The Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management

Managers will no longer dread the word “project.”
Fully updated and revised, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management covers the tools and processes of project management, complying with the standards of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and The Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). Packed with examples, case studies, and expert opinions, this book includes essential information on implementation strategies, setting up schedules, troubleshooting, and more.

• Perfect for the new project manager—or the re-learner
• New, updated information on software, PMBOK facts, the PMP exam, and integration management

Customer Reviews

Great information...thanks! by KB
Just great. Understandable. Complete. Each edition gets better--although I still like the humor in the 2nd edition better. Great teaching tool and great for all general project managers, which is almost everyone in business.

Perfect for college term paper by Brandi Bridges
I bought this book for my college term paper in project management, and it was very useful. Everything is explained in simple terms - as the title says: An Idiot's Guide...

I wouldn't recommend this book, if you are looking for something with depth. This one is pretty superficial, but it grazes all the basics and then some.

Excellent for beginners by Middle-Aged Professor
The previous reviewer is being grossly unfair. The entire premise of the "Idiot's Guide" series is basic information for the beginner. To fault the book for repeating information found in business education classes is missing the point. For those who do not have a business education but find themselves leading a project -- the PTA fundraiser, the Boy Scout jamboree, or even their daughter's wedding -- the book presents a wealth of useful information.

Controlling a Project When the Team Doesn't Report to You

Results Without Authority: A Project Manager's Guide

How to take control of teams and projects even when you're not the boss? .... Project leaders these days supervise few if any of the people that they rely upon for project success. Getting projects off to a good start and then maintaining control of them is an enormous challenge for a project leader who has little or no formal authority.

But there are many proven, powerful techniques a strong project leader can employ to keep projects and teams on track. Results Without Authority explores a wide range of effective methods and tools for leading a diverse team, and includes clear, insightful examples that demonstrate how they work in a variety of situations.

Packed with invaluable guidance for controlling projects of all scopes and in any field, Results Without Authority will help novice and experienced project leaders get the best from their project teams.

“Results without Authority stands out by methodically and thoroughly exploring the issue of control throughout the project life cycle….this practical project management reference brings together a lot of ideas and concepts worth considering for readers who are confronted with projects over which they have little to no formal authority."-Journal of Product Innovation Management

“...stands out by methodically and thoroughly exploring the issue of control throughout the project life cycle."
-Journal of Product Innovation Management

“…full of sound, practical, project management advice for carrying out IT and similar type projects…laced with the practical wisdom." -- Max’s Project Management Wisdom

"This book is full of sound, practical, project management advice for carrying out IT and similar type projects. It is also laced with the practical wisdom that only comes from years of "Been there, done that.'" -- Max’s Project Management Wisdom

“…important for all project managers, with and without authority… Packed with valuable guidance for controlling projects of all scopes and in any field.” – PM Network

This stuff works! "Results without Authority" is a powerful source of tools and common sense advice for people managing projects without formal authority. And most of the projects I have managed and most of the projects I am aware of are managed by people without authority. Tom Kendrick brings a depth of wisdom that can only be learned in the trenches.

Kendrick weaves theory and practice to build a comprehensive set of tools, templates, and checklists that can be used by everyone from the newly appointed project manager to the steely veteran. This volume is the most practical, down-to-earth, treatment of managing without authority that I have ever read. And, it is a good read and an enjoyable read. "Results Without Authority" must be required reading for all project managers, whether they have authority or not. Read it today and start using it tomorrow.

Scrappy Project Management: The 12 Predictable and Avoidable Pitfalls Every Project Faces

The Scrappy Project Management Guides are books with ATTITUDE! They are your edge in accomplishing what seems impossible, but is actually just real hard. These are real books for real people living in the real world. They are your secret weapon in creating courage and commitment to your goals even when there is no evidence that you will succeed. They are your shield against the inevitable critics who will try to undermine you, and your comfort in the inevitable failures that accompany any worthy pursuit.

Scrappy means not relying on a title to be a leader, being willing to take chances, take risks, put yourself out there in order to do the right thing. Scrappy means having the steely resolve of a street-fighter when necessary, being willing to be scared while sticking to your guns, being committed beyond confidence and ability, committed to making a difference. Scrappy means focusing on creating something extraordinary more than worrying about social acceptance and the approval of others. Scrappy is EDGY!

Scrappy Project Managers know that the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a sanitized version of the world of projects. The Scrappy Project Manager wants to succeed. They want their team to be successful. They know their team DESERVES to win, and they know that the PMBOK is just the beginning of what it takes to deliver success in the higgly-piggly world where real projects live. Scrappy Project Managers don't let reality limit them. They either find a way or they make one! This book contains guidelines on how to get stuff done when the odds are against you, historical evidence says it can't be done, and the majority doesn't think it is possible. It's for people who aren't bound by convention, assumptions or self-limiting beliefs. It's for people who can be counted upon to get the job done. Are you ready to get scrappy?


Welcome to our Scrappy World!


Fearless Project Management: Welcome to Hell

Project management is one of the most demanding jobs I have ever experienced. Typically no one reports to the project manager. The project manager rarely has access to budget or staff of their own. And yet they are almost completely responsible for the success of a project. If a project is a failure, the project manager is usually blamed. If it is a success, my experience is that the project manager may not be able to benefit from the very success that she helped create. Project managers make clear what needs to be done, who is supposed to do it, and hold people accountable for following through on their commitments. They may have to tell executives things that they prefer not to hear, and even confront them with extremely negative news. This takes courage and conviction, and it is not necessarily appreciated for the valuable contribution that it is. Like a Mafia hit man, the same person that is so handy when you need someone killed may be an unwelcome guest at dinner. If you are going to be a great project manager you'd better keep your backbone in tact and be prepared to be respected, but not necessarily liked. And keep your resume up to date! You won't be effective as a leader if you can't put your job on the line to do the right thing. Leadership is not for the faint of heart. There are many people passing themselves off as leaders, but there are merely occupying the seat, not taking the stand. If you want to be the kind of leader that inspires commitment from your team, hope from your stakeholders and the admiration of your colleagues, these common sense guidelines for project management excellence will serve you well.

Projects are MESSY! From the minute the project begins, all manner of changes, surprises and disasters befall them. Unfortunately most of these are PREDICTABLE and AVOIDABLE.

Tact and diplomacy can only get you so far in the wild and wacky world of project work. A combination of outrageous creativity, sheer bravado and nerves of steel will serve you far better than any fancy-schmancy Microsoft Project Gantt chart!

'Scrappy Project Management' is about what REALLY happens in the project environment, how to survive it, and how to make sure that your team avoids the predictable and avoidable pitfalls that every project faces.

"Put this spine on your bookshelf, or in your survival kit. This is THE resource for the power starved PMs who need to learn how to street fight for resources, deal with customer insanity, and dodge the falling rocks as you stay on top of everything. A fighting spirit and a confident strategy is the RETURN ON THIS INVESTMENT."

Michele Jackman, Michele Jackman Enterprises and Adventures, co-author of Star Teams, Players.

"If you want to build energy, velocity, and momentum toward an outrageous goal, Kimberly's Scrappy Project Management is just what you've been waiting for to help you get those results with more pleasant surprises and fewer disappointing shocks along the way."

Christine Comaford-Lynch, CEO of Mighty Ventures, author of Rules for Renegades

"This book unabashedly puts forward a new, unambiguous, non-shrinking, and ultimately empowering view of what we all as project managers should commit to be and do every day in our project roles."

Cinda Voegtli, CEO of Emprend, Inc. and President of ProjectConnections.com

Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme

Gain the skills and tools to become an effective project manager

Get ready for a more robust approach to project management - one that recognizes the project environment and adapts accordingly. This resource first introduces you to the tools, templates, and processes that you'll need in your toolkit. You'll then explore five different project management life cycle (PMLC) models for managing a project: Linear, Incremental, Iterative, Adaptive, and Extreme. Along the way, you'll find step-by-step guidance on how to apply each technique. All of this will give you a complete understanding of how to successfully complete projects on time and within budget.

This comprehensive guide shows you how to:

• Apply all nine Knowledge Areas defined in PMBOK
• Establish project management life cycles and strategies
• Decide the best method for managing specific types of projects
• Select and use best-of-breed project management tools and templates for each management task
• Utilize the Project Support Office, Project Portfolio Management, and Continuous Process Improvement programs
• Prevent projects from becoming distressed and create effective intervention strategies
• Manage multiple team projects by integratingthe tools, templates, and processes into a single team

With 200 pages of new content, the fifth edition of this popular guide gives new or veteran project managers a comprehensive overview of all of the best-of-breed project management approaches and tools today, including Traditional (Linear and Incremental), Agile (Iterative and Adaptive), and Extreme. Step-by-step instruction and practical case studies show you how to use these tools effectively to achieve better outcomes of projects at hand. Plus, the book provides full coverage on managing continuous process improvement, procurement management, managing distressed projects, and managing multiple team projects. The companion Web site includes exercises and solutions that accompany the project management instruction in the book.

Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management (Theory in Practice)

In the updated edition of this critically acclaimed and bestselling book, Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management (Theory in Practice), Microsoft project veteran Scott Berkun offers a collection of essays on field-tested philosophies and strategies for defining, leading, and managing projects. Each essay distills complex concepts and challenges into practical nuggets of useful advice, and the new edition now adds more value for leaders and managers of projects everywhere. Based on his nine years of experience as a program manager for Internet Explorer and lead program manager for Windows and MSN, Berkun explains to technical and non-technical readers alike what it takes to get through a large software or web development project. Making Things Happen doesn't cite specific methods, but focuses on philosophy and strategy. Unlike other project management books, Berkun offers personal essays in a comfortable style and easy tone that emulate the relationship of a wise project manager who gives good, entertaining and passionate advice to those who ask. Topics in this new edition include:

• How to make things happen
• Making good decisions
• Specifications and requirements
• Ideas and what to do with them
• How not to annoy people
• Leadership and trust
• The truth about making dates
• What to do when things go wrong

Complete with a new forward from the author and a discussion guide for forming reading groups/teams, Making Things Happen offers in-depth exercises to help you apply lessons from the book to your job. It is inspiring, funny, honest, and compelling, and definitely the one book that you and your team need to have within arm's reach throughout the life of your project. Coming from the rare perspective of someone who fought difficult battles on Microsoft's biggest projects and taught project design and management for MSTE, Microsoft's internal best practices group, this is valuable advice indeed. It will serve you well with your current work, and on future projects to come.

Based on his nine years of experience as a program manager for Microsoft’s biggest projects, Berkun explains to technical and non-technical readers alike what it takes to lead critical projects from start to finish. Here are 16 chapters on the critical and common challenges of leading projects and managing teams, diagrams, photography, and war stories of success and failure. Berkun offers practical tools and methods to make sure your projects succeed.

What To Do When Things Go Wrong
From Making Things Happen, Chapter 11

1. Calm down. Nothing makes a situation worse than basing your actions on fear, anger, or frustration. If something bad happens to you, you will have these emotions whether you’re aware of them or not. They will also influence your thinking and behavior whether you’re aware of it or not. (Rule of thumb: the less aware you are of your feelings, the more vulnerable you are to them influencing you.) Don’t flinch or overreact—be patient, keep breathing, and pay attention.

2. Evaluate the problem in relation to the project. Just because someone else thinks the sky has fallen doesn’t mean that it has. Is this really a problem at all? Whose problem is it? How much of the project (or its goals) is at risk or may need to change because of this situation: 5%? 20%? 90%? Put things in perspective. Will anyone die because of this mistake (you’re not a brain surgeon, are you?)? Will any cities be leveled? Plagues delivered on the innocent? Help everyone frame the problem to the right emotional and intellectual scale. Ask tons of questions and get people thinking rather than reacting. Work to eliminate assumptions. Make sure you have a tangible understanding of the problem and its true impact. Then, prioritize: emergency (now!), big concern (today), minor concern (this or next week), bogus (never). Know how long your fuse is to respond and prioritize this new issue against all existing work. If it’s a bogus issue, make sure whoever cried wolf learns some new questions to ask before raising the red flag again.

3. Calm down again. Now that you know something about the problem, you might really get upset (“How could those idiots let happen!?”). Find a way to express emotions safely: scream at the sky, workout at the gym, or talk to a friend. But do express them. Know what works for you, and use it. Then return to the problem. Not only do you need to be calm to make good decisions, but you need your team to be calm. Pay attention to who is upset and help them calm down. Humor, candor, food, and drink are good places to start. Being calm and collected yourself goes a long way toward calming others. And taking responsibility for the situation (see the later section “Take responsibility”), regardless of whose fault it was, accelerates a team’s recovery from a problem.

4. Get the right people in the room Any major problem won’t impact you alone. Identify who else is most responsible, knowledgeable, and useful and get them in together straight away. Pull them out of other meetings and tasks: if it’s urgent, act with urgency, and interrupt anything that stands in your way. Sit them down, close the door, and run through what you learned in step 2. Keep this group small; the more complex the issue, the smaller the group should be. Also, consider that (often) you might not be part of this group: get the people in the room, communicate the problem, and then delegate. Offer your support, but get out of their way (seriously—leave the room if you’re not needed). Clearly identify who is in charge for driving this issue to resolution, whether it’s you or someone else.

5. Explore alternatives. After answering any questions and clarifying the situation, figure out what your options are. Sometimes this might take some research: delegate it out. Make sure it’s flagged as urgent if necessary; don’t ever assume people understand how urgent something is. Be as specific as possible in your expectation for when answers are needed.

6. Make the simplest plan. Weigh the options, pick the best choice, and make a simple plan. The best available choice is the best available choice, no matter how much it sucks (a crisis is not the time for idealism). The more urgent the issue, the simpler your plan. The bigger the hole you’re in, the more direct your path out of it should be. Break the plan into simple steps to make sure no one gets confused. Identify two lists of people: those whose approval you need for the plan, and those who need to be informed of the plan before it is executed. Go to the first group, present the plan, consider their feedback, and get their support. Then communicate that information to the second group.

7. Execute. Make it happen. Ensure whoever is doing the work was involved in the process and has an intimate understanding of why he’s doing it. There is no room for assumption or ambiguity. Have specific checkpoints (hourly, daily, weekly) to make sure the plan has the desired effect and to force you and others in power to consider any additional effort that needs to be spent on this issue. If new problems do arise, start over at step 1.

8. Debrief. After the fire is out, get the right people in the room and generate a list of lessons learned. (This group may be different from the right people in step 4 because you want to include people impacted by, but not involved in, the decision process.) Ask the question: “What can we do next time to avoid this?” The bigger the issue, the more answers you’ll have to this question. Prioritize the list. Consider who should be responsible for making sure each of the first few items happens.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: (Pmbok Guide)

The PMBOK9 Guide – Fourth Edition continues the tradition of excellence in project management with a standard that is even easier to understand and implement, with improved consistency and greater clarification.

• Standard language has been incorporated throughout the document to aid reader understanding.
• New data flow diagrams clarify inputs and outputs for each process.
• Greater attention has been placed on how Knowledge Areas integrate in the context of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing process groups.
• Two new processes are featured: Identify Stakeholders and Collect Requirements.

The PMBOK Guide is a standard for the project management profession. Its intention is to serve as a guide to the body of knowledge within the project management community and as practiced by members of the profession. There is no single document that contains the project management body of knowledge. Indeed, some of it is not published at all but, rather, is simply recognized as good practices and norms within the profession. This body of knowledge is growing every day.

The PMBOK Guide is not intended to be used to learn project management or project management concepts. It's especially not intended to teach or suggest PM techniques or methodologies.

This project management book is not a "how to" book nor is it a description of a methodology. It's a standard, not a methodology. PM professionals and the organizations they work for can use the PMBOK Guide as a guide for developing their own methodologies or for creating organization standards. 

It's particularly important to understand that it is not a standard or specification for the examination portion of the PMP certification. For one thing, at least 30% of the material on the examination is not covered by the PMBOK Guide. (There IS an exam on the PMBOK Guide. It's the CAPM exam, which only covers knowledge of the PMBOK Guide.)

While the PMBOK Guide only changes once every 4 years, the exam component of the PMP credential is constantly changing. Much of the material that showed up in the 4th (2008) edition of the PMBOK Guide has ALREADY been showing up on the PMP exam for several years - e.g., PTA, TCPI, etc. PMBOK Guide 4th edition came out in December, 2008, but these topics have been showing up on the PMP exam as early as 2006. The group at PMI that develops the standards (such the PMBOK Guide, the Standard for Risk Management, etc.) and the group at PMI that develops the the certifications and their corresponding exams (such as PMP, CAPM, PMI-SP, etc.) are two separate groups that DO NOT interface with each other. They are two separate groups. If anything, the standards group looks at the work that the credential group (PMP, CAPM) does and uses it as one of the many inputs for what they put into the standards such as the PMBOK Guide.

The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Portable Mba Series)

The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Portable Mba Series) is one of the bestselling books ever published on the topic of project management. Now in a revised new third edition, it presents you with a wealth of proven techniques for managing projects from establishing project objectives to building schedules to projecting costs. It includes all the basics on defining, planning, and tracking a project, as well as building stronger project teams. This new edition of the Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Portable Mba Series) includes new chapters on Agile Project Management, PMI exam prep, and more.

Until the early '90s, project management was definitely located somewhere near the unsexy end of the business spectrum. But now, with the rise of downsizing and outsourcing, it has become one of the hot disciplines. Professional membership of the U.S.-based Project Management Institute has quadrupled in the last decade, and Microsoft claimed recently to have over 2 million users worldwide of its project-management software. The reasons for this growth are simple. Project management is about managing "projects," that is, unique pieces of work (as opposed to ongoing operations). Downsizing, outsourcing, and the accelerating pace of change have meant that, increasingly, work is carried out on an ad-hoc, one-off project basis. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management  is designed as an advanced textbook for businesspeople with a grasp of the basics and insufficient time (or inclination) to go back to school to learn more. Written by Eric Verzuh, president of the Versatile Company, a leading project-management consultancy, this is not a heavy academic text.

Like the rest of the Fast Forward series, The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Portable Mba Series) is designed to let the reader extract maximum information in minimum time. There is a strong use of graphics with tables, charts cross-heads, and bullet points. Important passages are flagged in bold and/or emblazoned with the words key concept. When you read it, you realize that there is nothing magical about project management, just the application of careful common sense. The book covers all the basic stuff like planning, time-tabling, quantity and price estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling. But it also acknowledges that there is inevitably a political dimension to every project, no matter how small. So it has important sections on how to ensure that all the stakeholders in the project are kept "on board" and the importance of communication.

As Verzuh states in his introduction, "Every project participant from part-time team member to executive sponsor, becomes more effective once he or she understands the basics of project management." Really, this is a book about management that every manager should read, whether he or she has a project or not. --Alex Benady --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project Management (2nd Edition)

Why learn project management the hard way?

Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Project Management, Second Edition will have you managing projects in no time! Here’s a small sample of what you’ll learn:

• Key concepts and fundamentals behind best-practice project management techniques
• The mindset and skill set of effective project managers
• Project techniques that work in any industry, with any tools
• The common elements of successful projects
• Lessons from failed projects
• The value and importance of project leadership versus project management
• How to manage growing project trends and tough project types that first-time project managers are likely to encounter
• How to make better use of Microsoft Project
• How to respond when project reality does not match textbook scenarios
• Expert insight on key project management concepts and topics
  

You’ve just been handed your department's biggest project. Absolute Beginner's Guide to Project Management will show you exactly where to start–and walk you step by step through your entire project!

Expert project manager, Gregory Horine, shows you exactly what works and what doesn’t, drawing on the field’s proven best practices. Understand your role as a project manager...gain the skills and discover the personal qualities of great project managers...learn how to organize, estimate, and schedule projects effectively...manage deliverables, issues, changes, risks, quality, vendors, communications, and expectations...make the most of technology...manage virtual teams...avoid the problems that trip up new project managers!

This new edition jumpstarts your project management expertise even faster, with all-new insights on Microsoft Project, challenging project situations and intriguing project management topics of the day.

The One-Page Project Manager

The One-Page Project Manager shows you how to boil down any project into a simple, one-page document that can be used to communicate all essential details to upper management, other departments, suppliers, and audiences. This practical guide will save time and effort, helping you identify the vital parts of a project and communicate those parts and duties to other team members.

This uncommonly practical guide shows you how to reduce any project—no matter how big or complicated—into a simple, one-page document perfect for expressing essential details, communicating those details to upper management, and tracking progress. Plus, it's adaptable to virtually any process in your organization, including ISO and SAP. The One-Page Project Manager is the ultimate tool for beleaguered project managers who understand the value of simplicity.

"As you read through Clark Campbell's book, you will say to yourself, 'so simple, yet intuitive and useful; I can put this to work today!'"
—Todd Thompson, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, JetBlue Airways

"Provides a proven process for project management that significantly improves the chances that the project will be completed on time, on budget, and on target."—Steven C. Wheelwright, PhD, Baker Foundation Professor, Senior Associate Dean, and Director of Publications Activities, Harvard Business School

"Campbell reveals a wonderful tool for keeping projects on task. It's the perfect organizational solution for the executive needing relevant project information."
—Taylor Randall, PhD, Professor, David Eccles School of Business University of Utah

"This tool really works! It makes the complex look simpler, facilitates accurate and honest assessments, and all on just one page—which can, and will, be read by even the busiest executive."
—David C. Berg, former chief information officer, OC Tanner

"This book should be required reading for every manager who wants to improve project performance, accurately tell their story, and do it efficiently."
—Jonathan H. Du, PhD, CEO and Chairman, WiseChina Training Co. Ltd. Beijing, China

About the Author
CLARK A. CAMPBELL is a Senior Vice President at OC Tanner, where he has served in a number of executive positions and managed numerous large projects.

The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management

Until the early '90s, project management was definitely located somewhere near the unsexy end of the business spectrum. But now, with the rise of downsizing and outsourcing, it has become one of the hot disciplines.

Professional membership of the U.S.-based Project Management Institute (PMI) has quadrupled in the last decade, and Microsoft claimed recently to have over 2 million users worldwide of its project management software. The reasons for this growth are simple. Project management is about managing "projects," that is, unique pieces of work (as opposed to ongoing operations). Downsizing, outsourcing, and the accelerating pace of change have meant that, increasingly, work is carried out on an ad-hoc, one-off project basis. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management is designed as an advanced textbook for businesspeople with a grasp of the basics and insufficient time (or inclination) to go back to school to learn more. Written by Eric Verzuh, president of the Versatile Company, a leading project-management consultancy, this is not a heavy academic text.

This is one of the bestselling books ever published on the topic of project management. Now in a revised new third edition, it presents you with a wealth of proven techniques for managing projects from establishing project objectives to building schedules to projecting costs. It includes all the basics on defining, planning, and tracking a project, as well as building stronger project teams. This new edition includes new chapters on Agile Project Management, PMI exam prep, and more.

Like the rest of the Fast Forward series, this book is designed to let the reader extract maximum information in minimum time. There is a strong use of graphics with tables, charts cross-heads, and bullet points. Important passages are flagged in bold and/or emblazoned with the words key concept. When you read it, you realize that there is nothing magical about project management, just the application of careful common sense. The book covers all the basic stuff like planning, time-tabling, quantity and price estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling. But it also acknowledges that there is inevitably a political dimension to every project, no matter how small. So it has important sections on how to ensure that all the stakeholders in the project are kept "on board" and the importance of communication.

As Verzuh states in his introduction,

"Every project participant from part-time team member to executive sponsor, becomes more effective once he or she understands the basics of project management."

Really, this is a book about management that every manager should read, whether he or she has a project or not. --Alex Benady