Suppose you’re a rising star at work and the boss has given you your first assignment to head up a project. Depending on the nature of the project and what kind of work you do, you might have to engage in a variety of tasks that you haven’t tackled before, such as assembling a team to complete the project on time and on budget, mapping out a plan and monitoring your progress at key steps along the way, using appropriate planning tools such as project management software or wall charts, and keeping your team motivated and on target.
Perhaps you have managed projects before, but not recently. Or, you have been given a new kind of project with which you’re not familiar, and you want to ensure that you handle the job correctly. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Everyday Project Management provides you with the essence of what you need to know, in terms of successful project management.
Each chapter can be read and absorbed in about 20 minutes. The book covers vital aspects of project management, including plotting your path, drawing on age-old as well as current supporting tools, assembling a winning team, expending your resources wisely, monitoring your progress, adjusting course when needed, and learning from your experience so you will be even better at managing projects in the future.
If you’re like many professionals today, you are busy! Your time is precious. When you’re handed a challenging assignment and need some direction, you need it in a hurry. And that is what Everyday Project Management offers you: guidance in the form of a quick reference tool—divided into 16 crucial aspects of project management—that cover the basics. You’ll be able to complete a chapter each morning if you choose, before everyone else arrives at work. Also, key glossary terms are provided, along with a list of further reading. So, with this handy guide, you’re not more than a few pages away from homing in on the information you require.
If you’re unfamiliar with project management, or it has been a while since you’ve managed a project, fear not. Project management can be a rewarding, even exhilarating experience. Yet, many people head into it feeling a mild streak of terror, if not outright dread. Why so? Because the levels of sophistication one can bring to the role of project management vary wildly, and it’s easy to get confused or feel overwhelmed.
The largest of projects, such as launching a space capsule, developing a gene therapy process, or building an intercontinental shipping fleet, can require months of work, if not years or decades, and can involve several hundred to several thousand people, with a budget that ranges well into the multimillions of dollars. If that is the kind of project you’ll be tackling, you need a different book!
Everyday Project Management explains the role of the project manager in the conception, planning, execution, control, and completion of a project. It is designed for project managers in all types of settings, but particularly for the career professional who’s been assigned to manage a project, alone or with a staff of, say, 10 or fewer people. The project is likely to last for a few months or less and to cost less than $1 million. Still, you need to know about effective project management—and probably quickly.
Each of the 16 chapters provides essential nuggets of wisdom that will carry you along with an understanding of what your role as project manager involves, the kinds of challenges you’ll encounter, the interpersonal issues that will arise, and how to stay on time and on budget in pursuit of the desired, quality outcome.
Everyday Project Management offers instruction in bite-size segments, while recognizing that you’re not frantically studying to obtain a Project Management Institute (PMI) certificate. Still, you seek to know the fundamentals of project management; to be able to discuss them, perhaps, with certified professionals; and to indicate that you are, indeed, in the game.
While the topic of project management could seem somewhat dry on the surface, Everyday Project Management will surely hold your attention. Unlike other books on project management, here I’ll underscore the importance of balance and pacing oneself, as well as incorporating the fundamentals. I’ll keep the text relatively jargon free and will explain vital terms.
As your author, while I had no formal training in project management, I have an MBA from the University of Connecticut, and years ago earned the certified management consultant (CMC) designation awarded by the Institute of Management Consultants. The approach I take in writing this book is to draw on classic texts from established authors in the field of project management and to incorporate the vital input of three veteran project managers who lead major projects within their respective organizations—added to my years of hands-on experience in managing consulting projects, with a staff of anywhere from two to 10 people, ranging from weeks to many months in duration, and with budgets from a few thousand dollars to as much as $490,000.
Beyond this book, a variety of supporting tools at your disposal can help steer you to a successful end. These include everything from planning guides, to wall charts, to a sophisticated array of software tools—the initial portions of which you can learn within a day and be up and running by the second day. Everyday Project Management will introduce you to such tools so that you have a good grasp of their benefits.
The great news is that if you are a fairly organized person and have already accomplished notable deeds, you likely have excellent potential for being an effective project manager. Once you’ve successfully completed your first project, or your first project in a while, you might find that you’re ready to tackle the next, and the next. That will boost your career, because managing projects gives you visibility and exposure within your organization that you might not otherwise muster.