Executive S Guide To Project Management

How-to guidance for defining and implementing a complex project performance environment Sharing his forty-five years of project management experience, best-selling author and industry guru Robert Wysocki presents a straightforward, enlightening, and pragmatic guide to help senior managers make the transition to an organization that profits and thrives on complexity. The first book to discuss practical project management mitigation strategies, Executive's Guide to Project Management presents easy-to-implement infrastructures and processes that will ensure the continued success of your organization and maximize your investment of every project. Collects in one resource all the relevant information for understanding and creating an environment for improved complex project performance A must-read for every member of your senior management team Shows you how to regain responsibility, take action, and skillfully handle complexity to mitigate risk and increase return on project investments It's time for your senior management team to take back control of your investments in projects and programs. Executive's Guide to Project Management shows you how to cultivate your part of the organization so that it can respond to a changing project environment with the infrastructure to support the project and program investment decisions.

There are plenty of books about project management, but this is the first one written for the people who have the most at stake: the senior executives who will ultimately be held accountable for the successes of the projects they approve and supervise. Top enterprise project management expert Michael Bender explains project management from the perspective that matters most to executives: adding value. Most books view project management from the inside, focusing primarily on lower-level issues, such as the creation of Work Breakdown Structures. A Manager's Guide to Project Management views it from above, explaining how project managers can best achieve the strategic goals of the business; the executive's role in successful project management; and the tools available to executives who want to gain greater value from project management. Drawing on his extensive experience, Bender shows how to: make sure project and enterprise goals align; structure organizations to support more effective project communication and decision making; integrate project processes with other organizational processes; oversee projects more effectively. This book contains a full section on understanding and managing projects as capital investments, including detailed coverage of building balanced project portfolios. Bender concludes with a sophisticated discussion of managing projects in global environments and optimizing resources where multiple projects must be managed.

The book focuses on the benefits of project management to the organisation. The ultimate goal is to provide senior executives a view as what project management can deliver to the organizational strategies. The various sections focus on specific aspects within the project management discipline and how each aspect should be managed from a business perspective and not necessarily from a project management perspective. The book covers the entire spectrum of project management from a management and leadership perspective. The focus is not necessarily on what needs to be done from a project management perspective, but what senior executives can so to make the facilitation of projects easier.

As project management has evolved and matured, so has the executive's role in project management. To ensure the success of individual projects and the organization as a whole, today's executives are increasingly involved in activities such as capacity planning, portfolio management, prioritization, and strategic planning specifically for project management. In fact, more and more executives are becoming certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs). What Executives Need to Know About Project Management offers executives a guide to project management, focusing on what they need to know and what they need to do. It provides step-by-step guidance to help executives get effective, well-resourced project management teams in place and ensure the success of any individual project. The book begins with basic principles, including a detailed discussion of the three best practices that enable executives to ensure effective project management: Developing an environment where project management is viewed as a profession Securing key personnel for project management positions Creating opportunities for rewards and advancement through successful project management Next, the book explores how executives serve as executive sponsors in project management teams, setting forth solutions to the many problems and challenges they face in this role, including managing disagreements, delegating authority, and accelerating projects. The authors explain how the role of the executive sponsor changes depending upon the life-cycle phase of the project. For example, during the project initiation and planning phases, the sponsor may take on a very active role, ensuring that proper objectives are established and that the project plan satisfies the needs of the business as well as the needs of the client. During the execution phase, the sponsor may take on a less active role; however, the book shows how executive sponsors need to become involved when roadblocks appear, crises occur, and conflicts arise over priorities among projects. Throughout the book, helpful illustrations clarify complex concepts and processes.

A project manager's guide to solving complex project issues and making strategic decisions An everyday resource for project managers who are tasked with identifying and solving complex problems, Project Based Problem Solving and Decision Making offers valuable guidance on how to make informed decisions that move projects forward, provides project managers with expert advice for communicating clearly and effectively with team members and project stakeholders, and describes how to effectively lead project teams and empower team members to make strategic project decisions. Written by Harold Kerzner, bestselling author and one of the leading minds in project management, Project Based Problem Solving and Decision Making includes information on: Developing effective problem-solving and decision-making—important skills for professional project managers Leading teams, setting and achieving goals, and making sure that projects are completed on time and within budget Identifying and solving problems that arise during complex projects, and making informed decisions that move projects forward Using a project-based approach: breaking the project down into smaller, manageable chunks and tackling each one separately Focusing on specific problems or decisions and implementing solutions tailored to the specific needs of the project Project Based Problem Solving and Decision Making is an essential everyday resource for professional project managers, as well as students studying project management. Dr. Kerzner is not only a world-renowned author in project management but also serves as the Senior Executive Director at the International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL). To explore more about IIL's offerings, visit www.iil.com or get in touch via email at [email protected].

Transform the PMBOK® Guide from a framework to a sharpened tool in your project manager's toolbox In project management circles, it's often joked that "there's the right way, the wrong way, and the PMBOK® way" to manage projects. In truth, it's really about the methodology you choose. The PMBOK® Guide is a consensus-based standard that thousands of project management professionals find immensely valuable in the process of developing an effective methodology. But exactly how does a project manager take the information provided in the PMBOK® Guide and apply it most effectively and appropriately to an actual project environment? This book can be the answer. It is basically a "guide to the guide"—a road map to applying the tools of the PMBOK® Guide to your organization's or project's unique nature and requirements. Bringing the PMBOK® Guide to Life: A Companion for the Practicing Project Manager builds a bridge between the PMBOK® Guide and the common needs of today's practicing project managers. It explains and elaborates on specific techniques, terms, and the application of tools that will enable project managers to effectively adapt the principles and processes described in the PMBOK® Guide to the practical world of project management. Readers will find suggested approaches for the use of project management tools and techniques along with templates developed directly from information provided in the PMBOK® Guide. Suggestions and study tips are also included to assist in preparing for the PMP exam, and a Project Plan Accelerator (PPA) can be used with the PMBOK® Guide by project managers and project teams to develop plans that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of your team, your clients, and your sponsoring organization. Written by two of the leading experts in the field, Bringing the PMBOK® to Life will help every project manager translate the PMBOK® Guide's tools and techniques into actionable, commonsense approaches to managing a project. (PMI, PMBOK, PMP, and Project Management Professional are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)

No longer restricted to the engineering industry, project management has at long last crossed over to mainstream business. Project Management for Business Professionals is the definitive reference on the essentials of contemporary project management. Featured here are some of the foremost practitioners and researchers from academia, consulting, and private industry, sharing their various areas of project management expertise and providing a wide range of perspectives on everything from risk management to resource planning to ethics management. Focusing on both the technical and human sides of the field, this unique resource follows the main points of the "project management body of knowledge"-the certification standard of the Project Management Institute. The experts address the procedures and processes for planning and managing projects and explore project team/group dynamics, examining the interpersonal relations and the political and organizational considerations that can impact a project.