Practical Project Management for Engineers

253 Pages·2019·7.54 MB·English

by  Nehal Patel

Practical Project Management
for Engineers
For a listing of recent titles in the
Artech House Effective Project Management Library,
turn to the back of this book.
Practical Project Management
for Engineers
Nehal Patel
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
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ISBN-13: 978-1-63081-585-1
Cover design by John Gomes
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my beautiful ‘Yogi Nivas’ and ‘Roulo’ Family!!
To my parents, Pravinbhai and Kalaben Patel, my husband Eric,
and super duper energetic children Dhilan and Pari Patel-Roulo.
James and Faye Roulo, Mahendrabhai and Hemuben Patel,
Kamleshbhai and Pinkyben Patel, Jayantibhai and Apuben Patel

Contents
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
References xxi
CHAPTER 1
Communications Management 1
Know the Audience 2
Effective Communication Media 3
Email Use 5
Email Distribution 6
Phones and Voice Mail 9
Effective Meetings 10
Meeting Preparation 10
No Meeting Wednesday 10
Use WebEx 10
Direct, Informal Communication 11
Allow Back Channels 11
Heads Up 12
Be Accessible 12
The Importance of Templates 12
Trip Reports 12
Weekly Status: Four Corner Charts (Quad Chart) 12
80-20 Report 14
Template Evolution 14
Conclusion 15
References 15
CHAPTER 2
Scope Management 17
Plan Project Management 18
Plan Scope Management 21
Collect Project Requirements 24
vii
viii Contents
Document Project Scope 26
Create WBS 27
Validate Scope 29
Control Scope 29
Summary 31
References 32
CHAPTER 3
Schedule Management 33
Define Activities 37
Work Breakdown Structure 37
Work Package Planning 38
Indirect Efforts 39
Phase Gate Reviews 40
Level of Detail 41
Rolling Wave Plan 42
Invoicing Strategy 43
Sequence Activities 43
Activity Dependencies 43
Network Diagrams 44
Estimate Activity Duration 45
Duration and Elapsed Time 47
Start and Finish Dates 47
Activity Duration Rollup 48
Resource Loading 49
Duration Estimating Techniques 49
Reserve Analysis 52
Estimate Activity Resources 52
Resource Requirements 53
Develop Schedule: Analyze and Baseline 53
Schedule Analysis 53
Schedule Baselines 55
Use the Schedule 56
Tracking Progress 56
Assessing Performance 57
Analyzing Performance 57
Critical Path Analysis 58
Corrective Actions 59
Summary 61
References 61
CHAPTER 4
Requirements Management 63
Identify User Needs 66
Collect Requirements 68
Contents ix
Elaborate Requirements 71
Express Requirements 74
Analyze Requirements 76
Requirements Verification and Validation 82
Summary 84
References 84
CHAPTER 5
Risk Management 85
Plan Risk Management 88
Identify Risks 91
Risk Identification Categories 95
Risk Identification Statement 97
Analyze Risks 98
Handle Risks 102
Monitor Risks 104
Opportunity Management 105
Summary 106
References 107
CHAPTER 6
Project Resource Management 109
Organizational Environment 109
Plan Resource Management 114
Acquire Project Resources 117
Develop Project Team 120
Manage the Project Team 123
Summary 125
References 125
CHAPTER 7
Vendor Management 127
Vendor Selection 130
Vendor Product/Service Acceptance 140
Monitor Vendor Performance 144
Summary 147
References 148
CHAPTER 8
Cost Management 149
Organize the Project 153
Develop Project Schedule and Budget 156
Define Measurement Methods and Baseline the Project 160
Analyze Project Performance 163