Projects are performed by people for people, with the key determinants of success being the relationships between project teams and project stakeholders. This web of relationships will either enable or obstruct the flow of information between people and, as a consequence, will largely determine project success or failure. Making Projects Work: Effective Stakeholder and Communication Management provides a framework for understanding and managing the factors required for achieving successful project and program outcomes. It presents guidelines to help readers develop an understanding of governance and its connection to strategy as the starting point for deciding what work needs to be done. Introduces the idea of an organization's communication ecosystem where information flows freely within and among all organizational layers Explores the importance of the relationships with the project's stakeholder community as keys to project success Describes the theoretical underpinnings of leadership Provides detailed analysis of the different types of project stakeholders Supplies guidance on developing the appropriate messages to meet project and stakeholder needs The book describes how to craft appropriate communication strategies for developing and maintaining successful relationships with stakeholders. It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of existing project controls and outlines effective communication techniques for managing expectations and acquiring the support required to deliver successful projects on time and under budget.

This book presents the essential concepts of operations research and engineering management in a structured manner. Starting with the basic functions of management - planning, organizing, leading and controlling - it introduces the reader to the process of strategic decision-making, covering the essentials of technological invention management, innovation and entrepreneurship, with ample examples of decision-making under certainty, uncertainty and risk conditions. It also exposes the reader to the fundamentals of managing projects and professional communication. In order to reinforce the theory used, practical case studies taken from relevant disciplines are introduced. For instance, case studies from the retail sector have been appended to the assignment problem and cases related to traffic have been introduced for queuing formulation. The concept of game theory is discussed in greater detail with an introduction to topics such as incentive compatibility, Bayesian representations for different games, budget balance, auctions and a broad coverage of mechanism design. While a few of these problems have been solved in the book, a few others have been left un-solved to promote readers' understanding. The mix of theoretical and practical examples reveals to the reader the underlying complexities and highlights the challenges entailed by field implementation.

This book explores a range of prospective avenues, models, and operational and strategic approaches to Lean Six Sigma (LSS), a contemporary Continuous Improvement (CI) practice for achieving a quality-based competitive edge in organisations. Lean Six Sigma project case studies from banking organizations help to illustrate the operational dimensions of LSS, while the case-specific and cross-case analyses presented here demonstrate its strategic value. While the case data used to arrive at the findings come from the Banking firms, it allows generalizability beyond the Banking and Financial Services sector. The book contends that LSS is not merely a CI practice, but a higher-order organizational capability, more precisely a dynamic capability, that allows firms to gain a competitive edge based on quality. Addressing the interests of practitioners and researchers alike, the book strikes a balance between theory and practice. For practitioners, it offers guidance on using LSS to gain a competitive advantage, and on evidence-based practice in quality management and operational excellence. For researchers, it presents a wealth of literature and expands the body of knowledge on quality management. Accordingly, the book is of immense value to both practitioners and researchers, helping the former unlock the value of LSS as both an operational and strategic resource, and highlighting potential research directions and applications for the latter. "This book provides a deep understanding of Lean Six Sigma applications. It inspires by transferring the principles of the concept into uncommon areas of operations and management behind the usual quality and project management. While reading the book I got hit by a great idea of applying Lean Six Sigma in my digital business as well. My impression at the end of the book was that sky is the limit for the right employment of Lean Six Sigma, especially while viewing it from a dynamic capabilities' lens. Readers of this book will surely receive insights for improving their business processes both operationally and strategically. Although the book is focused on banking, it is actually suitable for a really wide audience. This is a brilliant piece of research as a book that will serve as a guide for transformation by the prism of Lean Six Sigma." - Professor. Dr. ZornitsaYordanova, Chief Assistant Professor of Innovation Management, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria "Lean Six Sigma needs to be understood from a systems perspective and there exists a huge knowledge gap in this area of finding holistic solutions to business problems. This book is a very welcome work that addresses this call. It integrates quality management resources and dynamic capabilities view towards practice. Banking and Financial Services was aptly chosen as it has the most direct applicability for social enterprises. Anyone interested in creating more impact with less will surely benefit from reading the book" -Alex Abraham, Chief Executive Officer, Lean Success Partners, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada "The book is a refreshing booster to the world of Quality Management especially in the context of Banking and Financial Services. Concepts and terms like "Rapidness of Lean & robustness of Six Sigma to solve operational problems" "Hybrid methodology" resonate very well with what we do in the industry today. Another interesting fact about the book is applying "Dynamic Capabilities approach" to Quality Management, that sets a fresh Quality Oven and ensures this book is definitely a good investment of authors' intellect.Best part - Even if a reader is new to the world of Quality,this book will be appropriate and resonating. For Researchers and Practitioners, both being leaders orfresh entrants, this book stands out to be a must-read, as it demonstrates the success of the Lean Six Sigma methodology via case studies and practical applications." -Udit Salvan, Director, Global Transformation & Engineering Network,An American Multinational Financial Services Corporation, New York, USA

Contemporary organisations proliferate with projects. Managing projects, working with project managers and delivering project excellence have become fundamental skills in the world of business, resulting in an array of approaches, tools and techniques that can bewilder. This shortform text homes in on the absolute essential elements of the field. With practical insights throughout, the book provides readers with a concise understanding of key concepts, techniques and outcomes such as ownership, execution, success, quality, budgets and risks. Features include essential summaries and expert guides to further reading. Authored by an experienced project and change management practitioner, consultant and educator, this unique resource will be essential reading for students of project management looking to excel in employment.

Superior program management begins with superior information and strategy Program Management for Improved Business Results, Second Edition is a practical guide to real-world program management, written to align with the rigorous PMI(R) PgMP(R) certification standards. The book explains the benchmarks and best practices that help shape a superior program manager, and provides case studies that illustrate the real-world application of management concepts. Written by a team composed of both industry professionals and academics, the book strikes a balance between theory and practice that facilitates understanding and better prepares candidates for the PgMP. Managers at all levels will learn the insights and techniques that are shaping modern management expectations. The Project Management Institute and the Product Development and Management Association both agree that program management is a critical element in the successful integration of business strategy and project management. The certification process is difficult, and few complete it but demand for competent professionals is high. Program Management for Improved Business Results addresses this disconnect, preparing readers to fill the gaps and help businesses achieve the level of program management integration required by professional organizations. Topics include: * Aligning programs with business strategy * Program planning, execution, and processes * Management metrics and strategic and operational tools * Roles, responsibilities, and core competencies The book focuses on both the macro and the micro levels, explaining the successful integration of business strategy with project portfolios as well as the managing of a single program. Case studies present both issue-oriented and comprehensive perspectives, and guidance includes real, actionable steps. For professionals seeking improved program outcomes, Program Management for Improved Business Results is a roadmap to exceptional management skills. (PMI and PgMP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)

Easy to read introduction to a complex area in construction management The only book on the market pitched at this level, others are more advanced Case studies, discussion questions and chapter summaries

Supplying busy project professionals with time-tested tips and templates for developing teams efficiently and effectively, Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts" "provides the planning materials required to increase team collaboration and productivity in a global workplace.
This comprehensive resource offers insights and access to critical resources and tools to create, propose, execute, and evaluate team development plans. Dr. Levitt's insights will enable readers to transform their visions, mission statements, goals, and deliverables into actionable plans for their teams.
Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts evaluates the strengths and performance gaps in each of the five stages of team development forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning and outlines methods for creating a team development plan and addressing the challenge of gaining upper management commitment.
With a focus on succession planning for the team, Dr. Levitt considers team brain capacity and how to plan for the transfer of knowledge within the organization. In addition to the many templates and guidelines included, the book offers a variety of practical team development guidelines to ensure that team activities, including kick-off meetings and project status reviews, are both engaging and productive.

This fast-paced business novel does for project management what The Goal and It's Not Luck have done for production and marketing. Goldratt's 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 Eli's 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 won't even be aware of learning about them - they ll 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.

Organisations increasingly look to project management to deal with short timeframes, tight budgets, changing requirements and risk management in everyday operations, as well as for major strategic projects. Project management knowledge and skills are now essential for professionals just about everywhere, from teachers, social workers and lawyers, to engineers, builders and accountants. Stephen Hartley's Project Management is based on the recognised global standard for project management, the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), and it incorporates aspects of Agile, PRINCE2, Lean and other popular methodologies. It offers a thorough overview of the principles of project management, combined with tools and guidelines to manage projects of all sizes, from inception to evaluation. Written in an accessible and engaging style, Stephen Hartley's widely used text has been fully revised and updated. It focuses on shared responsibility, transparent documentation, reporting achievement over activity, and continuous improvement. It is illustrated with examples and case studies, and accompanied by a suite of downloadable templates and tools. 'Stephen Hartley is without doubt Australia's leading authority on project management. This book is the bible for any current or future project manager.' - Dr Tim Baker, author of The End of the Performance Review

Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution provides a masterclass in the project and people management skills that set apart the most accomplished design and construction professionals. This textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students distils the insights gleaned over the authors' decades of experience in academia and industry into actionable principles for success in a notoriously demanding field. Combining real life case studies with original research, Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution points the way from the classroom to the jobsite. Interactive exercises allow readers to take the role of junior project managers and other emerging professionals and reason through the ethical dilemmas surrounding building projects from the initial bid to completion. Chapters on stakeholder alignment, productivity, and project success ensure that aspiring leaders' business decisions are as economically sound as they are ethically correct. From its accessible, conversational tone to the lifetime's worth of construction wisdom it shares, Leadership, Ethics, and Project Execution offers an extended mentoring session with three giants of the building industry.

You have too many projects, and firefighting and multitasking are keeping you from finishing any of them. You need to manage your project portfolio. This fully updated and expanded bestseller arms you with agile and lean ways to collect all your work and decide which projects you should do first, second, and never. See how to tie your work to your organization's mission and show your managers, your board, and your staff what you can accomplish and when. Picture the work you have, and make those difficult decisions, ensuring that all your strength is focused where it needs to be. All your projects and programs make up your portfolio. But how much time do you actually spend on your projects, and how much time do you spend on emergency fire drills or waste through multitasking? This book gives you insightful ways to rank all the projects you're working on and figure out the right staffing and schedule so projects get finished faster. The trick is adopting lean and agile approaches to projects, whether they're software projects, projects that include hardware, or projects that depend on chunks of functionality from other suppliers. Find out how to define the mission of your team, group, or department, with none of the buzzwords that normally accompany a mission statement. Armed with the work and the mission, you'll manage your portfolio better and make those decisions that define the true leaders in the organization. With this expanded second edition, discover how to scale project portfolio management from one team to the entire enterprise, and integrate Cost of Delay when ranking projects. Additional Kanban views provide even more ways to visualize your portfolio.

IT projects emerge from a business need. In practice, software developers must accomplish two big things before an IT project can begin: find out what you need to do (i.e., analyse business requirements) and plan out how to do it (i.e., project management). The biggest problem in IT projects is delivering the wrong product because IT people do not understand what business people require. This practical textbook teaches computer science students how to manage and deliver IT projects by linking business and IT requirements with project management in an incremental and straightforward approach. Business Analysis, Requirements, and Project Management: A Guide for Computing Students presents an approach to analysis management that scales the business perspective. It takes a business process view of a business proposal as a model and explains how to structure a technical problem into a recognisable pattern with problem frames. It shows how to identify core transactions and model them as use cases to create a requirements table useful to designers and coders. Linked to the analysis are three management tools: the product breakdown structure (PBS), the Gantt chart, and the Kanban board. The PBS is derived in part from the problem frame. The Gantt chart emerges from the PBS and ensures the key requirements are addressed by reference to use cases. The Kanban board is especially useful in Task Driven Development, which the text covers. This textbook consists of two interleaving parts and features a single case study. Part one addresses the business and requirements perspective. The second integrates core project management approaches and explains how both requirements and management are connected. The remainder of the book is appendices, the first of which provides solutions to the exercises presented in each chapter. The second appendix puts together much of the documentation for the case study into one place. The case study presents a real-word business scenario to expose students to professional practice.

* Presents a methodological approach to managing the mega project from pre-concept to closure and beyond* Focuses on leading work across project stages and managing each stage* Integrates the mega project with organizational assets* Recommendations on using agile to manage project phases

This book explores construction digitalisation, particularly in developing countries. The book conceptualises a digitalisation capability maturity model that will enable construction organisations to self-assess and benchmark their digital capabilities in their quest for digital transformation. Digitalisation offers a significant solution to the age-long problems of the construction industry. Research shows that when construction organisations transform from a traditional service delivery approach to a more digitalised approach, significant improvement in project delivery and better competitive advantage for these organisations will be attained. The attainment of these benefits is evident in developed countries where the digitalisation of construction activities continues apace. Unfortunately, the story is not the same for construction organisations in developing economies. While some organisations might be willing to be digitally transformed, most have no clue how to go about it. To this end, this book provides guidelines for construction organisations seeking to transform their entities digitally. Its content is a valuable read for construction company owners as it provides a model which they can use in the digitalisation of their activities. Also, regulatory bodies in the construction industry can adopt the capabilities identified in the book as essential prerequisites for their members. Furthermore, the book serves as excellent theoretical background reading for management researchers seeking to expand their knowledge on the digitalisation of the construction industry and other associated industries.

This book offers a practical insight to leaders who need to make good decisions in risky and important situations. The authors describe a process for making risk-intelligent decisions, explaining complex ideas simply, and mapping a route through the myriad interrelated influences when groups make decisions that matter. The approach puts the decision maker-you-at the center and explains how you can think and act differently to make better decisions more of the time. The book shows how to Determine the appropriate level of risk Make decisions in uncertain and turbulent conditions Understand how risks are perceived to identify them accurately Develop new behaviors to improve decision-making Making Risky and Important Decisions: A Leader's Guide builds on earlier ground-breaking publications from these two recognized thought leaders. Their first book together, Understanding and Managing Risk Attitude, brought together the language of risk and risk-taking with the language of emotional intelligence and emotional literacy. Managing Group Risk Attitude followed, and focused on decision-making groups, creating new insights and frameworks. Both books are positioned as specialist textbooks, despite their relevance to real-world situations. A Short Guide to Risk Appetite brought together the concepts of risk appetite and risk attitude into one place for the first time, cutting through confusing terminology and confused thinking to create a practical way of understanding "how much risk is too much risk." This latest installment from Ruth Murray-Webster and David Hillson takes the breadth of their previous work, adds new insights and thinking, and distills it into a highly usable guide for hard-pressed leaders.

Every organizational endeavor is based on project management. Projects range from simple to complex, with a definite beginning and a definite end. In manufacturing, as an example, the production of each unit of a product is defined as a project. The lifecycle goes from raw material to the product delivery stage, with steps in between managed as a rigorous project. This book covers the mechanics of project management and offers the requirements for executing a project using a systems-engineering framework and the project management body of knowledge, as advocated by the Project Management Institute. It includes the nuts and bolts for untangling the knots that often exist in project execution. Features Offers a unique guide to management projects, both big and small, in all spheres of human endeavor Presents the nuts and bolts of untangling the typical knots in project execution in a step-by-step format Applies to all types of projects, including technical, manufacturing, financial, science, engineering, and personal projects Provides a structured guide to the application of project management techniques Uses the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) framework from the Project Management Institute (PMI) as the platform for the topics covered, coupled with a systems view Addresses technical and managerial aspects of projects in every industry

The second edition of Agile Change Management provides essential tools to build change manager capabilities and ensure change initiatives are embedded effectively throughout the organization. This book is a comprehensive resource for creating a roadmap that is flexible and unique to each organization to manage any type of change initiative. Detailing all the processes, activities and information needed, from creating the right environment for change to completing iterative tasks, it shows how to respond to different needs as they arise, reducing the potential for wasted time and resources. The updated second edition features chapters on behavioural change and decomposition in planning iterations, and new material on prototyping for business needs and virtual leadership. Whether implementing a large-scale transformation or working through projects at micro-level, Agile Change Management provides tools, frameworks and examples necessary to adapt to and manage change effectively.

In an increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) business world, it is more important than ever for organizations to build resilience into their everyday practice. Business Resilience is a practical guide to making organizations more resilient and improving current practices by building on what the organization does well. It explains how managers should constantly monitor their business environment and adapt their priorities depending on the level of disruption - from gradual innovation and improvement in good times to swarming on a single problem during a crisis. Based on the authors' new models for resilience and progress, this book includes frameworks and tools which can be tailored to any organization and used as stand-alone improvements or combined across teams and departments. These practices avoid unnecessary change but enable rapid and sustainable improvements in product development, service delivery and customer value. Learn how to survive and thrive in any environment with this actionable approach to making progress at pace and effectively embedding business resilience.

Covers intrinsic basis for project management Presents the evolution of products in the classical era of introducing new products, needing project management Discusses the development of project alliances Includes the role of project management in advancing organizational goals Illustrates the early applications of project management

Project Management in Practice, 7th Edition presents an applied approach to the essential tools, strategies, and techniques students must understand to achieve success in their future careers. Emphasizing the technical aspects of the project management life cycle, this popular textbook offers streamlined, student-friendly coverage of project activity, risk planning, budgeting and scheduling, resource allocation, project monitoring, evaluating and closing the project, and more. Providing new and updated content throughout, the seventh edition's concise pedagogy and hands-on focus is ideally suited for use in one-semester courses or modules on project management. Clear and precise chapters describe fundamental project management concepts while addressing the skills real-world project managers must possess to meet the strategic goals of their organizations. Integrated throughout the text are comprehensive cases that build upon the material from previous chapters--complemented by wealth of illustrative examples, tables and figures, review questions, and discussion topics designed to reinforce key information.

Understanding FIDIC explains in simple and practical terms what is often seen as a very complex range of international engineering and construction contracts. Covering the FIDIC 2017 Red, Yellow and Silver Books (referred to as "The Rainbow Suite"), the book gives an overview of all three contracts, including coverage of changes between the 1999 contracts and the present 2017 suite. FIDIC contracts are widely used as far afield as Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, and this book provides a practical yet thorough guide to the key elements that practitioners preparing and administering these contracts would need to be aware of. In his approachable and readable style, Kelvin Hughes covers: The obligations and responsibilities of the Employer, the Employer's Representative, the Engineer and the Contractor Quality and Defects Liability Design Responsibility and Liability Variations, Measurement and Payment Procedures Progress, Delays, Extensions of Time and Completion Suspension and Termination Insurances Employer's and Contractor's Claims The Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board and the Resolution of Disputes Tendering Anyone working with FIDIC contracts whether as the Employer, Employer's Representative, Engineer or Contractor will benefit greatly from this easy-to-read guide to the Rainbow Suite. Students on professional courses or researching the contracts for project work will also find this book extremely useful.

This book reports on new theories and applications in the field of intelligent systems and computing. It covers computational and artificial intelligence methods, as well as advances in computer vision, current issues in big data and cloud computing, computation linguistics, and cyber-physical systems. It also reports on data mining and knowledge extraction technologies, as well as central issues in intelligent information management. Written by active researchers, the respective chapters are based on papers presented at the International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technologies (CSIT 2018), held on September 11-14, 2018, in Lviv, Ukraine, and jointly organized by the Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine, the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, Ukraine, and the Technical University of Lodz, Poland, under patronage of Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Given its breadth of coverage, the book provides academics and professionals with extensive information and a timely snapshot of the field of intelligent systems, and is sure to foster new discussions and collaborations among different groups.