Accidental Agile Project Manager

When a manager is pressed to find a project manager for an important client, he looks to Rhett Sero, our to-be hero. He introduces Rhett to Heda Heldenmacher, a noted project management consultant. Heda introduces Rhett to the PROJECT methodology and spends seven days with him to prepare. Designed to increase success, this book is for accidental and new project managers, beginning project management learners, and those exploring project management careers or looking for a refresher. Told in the form of a business fable, concepts are put in everyday terms and stories make it more memorable. Everything you need to get started in an easy-to-read book. Each chapter includes a project management tip, reading selections from the PMBOK(R) Guide, and additional learning resources. A set of more than a dozen ready-to-use templates is available online. This is the story of the invaluable lessons Rhett learns transforming from Sero to Hero!

Why do so many software projects fail? The reality is that many of these projects are led by programmers or developers thrown into the role of project manager without the necessary skills or training to see a project through successfully. Patricia Ensworth has written a hands-on survival guide designed to rescue the "accidental project manager" and help them to quickly ramp up on all key areas involved in software project management. This book provides a no-nonsense, jargon-free approach to getting the job done. With the help of useful templates, checklists, and sample forms, as well as pointers to essential resources, Ensworth gives concise, easy-to-understand advice on everything needed to hit the ground running--including phases of project development, role assignment in the development team, the tools of the trade, and criteria for success.

Imagine having access to the top project managers from organizations and industries around the world. Imagine uncovering what they do, how they approach their challenges, and what they know. Alpha Project Managers: what the top 20% know that everyone else does not gets you inside the minds of these top managers and shares their practices, their attitudes, and their secrets.

Project management—it’s not just about following a template or using a tool, but rather developing personal skills and intuition to find a method that works for everyone. Whether you’re a designer or a manager, Project Management for Humans will help you estimate and plan tasks, scout and address issues before they become problems, and communicate with and hold people accountable.

Are you under pressure to deliver? Is your life made tough by shortened schedules, tight budgets, skills gap, incomplete scope, and demanding stakeholders? Do you need help in the form of proven practical tips and techniques to help you confidently deliver project success? This book will certainly help you. What’s inside? • Superb set of 52 proven project success keys • Unbeatable breadth of insights: 108 experts, 2000+ projects, 119 countries • Comprehensive solutions to the top 20 global project failure factors • Coverage of waterfall, hybrid and agile methodologies in 54 industries • Extensive discussions on soft skills, leadership and communication • Situation, impact, and resolution presentation technique • Storytelling approach for easy understanding Read on to get your project off to a flying start and deliver in style!

Offers a collection of essays on philosophies and strategies for defining, leading, and managing projects. This book explains to technical and non-technical readers alike what it takes to get through a large software or web development project. It does not cite specific methods, but focuses on philosophy and strategy.

This book is about the how of project management and about how you as a project manager can use a proactive attitude to stay in control, even during difficult situations. It shows you how to become an influencer of the path to the end result, of your environment, of your team and of your effectiveness. Today’s project managers have to meet high expectations. Challenging goals, a strong focus on cost management and lead times, serving the interests of different stakeholders and many dependencies between subprojects make project management an increasingly complex affair – especially in an environment where change and uncertainty have become the new norm. In addition, the creative abilities of knowledge workers have to be optimally utilised, which requires less hierarchical organisational structures and more multidisciplinary collaboration. Having the right project management skills is therefore essential at virtually every level of an organisation. As a result of these challenges, there is a growing demand for comprehensive methods and the popularity of Agile is on the rise. On the other hand, the increased complexity also results in a need for simplicity. That is what this book is about: going back to the basics, being able to combine useful elements from different methods and focusing on the most important aspect of all: the person behind the project manager! This book contains a wealth of practical descriptions with useful examples and anecdotes. Readers are constantly stimulated to internalise the essence and put it into practice in a manner that suits their own style and personality. That is the only way to keep at it, be successful and make others believe in you! The book consists of three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1 to 4) describes how to set up and manage a project. The focus is on the basic principles, the essence of taking control, creating structure and using Agile behavior. Part 2 (chapters 5 and 6) explains how to draw up a plan and schedule in small steps, which results in improved completeness, coordination and support. Finally, part 3 (chapters 7 to 10) covers how to manage the project execution: how to realize the path to the final goal with a strict PDCA rhythm, how to evaluate the quality of interim results and how to keep your team and environment motivated.