Agile project management is a proven approach for designing and delivering software with improved value to customers. Agility is all about self-directed teams, feedback, light documentation, and working software with shorter development cycles. The role of the project manager with agile differs significantly from traditional project management in that there is minimal up-front planning. Agile for Project Managers will help project managers from any industry transition to agile project management. The book examines the project management component of agility, concentrating on industry standards, certifications, and being agile. It also compares agile methods to traditional project management methods throughout to provide readers with a clear understanding of the differences between the two. The book's focus is in alignment with the Project Management Institute (PMI (R)) Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP (R)) credential-making it an ideal resource for anyone preparing for the PMI-ACP (R) exam. Coverage includes: Agile as a project management methodology Agile teams Agile tools and techniques Flavors of agile Agile principles Agile certifications The book provides readers with the understanding required to decide which projects will benefit from agile. It also includes information that can help readers to assess their organizations' readiness for agile methods. Complete with a list of agile training providers, the book will help certified project managers make a smooth transition to agile project management and will provide newcomers with the basic knowledge needed to pass the PMI-ACP (R) exam, the first time around.

Managing Projects in the Real World provides clear and actionable advice to project managers for recognizing, anticipating, and overcoming challenges associated with the human component of leading others. The mechanics of project management are rational and straightforward to learn. The art of project management is irrational and complex to learn. Project managers need to develop a repertoire of soft skills that are typically hard for them, since they rose through the ranks to that position by virtue of superior reasoning skills. But if a project manager cannot adjudicate the clash of personalities, finesse the friction between assigned and preferred roles, steer clear of hidden hazards, and diplomatically resolve overlapping assertions of competing authority--that project manager is in a world of trouble. From the human perils of project management, nobody is better qualified to rescue beleaguered project managers than Melanie McBride--veteran PM and author of the Intel blog, The Accidental Profession.She sheds light on those dark, dusty places that fall between the cracks of theory and best practice out in the real world where irate colleagues, unrealistic product launch dates, and virtual meetings reign supreme and run amok. In this book you'll find targeted discussions and specific techniques to empower you to meet the challenges that project managers face every day. The book is structured into project phases to help any project manager on any kind of project jump right to the tried and true solution for the challenge at hand. What you'll learn After reading Managing Projects in the Real World: The Tips and Tricks No One Tells You About When You Start, project managers will know: * How to execute basic project management tasks such as building dynamic schedules, developing risk management plans, holding others accountable, and conducting effective meetings. * How to navigate the tricky bits, such as unrealistic due dates and virtual meetings with multitasking attendees. * How to communicate effectively with project stakeholders and manage their expectations and different communication styles.* How to deal with stakeholders with classically difficult personas, such as bullies, micromanagers, visionaries, and prisoners. * How to continually improve in your PM craft and decision-making abilities. Who this book is for *Primary: project, program, and product managers *Secondary: any team leader or director

Development projects that span different disciplines and groups often face problems in establishing a shared understanding of the project's purpose, deliverables, and direction. Creating Shared Understanding in Product Development Teams: How to 'Build the Beginning' uses research-based cases from TC Electronic, The Red Cross, Daimler AG, and Copenhagen Living Lab to demonstrate one approach to this problem complex. It shows how prototyping specific physical artifacts can function as drivers and focal points for creating the much needed shared understanding. Encompassing both the participant's and the facilitator's point of view, Creating Shared Understanding in Product Development Teams: How to 'Build the Beginning' provides both practical examples and theoretical explanation for the process of creating shared understanding. This book provides a toolbox and a practical guide for planning, executing, and facilitating workshops. The result is a clear outline of how to facilitate the creation of physical artifacts that enables and stimulates communication between team members, users, and stakeholders in order to create shared understanding of projects

This is not another how-to guide for program managers or another reiteration of the Project Management Institute s standards for program management. Instead, Program Management Leadership: Creating Successful Team Dynamics examines various leadership approaches and illustrates the value of effective leadership styles in Program Management for achieving program and project success.
Identifying critical success factors specific to program management, the book focuses on effective leadership styles and the power of teamwork in exceeding expectations. It starts by examining various leadership styles and traits providing helpful insights on the tough choices leaders are often forced to make. It describes effective methods to help leaders work with stakeholders and team members to set visions and objectives so that program goals are achieved with greater frequency.
Next, the book further examines teams and explains how to bring people from various experience levels, geographic diversity, and cultural backgrounds together setting aside their own personal objectives and instead working towards a common goal and vision. Presenting recent research on leadership, it highlights the situational factors that leaders face and offers approaches enabling leaders to modify their style from one based on personal choice to one that can adapt to overcome the challenges that will arise.
From there, the book describes how to build and maintain a High Performing Team (HPT). It also describes how to instill a competitive spirit and culture of cooperation and mutual respect in your team to make sure your team remains focused on the right things.
This book is an ideal resource for anyone who understands the value of the tools provided by PMI(r) and is searching for the factors that separate good program and project managers from truly great ones. If you are focused on self-actualization and continuous improvement, then this is the book that can help drive your program initiatives to the highest possible standards.

The National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF), announced in the Government of India s Budget 2010-11, is seen as a major step in India's quest for energy security and reducing the carbon intensity of energy. Funding research and innovative projects in clean energy technologies, and harnessing renewable energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels constitute the objectives of the NCEF. The NCEF s utilization of funds is considered to be rather low and disbursements poorly aligned with the fund s stated objectives, thus posing a potential risk of diluting the focus of NCEF with adverse implications for the much-needed research and innovation in the clean energy sector in India.
The book provides a detailed framework for promoting effective utilization and administration of NCEF. To this effect, it identifies the most promising avenues for utilization of NCEF resources for catalytic opportunities and deployment of new technologies. It also identifies and prioritizes the specific energy sub-sectors towards which the NCEF resources are directed. It also makes suggestions for designing a smart monitoring and evaluation framework for the NCEF.
This work provides significant information for the government so that appropriate mid-course corrections may be made in a timely manner. This will also be useful in honing the strategic thinking on a suitable energy-technology policy and an assessment of technology needs and other barriers to the clean energy sector in India."

Project planning is generally accepted as an important contributor to project success. However, is there research that affirms the positive impact of project planning and gives guidance on how much effort should be spent on planning? To answer these questions, this book looks at current literature and new research of this under-studied area of project management. The author presents his findings from an extensive review of project planning literature that covers more than 270 sources. He also discusses new research that analyzes data from more than 1,300 global projects. The book confirms that the time spent on planning activities reduces risk and significantly increases the chances of project success. It also concludes that there can be too much planning and shows that the optimum ratio of planning to effort is 25%. The book examines the impact of project planning on different industries. It discusses research in the construction and information technology (IT) industries, and presents a case study of how to plan and track a software development project. The book also looks at the impact of geography on project planning and success. Intended as a basic tool in the library of any project manager or general manager, this book brings to light project planning techniques and information that have never been published previously. It is an important resource on how to plan projects properly and propel your career forward.

This comprehensive study guide delivers complete coverage of every topic on the CompTIA Project+ exam Take the challenging CompTIA Project+ (Exam PK0-005) with complete confidence using the detailed information contained in this highly effective self-study guide. You will get clear explanations of every topic on the test along with special elements that reinforce and teach practical skills, step-by-step exercises, exam tips, and notes. The book serves both a powerful exam preparation tool and an ideal on-the-job reference. Written by an expert in the field, CompTIA Project+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide (Exam PK0-005) offers complete coverage of every topic on the test and features accurate practice questions. You will get coverage of IT project life cycles, project roles, and the skills necessary to effectively initiate, plan, execute, monitor and close a project. Sidebars throughout offer real-world insights and practical applications, and end-of-chapter summaries and review questions aid in retention. Delivers 100% coverage of all objectives for the CompTIA Project+ certification exam Contains a discount code for 10% off of the exam Online content includes 180 practice questions, video training, and downloadable worksheets and templates

Relationship Management and the Management of Projects is a guide to successfully building and managing relationships as a project manager and the project business.

Relationship management is a core skill for any project business to develop capabilities and manage the interface with projects, providing guidance to project managers as they negotiate with business partners and co-ordinate between business functions. Whatever the structures and procedures an organization has and whatever the project management tools and techniques, they are only as good as the hands they are in. Yet relationship management, though a well-established discipline, is rarely applied to the process-driven world of project management.

This book is a much-needed guide to the process of enhancing these skills to boost firm performance, team performance and develop collaborative practices. Hedley Smyth guides you through the processes of relationship management examining the theory and practice. This book highlights the range of options available to further develop current practices to ensure a successful relationship management in all stages of a project s lifecycle.

Relationship Management and the Management of Projects is valuable reading for all students and specialists in project management, as well as project managers in business, management, the built environment, or indeed any industry."

Process Simulation and Parametric Modeling for Strategic Project Management will offer CIOs, CTOs and Software Development Managers, IT Graduate Students an introduction to a set of technologies that will help them understand how to better plan software development projects, manage risk and have better insight into the complexities of the software development process. A novel methodology will be introduced that allows a software development manager to better plan and access risks in the early planning of a project. By providing a better model for early software development estimation and software development, managers will be better equipped to make more effective project portfolio investment choices. Moreover, the methodology will allow the software development manager to continually simulate scenarios throughout the lifecycle of the project and determine plausible alternatives before the risk becomes a reality.

The brief will describe how to develop a risk analysis applied to a project , through a sequence of steps: risk management planning, risk identification, risk classification, risk assessment, risk quantification, risk response planning, risk monitoring and control, process close out and lessons learning. The project risk analysis and management process will be applied to large engineering projects, in particular related to the oil and gas industry. The brief will address the overall range of possible events affecting the project moving from certainty (project issues) through uncertainty (project risks) to unpredictability (unforeseeable events), considering both negative and positive events. Some quantitative techniques (simulation, event tree, Bayesian inference, etc.) will be used to develop risk quantification. The brief addresses a typical subject in the area of project management, with reference to large engineering projects concerning the realization of large plants and infrastructures. These projects are characterized by a high level of change, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. The brief represents an extension of the material developed for the course Project Risk Analysis and Management of the Master in Strategic Project Management (Erasmus Mundus) developed jointly by Politecnico di Milano, Heriot Watt University (Edimburgh) and Umea (Sweden). The brief may be used both in courses addressing project management subjects and by practitioners as a guide for developing an effective project risk management plan.

Look around your organization: can you identify who owns project management? Would that person appreciate that they own responsibility for your projects? Project Leadership: Creating Value with an Adaptive Project Organization highlights the importance of these questions-underlining the importance not only of the project team but on the culture of executive leadership to the success of projects. It offers straight-forward takeaways and solutions to provide executives with the tools to implement an effective project environment. The book begins with a discussion of the project environment and what it means for a project to succeed or fail in today's world. It introduces the Adaptive Project Management Model followed by a review of the systems and tools that give firms increasing ability to maintain priority on strategic projects and manage their associated uncertainty. Working through the book, you can progressively apply tactics from each chapter to increase your project leadership capability and improve your process so that your projects adapt as required depending on the nature of the portfolio itself. Ask yourself this-what is my customer buying? What do they really want? The one element that all organizations have in common is that customers are buying execution, and not much else. Therefore, ultimately, this book is about execution-getting things done and making things happen. It details methods and tactics that help you execute projects more effectively and give your organization the edge in the current, fast-paced marketplace.

This pocket guide explains the content and the practical use of ISO 21500 - Guidance on project management, the latest international standard for project management, and the first of a family of ISO standards for project, portfolio and program management. ISO 21500 is meant for senior managers and project sponsors to better understand project management and to properly support projects, for project managers and their team members to have a reference for comparing their projects to others and it can be used as a basis for the development of national standards. This pocket guide provides a quick introduction as well as a structured overview of this guidance and deals with the key issues within project management: * Roles and responsibilities * Balancing the project constraints * Competencies of project personnel All ISO 21500 subject groups (themes) are explained: Integration, Stakeholder, Scope, Resource, Time, Cost, Risk, Quality, Procurement and Communication. A separate chapter explains the comparison between, ISO 21500 and PMBOK(R) Guide PRINCE2, Agile, Lean, Six Sigma and other methods, practices and models. Finally, it provides a high level description of how ISO 21500 can be applied in practice using a generic project life cycle. Proper application of this new globally accepted project management guideline will support organizations and individuals in growing their project management maturity consistently to a professional level.

Although software development is one of the most complex activities carried out by man, sound development processes and proper project management can help ensure your software projects are delivered on time and under budget. Providing the know-how to manage software projects effectively, Introduction to Software Project Management supplies an accessible introduction to software project management. The book begins with an overview of the fundamental techniques of project management and the technical aspects of software development. This section supplies the understanding of the techniques required to mitigate uncertainty in projects and better control the complexity of software development projects. The second part illustrates the technical activities of software development in a coherent process-describing how to customize this process to fit a wide range of software development scenarios. Examines project management frameworks and software development standards, including ESA and NASA guidelines, PRINCE2 (R), and PMBOK (R) Addresses open source development practices and tools so readers can adopt best practices and get started with tools that are available for free Explains how to tailor the development process to different kinds of products and formalities, including the development of web applications Includes access to additional material for both practitioners and teachers at www.spmbook.com Supplying an analysis of existing development and management frameworks, the book describes how to set up an open-source tool infrastructure to manage projects. Since practitioners must be able to mix traditional and agile techniques effectively, the book covers both and explains how to use traditional techniques for planning and developing software components alongside agile methodologies. It does so in a manner that will help you to foster freedom and creativity in assembling the processes that will best serve your needs.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th Software Quality Days Conference (SWQD) held in Vienna, Austria, in January 2013. This professional symposium and conference offers a range of comprehensive and valuable opportunities for advanced professional training, new ideas, and networking with a series of keynote speeches, professional lectures, exhibits, and tutorials. The seven scientific full papers accepted for SWQD were each peer-reviewed by three or more reviewers and selected out of 18 high-quality submissions. Further, two keynotes and six short papers on promising research directions were also presented and included in order to spark discussions between researchers and practitioners. The papers are organized into topical sections on risk management; software and systems testing; test processes; model-based development; and process improvement and measurement.

In Portfolio Management , Shan Rajegopal, a leading authority on innovation and project portfolio management, provides an integrated project portfolio management framework which links innovation, investment and implementation. A successful tried and tested method, this blueprint will be a hands-on guide for business executives.

The current financial crisis started from the US real estate market and after, though the increase of risk premium requested by investors and due to the lack of liquidity of all financial markets, it became a world financial crisis. A detailed analysis during the crisis focuses attention on asset management, the real estate and public sector.

Through case studies this volume provides evidence that a link between sourcing capabilities and organizational structure contributes to a positive sourcing performance. Reveals that providers who are able to adapt to changing client circumstances, whilst establishing a fit, succeed in achieving a sustainable performance.

Very few companies are successful in undertaking strategic transformation while maintaining long term superior financial performance. This book, by leading strategy experts, draws upon extensive interviews with business leaders and insights from companies faced with this challenge.

Provides essential insight into what it takes to turn an initial idea into a project with successful outcome in the long term. Fills a gap in current literature on project management and is thoroughly grounded in the latest research in this field.

The Olympic Games are the world's most complex and challenging sport mega-event to organize. Managing the Olympics is the first ever attempt to bring together the world's leading Olympic management researchers in one book and draws on the latest research into the management challenges faced by the organizers and key stakeholders of the Games.

Davies explores and questions the central business challenges of a world in transition. Having shifted from a unipolar world dominated by the USA to a new untested multi-polar environment, we must continue to learn about the economic landscape that will in fluctation for the next decade.

Concerned with the management of complex long-term engineering projects, this important volume, of great interest to postgraduate students of business, technology management and engineering, reports on a set of rich, novel and unique findings concerning the conduct and management of three high profile and complex projects.

The major investments which constitute complex long-term projects represent an increasingly important source of economic activity, often with particularly significant consequences for economic growth and public policy. This informative volume expertly contributes to broader debates concerning new organizational forms, knowledge management and organizational learning and the management of innovation in project-based settings.

From Techie to Boss teaches technical people who are making or mulling the transition from team player to team leader all the management techniques and soft leadership skills they never needed before-but need now, pronto. Veteran team lead and project manager Scott Cromar lays out the classical management training course, but stripped down to precisely the essentials that techies need to start managing on the fly. He gets it that a front-line techie getting a field promotion to team leader just doesn't have the time to wade through an MBA textbook bulging with irrelevant material. The author appreciates how you got to the place where you need this book. Management tapped you instead of some experienced manager from the outside because you know the technical challenges, company culture, and team players better than anyone else: you're ready to hit the ground running. But the skills that make you an excellent techie are not sufficient to make you a successful manager. The rules of your world have abruptly changed. You will now be judged not by your puzzle-solving elegance but by how effectively your team contributes to the organization's bottom line. From Techie to Boss shows you how to translate and adapt the analytic skills that made you an outstanding techie to your new responsibilities as a technical manager. Even more crucially, this book teaches you a whole new set of interpersonal, organizational, and metrical skills you never needed before, but without which you cannot succeed as a manager.

This updated and completely revised edition of a bestseller extends the concepts and considerations of modern project management into the realm of project management oversight, control, and support. Illustrating the implications of project management in today's organizations, The Complete Project Management Office Handbook, Third Edition explains how to use the project management office (PMO) as a business integrator to influence project outcomes in a manner that serves both project and business management interests. Helping you determine if a PMO is right for your organization, this edition presents a five-stage PMO competency continuum to help you understand how to develop PMOs at different competency levels and associated functionalities. It also identifies five progressive PMO development levels to help you identify which level is best for your organization. Updates to this edition include: A refinement of the 20 PMO functions that guide PMO setup and operations A new section that provides an effective evaluation of PMO maturity indicators based on the prescribed 20 PMO functions presented in the handbook A new section on Establishing a Project Management Office that details a comprehensive process for determining the needs, purpose, and functionality for a new PMO Best practices that have cross-industry value and applicability The book includes checklists, detailed process steps, and descriptive guidance for developing PMO functional capability. The up-to-date PMO model defined will not only help you better understand business practices in project management, but will also help you to adapt and integrate those practices into the project management environment in your organization. For anyone associated with start-up and smaller PMOs, the book explains what can be done to create less rigorous PMO functional capabilities. It also includes helpful insights for those who need to specify and demonstrate "quick-wins" and early PMO-based accomplishments in their organization.

This concise reference covers important aspects of project management. It explains many key concepts in layman's terms, provides tools for planning, organizing, tracking and managing projects and gives examples of various telecommunications projects from wireline and wireless providers, equipment vendors and component manufacturers.