![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Business & Economics > Business & management > Management & management techniques > Project management
Project Management covers the full range of issues of vital concern to IT managers working in today's hurry-up, budget-conscious business environment. The handbook provides valuable advice and guidance on how to get projects finished on-time, within budget, and to the complete satisfaction of users, whether a high-tech, low-tech, financial, manufacturing, or service organization. Project Management Handbook brings together contributions from an all-star team of more than 40 of experts working at leading enterprise organizations and consulting firms across America, and around the world. With the help of dozens of fascinating and instructive case studies and vignettes, reporting experiences in a wide range of business sectors, those experts share their insights and experience and extrapolate practicable guidelines and actions steps that project managers can put to work on their current projects.
Offers coverage of each important step in engineering cost control process, from project justification to life-cycle costs. The book describes cost control systems and shows how to apply the principles of value engineering. It explains estimating methodology and the estimation of engineering, engineering equipment, and construction and labour costs; delineates productivity and cash-flow analysis; and more.
Developing a large-scale software system in C++ requires more than just a sound understanding of the logical design issues covered in most books on C++ programming. To be successful, you will also need a grasp of physical design concepts that, while closely tied to the technical aspects of development, include a dimension with which even expert software developers may have little or no experience. This is the definitive book for all C++ software professionals involved in large development efforts such as databases, operating systems, compilers, and frameworks. It is the first C++ book that actually demonstrates how to design large systems, and one of the few books on object-oriented design specifically geared to practical aspects of the C++ programming language. In this book, Lakos explains the process of decomposing large
systems into physical (not inheritance) hierarchies of smaller,
more manageable components. Such systems with their acyclic
physical dependencies are fundamentally easier and more economical
to maintain, test, and reuse than tightly interdependent systems.
In addition to explaining the motivation for following good
physical as well as logical design practices, Lakos provides you
with a catalog of specific techniques designed to eliminate cyclic,
compile-time, and link-time (physical) dependencies. He then
extends these concepts from large to very large systems. The book
concludes with a comprehensive top-down approach to the logical
design of individual components. Appendices include a valuable
design pattern "Protocol Hierarchy" designed to avoid fat
interfaces while minimizing physical dependencies; the details of
implementing an ANSI C compatible C++procedural interface; and a
complete specification for a suite of UNIX-like tools to extract
and analyze physical dependencies. Practical design rules,
guidelines, and principles are also collected in an appendix and
indexed for quick reference.
Bridging the gap between the quantitative viewpoint of management science and the practical, day-to-day needs of project cost management, this well-balanced reference/text offers comprehensive coverage of an integrated cost management program. Emphasizing a systematic approach to cost control, Cost Management of Capital Projects presents the use of method study techniques to increase the effectiveness of procedures and improve the productivity of resources...addresses risk management...describes the planning phase of capital projects and demonstrates how scheduling and cost estimating are used to monitor performance...pinpoints methods to identify misleading information that may enter the system...defines productivity and production...outlines a system that measures performance against predetermined standards...explains how to control performance...and much more. Written by an acknowledged expert in both the industrial and academic aspects of the discipline, Cost Management of Capital Projects is an indispensable reference for cost engineers; and engineering, construction, and project managers; as well as an incomparable text for all upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and continuing-education students in business and engineering.
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 unique reference interweaves information on the three major overlapping parts of the total project program: programs (defined as techniques, procedures, and methods), people skills (defined as experience, application, and analytical ability), and the culture of project groups (defined as project commitment and working togetherness). Summarizing the skills necessary for an economic construction program, Effective Project Management Through Applied Cost and Schedule Control presents a detailed evaluation of current project skill levels...reveals a direct correlation between project team-building and cost/schedule control...offers rules of thumb for establishing and developing the scope of a project...suggests value management procedures for creating cost-effective construction designs...delineates a wide range of analytical trending techniques...covers change control and risk analysis...elucidates the procurement needs of a project...and more.
Learning, Unlearning and Re-learning Curves (Volume IV of the Working Guides to Estimating & Forecasting series) focuses in on Learning Curves, and the various tried and tested models of Wright, Crawford, DeJong, Towill-Bevis and others. It explores the differences and similarities between the various models and examines the key properties that Estimators and Forecasters can exploit. A discussion about Learning Curve Cost Drivers leads to the consideration of a little used but very powerful technique of Learning Curve modelling called Segmentation, which looks at an organisation's complex learning curve as the product of multiple shallower learning curves. Perhaps the biggest benefit is that it simplifies the calculations in Microsoft Excel where there is a change in the rate of learning observed or expected. The same technique can be used to model and calibrate discontinuities in the learning process that result in setbacks and uplifts in time or cost. This technique is compared with other, better known techniques such as Anderlohr's. Equivalent Unit Learning is another, relative new technique that can be used alongside traditional completed unit learning to give an early warning of changes in the rates of learning. Finally, a Learning Curve can be exploited to estimate the penalty of collaborative working across multiple partners. Supported by a wealth of figures and tables, this is a valuable resource for estimators, engineers, accountants, project risk specialists, as well as students of cost engineering.
Portfolio management consists mainly of making decisions about which initiatives to undertake, which initiatives not to pursue, and which resources are to be allocated to which portfolio component. At least, that's how it is most commonly presented in textbooks and courses. Indeed, it is all of that, but it is also so much more. Portfolio management is, of course, about making these decisions, but, more accurately, it is about making them with the goal of creating value for an organization's wide population of stakeholders, both internal and external. This value is not only expressed in financial terms but also in social terms. The portfolio should create value for all stakeholders, who thereby support the portfolio organization and enable it to sustain itself. Portfolio management is about the realization of strategic vision, achieving a purpose, and developing an intelligent way of using resources to benefit stakeholders. This requires the ability to find a balance among the different dimensions of portfolio governance and among the constraints constantly shaping and reshaping the business environment. This is what portfolio management is truly about; this is what organizational management is about. The Four Pillars of Portfolio Management: Organizational Agility, Strategy, Risk, and Resources takes readers on a journey navigating the dimensions and constraints to be balanced and integrated as part of the portfolio and organizational decision-making process. By balancing the requirements of strategic alignment with the exposure to risk and by reconciling resource demands with capability, a portfolio manager can develop and sustain an organization despite the constant and dynamic evolution of the business environment. This book explains how to manage portfolios that create the agility all organizations require to survive and thrive.
A seminal collection of research methodology themes, this two-volume work provides a set of key scholarly developments related to robustness, allowing scholars to advance their knowledge of research methods used outside of their own immediate fields. With a focus on emerging methodologies within management, key areas of importance are dissected with chapters covering statistical modelling, new measurements, digital research, biometrics and neuroscience, the philosophy of research, computer modelling approaches and new mathematical theories, among others. A genuinely pioneering contribution to the advancement of research methods in business studies, Innovative Research Methodologies in Management presents an analytical and engaging discussion on each topic. By introducing new research agendas it aims to pave the way for increased application of innovative techniques, allowing the exploration of future research perspectives. Volume II explores a range of research methodologies including the Spatial Delphi and Spatial Shang, Virtual Reality, the Futures Polygon and Neuroscience research.
As executives build and nurture their organization's strategic agility in today's turbulent, uncertain business environment, the ability to lead strategic change has become more critical than ever. The Strategic Project Leader: Mastering Service-Based Project Leadership, Second Edition will help project managers lead with confidence in temporary, ambiguous team structures that execute risk-laden work in an increasingly agile project environment. Like the first edition, this edition encourages readers to take ownership of their leadership agenda and become disciplined in the processes of building a framework of leadership skills. Readers are introduced to a new role: the service-based project leader. This role serves the entire project organization by creating a meaningful experience for team members, customers, and critical stakeholders. The book provides practical guidance to help you move from project manager to service-based project leader. Detailing a framework for developing and refining leadership skills, it explains how to build a leadership competency pyramid and then execute a self-directed plan for building leadership competencies. The leadership competency pyramid includes an intuitive model that will be helpful to project managers at any level. The book elaborates on the components of each layer of the pyramid and how each layer relates to the others. A chapter is dedicated to each layer of the pyramid, with supporting evidence for the necessity of each of these layers, as well as practical advice on how to build and practice these component layers.
PgMP Exam Practice Test and Study Guide, Fourth Edition is the book you need to pass the Program Management Professional (PgMP) exam the first time around. It reflects recent revisions based on PMI's Standard for Program Management - Third Edition (2013).Based on best practices that complement PMI's standards, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource available to help you prepare for the exam with new and changed terminology. It includes a list of the major topics covered on the exam organized by the five performance domains'strategic program management, program life cycle, benefits management, stakeholder management, and governance as presented in the Program Management Professional Examination Content Outline. It also includes helpful tips on how to make the most of the time you have available to prepare for the exam. Just like its bestselling predecessors, this indispensable study guide includes 20 multiple-choice practice questions for each domain along with a comprehensive answer key. The program life cycle domain includes 20 questions for each of the five phases. Each question also has a plainly written rationale for each correct answer with bibliographic references for further study.Two challenging, 170-question practice tests that simulate the actual exam are included in the book and online, so you can retake them as many times as necessary. They also include a rationale and reference.Scores for the online tests are presented as if each question is rated similarly, but this edition also includes a new component: the authors own weighting system for the level of difficulty for each question. This system will show you what they feel meets the exam's criteria for Proficient, Moderately Proficient, and below Proficient. You then will see your scores by domain in both approaches.Supplying an in
In the fluid world of changing business environments and variables affecting projects, a style of project management that primarily relies on maintaining the Iron Triangle, that tenuous mix of schedule, scope, and budgets, is no longer the sole path to success. Today's project management demands a focus on leadership of the kind that anticipates and embraces change, challenges the status quo, and inspires teams. Developing these skills requires a mastery of emotional intelligence, courage, critical thinking, and a desire to become a true leader dedicated to developing success. Whether you are participating in a project for the first time or you've been doing projects for decades, you know the very essence of a project is to return value that gains a competitive edge and propels the organization forward into new frontiers. Whether you believe the best results are earned through agile, waterfall, or a mix of methodologies, project leadership is the secret weapon that will maintain and grow professional relevance, knowledge, and value in today's workforce. Through a series of notable lessons in human history and behavior, The Human Factor in Project Management takes you on a journey of self-discovery to define your capabilities and gaps, while building your leadership skills. In your role as a project manager, project sponsor, product owner, or champion, the book challenges you to question the choices you make in a series of stories where you are the main character. This guide to career and personal growth forces you to look beyond the limitations of a Gantt chart, spreadsheet, or a Kanban board to evaluate the value from every tool you use and every action you take.
Roughly half of all project managers have to lead customer projects as profit centers on contractor side with two big objectives: making the customer happy and bringing money home. Customer projects are a high-risk business on both sides, customers and contractors, but the dynamics of this business have so far been mostly ignored in literature. The book is intended to fill this gap. The book helps project managers better understand the dynamics of customer projects under contract from business development through handover and find solutions for common problems. A central aspect is international contract laws, an often underestimated factor in projects.
Covering the roles and responsibilities of the project manager, this second edition describes requirement specifications, work breakdown structures, project control and risk management, and offers new information on motivation, matrix arrangements, and project records. Discussing the anatomy of a project planning and control and techniques, the authors describe the project manager's entire range of responsibilities from initial planning to directing personnel, controlling work, and reporting results. The appendices cover work breakdown structure paradigms, cost versus time profiles, and checklists to assess work done.
The general perception amongst most project and risk managers that we can somehow control the future is, says David Hancock, one of the most ill-conceived in risk management. The biggest problem is how to measure risks in terms of their potential likelihood, their possible consequences, their correlation and the public's perception of them. The situation is further complicated by identifying different categories of problem types; Tame problems (straight-forward simple linear causal relationships and can be solved by analytical methods), and 'messes' which have high levels of system complexity and have interrelated or interdependent problems needing to be considered holistically. However, when an overriding social theory or social ethic is not shared the project or risk manager also faces 'wickedness'. Wicked problems are characterised by high levels of behavioural complexity, but what confuses real decision-making is that behavioural and dynamic complexities co-exist and interact in what is known as wicked messes. Tame, Messy and Wicked Risk Leadership will help professionals understand the limitations of the present project and risk management techniques. It introduces the concepts of societal benefit and behavioural risk, and illustrates why project risk has followed a particular path, developing from the basis of engineering, science and mathematics. David Hancock argues for, and offers, complimentary models from the worlds of sociology, philosophy and politics to be added to the risk toolbox, and provides a framework to understand which particular type of problem (tame, messy, wicked or messy and wicked) may confront you and which tools will provide the greatest potential for successful outcomes. Finally he introduces the concept of 'risk leadership' to aid the professional in delivering projects in a world of uncertainty and ambiguity. Anyone who has experienced the pain and blame of projects faced with overruns of time or money, dissatisfied stakeholders or
"Explores how engineering teams can ensure success by using strategic project planning properly. Provides a proven question-and-question format to facilitate completion of all types of projects. Focuses on decision-making, resolving major conflicts and finding ways for team members to work together, changing the strategic direction of major projects, and identifying and managing risks. Presented in a 8 3/8 x 11 spiral-bound workbook."
Have you ever felt stuck with methods, tools and skills that do not match the increasing complexity you are part of? Would you like to work in new ways that strengthen thinking, communication and collaboration? Visual Collaboration introduces a new and innovative way of working and collaborating that will help you successfully manage complexity for yourself, your team, and your entire organization. The method of this book unlocks any team s ability to collaborate in complex projects and processes. By using a systematic and proven approach to drawing and visualizing. Visual Collaboration is a unique visual business book that will enable you to develop visual languages to fit any scenario, create engaging and powerful questions to assist your visual process design and turn a white canvas into a visual template that can improve any meeting, project, or process. The core of the book - a practical and easy-to-follow method - THE FIVE BUILDING BLOCKS will most likely become your preferred way of working. The method is supported by plentiful examples, 4-color drawing, chapter summaries, and clearly defined learning objectives. Enjoyable and powerful, this book will help you: Use visualization as a tool to explore opportunities and challenges Translate complex concepts into easy-to-understand actions Engage employees and team members with effective strategic processes Incorporate drawing into your strategic organizational toolbox to strengthen communication and collaboration Develop and apply powerful visual literacy skills The authors, internationally-recognized experts in strategy communication and visual facilitation, have helped incorporate visual collaboration into more than 500 organizations such as LEGO, IKEA, the Red Cross, the United Nations, and many others. This book is the must-have resource for you to follow their example.
Requirements represent the needs of stakeholders, and satisfying these needs is the purpose of any project endeavor. Therefore, requirements are the most important ingredient to start any project. Critical to achieving project success is the effective management of requirements and the needs they represent. The Requirements Elicitation, Planning, Analysis, and Collaboration (REPAC) Framework (TM) is an entirely new approach to requirements management. It helps project teams center their efforts around what matters most to stakeholders-their needs. Teams use REPAC to focus their attention, choose the correct perspective, and select the appropriate level of complexity necessary for effective collaboration to build and manage requirements right the first time.
This book provides the much-needed, no-nonsense guidance crucial for project managers - that is, the type of guidance that is missing from every major body of knowledge and educational offering for working project managers. This very practical book identifies the activities that influence project success and focuses the limited time and energy available towards just those activities. The Project Management Institute (PMI) and most literature on project management discusses all aspects of project management under the assumption that project managers will narrow down focus because they cannot be expected to use every process outlined by PMI to manage every project. This book uses the concept of "hacking" our standard conventions of project management and outlines a standard path identified by conventional wisdom, an evil path that project managers frequently resort to under time/quality pressures, and a hacker path that provides a better way to look at the challenge. This book equips project managers with streamlined approaches to refocus their efforts on factors that matter while spending less time doing it. Project management is a demanding discipline with a growing body of knowledge with few instructions on how to do it all. The author provides humorous anecdotes and examples while teaching readers how to save time, improve quality, and advance their career. The primary sections of the book cover how to approach the most common certifications in project management; continuing education; leading project teams; initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling projects; general life skills; and taking on additional responsibilities. Hacking project management is about focusing the limited bandwidth a project manager can give a project towards the activities that drive success.
Law for Project Managers provides an easily understandable and practical guide to the laws of contract, liability, intellectual property and so on, entirely from the perspective of the project manager. It will enable you to approach projects forewarned and forearmed, able to avoid potential legal problems altogether. The book covers everything from intellectual property disputes with the client organisation about who actually 'owns' the outcome, to confusion arising during an international project from the different legal systems and their approach to contracts and health and safety problems in the management of contractors. Most importantly, it explains everything in very straightforward terms; legal jargon is either avoided altogether or defined with its relevance to the project manager explained. In essence, Law for Project Managers is a clear, readable and expert guide on this and many other important legal matters for the practising project manager as well as a supplementary text for post- or undergraduate students studying the commercial aspects of law, contracting and project management.
How can technology enable effective delivery of the HR service, and how can this technology be selected and implemented into your organization successfully? Beginning with an overview of the key roles within HR and how technology can support them, Using Technology to Create Value, part of the Gower HR Transformation Series, provides a step-by-step guide detailing how to identify your requirements, develop a compelling business case and ensure that the design of the selected technology solution addresses your HR and business priorities. The book includes suggestions on the skills required to implement HR technology (HRT) effectively along with case studies to illustrate the types of issues and decisions that need to be taken, and shows solutions that have been developed within other organizations. About The Gower HR Transformation Series: The Human Resources function faces a continuing challenge to its role and purpose, in many organizations it has suffered from serious under-representation at strategic, board level. Yet, faced with the challenges of globalism, the need to innovate, manage knowledge, attract and retain the very best employees, organizations need an HR function that can lead from the front. The process of transforming the function is complex and rarely linear. It involves applying and managing technology to manage risk, knowledge and communication. All of which involves a highly complex and, often painful, process of change. The Gower HR Transformation Series will help; it uses a blend of conceptual frameworks, practical advice and global case study examples to cover each of the main elements of the HR transformation process. The books in the series follow a standard format to make them easy to read and reference. Together, the titles create a definitive guide from one of the leading specialist HR transformation consultancies; an organization that has been involved in HR transformation for clients as diverse as Bombardier Transportation, Marks & Sp
For many years now, both private and public sector organizations have been dealing with the challenge of how best to improve corporate performance. HR has not escaped this scrutiny. The very same businesses that have spent recent years cost cutting, restructuring and streamlining, are putting the pressure on the HR 'overhead' to prove that it is not just a cost centre but a function that provides added value through alignment to business needs and aspirations. The traditional, transaction-based HR service must, however, still be delivered. Understanding how to combine a renewed strategic focus with effective delivery of transactional and administrative services is the key to HR's next generation of service delivery models. The authors' work with HR functions includes an established set of service design criteria and an approach that differentiates between a successful implementation and what can be a costly backward step that only serves to alienate the business. They show how any prospective HR transformation should consider five fundamental issues in the service design phase to align the HR approach to the business strategy. These issues are critical to ensuring a fit for purpose HR function that can measure and demonstrate the value it adds. About The Gower HR Transformation Series: The Human Resources function faces a continuing challenge to its role and purpose, in many organizations it has suffered from serious under-representation at strategic, board level. Yet, faced with the challenges of globalism, the need to innovate, manage knowledge, attract and retain the very best employees, organizations need an HR function that can lead from the front. The process of transforming the function is complex and rarely linear. It involves designing a function that can manage its generalist and specialist roles with equal skills. The Gower HR Transformation Series will help; it uses a blend of conceptual frameworks, practical advice and global case study examples to
This book is aimed at people who are involved in, or are about to become involved in, a project or programme. If you feel your project and programme management competences can be improved, 59 Checklists for Project and Programme Managers will undoubtedly offer you useful suggestions. The practical approach taken by Rudy Kor and Gert Wijnen makes this an easy book to dip into when you want to know what to do in a particular situation. The book covers a range of topics, including: choosing the right approach, organising for projects and programmes, team management, starting and executing projects, and programme management. For each topic, the book provides a series of checklists to lead you through the most important aspects of each subject. With such hands-on advice from acknowledged experts so easily available, this is a book which no project or programme manager should be without. The checklist approach provides readers with tools and techniques for this particular way of working and will enable new or experienced team members to plan, initiate, run and deliver whatever the output their organisations' programme or projects require.
Project Management for Performance Improvement Teams (or, PM4PITs, for short) provides practical guidance based on innovative concepts for project teams -- especially Performance Improvement Teams (PITs)-and their Project Managers on how to successfully complete individual projects and programs using an ingenious and scalable framework based on an innovative foundation fusing together elements of Project Management, Innovation Management, and Continual Improvement. This book lays out how Project and Program Managers and their teams can "do those right projects the right way," one project at a time. It details what continual improvement, change, and innovation are, why they are so important, and how they apply to performance improvement-both incremental and transformative. The authors examine the four types of work and workforce management in organizations, Strategic, Operations, Projects, and Crises, using four common comparative variables: Proactive/Preventive versus Reactive/Corrective, Temporary/Unique versus Ongoing/Repetitive, Innovative versus Maintaining the Status Quo, and Schedule Focus: Fiscal Year versus Short Term versus Long Term. These comparisons set the stage for the uniqueness of the third type: Projects (and Programs) that are fundamentally change-driven.
Business Process Management has helped thousands of leaders and BPM practitioners successfully implement BPM projects, enabling them to add impactful and measurable value to their organizations. The book covers all major frameworks, including LEAN and Six Sigma, and offers a unique emphasis on BPM’s interrelationship with organizational management, culture, and leadership. Its common-sense approach teaches how BPM must be well-integrated across an entire business if it is to be successful, augmented and aligned with other management disciplines. This thoroughly revised and updated fifth edition includes:
Business Process Management is an accessible core text for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Business Process Management, Operations, Production, and Strategic Management, as well as an indispensable guide to any senior business executive or chief financial officer. The work is complemented by online resources to support instructors and learning, including PowerPoint slides for each chapter. |
You may like...
Discovering Computers, Essentials…
Susan Sebok, Jennifer Campbell, …
Paperback
|