Project Management: A practical guide to planning and managing projects examines both project management theory and the reality of practising project management across a variety of contexts, industry sectors and qualification levels.
It has been designed and written around a single, fundamental goal: to enable and support your learning as you continue to build, revise and integrate your own unique and personal body of knowledge (PBOK) in project management that combines your personal research, trial and error, and lessons learned. There will always be projects, just as there will be learning challenges, frustrations, opportunities and improvements from each one, so don’t rush the journey.
This book continues the conversational style that has proven popular in the last three editions and is written to engage and challenge you. And as you read through each of the chapters, you will come across sections called ‘Critical reflections’. These do not introduce any new content; rather, a number of questions will challenge what you have read, understood and can apply in your own workplace. Theory isn’t just for memorising and regurgitating: it is for applying, reviewing and amending.
For each reflection, refrain from simply listing what you have learnt. Instead, look back through the content and self-assess where the theories fit your project terrain and where they don’t—in other words, what will and won’t work in your project management approach and why. Your reflection should also address how you will implement the theory, any challenges you might face, whose support might be needed and the tangible benefits that might be realised.
Not only will these reflections critically assess your level of understanding and application; they will collectively contribute to you developing your project management capability (knowledge and skill), and maturity. So take your time when working through each of the critical reflections and get the most out of these professional development opportunities.
In this edition there is something for students, instructors and practitioners:
For the student
In the book, you will find:
■ project management life-cycle maps to help you integrate PMBOK® and/or your critical processes throughout your project
■ critical reflections to capture all the learning as you progress through the text
■ a glossary.
Go to the Allen & Unwin website for:
■ 360-degree assessment tools for graphing your project management knowledge area competency, project management performance competency and project management personal competency
■ fifteen project management templates (listed in Appendix 3) that you can use in your assessment and/or projects.
Tools available from the Allen & Unwin website can be downloaded here: https://allenandunwin.com/projectmanagement.
For the instructor
In the book, you will find new content covering PRINCE2®, Agile and Lean methodologies. Contact Allen & Unwin via academic@allenandunwin.com to request copies of the following supplements:
■ Bloom’s taxonomy of learning to promote higher level thinking (cognition)
■ over 100 PowerPoint slides to reinforce the key points from the text, help you summarise the critical content and to get your students thinking about ‘doing’ project management and not just ‘learning’ project management
■ solutions to the end-of-chapter review questions to assist student revision.
For direct and confidential access to the author, please email: stephen@creativecorporatesolutions.com.au. Student tools available from the Allen & Unwin website can be downloaded here: https://allenandunwin.com/projectmanagement.
For the professional practitioner
Regardless of your workplace experience or expertise, this book offers tangible and immediate benefits to project management professionals.
Working through the book, you can:
■ critique your project success and failure against both the theoretical concepts and the pragmatic application of that theory in your workplace projects
■ validate your existing knowledge and skills, and self-assess your professional development needs
■ revisit the fifth edition of PMBOK® (which continues to expand), and review the ten knowledge areas.
Through the Allen & Unwin website, you can:
■ access 360-degree assessment tools for graphing your project management knowledge area competency, project management performance competency and project management personal competency
■ download an earned value table to calculate your project performance
■ download a self-report project management maturity assessment tool to determine your competitive edge as a project-driven organisation
■ access the fifteen essential project management templates (listed in Appendix 3) for use in your projects.
Tools available from the Allen & Unwin website can be downloaded here: https://allenandunwin.com/projectmanagement.
Getting the most out of this book
Reading, learning and applying can be a different journey. So, while there are no hard and fast rules as to how to get the most out of this text, the following suggestions may prove helpful:
■ Scan the headings in the chapter you are working on to get a feel for the key topics covered.
■ Skim through the chapter before reading it thoroughly to ‘get a feel’ for how the text, figures and tables are used to illustrate the chapter content.
■ Read with intent: to understand, to question, to apply and to reflect.
■ Balance what you read with what you already know, to either validate your prior knowledge or to identify crucial gaps in your knowledge that you need to address.
■ As you read, maintain a focus on your workplace projects.
■ Take the opportunity to reflect on your personal knowledge and skills when assessing how to plan and manage projects.
■ Create a bank of questions you think now need answering in the workplace as a result of the content covered.
■ Take note of the new project management terms and expressions that you encounter in your studies, and start using them in your project communication.
■ Take the time to research and find additional resources to broaden your overall understanding of project management.
■ Develop a realistic study regime that works for you in terms of integrating work, family and other commitments that you will need to prioritise.
■ At the end of each chapter, ask yourself: What have I learned? What is still missing? Where can I get this additional knowledge?
■ Take every opportunity to convert content into practical procedures, practices and documentation aimed at improving how you plan and manage projects.
■ If the theory doesn’t fit your project terrain (reality), modify the theory first and then possibly modify the practice.
■ Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your instructor, your manager, or even your peers.
Finally, regardless of the methodology, framework or practice to which you align your projects (personal, proprietary or internationally recognised), remember that project management involves more than just the plan with its prime focus on the requirements, time and money (among others that we will explore in later chapters). Project management is about people, and people are seldom perfect in their intent, actions and outcomes, so take the time to find a balance between the processes, the paperwork, the practice and the people as you plan and manage your projects.
Enjoy and learn from all your project management experiences!