Project Management

by dan-jones

Combining a strong academic approach with relevant practical cases, this text skilfully shows the range of issues that face project managers throughout the project cycle. Harvey Maylor considers projects as being a core business activity and approaches the subject from a strategic perspective, covering both the role of projects in the execution of organisational strategy and the application of strategic principles in projects. Classic Covers a wide range of project settings, from traditional large-scale industrial projects through to small-scale personal projects, in both service and manufacturing settings Each chapter contains examples of ‘Project Management in Practice' as well as case studies, discussion questions and exercises to help you check your understanding This new Media Edition comes with a free CD Rom containing a 60-day evaluation version of Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003 to help familiarise you with the most commonly used project management software. Project Management is used extensively to accompany courses on undergraduate, masters and MBA programmes, as well as for in-company training and for professionals wanting to bring themselves up-to-date with developments in the field. Extra teaching materials are available online for lecturers at Dr Harvey Maylor is Lecturer in Operations and Project Management at the University of Bath School of Management. He is also a consultant and trainer in the area of Project Management, and has received funding for his research from industry, government, the European Commission, and most recently, the Project Management Institute. 'For all involved in projects, it's a book that needs to be on your bookshelf, but better in your hand'. Bob Saunders, Open University and Association for Project Management. 'A thorough introduction to project management. Highly recommended for use as an introductory course text'. Paul Walley, Lecturer in Operations Management, Warwick Business School. 'A useful introduction to the subject for students, as it indicates the complexity of the subject and its importance in a wide range of industries'. Prof J.H.Rogerson, Dean of Engineering, Science and Manufacturing, Cranfield University

Genres: Business

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1902

Reviews

[Frank Calberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takeaways from reading the book:

Part 1: Define the project. Pages 33, 35, 76, 297, 340
- What is the goal of the project? What is to be done? Example: Make a lunch pill.
- Why is this to be done? What is the purpose? Example: To save time preparing and eating lunch.
- Who has which needs? Example: Users may need to satisfy hunger, save time and/or reduce weight / keep weight down.
- Measure expectations as precisely as possible.

Project phase 2: Design the project process. Pages 33, 35, 80, 86, 107, 110, 136-138, 159, 254, 393
- What concrete tasks will be done? Simplify tasks as much as possible.
- Who will do which tasks? The fewer people involved, the less complex. When people come together to form a team, try discovering the values of each person.
- When can which tasks start?
- How long time will which tasks take to do? By simplifying tasks, duration of sprints can be shortened.
- Which tasks can first start when which other tasks have finished? In other words, to what extent does the start of one or more tasks depend on the finishing of another / of other tasks?
- Which tasks can be done in parallel / during the same period?
- What does it cost to do the project?
- How much money can we save / earn by doing the project?
- What is the shortest possible project duration? What is the lowest possible cost? What is the highest level of quality that can be achieved? Which of these - time, cost, and quality - has the highest priority when?

Project phase 3: Manage the project on a daily basis. Pages 33, 35, 86, 164-167, 209, 257, 271-273, 293, 300, 340, 368.
- Set goals with people.
- Say no to non-goal-achieving tasks, tasks that do not add value.
- Continuously keep project plan up-to-date
Use, for example, https://trello.com/ and/or https://www.wrike.com/
- Continuously communicate openly about what is going on - including results of sprints. Use, for example, Twitter, blogs, and/or other social media.
- Constantly do what is most important. That includes continuously prioritizing between time, quality, and cost.
- If a mistake is made, fix it immediately and move on. Look ahead.
- Continuously serve project workers as well as possible. Listen to what people need.
- Continuously give people, who are involved, feedback.
- Learn constantly the way you learn the best.
- Facilitate meetings when needed.
- When problems happen, find the reasons and solve them.
- Solve conflicts.
- Celebrate reaching goals.

Project phase 4: Improve products and processes continuously. Pages 33, 35, 162, 293, 340.
Examples of questions to ask:
- What products do users like?
- What do users and other project participants like about the process? What should we continue to do?
- What is getting in the way from doing the project faster?
- What do we need to stop doing to create more value for more people?
- What do we need to start doing / start testing / start trying out?

[James Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good content but most of it was just from PRINCE2.. May as well jus buy that!

[Na'el]

gfuyi

[Wilbert Mutoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent text book