarifying What You re Trying to Accomplish And Why 51 Chapter 4: Developing Your Game Plan: Getting from Here to There 77 Part II: Planning Time: Determining When and How Much 105 Chapter 5: You Want This Project Done When? 107 Chapter 6: Establishing Whom You Need, How Much, and When 143 Chapter 7: Planning for Other Resources and Developing the Budget 165 Chapter 8: Venturing into the Unknown: Dealing with Risk 177 Part III: Group Work: Putting Your Team Together 197 Chapter 9: Aligning the Key Players for Your Project 199 Chapter 10: Defi ning Team Members Roles and Responsibilities 213 Chapter 11: Starting Your Project Team Off on the Right Foot 235 Part IV: Steering the Ship: Managing Your Project to Success 255 Chapter 12: Tracking Progress and Maintaining Control 257 Chapter 13: Keeping Everyone Informed 281 Chapter 14: Encouraging Peak Performance by Providing Effective Leadership 301 Chapter 15: Bringing Your Project to Closure 315 Part V: Taking Your Project Management to the Next Level 327 Chapter 16: Using Technology to Enhance Project Planning and Management 329 Chapter 17: Monitoring Project Performance with Earned Value Management 343 Part VI: The Part of Tens 359 Chapter 18: Ten Questions to Ask Yourself as You Plan Your Project 361 Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Being a Better Project Manager 365 Appendix: Combining the Techniques into Smooth-Flowing Processes 369 Index 373