Critical Chain

Improving project management through the synthesis of three areas of knowledge, this book provides an understanding of the project system via the perspectives gained through the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK(TM) Guide)--2000 Edition, total quality management (TQM), and the theory of constraints (TOC). By allowing you to plan and manage projects with successful results in half the time you're used to, this book teaches a project planning and control method that's been proven to succeed. Providing not just theory, but also tools and techniques needed to implement critical chain project management, you'll learn how to develop both a single project critical chain plan and an enterprise multi-project critical chain plan, to apply measurements and controls, and to implement change and risk management to the critical chain.

This fast-paced business novel does for project management what The Goal and It's Not Luck have done for production and marketing. Goldratts novels have traditionally slain sacred cows and delivered new ways of looking at processes which seem like common sense once you read them. Critical Chain is no exception. In perhaps Elis most readable book yet, two of the established principles of project management, the engineering estimate and project milestones, are found wanting and dismissed, and other established principles are up for scrutiny - as Goldratt once more applies his Theory of Constraints. The approach is radical, yet clear, understandable and logical. New techniques are introduced, and Project Buffers, Feeding Buffers, Limit Multitasking, Improved Communications and Correct Measurements make them work. Goldratt even handles the complicated statistics of dispersed variability versus accumulated variability so deftly you wont even be aware of learning about them - theyll just seem like more common sense! Critical Chain is critical reading for anyone who deals with projects. If you use block diagrams, drawings or charts to keep track of your activities, you are managing a project - and this book is for you.

Critical Chain Project Management has been widely practiced as a breakthrough improvement for project planning and execution since the publication of Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt's seminal book "Critical Chain" in 1997. Although several excellent books have been published in the interim dealing with Critical Chain theory, practical instruction in "how to" implement Critical Chain with the highest probability of success and sustainability has been conspicuously lacking. The opportunity to bridge this knowledge gap has now been provided by the advent of Goldratt's Strategy and Tactics trees. The Critical Chain Implementation Handbook is the definitive guide for implementing CCPM the way Eli Goldratt intended - the S&T way. The Projects S&T tree and the concepts in this book have been developed, tested and proven in the field, much of which with Dr. Goldratt's direct involvement. The S&T logic brings us not only the "what" of Critical Chain implementation success, but also the "how" and the "why." Now at last, every kind of organization can learn how to create a robust, mistake-free, and long lasting Critical Chain projects organization.

Mike Knight, an executive in a semiconductor firm, learns that his eight-year-old son Tim has a rare form of brain cancer. Tim's best hope for long-term survival is a drug called Supragrel. Unfortunately, Supragrel is still in early clinical trials and may reach the market too late. Mike makes the agonizing decision to quit his job and go to work for Altus Labs, the developer of Supragrel, in hopes of helping them bring the drug to market more quickly. Mike is in for the challenge of his life as he struggles to keep his family together while racing against time to implement world-class project management in Altus Labs. Critical Chain Project Management is a superior project management process that has been quietly implemented in some of the world's best-known companies for over a decade. This book tells you the story of a Critical Chain Project Management implementation. The venue is a major pharmaceutical company, but it could happen anywhere in corporate America.

Everyone who has managed a project (or been involved in one) knows how difficult it is to finish on time. If you've managed many projects, your frustration is even greater; you not only have to finish on time, but in less time. Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) has been hailed as the biggest innovation in project management in 40 years. Projects in Less Time; A Synopsis of Critical Chain by Mark J. Woeppel explains the main ideas behind this breakthrough concept. Woeppel builds on a short, easy to understand synopsis of Eliyahu M. Goldratt's pioneering book, Critical Chain, by deftly augmenting it with commentary, case studies and implementation advice. Readers not only gain a meaningful appreciation for the ideas behind CCPM, they clearly see significant implications for real projects.

New technologies are revolutionising the way manufacturing and supply chain management are implemented. These changes are delivering manufacturing firms the competitive advantage of a highly flexible and responsive supply chain and manufacturing system to ensure that they meet the high expectations of their customers, who, in today's economy, demand absolutely the best service, price, delivery time and product quality. To make e-manufacturing and supply chain technologies effective, integration is needed between various, often disparate systems. To understand why this is such an issue, one needs to understand what the different systems or system components do, their objectives, their specific focus areas and how they interact with other systems. It is also required to understand how these systems evolved to their current state, as the concepts used during the early development of systems and technology tend to remain in place throughout the life-cycle of the systems/technology. This book explores various standards, concepts and techniques used over the years to model systems and hierarchies in order to understand where they fit into the organization and supply chain. It looks at the specific system components and the ways in which they can be designed and graphically depicted for easy understanding by both information technology (IT) and non-IT personnel. Without a good implementation philosophy, very few systems add any real benefit to an organization, and for this reason the ways in which systems are implemented and installation projects managed are also explored and recommendations are made as to possible methods that have proven successful in the past. The human factor and how that impacts on system success are also addressed, as is the motivation for system investment and subsequent benefit measurement processes. Finally, the vendor/user supply/demand within the e-manufacturing domain is explored and a method is put forward that enables the reduction of vendor bias during the vendor selection process. The objective of this book is to provide the reader with a good understanding regarding the four critical factors (business/physical processes, systems supporting the processes, company personnel and company/personal performance measures) that influence the success of any e-manufacturing implementation, and the synchronization required between these factors. · Discover how to implement the flexible and responsive supply chain and manufacturing execution systems required for competitive and customer-focused manufacturing · Build a working knowledge of the latest plant automation, manufacturing execution systems (MES) and supply chain management (SCM) design techniques · Gain a fuller understanding of the four critical factors (business and physical processes, systems supporting the processes, company personnel, performance measurement) that influence the success of any e-manufacturing implementation, and how to evaluate and optimize all four factors

This cutting edge, "how to" manual details proven methods for turning around chronically late, overbudget, and underperforming projects. Project Management in the Fast Lane explains how Theory of Constraints tools can be applied to achieve effective, breakthrough solutions in virtually any environment. It includes a complete discussion of the Criti

The landmark project management reference, now in a new edition Now in a Tenth Edition, this industry-leading project management "bible" aligns its streamlined approach to the latest release of the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMI®'s PMBOK® Guide), the new mandatory source of training for the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certificat-ion Exam. This outstanding edition gives students and professionals a profound understanding of project management with insights from one of the best-known and respected authorities on the subject. From the intricate framework of organizational behavior and structure that can determine project success to the planning, scheduling, and controlling processes vital to effective project management, the new edition thoroughly covers every key component of the subject. This Tenth Edition features: New sections on scope changes, exiting a project, collective belief, and managing virtual teams More than twenty-five case studies, including a new case on the Iridium Project covering all aspects of project management 400 discussion questions More than 125 multiple-choice questions (PMI, PMBOK, PMP, and Project Management Professional are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)