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Books > Business & Economics > Business & management > Management & management techniques > Project management
Managing a software development project is a complex process. There are lots of deliverables to produce, standards and procedures to observe, plans and budgets to meet, and different people to manage. Project management doesn't just start and end with designing and building the system. Once you've specified, designed and built (or bought) the system it still needs to be properly tested, documented and settled into the live environment. This can seem like a maze to the inexperienced project manager, or even to the experienced project manager unused to a particular environment.A Hacker's Guide to Project Management acts as a guide through this maze. It's aimed specifically at those managing a project or leading a team for the first time, but it will also help more experienced managers who are either new to software development, or dealing with a new part of the software life-cycle. This book:describes the process of software development, how projects can fail and how to avoid those failuresoutlines the key skills of a good project manager, and provides practical advice on how to gain and deploy those skillstakes the reader step-by-step through the main stages of the project, explaining what must be done, and what must be avoided at each stagesuggests what to do if things start to go wrong!The book will also be useful to designers and architects, describing important design techniques, and discussing the important discipline of Software Architecture.This new edition:has been fully revised and updated to reflect current best practices in software developmentincludes a range of different life-cycle models and new design techniquesnow uses the Unified Modelling Language throughout
Commissioned by the Cabinet Office and using hitherto untapped
British Government records, this book presents an in-depth analysis
of the successful project of 1986-94.
Program Evaluation 3rd edition has the hallmarks of thoroughness, insight and fluency of other editions but brings us up to date with a map of the evaluation territory new travelers will find invaluable.'Professor Murray Saunders, UK and European Evaluation Societies John Owen's Program Evaluation helps practitioners clarify distinctions between what we evaluate, the various motivations for conducting evaluation, and the approaches attendant to each. Timely evaluation examples liberally sprinkled throughout this book make it exceptionally useful and helpful to practitioners. I highly recommend Program Evaluation.'Professor Marvin Alkin, UCLA Graduate School of Education + Information StudiesEveryone involved with policy and program development and delivery is being asked to plan more carefully, reflect more critically and justify their decisions. The key to this is evaluation. Program Evaluation offers a conceptual yet straightforward and practical overview of the evaluation process for both beginners and experienced practitioners. It shows evaluators how to identify appropriate forms, approaches and methods, using an original framework. John Owen examines the contributions of evaluation to program provision, and offers proven techniques for involving stakeholders in the planning process and for disseminating the evaluation findings.This third edition has been thoroughly revised to incorporate recent research on evaluation and new examples of good practice. It includes sections of management of evaluation, negotiating evaluation plans, program logic and ex ante evaluation, evidence based practice, performance management and accountability.With international examples from a range of health, education, welfare, community and other settings, Program Evaluation is an essential reference for anyone involved in evaluation in both the public and private sectors.
Project management is widely used in the construction industry and is central to planning and controlling time, costs and resources. This book enables readers to perform more effectively, to understand project planning and control procedures and to gain an insight into the associated skills. Numerous case examples from diverse industries and exercises support and illustrate important concepts. The result is a new perspective for project managers: planning can be shown to be a systems synthesis or an inverse problem, which provides a way to reach a satisfactory solution, avoiding the time-consuming or impractical search for the optimal solution.
Sometimes unanticipated threats or opportunities create a situation in which work is required unexpectedly. On these occasions, such urgent and unexpected work demands an instant start, in contrast to the often lengthy processes of investigation, evaluation, development, selection and planning normal in businesses and public services before the start of a project. Managing the Urgent and Unexpected explores what is different managerially if work is unexpected, its implementation is urgent and an immediate start it is required. The authors draw on twelve cases ranging from the launch of the Freeview television system in the United Kingdom to the sifting and removal of the New York World Trade Center pile of debris following the 9/11 terrorist attack. They summarise how the response to each of these events was managed, demonstrate that opportunities may sometimes be created in the face of adversity and suggest how normal organizations can prepare to manage abnormal demands. Urgent and unexpected projects have to be rare in business or government to be economically and socially tolerable. And yet organizations can and should be prepared for the unexpected. The lessons offered here will help private and public organizations plan how to authorize and support future urgent work to take advantage of immediate new business opportunities or to protect or restore systems and services.
Developing and Leading Emergence Teams describes a future business landscape that seems to be complicated, complex and chaotic, in almost equal measures. The variety and diversity of the environments within which large organizations will be seeking to operate, require a similar variety of systems, process and structures if they are to respond successfully to emerging opportunities. The established models of teamworking (matrix, cross-functional or transdisciplinary) can all adapt to this new environment but will only do so if the culture, leadership and management style of the business enables this. The authors describe a model of emergence teams; high-trust teams that exhibit exceptional affinity for knowledge sharing, sense making, and consensus building. They then explore the specifics of leading such a team, how the team leader should: design the team; interact and facilitate the team's development; understand the personal nature of each of the team members and the overall emotional regime that will affect trust, commitment and motivation. Peter Smith and Tom Cockburn draw on research and detailed case examples to provide techniques your organization can adopt in order to build and support the various teams capable of addressing complexity.
Despite two decades of investment in project management as many as 80 per cent of business change and IT projects continue to rack up cost overruns and fail to deliver their expected benefits. Business people who must have more certainty in their project investments will find this book refreshing. It contains commonsense but groundbreaking techniques that deal with just this challenge. The authors, far from rejecting current methods, take an imaginative approach to encapsulating established best practices such as PRINCE2 (TM) within a framework of new thinking, innovative techniques and hard-nosed portfolio management. This book shows how project sponsors can radically improve the certainty of getting the benefits that they want and accelerate their projects to get them sooner rather than later (or never). Finance and portfolio managers will find techniques that provide them with the means for drilling down and tracking not only the costs, but also the cash values of project benefits, both tangible and intangible. Business people and project managers will find ideas here that enable them to create and control change in communities of stakeholders; which is the ultimate aim of the organizations that are investing time, resources and money in projects of this kind. Accelerating Business and IT Change is essential reading for anyone seeking to define the nature and value of what they expect from their projects, set realistic implementation schedules and then ensure that all the intended benefits are realized. Important: The CD version of this product requires a Java Run Time environment. If you are planning to use the CD in your office please check with your IT Department to make sure you will be able to use it.
Capital investments consume approximately 20% of the annual GNP of developed countries. It is therefore important to allocate capital funds to such projects in the most effective and efficient way. This text presents the techniques needed by engineers of all disciplines and by managers at every organizational level to participate in the process through which capital projects, both in the public and private sectors, are selected (or should be) for implementation. The techniques are grounded in a management science known as engineering economics. They have been refined and further developed by the application of probability theory. There are problems at the end of each chapter for self-study and for teacher-assisted skills development. The arrangement of the text makes it easy for use in both one- and two-semester courses. We believe you will find the text both readable and instructive. It will enable you not only to participate in the capital selection process when you have the opportunity to do so but also to critique the capital spending plans of the private and public organizations in which you share an interest.
Filled with practical advice for all aspects of the construction manager's role, this invaluable book fills a need for training in this essential subject, to ensure greater efficiency on site and smoother client-contractor relations. Developed as a handy-reference guide for practitioners and also useful for students, it covers the broad range of responsibilities associated with the role, providing clear guidance and in-depth coverage of the essentials. Topics include financial responsibilities and how to handle them, tender preparation, people management, health and safety, contracts, subcontracting, measurement and quantities, insurance and risk and many more simple and effective methods for turning construction projects into reality.
Reducing Risk with Software Process Improvement recommends the critical practices that aid in the successful delivery of software products and services. The author describes the observations that he made over a period of ten years in IT projects and organizations. He focuses on the areas of software development and maintenance, highlighting the most frequently encountered problems that occur due to poor processes. The author derives recommendations from 40 comprehensive assessments of IT organizations. This book details the potential or real problems each organization experienced, and offers anecdotes on how these problems resulted from deficient practices, what their impacts were, and how improving specific practices benefitted the organizations. This volume provides valuable advice for project and application managers looking to minimize the number of crises they have to deal with, and for IT practitioners seeking the practical solutions that lead to career advancement. It benefits customers who need to know what to look for before purchasing IT products or services, and helps investors analyze the efficiency of IT companies before making investment decisions.
This book aims to provide a systemic viewpoint for enterprise to establish the warranty chain management system. This book includes warranty management practice, reverse logistics, product reliability engineering, data statistics and analysis, industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence, circular supply chain and sustainable design, and other basic theories and case descriptions. The author has many years' experience in academic and industrial management, and provides a management framework that especially takes into account (1) the implementation aspect - promotion of warranty plan and statistical analysis of data; (2) strategic aspect - digital application and sustainable development, with an overall system building point of view to describe the steps of warranty chain management step by step. There are rich industry cases in this book which has highly reference value for students, researchers and practitioners. Also this book fits to be used as teaching and training material in engineering management, which builds an overview of the product life cycle management from warranty service till the recovery stage.
Mistakes occur for many reasons. This book takes a hands-on approach to the reasons mistakes happen, analyzes the actual mistakes, and develops a strategy to reduce them. This book proposes error reduction strategies in human decision making and educates the reader to further reduce the likelihood of making a mistake. It provides error reduction strategies, describes various cost-effective methods for eliminating costly errors, and discusses Anthropometry, Crew Resource Management, Human Factors, Industrial Engineering, Scientific Management, and Usability and the role these topics play in the avoidance of mistakes. This book will be of interest to professionals and students in the areas of industrial engineering, human factors, logistics, quality control, manufacturing, human resources, and safety.
The Definitive Guide to the Field's Best Practices In recent years, project management has become a profession unto itself. And with a membership numbering in the tens of thousands, the Project Management Institute is the organization that's setting the profession's standards. In this authoritative handbook, more than twenty-five top experts from academia, consulting, and private industry define the current state of project management and detail for readers all of the practical elements that constitute a superior practice. In clear, accessible language, these experts provide a comprehensive overview of the technical, organizational, administrative, and interpersonal elements of successful project management. They detail the essentials of project planning--from risk management to resource allocation to scheduling. They describe the team-building, motivational, and conflict-management challenges that project leaders face. And they delineate critical success factors as well as major pitfalls to avoid. At last, project managers across all industries can readily reference the best practices of their profession and benchmark their skills against those of their most accomplished colleagues.
Management of knowledge in project environments is a unique text that brings together contributions from leading academic practitioners, to demonstrate how the management of knowledge can lead to project success in today's complex and changing business environment.The work examines how the management of knowledge, particularly the sharing of knowledge and the importance of learning through reflection, can lead to project success and improved business performance. This book is written by an international contributor team and offers practical applications, models and case studies from a variety of international perspectives.
This book explores the design, communication and implementation of social change programmes aimed at solving various social problems, from reducing health-risk behaviour to 'green' consumption or financial literacy. Examining the application of social practice theory as a way of understanding social change, From Intervention to Social Change connects theoretical reflections with empirical research, sample cases and exercises, emphasising the importance of communication and community engagement in the initiation and implementation of social change programmes designed to address social problems and improve quality of life. Adopting a 'communication for social change' approach and presenting illustrative studies drawn from 'developed' and rapidly transforming countries, this handbook will appeal to project managers and communication professionals in the public and private sectors, as well as scholars of sociology, anthropology and development studies with interests in social problems and social change.
The ability of organisations to cyberconnect is becoming increasingly important for superior performance. Cyberconnecting: The Three Lenses of Diversity by Dr Priya E. Abraham explains how to establish connections across technological, cultural and social boundaries, mirrored in organisations succeeding in today's hybrid business world. Some companies create and innovate technology; others use and adopt it; but in the cyberage, both must closely interconnect tech with human behaviour. Face-to-face and cyber-interactions are at the heart of effective work-based relationships, which in turn increase organisational performance. To build these effective business relations, organisations must foster the discovery muscle - curiosity combined with skills - in individuals. Priya E. Abraham shows how seemingly opposing domains (technology, business anthropology and diversity) best leverage interactions for the benefit of organisation development, using findings from practitioner-focused research conducted when leading complex cross-boundary projects in the telecommunications and mobile learning industries. Tools from business anthropology help uncover people's diverse needs and expectations in a cyberconnected world. Identity portfolios need reflection in development solutions of face-to-face and mobile applications. Solutions uncovered by qualitative research methods help close the gap between human behaviour and tech to engage internal and external stakeholders. The book presents a much-needed strategic framework required for cyberconnecting: 'The Three Lenses of Diversity', designed to organise thinking in the navigation of technological, cultural, and social boundaries.
Project management skills are valuable for any healthcare project, not just technology projects. Non-technology activities that would benefit from project management skills include implementing a new policy housewide, updating training for use of the electronic health record (EHR), creating a new orientation program, quality assurance activities, submitting an article or presentation, writing a research proposal, or opening a new patient care unit. In addition, project management skills are not just for project managers, but they can be used by anyone leading these types of activities, such as managers, staff, educators, and researchers. Many books on healthcare project management have been focused on technology projects while non-technology projects flounder without the required knowledge or skills of the person leading the project. The purpose of this book is to discuss these skills based on the Project Management Institute (PMI) standards in a way that non-project managers would be able to understand and apply. Concepts from project initiation through project closure will be presented twice, first for novices and then for project leaders with more advanced skills. Practical, accessible, and containing numerous examples for each phase of the PMI Framework, this book will be a valuable resource for all healthcare professionals and both novice and experienced project managers.
Project management skills are valuable for any healthcare project, not just technology projects. Non-technology activities that would benefit from project management skills include implementing a new policy housewide, updating training for use of the electronic health record (EHR), creating a new orientation program, quality assurance activities, submitting an article or presentation, writing a research proposal, or opening a new patient care unit. In addition, project management skills are not just for project managers, but they can be used by anyone leading these types of activities, such as managers, staff, educators, and researchers. Many books on healthcare project management have been focused on technology projects while non-technology projects flounder without the required knowledge or skills of the person leading the project. The purpose of this book is to discuss these skills based on the Project Management Institute (PMI) standards in a way that non-project managers would be able to understand and apply. Concepts from project initiation through project closure will be presented twice, first for novices and then for project leaders with more advanced skills. Practical, accessible, and containing numerous examples for each phase of the PMI Framework, this book will be a valuable resource for all healthcare professionals and both novice and experienced project managers.
In Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art Andre Breton and Diego Rivera, under the effects of German fascism and Russian Stalinism in society, argued that art can only impact society and be revolutionary if it becomes independent of any social constructs. Almost six decades later, in the rise of what became known as "relational aesthetics", the field of multidisciplinarity is expanding and many artistic projects for social change claim to be multidisciplinarity. However, such projects show that we are still far from a broad discourse of multidisciplinarity. Multidisciplinarity takes a step towards a down-to-earth discussion of the relation between disciplinary discourses and grand narratives in three different projects, focusing mainly on its artistic, cultural and management aspects. Indeed, drawing from the eclectic construction of these three multidisciplinary projects, this volume serves to bridge the gap between the theoretical debates of disciplinary discourses and the harshness of everyday life in communities where projects for social change are being implemented. Presenting a panoptical view that places academic research side by side with daily life, Multidisciplinarity unveils the bigger picture of both projects and interdisciplinary discourses. This insightful volume will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as Project Management, Multidisciplinarity, Culture Studies and Organisational Studies.
This new edition of Civil Engineering: Supervision and Management updates and revises the best practical guide for on-site engineers. Written from the point of view of the project engineer it details their responsibilities, powers and duties. The book has been fully updated to reflect the latest changes to management practice and new forms of contract. As a practical guide to on-site project management it is invaluable to practising engineers.
A strategic requirement is something an organisation sets out to achieve; it could be the long-term vision the organisation sets itself, the key business condition for a specific project to be a success or a business strategy to achieve a goal. A set of strategic requirements defines the goals, strategies and tactics that organisations need to put in place to give them direction and impetus. Business analysts and consultants have to understand strategic requirements to know where projects can deliver business benefits and where not. The ability of the analyst to interview, gather, analyse, model and present strategic requirements is key to success. The primary tool consultants and business analysts use for communication is talking; but, if you cannot present all that incredible information back to your client effectively, it is hard for them and you to get to grips quickly enough with what is going on. Being able to present a model is really powerful because it provides a visual format and structure on one page to reason about those strategic requirements. Dr Karl A. Cox offers a process, guidelines and ideas - that have been tried and tested in practice - for conducting interviews and shows you how to rapidly turn interview findings into strategic requirements models all on one page, to present to your clients, customers, team and / or supervisors.
Understanding BIM presents the story of Building Information Modelling, an ever evolving and disruptive technology that has transformed the methodologies of the global construction industry. Written by the 2016 Prince Philip Gold Medal winner, Jonathan Ingram, it provides an in-depth understanding of BIM technologies, the business and organizational issues associated with its implementation, and the profound advantages its effective use can provide to a project team. Ingram, who pioneered the system heralding the BIM revolution, provides unrivalled access to case material and relevance to the current generation of BIM masters. With hundreds of colour images and illustrations showing the breadth and power of BIM, the book covers: The history of BIM What BIM is in technical and practical terms How it changes the day to day working environment Why we need BIM and what problems it can solve Where BIM is headed, particularly with regards to AI, AR, VR and voice recognition International case studies from a range of disciplines including: architecture, construction management, and retail Professionals and students in any field where the inter-disciplinary aspects of BIM are in operation will benefit from Ingram's insights. This book is an authoritative account of and reference on BIM for anyone wanting to understand its history, theory, application and potential future developments.
Ready, set, liftoff! Align your team to one purpose: successful delivery. Learn new insights and techniques for starting projects and teams the right way, with expanded concepts for planning, organizing, and conducting liftoff meetings. Real-life stories illustrate how others have effectively started (or restarted) their teams and projects. Master coaches Diana Larsen and Ainsley Nies have successfully "lifted off" numerous agile projects worldwide. Are you ready for success?Every team needs a great start. If you're a business or product leader, team coach or agile practice lead, project or program manager, you'll gain strategic and tactical benefits from liftoffs.Discover new step-by-step instructions and techniques for boosting team performance in this second edition of "Liftoft." Concrete examples from our practices show you how to get everyone on the same page from the start as you form the team. You'll find pointers for refocusing an effort that's gone off in the weeds, and practices for working with teams as complex systems.See how to scale liftoffs for multiple teams across the enterprise, address the three key elements for collaborative team chartering, establish the optimal conditions for learning and improvement, and apply the GEFN (Good Enough for Now) rule for efficient liftoffs. Throughout the book are stories from real-life teams lifting off, as seasoned coaches describe their experiences with liftoffs and agile team chartering.Focused conversations help the team align, form, and build enough trust for collaborating. You'll build a common understanding of the teams' context within business goals. Every liftoff is unique, but success is common!
Books about project management are plentiful. The best of those books are too comprehensive for the person faced for the first time with managing a small and relatively straightforward project, or for the student studying for a degree or business qualification in which project management is only one of several modules. But, at the other extreme too many of the simpler books treat project management lightly, gloss over or ignore some essential processes, and even get the facts wrong and give incorrect examples. Naked Project Management is an introductory guide to the world of project management from one of the world's most accomplished project management authors. Lock has stripped project management down to its bare facts - simplifying everything but trivializing nothing - leaving sound practical advice on how to organize and manage a small or medium sized project. The book is written in the direct jargon-free style that has become Dennis Lock's hallmark. Everything is carefully explained and supported with clear diagrams. It covers all the essential aspect of project management in astonishingly few words and provides further instruction with an entertaining case study project that flows logically through the chapters from beginning to end. Degree and other students for whom project management is an elective or small part of their course will love this compact time-saving and reasonably priced study resource.
Completely revised to align with ISO 9001:2015, this handbook has been the bible for users of ISO 9001 since 1994, helping organizations get certified and increase the quality of their outputs.
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