Fundamentals of Technology Project Management - Softcover

Garton, Colleen; McCulloch, Erika

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1583470530 ISBN 13: 9781583470534

Verlag: MC Press, LLC, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

Successful project management is increasingly vital to all organizations, driven by the demands of global competition, rapid technological growth, and faster time to market (just to name a few). For those in technology fields, project management skills are fast becoming a required core competency. And those who have mastered these skills continue to be in high demand worldwide, commanding higher salaries than those around them. But how does one extend those skills or acquire them in the first place? Fundamentals of Technology Project Management is a great place to start.

Of the hundreds of project management books on the market, precious few address the unique needs of the IT project manager. Unlike most other project management books, Fundamentals of Technology Project Management tackles the specific issues that technology professionals must face, such as understanding technology resources, managing project scope and feature creep, and meeting client expectations, among many others.

Whether you're a college student, a software engineer, or an IT professional, Fundamentals of Technology Project Management will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of the project management life cycle and learn how to manage it – from first steps on through to intermediate topics (as well as some advanced ones). Author Colleen Garton explains — in easy-to-understand language— not only the what but the how of IT projects. What's more, unlike general project management books, the examples and case studies in this book are all based on technology projects, making them far more relevant to the learner.

Also included is a content-rich CD-ROM loaded with features to make the life of any IT project manager (or the IT professional with project management responsibilities) far easier. There are document templates you can use for all phases of the project — from the initial RFP to closing reports. Plus, the author steps you through meeting agendas, status reports, cost analysis, technical specifications, and more. In addition to the document templates, you're provided with PowerPoint slides that can be modified and used for reporting progress to users and management.

The continuing rise in importance of project management cannot be denied. Let this book be your guide to becoming a more effective, more efficient IT project manager.

With Fundamentals of Technology Project Management you will:
- Discover the top ten reasons projects fail
- Master the five keys to project success
- Explore the six phases of the project lifecycle, step by step
- Review the documents necessary for good project management and learn how to complete them
- Understand the warning signs of a project in trouble and learn how to get it back on track
- Learn Quality Management and Quality Assurance practices in easy-to-understand terms
- Acquire practical ways to develop effective leadership and team-building skills

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Colleen Garton has worked in project management positions for successful technology and financial services companies such as LPL Financial and Intuit Inc., and has owned and operated two management and technical consulting companies. She lives in San Diego, California. Erika McCulloch is a former project manager for technology services and distribution companies such as IBM and Ingram Micro. She is currently working as a consultant and teaching industry-specific business practices and project management courses at California high schools. She lives in Oceanside, California.

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Fundamentals of Technology Project Management

By Colleen Garton, Erika McCulloch

MC Press

Copyright © 2011 MC Press Online, LLC
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-58347-053-4

Contents

Title Page, 
Copyright Page, 
About The Authors, 
Dedication, 
Introduction, 
CHAPTER 1 - Concepts of Project Management, 
CHAPTER 2 - Project Management Methodologies, 
CHAPTER 3 - Project Initiation, 
CHAPTER 4 - Advancing Beyond the Green Light, 
CHAPTER 5 - The Project Plan and Project Approach, 
CHAPTER 6 - Project Kick-Off, 
CHAPTER 7 - Project Design, 
CHAPTER 8 - Creating the Project Schedule, 
CHAPTER 9 - Project Development, 
CHAPTER 10 - Managing Obstacles and Risks, 
CHAPTER 11 - Managing Communication, 
CHAPTER 12 - Integration and Testing, 
CHAPTER 13 - Deployment, 
CHAPTER 14 - Project Closure, 
CHAPTER 15 - How to Be an Effective Leader, 
CHAPTER 16 - Personal Growth and Development, 
APPENDIX A - Case Study, 
APPENDIX B - Project Success, 
APPENDIX C - The Project Manager's Toolkit, 
APPENDIX D - Document Templates, 

CHAPTER 1

Concepts of Project Management

A project without a project manager is like an orchestra without a conductor. You can have the best musicians (or engineers) in the world, but without the leadership of a talented conductor (or manager) who understands how everyone's piece must fit precisely together, in the right order, to produce the final product, the orchestra (or the team) is not going to perform well, and the results will be poor. To realize their full potential for a great symphony or a great technology product, a team needs direction and guidance from a leader who can see the "big picture," but who understands enough about the details to be able to lead the team to success. In technology, this person is the project manager. The project manager's value to the organization is the same value that the conductor brings to the orchestra. Successful orchestras would not dream of performing a concert without one. Successful companies should not dream of launching a project without a project manager. It happens, but not as often these days as in the past. Companies have learned from their project nightmare lessons! The project manager is the glue that holds the project team together. It is a vital role and carries with it a lot of responsibility. The success of a project is determined primarily by the quality of the project manager. Never underestimate the value that the project manager brings to the team or to the project results.

The Role of a Project Manager

A project manager (PM) has various functions or roles. A project manager will find himself or herself wearing many different hats during the various phases of his or her projects (and very likely at different times during the duration of each day). The specific roles a project manager will need to fulfill will differ to some extent depending on the company for whom the project is being managed. It will also differ depending on the particular needs and requirements of the department or client for whom the project is being developed and the nature of the actual project itself.

There are different types of project managers. You will find that most project managers fit into one of these broad categories: There are technical project managers who have a background in technology. They have a technical or engineering degree and have some, if not a lot, of experience in the engineering field. There are also career project managers. They have some level of technical skill and knowledge but have opted for the project management career path rather than the engineer and developer one. These individuals usually possess excellent organizational and leadership skills, which led them into a career in technology project management. Some companies specifically require one or the other of these types of project manager for their open positions. Others will be open to either. By choosing a career in technology project management, it is beneficial to have both strong project management skills and strong technical skills. However, companies are more likely to hire a very strong project manager with little to no technical experience than to hire a technical manager with little or no project management experience.

A project manager wears many different hats and is known by many different names. These are not the names that your project team may call you behind your back when you ask them to work the weekend, but the different names used to describe this role in an organization. One of the names you may find used is "program manager." This title is generally used to describe the different role of managing the actual products, rather than the process to build and deploy the product. Some companies interchange these titles, and some companies use them to describe different roles. To make matters even more confusing, the project manager role can also be referred to as a "technical manager" or a "project coordinator." In some companies, a project coordinator is an assistant to the project manager and is responsible for managing the schedule updates and status reports only. The more commonly used title is "project manager." When searching for a project manager position, check under all of these titles and always read the job descriptions thoroughly.

Management

The most important role of a project manager is to manage the project through all six stages of the project Life Cycle. This will include ensuring that the project stays within budget and is delivered on time and with high quality. This book is designed to guide you through each stage of the project by giving you the tools, skills, and knowledge you will need to consistently deliver successful projects.

Communication

A vital key to successful project management is communication; not just any old kind of communication, but two-way, open communication. Quantity is never a good substitute for quality. Communication must be tailored for your specific audience. A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work. You will be communicating with different groups of stakeholders that could include sales people, marketing, product management, engineering, clients, quality assurance, senior management, accounting, and outside vendors. These different groups of stakeholders will be looking for different information from you with differing levels of detail. Personality types will also determine how much and how detailed the data you share and present needs to be.

So how do you figure out what information each group or person needs from you? One sure way of finding out is to ask them. You may talk to one stakeholder who tells you "I only want to know whether there is a problem. I will assume things are going well unless you tell me otherwise." Another may tell you, "Don't come to me with a problem unless you have a solution. If I cannot do anything about it, then I would rather not know. Let me know once the problem is solved and just tell me what the schedule impact is and what plans you have in place to counteract the impact." Then there are the people who want to know every little detail of what is going on, "Send me an e-mail every day/week to update me on where we are with every aspect of the project. Let me know when each and every milestone is completed, and inform me immediately of any potential issues that you anticipate in the following week." The list of responses to this question can go on and on. Never assume that you know what someone...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: MC Press, LLC
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2005
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1583470530
• ISBN 13: 9781583470534
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 495
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar