Yes, I have finished writing The Quickstart Guide to Project Management – it took a while, it’s 300 pages, 100,000 words, and it really does tell you everything you need to know. There are 9 ways in which it is different to all the other textbooks ever written on the subject – I will list them in a separate post soon.
![](https://www.chriscroft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ProjectManagement_Cover-825x1024.jpg)
Meanwhile, here are the contents:
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This is the index for my book – no stone is left unturned!
1:4:1 method, 120β123
10 percent method, 119, 121
A
Abandoning of project, 248
Accountability, 295β296
Accounting, 222, 273
Accrual accounting, 222
ACP. See Agile Certified Practitioner
Actionable tasks, 70
Activities
critical path method, 94, 97, 98f
work packages versus, 262
Activity on arrow, 96
Activity on node, 94
Adamiecki, Karol, 140
ADM. See Arrow diagramming method
Agile
advantages of, 38β39
characteristics of, 40fβ41f
for creative processes, 39
customer involvement, 39β40
definition of, 36
disadvantages of, 39β40
environments best suited to, 320
lack of plan with, 39
PMBOK Lite versus, 36
PMBOK versus, 35β36, 40fβ41f
popularity of, 37β38
PRINCE2 versus, 35, 40fβ41f
principles of, 36β38
qualifications for, 320
scrum in, 36
software development project use of, 37
success of, 38
terms for, 22f
values of, 36
waterfall, 25
Agile Certified Practitioner, 320
Agile Manifesto, 35β36
Agreements
in project brief, 57
in writing, 55β56
Andretti, Mario, 105
APM. See Association for Project Management
Approval levels
business case, 59β61
description of, 56
project brief, 57β59
project initiation document, 61β63
schematic diagram of, 57f
Approval route, 309
Arrow diagramming method, 96
Assertiveness, 53β54, 135
Association for Project Management
description of, 23, 319
history of, 25
purpose of, 24
B
Bad-news meeting, 53
Baifore, Bonnie, 320
Basecamp, 42
Behind-schedule projects, 247β248, 273
Bentley, Colin, 201
Best-case scenario, 18, 269β270
Bottlenecks, 184f, 191, 196β198
Bottom-up planning, 79β80
Brainstorm
of risk, 202
of tasks, 68β70, 74β75, 75f, 87
Breaking down tasks, 76, 78β79, 84, 133
Budget
increasing of, 132β134
overbudget projects, 221, 226f, 226β227, 249
in work package, 262
Burke, Rory, 18
Business
processes in, 16
project manager capability, 254
projects in, 16
risk planning for, 203f
Business case, 59β61, 255
Buy-in, of team, 69, 87, 150
C
CAPM. See Certified Associate in Project Management
Careers, 313β320
Cash accounting, 222
CCTA. See Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency
Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency, 29
Certified Associate in Project Management, 318β319
Change(s)
Agile and, 36
capability for, 11
challenges of, 14
documenting of, 80
KΓΌbler-Ross Change Curve, 292β293, 293f
projects as cause of, 16, 21, 292
resistance to, 292
scope creep, 80
stakeholder approval of, 247
written agreements and, 55
Change request forms, 80, 246β247, 308β309
Churchill, Winston, 21
Cimmarrusti, Greg, 214
Clark, Wallace, 139
Coaching, 294
Collaboration, 37
Color-when-complete, 214β215
Colored-in Gantt chart, 18, 213, 216, 272β274, 284, 307
Commitments, in first kick-off meeting, 52
Communication
Gantt chart for, 141β142, 142f
methods of, 277β281
with people, 277β281
risk exposure, 205β208
software platforms for, 42
with stakeholders, 217β218
with team, 277β281
Communication meetings, 281
Communications plan, 217β218, 278, 309
Conditional formatting, 154, 154f
Contingency
1:4:1 method for, 120β123
10 percent method for, 119, 119f, 121
calculating of, 117β123
critical path addition of, 121β123, 122f, 129
description of, 108, 110
half the difference method for, 117β119, 118f
removal of, 136
speeding up plan by removal of, 136
success rates with, 124
Cost(s). See also Money
allocation of, 223
in business case, 60
Excel for monitoring, 151
forecasting of. See Cost forecasting
future, 233β234
Gantt chart addition of, 167β168, 168f
as key driver, 50, 133β134
overspending, 221
in plan, 308
time versus, 51
Cost forecasting
cost performance index, 235β236, 241
monthly monitoring form, 240β241
optimist view of, 233β234
pessimist view of, 233β234
schedule performance index, 237β241
Cost monitoring
data for, 222β223
delegation of, 286
progress monitoring and, 223β224, 273
Cost performance
description of, 224
disaster scenario, 225f, 225β226
good scenario, 230, 230f
over budget scenario, 226f, 226β227
slightly over budget scenario, 227β228, 228f
spot on scenario, 228β229, 229f
very good scenario, 231f, 231β232
Cost performance index, 235β236, 241, 244
Covey, Stephen, 48
CPI. See Cost performance index
Crash the plan
contingency in, 136. See also Contingency
critical path affected by, 131β132
definition of, 130
delegation of, 286
giving up on, 134
success in, 135β136
tasks, 130β135
time savings from, 132
Creep
project, 228
scope, 80
Critical chain project management, 22f
Critical path
benefits of using, 115β116
complexity of, 114
contingency added to, 121β123, 122f, 129. See also Contingency
crash the plan effects on, 131β132
crashing of tasks on, 130β135
creating of, 111β116
definition of, 27, 88, 111
examples of, 112fβ115f
Gantt chart and, 148, 169β170, 170f
two, 116
Critical path analysis. See Critical path method
Critical path method
activities focus of, 94, 97, 98f
advantages of, 97β100, 102
author’s preference for, reasons for, 102
business project diagramming with, 95f, 95β96
dependencies in, 99, 99f
description of, 88
events added to diagrams in, 100, 101f, 102
history of, 94
overview of, 95
project evaluation review technique versus, 91β93, 94f, 97β99, 102, 102f
rectangle activity boxes in, 103, 103f
shapes used in, 102, 102f
Critical path tasks
on Gantt chart, 152, 152f, 155f, 155β156
risk identification and, 202
Critical tasks, 111β112
CRM. See Customer relationship management
Crystal Clear, 35β36
Cube, resources, 190f, 190β191
Customer(s). See also Stakeholders
in Agile, 39β40
assertiveness by, 54
changes by, 244β245
expectations of, 46β47, 136
introduction to team, 289
key drivers of, 50β53
in PMBOK, 39
project evaluation review technique preference of, 100
Customer relationship management, 14
Customer satisfaction, 36
D
Dates
on Gantt chart, 161β162, 162f
list of, 18, 271
Davis, Gordon, 23
Decision making
project brief in, 57
by project manager, 296
Delegation of tasks, 283f, 285β288, 301
Deliverable-based work breakdown structure, 70β72
Deliverables, 97
DeMarco, Tom, 298
Dependencies
in critical path method, 99, 99f
in project evaluation review technique, 100f
Dependency chart, 91
Detailing of task list, 75β79, 77f
Diagrams. See Network diagrams
Downward planning, 263
Drucker, Peter, 282
DSDM. See Dynamic systems development method
DuPont, 94
Dynamic systems development method, 35β36
E
Earned value analysis, 231
Einstein, Albert, 69
Elapsed time, 109β110
Endowment effect, 49, 69
Engman, E. A. “Ned,” 23
Escalation rules, 310
Estimates/estimations
average used to create, 105β108
bending of, 135
contingency in. See Contingency
delegation of, 286
errors in, 107
of money, 105, 108, 110β111
smart, 108β110
of time, 105, 108β110
EVA. See Earned value analysis
Events
in critical path method, 100, 101f, 102
on Gantt chart, 156, 156f
in project evaluation review technique, 96β97, 98f, 101
Excel
cost monitoring uses of, 151
description of, 23, 43
disadvantages of, 151
resource planning uses of, 151
Excel, for Gantt chart
busy times, 162, 163fβ164f
conditional formatting, 154, 154f
costs, 167β168, 168f
critical path tasks, 155f, 155β156
dates, 161f, 161β162
events, 156, 156f
floating tasks, 152, 152f, 154β160, 155f, 157fβ158f
load graph, 165, 166f
money, 167β168, 168f
names, 161β162, 163f
people added to tasks, 162, 163f
Post-its and, 160
project duration, 153, 153f
running order, 151, 151f
setting up, 151β158
tasks, 152, 152f
time, 154, 164β167, 165fβ167f
workload calculations, 164, 165f
Expectations, 46β47, 136
Expert, 73β75, 75f
Extreme Programming, 35
F
Face-to-face interactions, 37
Failure, 118, 124
FDD. See Feature-driven development
Feature-driven development, 36
Feedback, 294
Fichtner, Cornelius, 277
Fifth Discipline, The, 297
Financial management, 146β147
First kick-off meeting
commitments made in, 52
key drivers established in, 50β52
stakeholders in, 48β50, 269
Five Whys, 297f, 298
Float
complications of, 158β160
definition of, 88, 157
floaters that share, 158β159
Floating tasks
delaying of, 182β183
description of, 131
float sharing by, 158β159
on Gantt chart, 152, 152f, 154β160, 155f, 157fβ160f, 170β172, 181
gaps after, 182
hanging off other floating tasks, 159f, 159β160
mistakes with, 160
money and, 182
moving of, for resource shortfalls, 180β183, 181f, 187
overlapping of, 172
Flow diagrams, 89fβ90f, 89β91
Ford, Henry, 243
Forecasting
of costs. See Cost forecasting
of project completion, 238β239
Future, vision of, 292β293
G
Gallagher, Susan C., 23
Gantt, Henry, 140
Gantt chart
accountability uses of, 142
advantages of, 27
benefits of, 140β147, 213
busy times, 162, 163fβ164f
color-when-complete, 214β215
colored-in, 18, 213, 216, 272β274, 284, 307
coloring of, 214β217, 216fβ217f
communication uses of, 141β142, 142f
conditional formatting of, 154, 154f
costs added to, 167β168, 168f
creation of, 147β169, 194
critical path and, 148, 169β170, 170f
critical path tasks added to, 152, 152f, 155f, 155β156
as cube, 190
dates added to, 161β162, 162f
definition of, 2, 140
delegation of, 283, 286
in disaster scenario, 225f, 225β226
events added to, 156, 156f
example of, 140, 142f
Excel for creating. See Excel, for Gantt chart
financial management uses of, 146β147
float complications, 158β160
floating tasks added to, 152, 152f, 154β158, 155f, 157fβ160f, 170β172, 181
in good scenario, 230, 230f
history of, 25, 140
how to use, 147
for large projects, 259β261
linearity issues, 172f, 173
load graph, 165, 166f
messiness of, 171, 171f
Microsoft Project for creating, 148β151
money added to, 167β168, 168f
names added to, 161β162, 163f
neatness of, 171, 171f
nonlinear spend on, 227
one big task on, 171β172, 172f
in over budget scenario, 226f, 226β227
overlap on, 172β173, 173f
parallel issues, 173β174, 174f
people added to tasks, 162, 163f
pitfalls to avoid, 169β174
plan on, 278β279, 295, 307
Post-its for creating, 149, 156, 169β170
progress monitoring uses of, 144β146, 145f, 214β217, 224, 232
project duration added to, 153, 153f
proportional coloring of, 214β215
resource planning uses of, 143f, 143β144, 178
review use of, 254
roles and responsibilities on, 142
as sales tool, 141
simple, 140f
in slightly over budget scenario, 227β228, 228f
in software platform, 43
“spend profile,” 168
spend profile predictions using, 146β147
in spot on scenario, 229, 229f
stories versus, 18, 272β273
for sub-projects, 261
tasks on, 140, 144, 171β172, 172f, 295
time added to, 164β167, 165fβ167f
unspecified overlap on, 172β173, 173f
vertical lines not added to indicate floating task constraints, 170β171
in very good scenario, 231f, 231β232
when to create, 147β148
workload calculations, 164, 165f
Gantt of Gantts
benefits of, 191, 193
bottleneck management using, 196β198
creating of, 194fβ195f, 194β196
description of, 144β145, 272
example of, 195f, 196β197, 197f
guessing and, 196
illustration of, 145f, 192f
rough, 309
Goethe, 16
Goldratt, Eliyahu M., 303
Granularity, 75β79, 77f, 287
“Grip,” 288β289
Gumz, Joy, 12
H
Half the difference method, 117β119, 118f
Heisenberg, Werner, 74
Hours worked, 167
House, as project example
breaking down tasks for, 79
deliverable-based work breakdown structure for, 70β72
ongoing tasks for, 78
phase-based work breakdown structure for, 71β72
I
Ideal plan, 307β309
If-statements, 89β90
“I’ll try,” 18, 269
Industrial Revolution, 24
Information systems, 29
Investment assessment, in business case, 60
Iron triangle. See also Cost(s); Quality; Time
description of, 46β48, 50, 105
trades between elements in, 53
IT. See Information systems
J
Jenett, Eric, 23
K
Kanban, 36
Kelley, James E., 94
Key drivers
cost as, 50, 133β134. See also Cost(s); Money
description of, 50β53
money as, 133β134, 207. See also Cost(s); Money
quality as, 50, 134β135. See also Quality
time as, 50β52, 132β133, 184. See also Time
Kick-off meetings
agreements and outcomes in writing after, 55β56
description of, 47β48
first. See First kick-off meeting
second, 53β55, 135, 141β142, 207
with team, 299
KΓΌbler-Ross Change Curve, 292β293, 293f
L
Large projects
Agile disadvantages for, 39
brainstorming of tasks for, 75
Gantt chart for, 259β261
planning of, 261β264, 309β310
sub-projects from, 260β261
work package, 261β263
Lean, 22f, 36
Learning options, 320
Lincoln, Abraham, 28
Line manager, 298
Linear projects
description of, 85f, 85β86, 149, 173
schedule performance index for, 237f, 237β238
Linear running order, 85f, 85β87
Linear spend rate, 238
LinkedIn Learning, 320
Listening, 278
Loops, in risk planning, 206β208
Luccock, H.E., 301
M
Manager. See Project manager
Managing Successful Programmes, 32
Manifesto for Agile Software Development, 35β36
Mantel, Samuel, 313
“Maybe,” 18, 52, 54, 269
Meetings
communication, 281
kick-off. See Kick-off meetings
problem-solving, 280β281
progress, 280β281
team, 279β280
Meredith, Jack, 313
Methodologies. See also specific methodology
list of, 22f
overview of, 21β23
purpose of, 26
Meyer, D., 111
Microsoft Excel. See Excel
Microsoft Office, 150
Microsoft Project, 144, 148β151
Minimum viable product, 36β38
Mission-critical tasks, 112
Mistake(s)
best-case scenario as, 18, 269β270
dates list as, 18, 271
floating tasks, 160
“I’ll try” as, 18, 269
list of, 18β19, 268β275
“maybe” as, 18, 52, 54, 269
not planning resources for all projects as, 18, 271β272
not reviewing as, 274β275
plan kept in your head as, 18, 268β269
positive response to, 293
rescheduling too late as, 19, 274
review of, 252
task lists as, 18, 271
team not involved enough as, 18, 270β271
underspending as ok as, 18, 273
Modification of plan. See Plan modification
Moltke, Helmuth von, 28
Monday.com, 42
Money. See also Cost(s)
asking for more, 245β246, 249
estimates of, 105, 108, 110β111
floating tasks and, 182
Gantt chart addition of, 167β168, 168f
as key driver, 133β134, 207
for overbudget projects, 249
sources of, 308
Monitoring
of costs. See Cost monitoring
of progress. See Progress monitoring
of team work, 288β289
Monthly monitoring form, 240β241
Monthly reports, 308
More, Thomas, 49
Motivation
Agile and, 37β38
of team, 289β291
MSP. See Managing Successful Programmes
Multiple projects
Gantt of Gantts for. See Gantt of Gantts
resource management for, 188β189
Murphy’s law, 202
MVP. See Minimum viable product
N
Negative feedback, 294
Network diagrams
advantages of, 88
communication uses of, 278β279
critical path method for creating. See Critical path method
definition of, 83β84
dependency chart, 91
flow diagrams versus, 89fβ90f, 89β91
Post-its as, 83β88, 139
precedence diagram, 91
project evaluation review technique for creating. See Project evaluation review technique
tasks on, 139
time as focus of, 139
Nonlinear project, 239f
Nonlinear spend, 227
Nonlinear spend rate, 238
O
Objectives, 48β49
Ongoing, tasks as, 78β79
Optimist, 233β234, 237, 240
Options appraisal, 307
Outcomes, 37, 55β56, 298
Overbudget projects, 226f, 226β227, 249
Overestimating, 61
Overlapping
of tasks, 76β78, 133β134, 139, 172, 186, 186f, 248
unspecified, on Gantt chart, 172β173, 173f
Overspending, 221
Overspent, 146, 227, 229, 234
P
Parallel project, 85f, 85β87, 149, 174
Parallel running order, 85f, 85β87
Past projects, 202
PBS. See Product breakdown structure
PDM. See Precedence diagram method
People. See also Team
coaching of, 294
communication with, 277β281
delegating tasks to, 283f, 285β288
Gantt chart, 162, 163f
meetings with, 279β281
motivating of, 289β291
praising and thanking of, 290β291
as project constraints, 272
as resource, 178β179, 181
stretching of, 301
Personal calendar, 190, 197
PERT. See Project evaluation review technique
Pessimism/pessimist, 54, 233β234, 238, 240
PFQ. See Project Fundamentals Qualification
Phase-based work breakdown structure, 71β72
PID. See Project initiation document
PINO, 34
Plan. See also Planning
assumptions in, 308
bare minimum elements of, 307
benefits of, 19, 213
confidence in, 54
cover all bases in, 309β310
crashing of. See Crash the plan
deal-breakers in, 308
elements of, 306β310
exclusions from, 308
on Gantt chart, 278β279, 295
in head, 18, 268β269
ideal, 307β309
importance of, 18
parallel, 85β87, 86f
request for, 304β305
second kick-off meeting after, 53β54
showing of, 303β305
speeding up, 136
tasks in. See Task(s); Task list
writing down of, 268β269
Plan modification
asking for more money than you need, 245β246
for behind-schedule projects, 247β248
change request forms, 246β247, 308β309
delegation of, 286
description of, 243β244
documenting of, 246
five golden rules for, 244β247
frequency of, 244
at last minute, 244β245
for overbudget projects, 249
for running late, 247β248
stakeholder request for, 246
team involvement in, 247
timing of, 244
Planning. See also Plan
bottom-up, 79β80
large projects, 261β264, 309β310
linear, 85f, 85β87
loops in, 206β208
parallel, 85β87, 86f
by project manager, 284
resources. See Resource planning
risk. See Risk planning
sharing of, 284
strength from, 53, 135, 207
team involvement in, 282, 290
top-down, 79β80, 264
upward, 263β264
PMBOK
advantages of, 26β27
Agile versus, 35β36, 40fβ41f
“body of knowledge,” 24
characteristics of, 40fβ41f
client time minimization benefits of, 27
confusions regarding, 25β26
contingency, 29
customer involvement, 39
dependencies accounted for by, 27
disadvantages of, 28β29
editions of, 24
history of, 24
inflexibility of, 28, 35
PRINCE2 versus, 34, 40fβ41f
task lists and, 28β29
as time-consuming, 28
tools included in, 22f
PMBOK Lite
advantages of, 26β27
Agile versus, 36
definition of, 26
indications for, 41fβ42f
planning in, 34
when to use, 41fβ42f
PMI. See Project Management Institute
PMO. See Project management office
PMP. See Project Management Professional
Positivity, 293β294
Post-its
critical path created using, 114β115
Gantt chart created using, 149, 156, 169β170
network diagram created from, 83β88, 139
running order created using, 83β88, 150, 151f, 170, 179
team participation with, 87, 150
Post-project review, 253β254, 309
PPQ. See Project Professional Qualification
Precedence diagram, 91
Precedence diagram method, 94
Premises, 135
PRINCE, 29
PRINCE2
advantages of, 32β33
Agile versus, 35, 40fβ41f
bureaucratic nature of, 34
characteristics of, 40fβ41f
components of, 30f, 30β32
definition of, 29β30
disadvantages of, 33β35
expensiveness of, 34
indications for, 41fβ42f
inflexibility of, 34β35
ownership of, 30
PMBOK versus, 34, 40fβ41f
popularity of, 30
principles of, 30β31
processes of, 31β32
project managers and, 35
for public-sector projects, 33
roles and responsibilities in, 33
themes of, 31
three-level approval technique of, 56β62, 57f
time requirements for, 34
when to use, 41fβ42f
PRINCE2 Foundation, 319β320
PRINCE2 Practitioner, 319β320
Problem-solving meeting, 280β281
Process(es)
in businesses, 16
continuum of, 15f
definition of, 15
moving as, 15
in PMBOK, 36
in PMBOK Lite, 36
of PRINCE2, 31β32
project versus, 12f, 13, 15β16
Product breakdown structure, 97
Progress meetings, 280β281
Progress monitoring
communicating to stakeholders as, 217β218
cost monitoring and, 223β224, 273
delegation of, 286
Gantt chart for, 144β146, 145f, 213β217, 224, 232
PMBOK’s benefit for, 27
Progress visibility, 310
Project(s)
abandoning of, 248
agreements and outcomes in writing, 55β56
assessment of, 52β53
behind-schedule, 247β248, 273
benefit delivered by, 16, 255
in businesses, 16
change from, 16, 21, 292
characteristics of, 12β16
continuum of, 15f
deadline for, 13
defining/definition of, 14, 18, 45β64, 135, 285, 310
details of, 59
duration of. See Project duration
ending of, 13
everyday examples of, 11, 14
finish line for, 13
justification for, 307
large. See Large projects
life span of, 13
linear. See Linear projects
for making something new, 14, 67
multiple. See Multiple projects
new house as, 14
novelty of, 16
objectives for, 48β49, 59, 67, 260
as one-offs, 314
overbudget, 226f, 226β227, 249
parallel, 85f, 85β87, 149, 174
prioritizing of, 191
process versus, 12f, 13, 15β16
quality of, 47
resource-limited, 188
running late, 247β248, 273
scope of, 47
size of, 310
source of, 45
time-limited, 188
tradeoffs in, 47f
variety in, 13β14
Project approach, 59
Project brief
business case versus, 60
description of, 57β59
in plan, 307
Project control form, 309
Project creep, 228
Project duration
extending of, for resource shortfalls, 184β185, 185f
forecasting of, 239
on Gantt chart, 153, 153f
Project evaluation review technique
advantages of, 100β101
business project diagramming with, 96f, 96β97
critical path method versus, 91β93, 94f, 97β99, 101β102, 102f
customer preference for, 100
dependencies in, 100f
description of, 88
events focus of, 96β97, 98f, 101
history of, 96
shapes used in, 102, 102f
time estimations used by, 100
Project Fundamentals Qualification, 319
Project idea, 57β58
Project initiation document, 61β63, 307β308
Project management
12 steps of, 2β6, 323β324. See also specific step
advantages of, 314
capability for, 19
careers in, 313β320
Certified Associate in Project Management, 318β319
demand for, 314
description of, 267
disadvantages of, 314β315
float in, 88
getting started, 315β317
goal of, 26
history of, 24f
importance of, 12
informal approach to, 23β24
methodologies of. See Methodologies
mistakes in. See Mistake(s)
need for, 17β18
qualifications in, 317β320
stress associated with, 315
success of, 303
as transferable skill, 12, 19, 314
twentieth-century emergence of, 24
variety in, 13, 314
Project Management Body of Knowledge, A Guide to. See PMBOK
Project Management Institute
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. See PMBOK
Agile findings from, 37β38
Certified Associate in Project Management, 318β319
description of, 23
founding of, 24β25
membership of, 23
Project Management Professional certification from, 317β328
purpose of, 24
Project management knowledge, 24f
Project management office, 74
Project management process
delegation of, 285β286
PMBOK as. See PMBOK
Project Management Professional, 317β318
Project Management Simplified, 2
Project management test, 17, 17f
Project manager
accountability of, 295β296
assertiveness of, 53β54, 135
commitments by, 52
communication by, 277β281
control by, 282β289
decision making by, 296
delegating tasks to others by, 283f, 285β288
detail obsession by, 54
expectations management by, 136
first kick-off meeting by, 48β52
“I’ll try” by, 18, 269
interviewing of, 316β317
“maybe” by, 18, 52, 54, 269
micromanaging of, 305
motivation by, 289β291
as optimist, 233β234, 237, 240
pessimism by, 54, 233β234, 240
positivity of, 293β294
PRINCE2 and, 35
questions to ask, 305β306
request for plan from, 304β305
roles and responsibilities of, 47, 49, 54, 213
second kick-off meeting by, 53β55
skills of, 281
title of, 313
Project owner. See also Customer(s)
expectations of, 46β47, 136
key drivers of, 50β53
Project plan. See Plan
Project Professional Qualification, 319
Project Resource Organization Management and Planning Techniques. See PROMPT II
Project team. See Team
PRojects IN Controlled Environments. See PRINCE2
PROMPT II, 29
PROMPT II IN the CCTA Environment. See PRINCE
Proportional coloring, of Gantt chart, 214β215
Public-sector projects, 33
Q
Qualifications
for Agile, 320
project management, 317β320
Quality
as key driver, 50, 134β135
reducing of, 133β134, 187, 187f, 247β248
time versus, 51
R
RAD. See Rapid application development
Rapid application development, 35
Reflection, Agile and, 37
Reiss, Geoff, 46, 245
Remington Rand, 94
Rescheduling, 19, 274
Resource(s)
bottlenecks, 184f, 191, 196β198
increasing of, 183β184, 247
internal, 184
people as, 178β179, 181
in plan, 308
shortfalls in. See Resource shortfalls
Resource-limited projects, 188
Resource planning
case study of, 177β178
compromises in, 179
delegation of, 286
Excel for, 151
Gantt chart for, 143f, 143β144, 178
levels of, 178β179
mistakes in, 18, 271β272
for multiple projects, 188β189
people as resource, 178β179
PMBOK’s benefit for, 27
Resource shortfalls
floating task movement for, 180β183, 181f, 187
more resources for, 183β184, 247
moving other projects for, 187β188
overlapping of tasks for, 186, 186f
project duration extension for, 184β185, 185f
quality reductions for, 187, 187f
splitting of tasks for, 185β186, 186f
Resources cube, 190f, 190β191
Review
avoiding of, reasons for, 251β253, 274
delegation of, 286
Gantt chart for, 254
importance of, 19
lack of review as mistake, 274β275
lack of time for, 251
of mistakes, 252
performing of, 253β254
in plan, 307
PMBOK’s benefit for, 27
post-project, 253β254, 309
questions to ask, 253
success in, 254
Risk
in business case, 60
identification of, 202β204
mitigation of, 204β205
from parallel running order of tasks, 86
in plan, 308
reluctance to engage with, 201
in work package, 263
Risk assessment, 202β204, 203f
Risk exposure
communication of, 205β208
description of, 202
identification of, 205β208
Risk planning
benefits of, 201
loops in, 206β208
Rose, Doug, 320
Running late on project, 247β248, 273
Running order, of tasks
benefits of, 88
delegation of, 296
description of, 83
linear, 85f, 85β86
network diagrams for. See Network diagrams
parallel, 85f, 85β87
Post-its for setting, 83β88, 150, 151f, 170, 179
S
Sayles, L.R., 295
Schedule performance index, 237β241, 244
Scope
as key driver, 51
quality and, 133
reducing of, 247β248
Scope creep, 80
Scrum, 36
ScrumBan, 36
Seagull management, 294
Second kick-off meeting, 53β55, 135, 141β142, 207
Self-managing teams, 36
Self-organizing teams, 37
Senge, Peter, 297
Sharp, Peter Hendrick, 14
Shaw, George Bernard, 278
Simplicity, of Agile, 37
Six Sigma, 22f
Smart estimates, 108β110
Snyder, James, 23
Software
Gantt chart created using, 148β149
platforms for, 42β43
Software development projects, 37
Spending, 308
Spending profile, 224
SPI. See Schedule performance index
Splitting of tasks, 185β186, 186f
Sprint, 36
Stakeholders
approval levels. See Approval levels
bad-news meeting with, 53
best-case scenario for, 269β270
changes by, 56
communicating to, 217β218
communications plan, 278
decision-making communication with, 218
first kick-off meeting with, 48, 269
impatience of, 269
modification of plan by, 246
objectives of, 48β49
plan approval from, 207
project manager’s interactions with, 48β50
roles and responsibilities of, 54β55
second kick-off meeting with, 53β55
written agreements with, 56
Standard deviation, 118
Stories, colored-in Gantt chart versus, 18, 272β273
Stress, 315
Stretching others, 301
Sub-projects, 260β261
Surowiecki, James, 68
Sustainable development, 37
System thinking, 297β298
T
“Taking the monkey,” 296
Task(s)
actionable, 70
assuming of, 296
brainstorming of, 68β70, 74β75, 75f, 87
breaking down, 76, 78β79, 84, 133
crashing of, 130β135
critical, 111β112
critical path. See Critical path tasks
delaying of, 182β183
delegation of, 283f, 285β288
detailing of, 75β79, 77f
expert’s involvement with, 73β75, 75f
floating. See Floating tasks
on Gantt chart, 140, 144, 171β172, 172f
maximum number of, 84
mission-critical, 112
on network diagrams, 139
number of, 78β79, 84, 259
as ongoing, 78β79
ordering of, 183
overlapping of, 76β78, 133β134, 139, 172, 186, 186f, 248
past projects used to create, 74
prioritization of, 263
running order of. See Running order, of tasks
splitting of, 185β186, 186f
too big, 76
work breakdown structure for capturing. See Work breakdown structure
Task list
brainstorm for, 68β70, 74β75, 75f
completeness of, 68β75, 75f
delegating of, 285
description of, 28β29
detailing of, 75β79, 77f
expert’s involvement, 73β75, 75f
granularity of, 75β79, 77f, 287
as mistake, 18, 271
past projects used to create, 74
work breakdown structure for. See Work breakdown structure
Team. See also People
brainstorming with, 68β70, 87
buy-in of, 69, 87, 150
coaching of, 294
customer introduced to, 289
delegating tasks to, 283f, 285β288, 301
involvement of, 18, 270β271, 290
kick-off meeting with, 299
lack of involvement as mistake, 18, 270β271
line manager of, 298
meetings with, 279β280
members of, 298β300, 299f
monitoring of work by, 288β289
motivating of, 289β291
network diagram benefits for building, 88
personalities on, 299f, 299β300
plan modification participation by, 247
planning involvement of, 282, 290
positive approach with, 293β294
Post-it note diagram participation by, 87, 150
praising and thanking of, 290β291
safety of, 290
stretching others on, 301
Team meetings, 279β280
TeamGantt, 144
Thought experiment, 69
Time
asking for more, 264
cost versus, 51
crash the plan effects on, 132
elapsed, 109β110, 167
estimates of, 105, 108β110
Gantt chart addition of, 164β167, 165fβ167f
hours worked, 167
as key driver, 50β52, 132β133, 184
network diagram’s focus on, 139
project evaluation review technique estimations of, 100
quality versus, 51
Time-critical path, 111
Time-limited projects, 188
Time worked, 109β110, 167
Timescales, 60
Top-down planning, 79β80, 264
Trello, 42
U
Udemy, 320
Underestimating, 61
Underspent/underspending, 18, 146, 234, 273
Unified process, 35
UP. See Unified process
Upward planning, 263β264
US Navy Special Projects Office, 96
V
Vision of future, 292β293
Volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. See VUCA
Volunteering, 316
VUCA, 11
W
Waitley, Denis, 11
Walker, Morgan R., 94
Walsh, Basil S., 45
Waterfall, 25
WBS. See Work breakdown structure
“What-if experiments,” 149
Williams, Woody, 291
Wisdom of Crowds, The, 68
Work breakdown structure
characteristics of, 72β73
definition of, 69
deliverable-based, 70β72
description of, 69β70, 75f
phase-based, 71β72
timing of, 75
wording of, 73, 73f
work package on, 261β262
Work packages, 261β263
Wrike, 42
Written agreements, 55β56
X
XP (Extreme Programming), 35
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