In today's business world, project managers not only have to be diligent in project planning and execution, but also need to have skills in persuasion, communication, and relationship management. Reflecting the changing landscape of projects today, Essential Project Management Skills empowers project managers to master the skills necessary to succeed in the current environment. Real case studies clarify concepts Divided into four sections by chapter and enhanced with tables and diagrams, the book begins by introducing the concepts related to the changing project landscape and their impact on projects. It then delves into the details of several trends within the project landscape, describes the challenges created by these trends for project managers, and provides illuminating case studies that elucidate each trend and its impact. Next, the book outlines the skills required to be successful in this new environment and offers techniques that can be applied to fully master them. Each of these skills is aligned with a case study in which the skills and techniques are used and the outcomes discussed. Finally, the book ties together the evolution of the project landscape, the challenges posed, and the new skills required to manage projects successfully in today's environment. The book also provides a checklist of the skills and techniques in the context of different project scenarios. Written by an expert in project management Written by an expert with a career of hands-on experience in the project management field, this volume is invaluable for project managers who have a fundamental background in project management principles and want to augment their toolbox of skills and techniques around the delivery of projects in today's complicated business environment.

Although there are countless books on statistics, few are dedicated to the application of statistical methods to software engineering. Simple Statistical Methods for Software Engineering: Data and Patterns fills that void. Instead of delving into overly complex statistics, the book details simpler solutions that are just as effective and connect with the intuition of problem solvers. Sharing valuable insights into software engineering problems and solutions, the book not only explains the required statistical methods, but also provides many examples, review questions, and case studies that provide the understanding required to apply those methods to real-world problems. After reading this book, practitioners will possess the confidence and understanding to solve day-to-day problems in quality, measurement, performance, and benchmarking. By following the examples and case studies, students will be better prepared able to achieve seamless transition from academic study to industry practices. Includes boxed stories, case studies, and illustrations that demonstrate the nuances behind proper application Supplies historical anecdotes and traces statistical methods to inventors and gurus Applies basic statistical laws in their simplest forms to resolve engineering problems Provides simple techniques for addressing the issues software engineers face The book starts off by reviewing the essential facts about data. Next, it supplies a detailed review and summary of metrics, including development, maintenance, test, and agile metrics. The third section covers the fundamental laws of probability and statistics and the final section presents special data patterns in the form of tailed mathematical distributions. In addition to selecting simpler and more flexible tools, the authors have also simplified several standard techniques to provide you with the set of intellectual tools al

This volume shows how ICT (information and communications technology) can play the role of a driver of business process reengineering (BPR). ICT can aid in enabling improvement in BPR activity cycles as it provides many components that enhance performance that can lead to competitive advantages. IT can interface with BPR to improve business processes in terms of communication, inventory management, data management, management information systems, customer relationship management, computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and computer-aided engineering. This volume explores these issues in depth.

With all signs pointing to an increased use of and interest in project-based work in modern organizations, the better scholars are able to make sense of the current state of the field through theory development and empirical investigation, the more successful projects promise to become. This book is a welcome addition to our field and will be, I am sure, an important work and source for future reference well into the future. -Dr. Jeffrey Pinto, Pennsylvania State University The goal of practicing project managers and scholars alike lies in solving the puzzle of how to manage projects toward successful completion. However, understanding what comprises project "success"-seemingly such an innocent question-has come to represent one of the most challenging problems for project managers and scholars. Who determines success? At what point in time is success best measured? How do diverse stakeholders define success? What happens when their perspectives collide? What is the difference between project success and project management success? These are surprisingly complex problems. For every principle or rule posited, a brief investigation reveals that there are numerous exceptions, muddying the waters and making these ideas increasingly opaque. Project Management Methodologies, Governance and Success addresses this challenge head-on, putting into proper context the critical issues that shape our understanding of the project management research process. Employing a concept referred to as "philosophical triangulation," the book shows how to overcome the weaknesses or intrinsic biases that disrupt and minimize the impact of so much organizational research. It places organizational governance and success within their proper context allowing scholars to identify the best methods for investigating project-based work. It links together in a cogent manner the diverse themes of research theory and design, projects and project success, and organizational governance. In effect, this book demonstrates that to fully understand how to undertake research in projects, theory and method are inextricably interwoven.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First Conference on Creativity in Intelligent Technologies and Data Science, CIT&DS 2015, held in Volgograd, Russia, in September 2015. The 66 revised full papers and two short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 208 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on computational creativity for science and design; knowledge discovery in patent and open sources for creative tasks; software computer-aided design and agent-based systems; conceptual, cognitive and qualitative modeling with application in intelligent decision making; design creativity in CAD/CAM/CAE/PDM; intelligent decision support for continual improvement process; data science in energy management, transportation and urban development; data science in social networks analysis; natural language and image processing and analysis; game-based learning technologies in engineering education and educational games design; personalized learning in Web-based intelligent educational systems; e-inclusion: development of smart mobile applications for people with disabilities.

Selling and delivering a project to a satisfied client, and making a profit, is a complex task. Project manager and author Robin Hornby believes this has been neglected by current standards and is poorly understood by professionals in the field. Commercial Project Management aims to rectify this deficiency. As a unique 'how-to' guide for project and business managers, it offers practical guidance, and a wealth of explanatory illustrations, useful techniques, proven checklists, real life examples, and case stories. It will give project managers a needed confidence boost and a head start in their demanding role as they go 'on contract'. At the heart of Robin's approach is a vendor sales and delivery lifecycle that provides a framework for business control of projects. Unique elements include the integration of buyer and vendor project lifecycles, the recasting of project management as a cyclic set of functions to lead the work of the project, and the elevation of risk assessment from a project toolkit to a fundamental control process. Beyond project management, the book proposes a comprehensive template for the firm whose business is delivering projects. This is a how-to book for project and business managers working in a commercial environment looking for practical guidance on conducting their projects and organizing their firm.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Computer Networks, CN 2016, held in Brunow, Poland, in June 2016. The 32 full papers and the 4 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 72 submissions. They are organized in topical sections on computer networks architectures and protocols, teleinformatics and telecommunications, new technologies, queueing theory, and innovative applications.

This SpringerBrief focuses on crucial issues for device-to-device (D2D) communications within the rapidly expanding 4G LTE toward 5G system. Several critical technical challenges in D2D communications are discussed, and D2D standardization activities in 3GPP are provided. Topics range from proximity discovery and mode selection, to resource management. The authors investigate proximity detection solutions for enabling direct user equipment communication by listening to uplink transmission. The problem of mixed mode selection is demonstrated to meet multiple quality of service (QoS) requirements in D2D enabled cellular networks. Finally, the brief explores the problem of designing interference-constrained resource allocation to pair cellular user resources with potential D2D links in cellular D2D underlay, with the goal of improving spectrum efficiency. Device-to-Device Communications in Cellular Networks targets researchers and professionals working in wireless communications and networks. Advanced-level students in electrical engineering and computer science studying wireless communications and networks can also use this material as a study guide.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Cloud Computing, CloudComp 2015, held in Daejeon, South Korea, in October 2015. The 36 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 89 submissions and cover topics such as virtualization and management on cloud; resource management, models and performance; mobile cloud and media services; pervasive cloud applications, services and testbeds; cloud-enabling techniques and devices.

This book unravels the mystery of Big Data computing and its power to transform business operations. The approach it uses will be helpful to any professional who must present a case for realizing Big Data computing solutions or to those who could be involved in a Big Data computing project. It provides a framework that enables business and technical managers to make optimal decisions necessary for the successful migration to Big Data computing environments and applications within their organizations.

Improve operations and agility in any data center, campus, LAN, or WAN Today, the best way to stay in control of your network is to address devices programmatically and automate network interactions. In this book, Cisco experts Ryan Tischer and Jason Gooley show you how to do just that. You'll learn how to use programmability and automation to solve business problems, reduce costs, promote agility and innovation, handle accelerating complexity, and add value in any data center, campus, LAN, or WAN. The authors show you how to create production solutions that run on or interact with Nexus NX-OS-based switches, Cisco ACI, Campus, and WAN technologies.You'll learn how to use advanced Cisco tools together with industry-standard languages and platforms, including Python, JSON, and Linux. The authors demonstrate how to support dynamic application environments, tighten links between apps and infrastructure, and make DevOps work better. This book will be an indispensable resource for network and cloud designers, architects, DevOps engineers, security specialists, and every professional who wants to build or operate high-efficiency networks. Drive more value through programma bility and automation, freeing resources for high-value innovation Move beyond error-prone, box-by-box network management Bridge management gaps arising from current operational models Write NX-OS software to run on, access, or extend your Nexus switch Master Cisco's powerful on-box automation and operation tools Manage complex WANs with NetConf/Yang, ConfD, and Cisco SDN Controller Interact with and enhance Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Build self-service catalogs to accelerate application delivery Find resources for deepening your expertise in network automation

* Provides simple, conceptual descriptions of everyday technologies * Includes clear examples and diagrams that demonstrate the principles and techniques, not just a "how-to" punch list * Covers advanced topics for readers who want to dive into the deep end of the technology pool * Avoids jargon-where terminology does appear, the text will provide clear, concise definitions

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.

Portfolio management is becoming the 'must have' for organizations to prosper and survive in this decade and beyond. No longer can the organizational focus be one of following best and repeatable practices as resource limitations mean only those programs, projects, and operational work that add business value can and should be pursued. Executives are focusing on strategic ability and managing complexity, which only can be done through a disciplined portfolio process in ensuring the best mix of programs, projects, and operational work is under way. In turn, the portfolio is constantly in flux as difficult decisions are made if a project, for example, is no longer contributing to business value and providing benefits and should be terminated to reallocate resources to one of higher priority. Commitment to this difficult approach is necessary at all levels, and communication is required so everyone knows how their work contributes to the organization's strategic goals and objectives. Portfolio Management: Delivering on Strategy, Second Edition focuses on the benefits of portfolio management to the organization. Its goal is to provide senior executives a view on how portfolio management can deliver organizational strategy. The emphasis is on the specific aspects within the portfolio management discipline and how each aspect should be managed from a business perspective and not necessarily from a portfolio management perspective. Highlights of the book include: Agile portfolio management Delivering organizational value Portfolio management and uncertainty Portfolio governance Marketing a portfolio Portfolio management success Starting with a review of the project portfolio concept and its development, the book is a reference for executives and practitioners in the field, as well as a students and researchers studying portfolio management.

We are witnessing an ever-increasing thrust toward the era of multimedia information networks, largely spurred by the U.S. Government's proposal for the National Information Infrastructure in the fall of 1993. While more people are subscribing to the services of narrowband ISDN, the implementation of broadband ISDN by means of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) has accelerated since the formation of the ATM Forum in 1993. In the meantime, frame relay may prevail for inter-LAN connections. In the "upper layer" of the network, commercial use of Internet is rapidly emerging. To ensure the successful development of technology, it is vital to use a judicious approach in assessing the architecture and performance of the systems that implement the technology. It is this spirit that underlies the present conference, which is intended to provide an international forum for the presentation of recent research results in the area of local and metropolitan communication systems. This conference has two sets of predecessors. It is the third in a series of international conferences on Local and Metropolitan Communication Systems -LAN & MAN; the first was held in Toulouse in 1986 and the second in Palma de Mallorca in 1991. It is also the fourth in a triennial series organized by Kyoto University and others on the performance of communication-related systems; the previous ones were held in Tokyo (1985) and Kyoto (1988, 1991).

Describing how to avoid common vendor traps, Buying, Supporting, Maintaining Software and Equipment: An IT Manager's Guide to Controlling the Product Lifecycle will help readers better control the negotiation of their IT products and services and, ultimately, better manage the lifecycle of those purchases. The book supplies an inside look at the methods and goals of vendors and their contracts-which are almost always in conflict with end-user goals. The text is set up to follow the way most people experience technology products and contracting decisions. It begins by explaining the significance of the decisions made at the time of product selection. It details what you need to focus on when negotiating service and support agreements and describes how to use purchase orders to negotiate more favorable agreements. Covers product acquisition, support, and maintenance Examines hardware and software warranty and support models Considers finance and accounting issues for maintenance and support Spells out technology product details Explains postwarranty support and maintenance Provides the understanding to better negotiate with vendor sales teams Illustrating the types of problems typically experienced during product use, the book describes how to better control the useful life of your equipment. It supplies tips on how to avoid excessive charges from predatory vendors and concludes by delving into issues of product end of life. Explaining how to manage support and maintenance issues for the long term, this book provides the understanding you need to make sure you are more knowledgeable about the products and services your organization needs than the vendor teams with whom you are negotiating.

Your strategic initiatives are constantly under fire due to the evolving nature of markets, technology, laws, and government. To ensure your strategy succeeds, it must remain flexible while confronting these shifting challenges. Agile Strategy Management: Techniques for Continuous Alignment and Improvement explains how to achieve this flexibility by building agility into the initiation, development, implementation, and governance of your strategic initiatives. The book details what it takes to initiate, develop, implement, and govern a healthy strategy that delivers the benefits expected by all stakeholders. It presents insights gained by the author's organization over the last 25 years helping their clients achieve success with their strategic initiatives. Filled with real-world examples and case studies, it illustrates wide-ranging situations where the author's company helped clients reach important business objectives. Readers can use the book to look up examples that describe the various ways to use agile methods and techniques for critical business functions, including: Scope definition of strategic initiatives Stakeholder identification Team building Project and program quality management Change management Procurement of resources Solution development, implementation, and quality management Strategy governance In this book, you will find guidelines that explain how to establish internal organizations for change and how to ensure these intermediate organizations stay motivated until final solution delivery. Presenting success stories as well as major blunders, the book can help you avoid many of the pitfalls that other organizations have experienced while governing their strategic initiatives.

Assisting organizations in improving their project management processes, the Project Management Maturity Model defines the industry standard for measuring project management maturity and agile and adaptive capabilities. Project Management Maturity Model, Fourth Edition provides a roadmap showing organizations how to move to higher levels of organizational behavior, improving project success and organizational performance. It's a comprehensive tool for enhancing project management practices, covering areas critical to organizational improvement, such as the project management office, management oversight, and professional development. It also provides methods for optimizing project management processes and suggestions for deploying the model as a strategic tool in improving business outcomes. New material in each chapter also outlines good practices for implementing adaptive an agile processes. The book also includes the Project Portfolio Management Maturity Model, which covers best practices for determining portfolio maturity, setting short-term priorities, implementing benefits realization management, improving portfolio management processes and tracking progress. The author, J. Kent Crawford, CEO of PM Solutions, describes the basics of project management maturity, including the benefits of assessing maturity, and presents a comprehensive framework for improving organization's processes. Chapters are based on the ten project management knowledge areas specified in the Project Management Institute's standard, the PMBOK (R) Guide. This edition provides new and revised materials based on the PMBOK (R) Guide including a fresh focus on agile and adaptive methods, benefits realization, and organizational change management. Organizations can use this book to: Determine the maturity of your organization's project management processes Gauge readiness for agile transformation Map out a logical path to improve your organization's processes Set priorities for short-term process improvement Track and visualize improvements in project management over time Learn to translate process maturity into business results After an objective assessment, an organization can set its goals for increasing the capability of its processes and develop a plan for reaching those goals. This book is ideal for anyone involved with improving the capability of an organization's project and portfolio management processes.

Integrated network management plays a pivotal role in establishing and maintaining an efficient worldwide information infrastructure. This volume presents a state-of-the-art review of the latest worldwide research results covering this topic. The book contains the selected proceedings of the fourth International Symposium on Integrated Network Management, arranged by the International Federation for Information Processing and jointly sponsored by the IEEE. The Symposium was held in Santa Barbara, California, May 1995.

The goal of this book is to present a modeling framework for the Virtual Organization that is focused on process composition. This framework uses Predicate Calculus Knowledge Bases. Petri Net-based modeling is also discussed. In this context, a Data Mining model is proposed, using a fuzzy mathematical approach, aiming to discover knowledge. A Knowledge-Based framework has been proposed in order to present an all-inclusive knowledge store for static and dynamic properties. Toward this direction, a Knowledge Base is created, and inferences are arrived at. This book features an advisory tool for Mergers and Acquisitions of Organizations using the Fuzzy Data Mining Framework and highlights the novelty of a Knowledge-Based Service-Oriented Architecture approach and development of an Enterprise Architectural model using AI that serves a wide audience. Students of Strategic Management in business schools and postgraduate programs in technology institutes seeking application areas of AI and Data Mining, as well as business/technology professionals in organizations aiming to create value through Mergers and Acquisitions and elsewhere, will benefit from the reading of this book.

The two-volume set LNCS 7382 and 7383 constiutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, ICCHP 2012, held in Linz, Austria, in July 2012. The 147 revised full papers and 42 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 364 submissions. The papers included in the first volume are organized in the following topical sections: universal learning design; putting the disabled student in charge: user focused technology in education; access to mathematics and science; policy and service provision; creative design for inclusion, virtual user models for designing and using inclusive products; web accessibility in advanced technologies, website accessibility metrics; entertainment software accessibility; document and media accessibility; inclusion by accessible social media; a new era for document accessibility: understanding, managing and implementing the ISO standard PDF/UA; and human-computer interaction and usability for elderly.

As more and more devices become interconnected through the Internet of Things (IoT), there is an even greater need for this book,which explains the technology, the internetworking, and applications that are making IoT an everyday reality. The book begins with a discussion of IoT "ecosystems" and the technology that enables them, which includes: Wireless Infrastructure and Service Discovery Protocols Integration Technologies and Tools Application and Analytics Enablement Platforms A chapter on next-generation cloud infrastructure explains hosting IoT platforms and applications. A chapter on data analytics throws light on IoT data collection, storage, translation, real-time processing, mining, and analysis, all of which can yield actionable insights from the data collected by IoT applications. There is also a chapter on edge/fog computing. The second half of the book presents various IoT ecosystem use cases. One chapter discusses smart airports and highlights the role of IoT integration. It explains how mobile devices, mobile technology, wearables, RFID sensors, and beacons work together as the core technologies of a smart airport. Integrating these components into the airport ecosystem is examined in detail, and use cases and real-life examples illustrate this IoT ecosystem in operation. Another in-depth look is on envisioning smart healthcare systems in a connected world. This chapter focuses on the requirements, promising applications, and roles of cloud computing and data analytics. The book also examines smart homes, smart cities, and smart governments. The book concludes with a chapter on IoT security and privacy. This chapter examines the emerging security and privacy requirements of IoT environments. The security issues and an assortment of surmounting techniques and best practices are also discussed in this chapter.

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.

The network management community has been pushed towards the design of alternative management approaches able to support heterogeneity, scalability, reliability, and minor human intervention. The employment of self-* properties and Peer-To-Peer (P2P) are seen as promising alternatives, able to provide the sophisticated solutions required.

Despite being developed in parallel, and with minor direct connections perceived between them, self-* properties and P2P can be used concurrently. In "Self-* and P2P for Network Management: Design Principles and Case Studies," the authors explore the issues behind the joint use of self-* properties and P2P, and present: a survey relating autonomic computing and self-* properties, P2P, and network and service management; the design of solutions that explore parallel and cooperative behavior of management peers; the change in angle of network management solution development from APIs, protocols, architectures, and frameworks to the design of management algorithms.

Web Personalization can be de?ned as any set of actions that can tailor the Webexperiencetoaparticularuserorsetofusers. Toachievee?ectivepers- alization, organizationsmustrelyonallavailabledata, includingtheusageand click-stream data (re?ecting user behaviour), the site content, the site str- ture, domainknowledge, aswellasuserdemographicsandpro?les. Inaddition, e?cient and intelligent techniques are needed to mine this data for actionable knowledge, and to e?ectively use the discovered knowledge to enhance the users' Web experience. These techniques must address important challenges emanating from the size and the heterogeneous nature of the data itself, as wellasthedynamicnatureofuserinteractionswiththeWeb. Thesechallenges include the scalability of the personalization solutions, data integration, and successful integration of techniques from machine learning, information - trievaland?ltering, databases, agentarchitectures, knowledgerepresentation, data mining, text mining, statistics, user modelling and human-computer - teraction. The Semantic Web adds one more dimension to this. The workshop will focus on the semantic web approach to personalization and adaptation. The Web has been formed to be an integral part of numerous applications inwhichauserinteractswithaserviceprovider, productsellers, governmental organisations, friends and colleagues. Content and services are available at di?erent sources and places. Hence, Web applications need to combine all available knowledge in order to form personalized, user-friendly, and busine- optimal servi