MBA.in.Project.Management.2nd

The
Fast Forward
MBA in Project
Management
SECOND EDITION

ERIC VERZUH

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2005 by Eric Verzuh. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Verzuh, Eric.
The fast foward MBA in project management / Eric Verzuh.—2nd ed.
p. cm.—(The fast forward MBA series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-69284-0 (pbk.)
1. Project management. I. Title: MBA in project management.
II. Title. III. Series.
HD69.P75V475 2005
658.4'04—dc22
2004027080
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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For Marlene

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T

There are no unimportant jobs on any project, and there are no unimportant people on the project team. From concept through completion,
many people have been involved in the development of this book. To
each of the people who have shaped this book through their advice,
encouragement, and hands-on participation, I offer my thanks.
To Kymberly Actis, for her persistence and commitment as she
turned my handwritten drawings into the many figures in this book.
To the professionals who contributed their effort and experience to
create the Stellar Performer profiles: Rod Pipinich, Fred Black, J. C.
Brummond, Virginia Klamon, John Gaffney, Brian LaMure, Marlene
Kissler, and Peggy Jacobson.
To my colleagues and clients for their interest and insights: Steve
Weidner, Greg Hutchins, Pen Stout, Karl Hoover, Steve Morris, Peter
Wynne, Bill McCampbell, Patrick Bryan, John Spilker, and Kristian
Erickson.
To the team at John Wiley & Sons, Inc. who took a risk and saw it
through: Henning Gutmann, Renana Meyers, and Sam Case.
To those who put the wheels in motion: Brian Branagan, Linda Villarosa, and Barbara Lowenstein.
I particularly want to thank two top-notch project managers who
have taught me much about project management, business, and life,
and with whom I’ve had the privilege to work: Sam Huffman and the
late Fred Magness.

Finally, I thank my wife, Marlene, who has played many roles on
this project: coach, editor, critic, writer, and partner. Her insight and
perspective have been of constant value both as I wrote this book and
over the years as I built my business.I O N

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOR
THE SECOND EDITION

T

The privilege of updating this book for a second edition was accompanied by some hard work to make sure the result was actually an
improvement. My thanks to those who contributed their expertise and
energy.
To the professionals who shared their hard-won knowledge: Jim
Smith, Donna McEwen, T. J. Filley, Rod Pipinich, and Bill Schafer.
Once again, to my wife, Marlene, whose talents and contributions
permeate this work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ERIC VERZUH
Eric Verzuh is president of The Versatile Company, a project management training and consulting firm based in Seattle, Washington. His
company trains thousands of professionals every year in the fundamentals of successful project management including how to get the
most out of Microsoft Project. Versatile’s consulting practice focuses on
helping firms establish consistent, practical methods for managing
their projects and implementing Microsoft’s enterprise project management solution. The company’s client list includes large corporations
such as Adobe Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Nordstrom, as well as
government agencies and small companies. Verzuh has been certified
as a project management professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute and is a frequent speaker at project management conferences. His other publications include articles, conference papers
and The Portable MBA in Project Management (2003), also published
by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Verzuh can be reached via his company’s
site on the Internet, www.versatilecompany.com.

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CONTENTS

xiii

PREFACE
PART 1
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1—PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN
A CHANGING WORLD

Introduction
Project Management Is the New Critical Career Skill
The Increasing Pace of Change
Everyone Benefits from Understanding Project
Management
Downloadable Forms for Project Management
Project Management: Art Informed by Science
Project Management Magnifies Other Strengths
End Point
CHAPTER 2—THE PROJECT ENVIRONMENT

Introduction
Projects Require Project Management
The Evolution of a Discipline
The Definition of Success
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CONTENTS

The Cost-Schedule-Quality Equilibrium
The Ultimate Challenge: No Damage
Project Management Functions
Project Life Cycle
Organizing for Projects
Project Managers Are Leaders
End Point

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25
29
30

PART 2
DEFINING THE PROJECT
CHAPTER 3—PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS

Introduction
Stakeholders Are the Heart of a Successful Project
Stakeholder Roles: Project Manager
Stakeholder Roles: Project Team

Stakeholder Roles: Management
Stakeholder Roles: Sponsor
Stakeholder Roles: The Customer
Lead the Stakeholders
End Point
CHAPTER 4—MAKING THE RULES

Introduction
Project Rules Are the Foundation
Publish a Project Charter
Write a Statement of Work
Statement of Work: Minimum Content
Responsibility Matrix
Creating a Communication Plan
The Project Proposal Launches the Project
End Point

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PART 3
THE PLANNING PROCESS
CHAPTER 5—RISK MANAGEMENT

Introduction
The Risk Management Advantage
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CONTENTS

All Project Management Is Risk Management
The Risk Management Framework
Step One: Identify the Risks
Step Two: Developing a Response Strategy
Step Three: Establish Contingency and Reserve

Step Four: Continuous Risk Management
End Point
CHAPTER 6—WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

Introduction
Defining the Work Breakdown Structure
Building a Work Breakdown Structure
Criteria for a Successful Work Breakdown Structure
Work Package Size
Planning for Quality
Breaking Down Large Programs
Watch for Different Terminology
Contractors or Vendors Can Provide a WBS
End Point
CHAPTER 7—REALISTIC SCHEDULING

Introduction
Planning Overview
Planning Step Two: Identify Task Relationships
Planning Step Three: Estimate Work Packages
Planning Step Four: Calculate an Initial Schedule
Planning Step Five: Assign and Level Resources
End Point
CHAPTER 8—THE DYNAMICS OF ACCURATE
ESTIMATING

Introduction
Estimating Fundamentals
Estimating Techniques
Building the Detailed Budget Estimate

Generating the Cash Flow Schedule
End Point

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105
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107
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CONTENTS

CHAPTER 9—BALANCING THE PROJECT

Introduction
Three Levels of Balancing a Project
Balancing at the Project Level
Balancing at the Business Case Level
Balancing at the Enterprise Level
End Point

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204
205
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222

223

PART 4
CONTROLLING THE PROJECT
CHAPTER 10—BUILDING A
HIGH-PERFORMANCE PROJECT TEAM

Introduction
A Framework for Building High-Performance Teams
Leadership Responsibilities
Building a Positive Team Environment
Ground Rules
Team Identity
Team Listening Skills
Meeting Management
Summary of Building a Positive Team Environment
Collaborative Problem Solving
Problem Analysis
Decision Modes
Conflict Management
Continuous Learning
Summary of Collaborative Problem Solving
Job Satisfaction
End Point
CHAPTER 11—COMMUNICATION

Introduction
Project Communication
Communicating within the Project Team
Communicating with Management and Customers

Control Documents
The Change Management Process
x

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CONTENTS

Configuration Management
Change Management Guidelines
Are Essential for Managing Expectations
Closeout Reporting
End Point
CHAPTER 12—MEASURING PROGRESS

Introduction
Measuring Schedule Performance
Measuring Cost Performance
Earned Value Reporting
Cost and Schedule Baselines
End Point

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289
305
305
305
309
311
320
322

PART 5
PUTTING THE DISCIPLINE TO WORK
CHAPTER 13—ENTERPRISE PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

Introduction
Defining Enterprise Project Management
Three Tiers of Management within EPM
The Four Components of EPM
Establish Consistent EPM Processes
Technology Enables EPM Processes
The People Who Deliver Projects
Support Project Management: The Project Office
Organize for Project Management
Managing the Change to Enterprise Project
Management
End Point
CHAPTER 14—APPLICATION IS THE ART:
SOLVING COMMON PROJECT PROBLEMS

Introduction
Responsibility Beyond Your Authority
Disaster Recovery
Reducing the Time to Market
When the Customer Delays the Project

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CONTENTS

The Impossible Dream
Fighting Fires
Managing Volunteers
Achieving the Five Project Success Factors
End Point

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376
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APPENDIX: THE DETAILED PLANNING MODEL
NOTES

389

INDEX

xii

379

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P R E FA C E

W

“What makes the second edition different?” That’s my first question
when I see a second edition. Project management hasn’t changed too
much since the first edition, so this edition is primarily justified with
additional content.
• Chapter 10, “Building a High-Performance Project Team,” is brand

new. It assembles proven team management techniques for transforming a group of people who happen to be assigned to the same
project into a cohesive unit committed to a common goal.
• Chapter 13, “Enterprise Project Management,” has been significantly revised to incorporate lessons learned in the past five years
as firms attempt to institutionalize project management.
• Several chapters have added content. Chapter 5, “Risk Management,” includes additional proven risk management techniques.
Chapter 4 describes the content for a project proposal. Chapter 12
has more advice on using earned value management techniques.
• Stellar performers—profiles of companies that put project management principles to work—have been added in Chapters 1 and 11. A
new feature of this edition is the Fast Foundation for Project Management, a series of templates and checklists designed to make it just a
little easier to put the concepts to work on your project. You’ll find
these tools located at the end of the chapters in which the concepts
were presented. The templates are available for download at www.
versatilecompany.com/forms, and called out in text with an icon.
It is pretty exciting to have a book that is popular enough to justify
a second edition. More than anything, I am proud of how many people
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P R E FA C E

have said this book is practical—it makes project management make
sense. The book is intended to present a realistic look at the challenges of the project environment and the skills you need to successfully bring a project to fulfillment. On the way, you will learn the tools
necessary to achieve each of the five essential success factors. Part 1
lays the groundwork. In addition to simple terminology, it contains
global concepts that tie project management to other disciplines, such
as quality and product development. Part 1 also includes examples of
the organizational changes companies are making to take advantage
of project-oriented work.

Parts 2, 3, and 4 present the tools and techniques—the real science—of project management. Because this is a how-to book, the techniques in these chapters are described in detail. These techniques
start with simple examples, then progress to tips for managing larger
projects. In these sections, you will learn the major responsibilities of
a project manager, the definition of a project, and the best ways to
plan and control projects. Part 2 deals specifically with setting the
goals and constraints of the project. Part 3, “The Planning Process,”
offers the most effective techniques for managing budgets, monitoring
a project’s scope, and keeping on schedule. Many of these techniques
are features of popular project management software. After reading
this section, you will know how to make better use of this software.
Part 4 offers methods for controlling a project and keeping it on track.
This section focuses on the many tools used to keep a project on track
and bring it to successful completion, regardless of whether everything
goes as planned. Together, these three sections provide the tool set
every project manager needs.
Part 5 describes how the tools presented in this book can be used
by organizations and by project managers. We look at the ways in
which project management techniques are being adopted by a growing number of organizations. Finally, we look at the kind of problem
situations that project managers are likely to face—and how to deal
with them using the tools presented in this book.
Eric Verzuh
Seattle
January 2005

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PA R T

Introduction

1

What are projects, and why are so many businesses reorganizing to include them? Why has project management
become such a popular career track? In Part 1 of this book,
you will find answers to these questions and more.
Because projects differ from the ongoing operations of a
firm, managing them presents a new set of challenges. Over
the past 50 years, a number of tools and techniques have
evolved to deal with these challenges. Chapters 1 and 2
include an overview of these techniques, along with the five
factors that make a project successful.
We live in a world where change—and the rate of
change—is constantly increasing. In order to survive and
prosper, organizations need to continually modify their
products and services. Projects are the means by which
these innovations are effected. Greater change = more
innovations = more projects.

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CHAPTER

1

Project Management
in a Changing World

INTRODUCTION

Project managers are changing the world.
• A World Health Organization (WHO) “vaccination army” runs a blitz
to attack polio, vaccinating 4.2 million children in a 50,000-squaremile area in three days in southern India.1
• A commercial aircraft manufacturer is designing a new model aircraft to be built from lightweight composites, resulting in fuel savings of 20 percent over similar-sized airplanes.
• NASA teams send sophisticated robots and probes to other planets
in our solar systems, furthering our understanding of Earth and its
origins.
• Nanotechnology researchers manipulate matter at the molecular
level, developing materials that hold incredible potential to revolutionize manufactured products, from building bridges to transmitting electricity to the clothes we wear.
Project managers are all around us, too: building a custom home,
opening a medical clinic, installing an updated accounting system, or
writing a book. Everywhere that people are leading change they are
managing projects.
No wonder the project management discipline has leapt from a
neglected corner to center stage. Government and industry are
embracing the project management discipline as leaders recognize
that they are increasingly managing project-driven organizations. But
change and projects have been around for thousands of years; what is
different now? Just what is project management?
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Before we understand the new interest in project management and
project-driven organizations, we must first understand the concept of

projects. Projects are all the work we do one time. Whether it’s
designing an aircraft, building a bakery display case, or creating a
business logo, every project produces an outcome and every project
has a beginning and an end. Fundamental to understanding the
importance of projects is realizing that each one produces something
unique. So designing and tooling up to build a new sports car is a
project (actually a lot of projects), but manufacturing thousands of
them is not. Manufacturing and other repetitive processes are defined
as ongoing operations.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS THE NEW
CRITICAL CAREER SKILL
Given this description, we can find projects—and project managers—
everywhere. Every graphic artist, systems analyst, carpenter, engineer,
attorney, and scientist who is creating a unique product is faced with
the challenges of leading a project. As more repetitive jobs are
replaced by automation, it is increasingly a necessity to be able to lead
change. Economically, the arguments for understanding project management are even stronger. People and companies that innovate, that
create and lead change, enjoy higher incomes and profit margins than
those that compete based on economies of scale and efficiency.
Project management is not new. The pyramids and aqueducts of
antiquity certainly required the coordination and planning skills of a
project manager. While supervising the building of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Michelangelo experienced all the torments of a modernday project manager: incomplete specifications, insufficient labor,
unsure funding, and a powerful customer. But only in the twentieth
century did the title and the discipline emerge.
Much of modern project management was defined in the 1950s, on
the major cold war defense programs. As a result, the discipline grew
up within the aerospace and defense industries, but in the 1990s project management broke out of its traditional boundaries. It is now a
recognized and valued skill set in organizations across the spectrum,
from health care to manufacturing, software to natural resources. The

evidence is everywhere:
• As recently as 1990, your search for a college course on project
management would have turned up one or two classes within the
industrial engineering school. Not so anymore. Project management
is a required course in MBA programs, and universities across the
country offer advanced degrees in project management.
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INTRODUCTION

• By 2004 nearly every Fortune 500 company had attempted to
implement a project management office (PMO) in one or more parts
of their organization. A PMO is responsible for instilling consistent
project management practices. Only a decade earlier, most executives in these companies hadn’t even heard of such an entity.
• The use of formal project management cost and schedule reporting techniques—required for decades on Department of Defense
programs—is now required of all federal agencies.
• Since 1990, the Project Management Institute, the professional
association for project managers, has seen its membership rise
from 7,700 to over 100,000 in 2004.2
More important, the factors that have driven project management
to center stage are not receding.
• Competition from a global economy is so pervasive it has become
cliché. That competition is forcing firms to collaborate across organizational and geographic boundaries, introducing the term virtual
teams to our business vocabulary.
• Evolving technology has put every one of us on ever-faster upgrade
cycles. At a personal level, our phones, computers, and cars
become out of date faster. For businesses and governments, the

upgrade cycles include refineries, chemical plants, medical clinics,
and weapons systems.
• The availability of a highly skilled temporary labor force is a perfect
match for the projectized economy, providing the ability to rapidly
increase or decrease staffing as projects begin and end.
The response to these pressures is reflected in the views of management experts.
• Oren Hararai, professor of management at the University of San
Francisco and the author of two books on the changing business
environment, sees the project-oriented employment trend growing.
“The future of business is fluid networks of unaffiliated organizations, multiple careers simultaneously, work revolving around
projects, as fluid as the external environment. Routine work can be
automated or outsourced—the real value of an organization will be
based on how quickly people can come together and focus on problems and solutions and then disband.3
• Tom Stewart, writing in Fortune magazine, says companies “have
redrawn their boundaries, making them both tight (as they focus on
core competencies) and porous (as they outsource noncore work).4
• Pen Stout, author, instructor, and project management consultant,
sees a symbiotic relationship between the independent worker and
the major corporations. “There will be strong ‘big big’ companies,
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

strong ‘small small’ companies, not much in the middle. Project
management works because it’s a way for the bigs to use the
strengths of the smalls.”5
• Best-selling authors Ram Charan and Larry Bossidy make the connection between strategy and success by emphasizing the “discipline of getting things done.” “If your business has to survive

difficult times, if it has to make an important shift in response to
change—and these days just about every business does—it’s far, far
more likely to succeed if it’s executing well.”6
Projects are all around us. Project management skills transcend corporate and industry boundaries, enabling us to do the same. The people who lead projects—who turn visions of what might be into tangible
products and services—stand out. Further, the biggest driver of the
growth in project management is getting even bigger. As we will see in
the next section, change is everywhere, and change means projects.
THE INCREASING PACE OF CHANGE
The most irrepressible trend favoring project management
is the increasing pace of change. We embrace change as it gives us
increased quality of life, as with advances in medical technology or
fuel economy. We may resist or resent change, particularly when it is
forced upon us in the form of new regulations or new competition. But
change cannot be denied and its pace is faster than ever.
New products and services are exploding onto the scene overnight,
while current products are becoming obsolete faster than ever. The
recent Internet boom and bust showed in dramatic fashion how
rapidly the world economy can assimilate and adapt. Technology is
not the only evidence of change. Pressure to increase the quality, availability, and affordability of health care keeps medical professionals
and administrators restructuring their organizations. Corporate mergers in banking, insurance, telecommunications, computers, and media
bring the challenges of integrating cultures and systems.
As businesses scramble to keep up with fast-moving competitors,
riding the tsunami of change becomes critical to success. This emphasis on change increases the importance of project management,
because a rapid rate of change brings a greater need for projects. In
response to a rapidly changing marketplace, a company might reengineer itself, develop new products, or form alliances with other firms.
Each of these innovations is brought about by one or more projects.
Greater change = more innovations = more projects.
At a personal level, the pace of change carries the same significance. What career can we expect in 10 or 20 years, when the careers
that existed 10 or 20 years ago have so often disappeared? What skills
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INTRODUCTION

will maintain our personal and corporate ability to thrive? Among the
many skills that will help us thrive in this changing world, project
management stands out as the discipline originally designed to drive
change.
EVERYONE BENEFITS FROM
UNDERSTANDING PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The trend toward more projects has produced an ever-increasing need
for people who understand how to run them effectively. Every project
participant, from part-time team member to executive sponsor,
becomes more effective once he or she understands the basics of project management. Learning these basics is especially important for
managers at all levels, because every manager will be involved in
many projects—and their authority will give them a major impact on
each one.
Project management has gone beyond being merely a personal skill
set. It is now considered an organizational competency. Whether you
are charged with increasing your firm’s total project management
capability or you are playing a role on a project, you contribute to the
firm’s ability to effectively complete projects. Executives who select
and sponsor projects may spend only an hour or two a week directly
involved in a project, but their ability to speak the language of project
management will dramatically affect the team’s perception of management support. Likewise, functional managers—whose primary contribution to projects is to assign personnel—make more effective
decisions and enable their people to perform more efficiently when
they know and use the tools of project management. Of course, project
team members and project managers directly affect their productivity

through the use of the discipline.
This book is written for people who need to understand the timetested techniques of project management and how those methods are
being put to use in the twenty-first century. It is for people who need a
complete foundation in the discipline, whether they are recent graduates, experienced executives, midlevel managers, or team members
wanting to be team leaders. This book is primarily about how: how to
get agreement on goals and how to reach them, how to enlist team
members and project sponsors, how to negotiate schedules and budgets, and how to reduce risk and increase the odds of success.
DOWNLOADABLE FORMS FOR PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
To make this book even more practical, this edition includes downloadable checklists, forms, and templates you can use for managing
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

your own projects. These tools are intended to get you started quickly.
Download these forms from www.versatilecompany.com/forms. Look
for these at the end of Chapters 4, 5, 7, 8, and 11.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT: ART INFORMED
BY SCIENCE
Project management has been called both an art and a science. In these
pages, you will see how mastering the science of project management
provides a foundation for the art of leadership. The necessary skills are
common to both. There is no question that the best project managers
are also outstanding leaders. They have vision, they motivate, they
bring people together, and, most of all, they accomplish great things.
As an author, speaker, and consultant on project management, it
has been my privilege to meet many of these great project managers

over the years. They exist in all organizations, and they are known by
management as the ones to turn to for tough projects. More important,
these are the people others want to work for. I seek out these acknowledged leaders because they live and thrive in the project environment
every day—the true proving ground. Amid their varied experiences is
a constant theme, the basis for their success: They rigorously apply
the project management discipline. For all their intangible leadership
qualities, the roots of their strength are the proven techniques
described in this book. That’s important for all of us, because it means
that success in leading projects is not reserved for the lucky few born
with the skills; rather, it is a discipline that can be taught and learned.
That has been my job for well over a decade, to teach new project
managers tangible tools: systematic processes that can be learned in
class on Tuesday and applied on the job on Wednesday.
From these great project managers and my work with thousands of
professionals who have attended my classes, I’ve learned that certain
characteristics are consistently found on successful projects in every
industry. Boiled down, they consist of these five project success factors:
1. Agreement among the project team, customers, and management
on the goals of the project. “Clear goals—now there’s a yawner!”
you might say. The importance of having clear goals seems so obvious that it’s almost embarrassing to bring it up. Yet thousands of
projects, at this very moment, do not have clear goals, and the
results of this fuzziness can be devastating. In this book, you will
find at least half a dozen techniques that clarify goals, and you will
discover how to make these techniques work together. This means
you’ll employ at least six different methods to make sure that all the
stakeholders want the same thing. Far from being a yawner, you’ll
find that this process of arriving at clear goals together can be
invigorating and powerful.
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INTRODUCTION

2. A plan that shows an overall path and clear responsibilities and
will be used to measure progress during the project. Since every
project is unique, the only way to understand and execute it efficiently is with a plan. Not only does a good plan show who is
responsible for what and when, but it also demonstrates what is
possible. It contains the details for estimating the people, money,
equipment, and materials necessary to get the job done. And
because the plan is the basis for measuring progress, it can also act
as an early warning system for tasks that are late or over budget.
In Chapters 5 through 8, you’ll find a systematic planning model
that integrates the traditional planning techniques. This model presents a logical, step-by-step approach to creating and executing a
detailed plan.
3. Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in
the project. People—not plans or software—complete projects.
A successful project is a result of people agreeing on goals and
then meeting them. From concept through implementation, success depends on the ability to come to agreement, coordinate
action, recognize and solve problems, and react to changes. All
of these things require that people communicate well. Every technique in this book is a communication technique, designed to
improve the formal and informal ways we communicate critical
project information.
4. A controlled scope. Success is in the eye of the beholder. This is
why, from the very start, the successful project manager will ensure
that everyone involved understands exactly what can be accomplished within a given time frame and budget. This is called “managing stakeholder expectations,” and it is an important, ongoing
task throughout the project, especially if changes are introduced.
Stakeholders must not only agree to the original scope of the project, but also understand any changes in scope. This book contains
a systematic method for establishing realistic goals for cost, schedule, and quality, as well as techniques for keeping the goals consistent throughout the project.

5. Management support. Project managers rarely have enough formal
authority to make all the decisions it takes to complete a project.
They rely on people in traditional management roles to supply people and equipment, make policy decisions, and remove organizational obstacles. Even the most enthusiastic, creative, motivational
project leaders will stumble if they do not enlist the people with
authority to act on their behalf. The good news is that many of the
techniques in this book can be used to “manage upward,” that is, to
guide the people with power toward timely decisions that keep the
project moving.
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Far from being mysterious, these five essential factors can be
achieved through the diligent, persistent use of the science of project
management. That is not to say that success comes without art—on
the contrary, art is immensely important. Art encompasses political
and interpersonal skills, making creative decisions when complete
information is lacking, knowing intuitively when to delegate work, and
more. But learning the basic science is requisite to practicing this art.
Stirring up the team with a fiery speech will be a waste of energy if the
project lacks goals and a basic plan.
The art of leadership embodies skills that are gained through experience, sensitivity, and a thorough knowledge of the basic science of
management. Learning the basics of project management can be your
first step on the road to becoming a skilled and inspiring leader. While
developing all these skills may take time, the basic science can be
learned fairly quickly; able students can read and practice the lessons
in this book on their very next project.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT MAGNIFIES
OTHER STRENGTHS
Project management is a discipline designed to facilitate change, and
its value grows when used with other leading business practices. Consider the relationship between project management and these other
disciplines that improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• New Product Development (NPD) is a framework for identifying the
need for a new product, as Robert Cooper says, “from idea to
launch.”7 Cooper has developed and branded the StageGate
process, which includes the key activities and decision points necessary to bring a new product to market and to have the market
embrace the product. Within NPD many projects exist. To successfully work the NPD process, every project must be managed effectively.
• Six Sigma is an offshoot of the quality management discipline that
enables organizations to increase efficiency and quality—in other
words, to produce more and/or better products for less time or
money. It relies on structured problem solving, statistical analysis,
and process management methods. Since every Six Sigma project
solves a different problem, the same five project success factors
apply.
• Portfolio management is an emerging method of linking the firm’s
strategic goals to tactical plans. In this sense, the portfolio represents all the assets of the organization, including the projects. Portfolio management requires executives to understand where the
people and assets of the firm are being deployed, and what return
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine !

9


INTRODUCTION

these assets are generating. A key challenge in this oversight is to
know how many projects are under way, what the forecasted budgets for those projects are, and whether active projects are
expected to be completed as planned. Effective project management

practices are required to provide correct information to the executives managing the portfolio.
There are other examples. Every chapter of this book will provide
further examples of the ways that project management techniques
leverage other disciplines.

s

END POINT
Our global civilization is changing rapidly—and that change is accomplished through projects and is being led by project managers.
Projects are defined as work that happens one time only and has
both a clear beginning and end. This kind of work may be contrasted
with the ongoing operations of an organization that involve repetitive
work—such as manufacturing—with no defined end.
Projects enable us to adapt to changing conditions. Reengineering
an organization, assessing a company’s direction in a new market,
bringing out a new product, or adapting new technology are all necessary changes accomplished through projects. In this increasingly
projectized workplace, project management has become a critical job
skill and a viable career path. Professionals at every level of the organization become more valuable when they understand and apply the
discipline of project management.
The purpose of this book is to help you gain these skills. Learn
them and you will have every chance of steering a project from its
planning stages through to its successful conclusion. While employing
art and creativity are also important, the tools put forth in this book—
the science of project management—provide the foundation for the
success of any project.

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TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine !