The Essentials of Project Management

Dennis Lock

Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2007 - Business & Economics - 204 pages

In recent years organizations of all kinds have learned that project working, once considered significant only for engineering and construction companies, can help to ensure that the intended benefits of business change will be realized in full and on time. This development means that more people than ever before need to understand the basic process, language and purpose of project working. That awareness is important not only for those actually engaged in project work, in all sectors of industry and commerce, but also for senior managers, project sponsors and the other stakeholders. The Essentials of Project Management is a primer distilled from Dennis Lock's comprehensive, successful and encyclopedic textbook, Project Management (now in its Ninth Edition). It provides a concise, straightforward account of the principles and techniques of project management, designed to meet the needs of the business manager or student. Using examples and illustrations, the author introduces the key project management procedures and explains clearly how and when to use them. The text for the new edition has been completely restructured and largely rewritten, so that the sequence now follows even more closely the life-cycle of a typical project from its earliest definition to final close-out. As its title suggests, The Essentials of Project Management covers the basic, indispensable elements of project management. Because it is written by one of the most successful, prolific and popular of project management authors, it always engages the reader at a level that he or she can readily understand, yet it never commits the error of over simplification. The Essentials of Project Management remains the ideal first text for anyone new to project working or students studying project management as part of a wider business qualification or degree.

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Contents

• INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT: 1
• PROJECT LIFE CYCLES AND LIFE HISTORIES: 3
• FACTORS FOR ASSESSING PROJECT SUCCESS OR FAILURE: 5
• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE THREE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: 6
• PERCEPTIONS OF PROJECT SUCCESS OR FAILURE BEYOND THE THREE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: 9
• BENEFITS REALIZATION: 11
• ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING THE PROFESSION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT: 12
• DEFINING THE PROJECT TASK: 13
• CHECKLISTS: 16
• DEFINING THE PROJECT SCOPE: 18
• THE CONTRACTORS STRATEGY: 21
• SPECIFICATIONS FOR INTERNALLY FUNDED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: 23
• PROJECT SPECIFICATION AND VERSION CONTROL: 27
• ESTIMATING THE PROJECT COSTS: 29
• ACCURACY OF COST ESTIMATES: 30
• STANDARD ESTIMATING TABLES: 31
• DOCUMENTING THE PROJECT COST ESTIMATES: 32
• COLLECTING DEPARTMENTAL ESTIMATES: 33
• THE ESTIMATING ABILITIES OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE: 35
• ESTIMATES FOR MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT COSTS: 37
• ESTIMATING BELOWTHELINE COSTS: 38
• REVIEWING THE COST ESTIMATES: 41
• MANAGING RISK: 43
• RISK APPRAISAL AND ANALYSIS: 44
• RISK REGISTER: 46
• METHODS FOR DEALING WITH RISKS: 47
• OBTAINING INSURANCE: 50
• ORGANIZING THE PROJECT: 53
• PROJECT TEAM ORGANIZATION: 57
• WHICH ORGANIZATION IS BEST?: 58
• HYBRID ORGANIZATIONS: 60
• CONTRACT MATRIX ORGANIZATIONS: 61
• JOINT VENTURE PROJECTS: 62
• THE PROJECT MANAGER: 63
• PROJECT SUPPORT GROUPS: 67
• COMPILING THE WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE: 69
• CODING SYSTEMS: 74
• BENEFITS OF A LOGICAL CODING SYSTEM: 78
• CHOOSING A CODING SYSTEM: 81
• WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE CUSTOMER SAYS YOU SHALL USE MY CODING SYSTEM?: 83
• PLANNING THE TIMESCALE: 85
• CRITICAL PATH NETWORK ANALYSIS: 90
• CRITICAL PATH NETWORKS USING ARROW DIAGRAMS: 91
• PRECEDENCE NETWORK DIAGRAMS: 94
• PLANNING THE FURNITURE PROJECT BY CRITICAL PATH NETWORK: 97
• LEVEL OF DETAIL IN NETWORK DIAGRAMS: 100
• MILESTONES: 102
• IS THE PREDICTED TIMESCALE TOO LONG?: 103
• SCHEDULING PROJECT RESOURCES: 107
• INTRODUCING THE GARAGE PROJECT: 108
• GARAGE PROJECT NETWORK PLANNING: 111
• A FIRST LOOK AT THE GARAGE PROJECT RESOURCE SCHEDULE: 112
• GARAGE PROJECT RESOURCE SCHEDULING: 116
• COMPUTER SCHEDULING OF THE GARAGE PROJECT AND OTHER PROJECTS: 118
• RECAPITULATION: 125
• IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN: 127
• PRELIMINARY ORGANIZATION OF THE PROJECT: 128
• PHYSICAL PREPARATIONS AND ORGANIZATION: 132
• GETTING WORK STARTED: 134
• DETAILED PLANS AND WORK INSTRUCTIONS: 135
• MANAGING PROGRESS: 137
• PROGRESS MONITORING AND SCHEDULE UPDATING: 138
• WHEN THE NEWS IS BAD: 140
• PROGRESS MEETINGS: 142
• PROJECT PROGRESS REPORTS: 144
• MANAGING PURCHASING: 147
• EARLY ORDERING OF LONGLEAD ITEMS: 149
• THE ORDERING PROCESS: 152
• EXPEDITING: 155
• SHORTAGES: 156
• PROCEDURES FOR ASSURING QUALITY AND PROGRESS OF BOUGHT GOODS: 157
• VENDORS DOCUMENTS: 158
• SHIPPING PORT AND CUSTOMS FORMALITIES: 160
• MANAGING CHANGES: 161
• AUTHORIZATION ARRANGEMENTS: 162
• REGISTRATION AND PROGRESSING: 164
• FORMAL PROCEDURES FOR INTERNAL CHANGE REQUESTS: 167
• DESIGN FREEZE: 169
• EMERGENCY MODIFICATIONS: 170
• MANAGING COSTS: 175
• COST BUDGETS: 176
• MILESTONE ANALYSIS: 178
• A SIMPLE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS METHOD FOR DESIGN ENGINEERING: 181
• AN OUTLINE OF EARNED VALUE ANALYSIS: 182
• EFFECT OF MODIFICATIONS ON EARNED VALUE ANALYSIS: 186
• THE PROJECT LEDGER CONCEPT: 187
• PREDICTING PROFITABILITY FOR A PROJECT: 188
• MANAGING CASH FLOW: 189
• CLOSING THE PROJECT DOWN: 191
• BIBLIOGRAPHY: 197
• INDEX: 199

About the author

The Author Dennis Lock’ s industrial experience ranges from the manufacture of subminiature electronic assemblies to heavy engineering and mining projects. He has written or edited many other Gower books, including Gower Handbook of Project Management and Gower Handbook of Quality Management.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Essentials of Project Management
• Author: Dennis Lock
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2007
• ISBN: 0566088053, 9780566088056
• Length: 204 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Project Management