Improving your project management skills, second edition

221 Pages·2012·3.504 MB·English

by  Larry L Richman

Improving Your
Project
Management
Skills
Second Edition
This page intentionally left blank
Improving Your
Project
Management
Skills
Second Edition
LARRY RICHMAN
American Management Association
New York • Atlanta • Brussels • Chicago • Mexico City • San Francisco
Shanghai • Tokyo • Toronto • Washington, D.C.
Bulkdiscountsavailable.Fordetailsvisit:
www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsales
Orcontactspecialsales:
Phone:[phone]
E-mail:[email protected]
ViewalltheAMACOMtitlesat:www.amacombooks.org
Thispublicationisdesignedtoprovideaccurateandauthoritativeinformationinregardtothe
subjectmattercovered.Itissoldwiththeunderstandingthatthepublisherisnotengagedin
renderinglegal,accounting,orotherprofessionalservice.Iflegaladviceorotherexpertassistance
isrequired,theservicesofacompetentprofessionalpersonshouldbesought.
‘‘PMI’’andthePMIlogoareserviceandtrademarksoftheProjectManagementInstitute,Inc.,
whichareregisteredintheUnitedStatesofAmericaandothernations;‘‘PMP’’andthePMPlogo
arecertificationmarksoftheProjectManagementInstitute,Inc.,whichareregisteredinthe
UnitedStatesofAmericaandothernations;‘‘PMBOK,’’‘‘PMNetwork,’’and‘‘PMIToday’’are
trademarksoftheProjectManagementInstitute,Inc.,whichareregisteredintheUnitedStatesof
Americaandothernations;‘‘... buildingprofessionalisminprojectmanagement...’’isatrade
andservicemarkoftheProjectManagementInstitute,Inc.,whichisregisteredintheUnitedStates
ofAmericaandothernations;andtheProjectManagementJournallogoisatrademarkofthe
ProjectManagementInstitute,Inc.
PMIdidnotparticipateinthedevelopmentofthispublicationandhasnotreviewedthecontent
foraccuracy.PMIdoesnotendorseorotherwisesponsorthispublicationandmakesnowarranty,
guarantee,orrepresentation,expressedorimplied,astoitsaccuracyorcontent.PMIdoesnot
haveanyfinancialinterestinthispublication,andhasnotcontributedanyfinancialresources.
Thisbookisbasedontheseminar‘‘ImprovingYourProjectManagementSkills:TheBasicsfor
Success,’’revisedfortheAmericanManagementAssociationbyGaryChinandHelenGordon.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Richman,LarryL.(LarryLeon),1955–
Improvingyourprojectmanagementskills/LarryRichman.—2nded.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-1728-7(alk.paper)
ISBN-10:0-8144-1728-0(alk.paper)
1.Projectmanagement. I.Title.
HD69.P75R526 2011
658.4(cid:2)04—dc22
2011003247
(cid:2)2012LarryRichman.
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinwholeor
inpart,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or
otherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofAMACOM,adivisionofAmericanManagement
Association,1601Broadway,NewYork,NY10019.
AboutAMA
AmericanManagementAssociation(www.amanet.org)isaworldleaderintalentdevelopment,
advancingtheskillsofindividualstodrivebusinesssuccess.Ourmissionistosupportthegoals
ofindividualsandorganizationsthroughacompleterangeofproductsandservices,including
classroomandvirtualseminars,webcasts,webinars,podcasts,conferences,corporateand
governmentsolutions,businessbooksandresearch.AMA’sapproachtoimprovingperformance
combinesexperientiallearning—learningthroughdoing—withopportunitiesforongoing
professionalgrowthateverystepofone’scareerjourney.
Printingnumber
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
IntroductiontotheSecondEdition 1
PART 1: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FOUNDATIONS 3
Chapter 1. TheCoreConcepts 5
ProjectManagementVocabulary 6
WhyProjectManagement? 7
ClassicFunctionsofProjectManagement 9
ProcessesintheLifeofaProject 11
KnowledgeAreas 12
PART 2: INITIATING 15
Chapter 2. Defining andAuthorizing theProject 17
TheRoleofStakeholdersintheAuthorizationProcess 18
TheBusinessCaseforUndertakingtheProject 18
TheGoalBreakdownStructure 21
ProjectCharter 24
v
AmericanManagementAssociation • www.amanet.org
vi CONTENTS
PART 3: PLANNING 25
Chapter 3. Collecting Requirements andDefiningScope 27
TheFiveProcessesofProjectScopeManagement 28
CollectingRequirements 30
CreatingaScopeStatement 34
ExampleScopeDocument 43
Chapter 4. Creating aWorkBreakdown Structure 48
TheWorkBreakdownStructureIsanOutline 49
ConsiderationsinCreatingWorkBreakdownStructures 50
TheWorkBreakdownStructureIsaValidationTool 53
WorkBreakdownStructuresAreFlexible 55
TechniquesinCreatingWorkBreakdownStructures 59
VerifyingScope 60
ControllingScope 62
Chapter 5. Defining andSequencingActivities 63
DefiningActivities 63
SequencingActivitiesUsingNetworkDiagrams 64
IdentifyingDependenciesBetweenActivities 66
DefiningActivityRelationships 67
SampleNetworkDiagram 70
Chapter 6. Estimating Activities 72
UsingtheWorkBreakdownStructure 73
StepsinEstimatingActivities 74
EstimatingMethods 75
GuidelinesforEstimating 77
ConsideringRiskinEstimating:UsingThree-Point
Estimates 82
PrecisionofEstimates 85
Duration-Basedvs.Resource-BasedEstimates 86
BuildingContingencyinEstimates 86
ImprovingEstimatesoverTime 87
AmericanManagementAssociation • www.amanet.org
CONTENTS vii
Chapter 7. Scheduling Activities 89
SchedulingActivityDates 90
ProjectFloat 93
AcceleratingProjectSchedules 93
Chapter 8. IdentifyingResources andBudgets 97
IdentifyingResources 97
BalancingResources 103
CreatingaProjectBudget 105
Chapter 9. Compilingthe MajorComponentsofa
Project Plan 107
ProjectCharter 108
ProjectScopeStatement 108
SchedulePlan 109
ResourceUtilizationPlan 110
BudgetPlan 110
MilestonePlan 110
OrganizationPlan 113
RiskManagementPlan 114
CommunicationPlan 115
PART 4: EXECUTING, MONITORING, AND
CONTROLLING 117
Chapter 10. Executing Projects 119
ProjectKick-OffMeeting 120
ProjectControl 121
ProjectMeetings 121
ProjectControlProcess 121
MonitoringProjectWork 123
CollectingProjectInformation 124
ScheduleImportance 125
LaborHours 132
DataAnalysis 132
AmericanManagementAssociation • www.amanet.org
viii CONTENTS
ChangeControl 135
SourcesofChange 137
Chapter 11. Monitoringand ControllingProjects 139
EstablishingaProjectBaselineasaControlPoint 140
MeasuringPerformance:EarnedValueAnalysis 140
Chapter 12. Leading andDirecting ProjectTeams 146
LeadingOthers 146
DirectingOthers 154
ManagingOthers 155
ConductingMeetings 155
InterviewingOthers 159
Chapter 13. ManagingRisk 164
IdentifyingRisk 165
AssessingandPrioritizingRisk 167
RespondingtoRisk 170
ActingontheResponsePlan 172
PART 5: CLOSING 175
Chapter 14. Closing aProject 177
ProjectClosure:TheFinalProcess 177
EnsuringProjectRequirementsAreMet 179
HowProjectsCanEnd 180
AdministrativeClosure 183
ContractualClosure 184
InitiatingProjectClosure 185
LessonsLearned 186
FinanceandAdministrationRecords 188
PerformanceReporting 188
StaffRelease 189
AppendixA:LearningResources 191
AppendixB:Glossary 195
Index 208
AmericanManagementAssociation • www.amanet.org
Introduction to the
Second Edition
PROJECTMANAGEMENTKNOWLEDGEand skills can help you complete
projects on schedule, within budget, and in full accordance
withprojectspecifications.Atthesametime,theyhelpachieve
the other goals of the organization, such as productivity,
quality, and cost-effectiveness. By definition, every project is
unique—a specific set of tasks aligned to meet stated require-
ments. But a skilled project manager consistently applies uni-
versal processes and skills to bring consistency and results to
oneprojectafteranother.Learningprojectmanagementskills
can help you implement these proven strategies for clarifying
project objectives, avoiding serious errors of omission, and
eliminating costly mistakes.
This book guides you step-by-step through all the pro-
cesses in the life of a project, beginning with defining project
scope and requirements. It explains how to create a work
breakdown structure and diagram the activities into a logical
sequence using simple network diagrams. It then describes
1
AmericanManagementAssociation • www.amanet.org