Just Enough Project Management

Product Description

Practical, proven techniques for managing today's smaller, more mission-critical projects
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Managers who can bring projects in on time, under budget, and within specs are among the most valuable and marketable in today's project-driven environment. Just Enough Project Management-- written by globally renowned project management authority Curtis R. Cook--is a quick-hitting, no-nonsense pocket guide on how to successfully handle projects of any size, in any environment.
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This versatile book's one-of-a-kind, customizable templates free managers from the time-consuming process of having to reinvent basic techniques and methods from one project to the next. Valuable for projects of every size, but especially helpful for today's newer breed of tighter, more focused projects, Just Enough Project Management will help project managers achieve:
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* . Greater bottom-line performance .
* Dramatically improved team morale .
* Long-term competitive advantage .

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Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #146731 in Books
* Published on: 2004-10-20
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 160 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

How to successfully manage any project while eliminating bureaucracy and red tape
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The project-driven approach has proven its value, leading to spectacular results--projects delivered faster and at a more reasonable cost than ever before. Problem is, the project management process used for large projects is too cumbersome and bureaucratic for the projects most of us face, and is often more complex and costly than the problems it is designed to solve. Sound familiar?
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Just Enough Project Management integrates today's most effective project management information and tools into a uniquely straightforward process for managing small to medium sized projects. This valuable and timesaving manual will provide you with:
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* . A versatile four-step process to initiate, plan, control, and close your next project .
* Customizable templates to help you get projects up and running with a minimum of wasted effort .
* Tips, techniques, and war stories from the front lines of contemporary project management .

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The fundamental goal of project management is to produce the desired results, on time and on budget. Let Just Enough Project Management show you how to get back to that goal and manage projects that successfully transform your objectives into immediate bottom-line results, instead of simply creating more projects.
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About the Author

Curtis R. Cook, Ph.D., is the former president and CEO of Novations Project Management and a globally renowned project management authority.
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Customer Reviews

Just Right5
I was looking for a good basic book to recommend to some PM-phobic coworkers and found the Idiot's and Dummie's editions rather pale and useless.

I especially appreciate Cook's emphasis on using just the right amount of PM and not letting the PM process overwhelm the actual work!

This book was exactly what I was looking for. Not too PMBOK-heavy and not too dimwit-light.

Not too much, not too little5
This book is about right for a new project manager or a small project (hopefully these would both go together but so often it does not). It is also quite useful for an experienced project manager of a smaller project looking for that line that separates the least amount of control from sheer negligence. This book is a little heavier than that, but still pretty light.

It is not quite as useful as the Dummies series in terms of a full service solution but really, despite the titles, those are not for novices. This book has a reasonable enough approach and reasonable enough templates to implement it.

The drawback I found was that the author uses relatively trivial illustrative "projects" so that newbie can understand the principles without getting hung up on details. The problem is even as a trained project manager the examples of PM applied to such simple things as "weekend at the country cabin" projected precisely the image of absurd over-control that is the thing that frightens PM opponents in the first place. For a real newbie, it could even more scary because if that is what you have to do for something so obviously simple, how much overhead goes with a real project?

That is really a minor quibble, though. If you are introducing a novice to the idea of PM, or if you are introducing PM to a nervous organization, this book might be a good place to start as a base case. It is certainly about the closest thing I have found in the past months of looking for such a solution.

Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide

Product Description

Get the full coverage you need for the PMP Exam!

Get the preparation you need for the challenging Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam in this comprehensive study guide. In addition to coverage of all exam objectives, you'll find practical advice including "How This Applies to Your Current Project" and "Real World Scenario" sidebars, as well as coverage for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam, and much more.

* Full coverage of all exam objectives in a systematic approach, so you can be confident you're getting the instruction you need for the exam
* Practical hands-on exercises to reinforce critical skills
* Real-world scenarios that put what you've learned in the context of actual job roles
* Challenging review questions in each chapter to prepare you for exam day
* Exam Essentials, a key feature in each chapter that identifies critical areas you must become proficient in before taking the exam
* A handy tear card that maps every official exam objective to the corresponding chapter in the book, so you can track your exam prep objective by objective

The accmpanying CD features:

* The Sybex test engine, which includes all of the chapter review questions and bonus exams.
* Electronic flashcards that reinforce your understanding and run on your PC, Pocket PC, or Palm handheld.
* More than two hours of audio instruction so you can fine-tune your project management skills.
* The entire book in searchable and printable PDF.

Order today so you can study anywhere, any time, and approach the exam with confidence.
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #47086 in Books
* Published on: 2007-07-17
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 648 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover
The full coverage you need for the PMP Exam

Get the preparation you need for the challenging Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam in this comprehensive study guide. In addition to coverage of all exam objectives, you'll find practical advice including "How This Applies to Your Current Project" and "Real World Scenario" sidebars, as well as coverage for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam, and much more.

* Full coverage of all exam objectives in a systematic approach, so you can be confident you're getting the instruction you need for the exam
*

Practical hands-on exercises to reinforce critical skills
*

Real-world scenarios that put what you've learned in the context of actual job roles
*

Challenging review questions in each chapter to prepare you for exam day
*

Exam Essentials, a key feature in each chapter that identifies critical areas you must become proficient in before taking the exam
*

A handy tear card that maps every official exam objective to the corresponding chapter in the book, so you can track your exam prep objective by objective

Look inside for complete coverage of all exam objectives.

Featured on the CD

SYBEX TEST ENGINE:
Test your knowledge with advanced testing software. Includes all chapter review questions and bonus exams.

ELECTRONIC FLASHCARDS:
Reinforce your understanding with flashcards that can run on your PC, Pocket PC, or Palm handheld.

AUDIO INSTRUCTION:
Fine-tune your project management skills with more than two hours of audio instruction from author Kim Heldman.

Also on the CD, you'll find the entire book in searchable and printable PDF. Study anywhere, any time, and approach the exam with confidence.

About the Author
Kim Heldman, PMP, MBA, is a well-known author and speaker, and is currently the Chief Information Officer for the Colorado Department of Transportation. She is also a member of the Denver chapter of PMI.
Customer Reviews

very well written book4
This book is very well writen. You feel like you are in a real classroom. The author has a very good sense of humour.

Excellent Source4
Passed Exam on Saturday using Kim's study guide as a single source. Great real world scenarios that help with understanding the material. PC Flashcards were very helpful along with the audio chapter reviews.

Passed the Test4
I passed the PMP test on the first go with this study guide. I really found the audio recaps of the chapters very helpful. I put them on CD and listened to them on my commute. I also liked the process group organization. There were only 4 questions on my PMP test that were not covered at all by this book...so 98% coverage is pretty good.

This book does not hold your hand very much however. If you are looking for more than just an overview of subjects line Earned Value and Critical Path Method, then you may want to get another study guide. I had exposure to these subjects before, so this book was just the review I needed. But someone who is seeing them for the first time may want a deeper treatment.

Overall, this book was a great "one stop shop" for my exam prep.

Agile Project Management with Scrum

Product Description

Apply the principles of Scrum, one of the most popular agile programming methods, to software project management—and focus your team on delivering real business value. Author Ken Schwaber, a leader in the agile process movement and a co-creator of Scrum, brings his vast expertise to helping you guide the product and software development process more effectively and efficiently. Help eliminate the ambiguity into which so many software projects are borne, where vision and planning documents are essentially thrown over the wall to developers. This high-level reference describes how to use Scrum to manage complex technology projects in detail, combining expert insights with examples and case studies based on Scrum. Emphasizing practice over theory, this book explores every aspect of using Scrum, focusing on driving projects for maximum return on investment.
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #4359 in Books
* Published on: 2004-03-10
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 192 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Ken Schwaber is the co-creator of Scrum. He is one of the leaders of the agile process revolution, as a signatory of the Agile Manifesto and founder and director of the Agile Alliance. He has been in the software development industry for more than 30 years and teaches and speaks at many conferences, including OOPSLA & Software Development.
Customer Reviews

Great Book, although I needed more 4
This is a great book, and an easy read. It gives examples of problems faced by the company, and how they were resolved using scrum. Personally, I needed a little more than that. I needed more indepth explanation of scrum. In general, this book is good to have.

Scrum defined4
If you want to learn Agile/Scrum, this is a good book to read. The topics are well covered. Who are the stakeholders? Who is chicken, who is pig are all answered. What is Sprint, backlog, velocity, burn down? Why does agile work where others fail in software development? Good examples and explanation of the subject. What is lacking is a cheat sheet of practice principles which one can deduce also, but it would be nice to have. Maybe next version. Enjoy reading it.

Outstanding book on Scrum and software project management5
This book gives a clear explanation of what Scrum is, by one of the people who invented it. This is all you'll need to learn the basics. Additionally, the author gives a number of chapters on real world examples of working in companies with Scrum. He explains various real world situations, the politics you have to deal with, and the gamut of problems project managers are faced with in trying to manage teams, bosses, bs and all the nonsense that happens at work. I really enjoyed this book because it is more than theoretical. It offers real world insights into dealing with real situations. Great book. Easy to read. I highly reccomend it.

Agile Project Management with Scrum

Product Description

Apply the principles of Scrum, one of the most popular agile programming methods, to software project management—and focus your team on delivering real business value. Author Ken Schwaber, a leader in the agile process movement and a co-creator of Scrum, brings his vast expertise to helping you guide the product and software development process more effectively and efficiently. Help eliminate the ambiguity into which so many software projects are borne, where vision and planning documents are essentially thrown over the wall to developers. This high-level reference describes how to use Scrum to manage complex technology projects in detail, combining expert insights with examples and case studies based on Scrum. Emphasizing practice over theory, this book explores every aspect of using Scrum, focusing on driving projects for maximum return on investment.
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #1897 in Books
* Published on: 2004-03-10
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 192 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Ken Schwaber is the co-creator of Scrum. He is one of the leaders of the agile process revolution, as a signatory of the Agile Manifesto and founder and director of the Agile Alliance. He has been in the software development industry for more than 30 years and teaches and speaks at many conferences, including OOPSLA & Software Development.
Customer Reviews

Good stuff4
Let me just say, right off the bat, this is a wonderful book.

But how so, you ask.

Well, I have been involved in agile projects as tech lead, as project manager and as SME for just about a decade. I have also been practicing SCRUM for past few years. I find these methodologies (or techniques) quite helpful in "getting things done".

But.... despite my experience, I believe this book taught me a lot. Not in a sense that it taught me new ideas, but rather that it put structure on my existing knowledge base.

I found the book to be very well organized, maybe not as detailed as I would've liked, but sufficiently so. The subject matter has been dealt with properly and explained so that it is easy to understand. While it is definitely a good book to have for a novice, it is a good reference for those of us who have been in the field for a while.

A very good overview4
This book gave me a fast and easy intro to this tenique as a project manager

Good description of Scrum, from the master4
Nobody knows Scrum better than Ken Schwaber. This is a good read for launching new Scrum projects.

Project Management for Telecommunications Managers by Celia L. Desmond

Product Description


Project Management for Telecommunications Managers is a concise reference work covering important aspects of project management. It explains many key concepts, in layman's terms, for engineering managers, project managers and other professionals working in the telecommunications environment. This presentation is consistent with many of the processes recommended by the certification body for project managers, the Project Management Institute; however, the material expands on the guide by elaborating on the application of the processes in telecommunications projects. The book covers concepts and applications applicable to all telecommunications related areas. Tools for planning, organizing, tracking and managing projects are provided. The author has also included actual examples of various telecommunications projects from wireline and wireless providers, equipment vendors and component manufacturers to illustrate concepts. Important information for working across departmental and functional units and various organizational structures are also included.

This book is highly recommended for project managers and project team members who work on projects in the telecommunications environment.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #711932 in Books
Published on: 2003-12-31
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
293 pages
Editorial Reviews

Book Info
Text covers key elements of project management most relevant to telecommunications. Explains concepts in layman's terms for engineering managers, project managers, and other professionals working in the telecommunications environment. Includes index and references.

About the Author
Celia Desmond is President of World Class - Telecommunications, a consulting company. Ms. Desmond provides training in management skills for telecommunications business and engineering environments. She has lectured internationally on Programs for Success in Today's Changing Environment. At Stentor Resource Centre Inc. she was instrumental in establishing the Stentor culture and processes, including the establishment of project management processes. She held line and staff management positions at Bell Canada. In Celia's line positions at Bell Canada, she directed her groups in providing technical and project management support to large business clients.
Celia is 2002-2003 President of IEEE Communications Society and is a recent past President of IEEE Canada. Celia was awarded the Donald J. McLellan Award for meritorious service to IEEE Communications Society, the Engineering Institute of Canada John B. Sterling Medal, and the IEEE Millennium award. In addition to holding a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Carleton University, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics & Psychology from Queens University, she also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

International Project Management by Bennet P. Lientz

Product Description

'International Project Management' provides specific guidelines for achieving greater project success. It is the result of 15 years of work on international projects by the authors across various project areas and industries. The authors address a need for modern techniques in project management geared and suited to international projects. They offer lessons learned from failures and problems in international projects, and suggest alternative solutions for project issues. Industry examples include manufacturing, distribution, communications, media, transportation, government, IT, marketing, energy, medical care, tourism, and others in forty countries across five continents.

The purpose of this book is to answer:

* What is an international project and why is it different?
* What are the critical success factors for managing international projects?
* How are vendors and outsourcing managed across national boundaries?
* How do businesses effectively address cross- cultural, social, and political issues?
* How are international communications set up and coordinated?
* What should a manager look for in an international project leader?
* How does a business select the right vendors for an international project?
* How are inadequate or incompatible infrastructure and technology issues overcome?
* How are the legal and bureaucratic limitations on project management dealt with?

* Presents over 150 specific lessons learned and guidelines for managing international projects

* Explains how businesses can effectively address

* Shows how a business can select the right vendors and outsourcing across national boundaries
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #668920 in Books
Published on: 2002-10-31
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
277 pages
Editorial Reviews

Book Info
Provides specific guidelines for achieving greater project success. Authors address a need for modern techniques in project management geared and suited to international projects.

From the Back Cover
International Project Management provides specific guidelines for achieving greater project success. It is the result of 15 years of work on international projects by the authors across various project areas and industries. The authors address a need for modern techniques in project management geared and suited to international projects. They offer lessons learned from failures and problems in international projects, and suggest alternative solutions for project issues. Industry examples include manufacturing, distribution, communications, media, transportation, government, IT, marketing, energy, medical care, tourism, and others in forty countries across five continents.

The purpose of this book is to answer:

* What is an international project and why is it different?
* What are the critical success factors for managing international projects?
* How are vendors and outsourcing managed across national boundaries?
* How do businesses effectively address cross- cultural, social, and political issues?
* How are international communications set up and coordinated?
* What should a manager look for in an international project leader?
* How does a business select the right vendors for an international project?
* How are inadequate or incompatible infrastructure and technology issues overcome?
* How are the legal and bureaucratic limitations on project management dealt with?


Also Available

Project Management for the 21st Century, Third Edition
ISBN: 0-12-449983-X, 2002

Breakthrough Technology Project Management, Second Edition
ISBN: 0-12-449968-6, 2001

About the Author
Bennet Lientz has taught and consulted on project management for the past 28 years to more than 5000 people. He developed the concept of the management critical path, acted as project manager of the Internet, and turned around 10 failing projects. This Second Edition is Lientz seventh book; he has also written more than 25 articles in various areas of project management. Kathryn P. Rea is president and founder of The Consulting Edge, Inc., which was established in 1984. The firm specializes in E-Business, process improvement, project management, and financial consulting. Rea has managed more than 65 major technology-related projects internationally. She has advised on and carried out projects in government, engergy, banking and finance, distribution, trading, retailing, transportation, mining, manufacturing, and utilities. She is the author of eight books and more than 20 articles in various areas of information systems and analysis.
Customer Reviews

excellent-covers politics, culture and management
International projects are often very political. Culture applies too. There have been few books written about this important area. Being involved in international projects for years i have found many tips in here that are useful. There are checklists, good examples, and guidelines for handling competing demands for the same people, resource allocation, and headquarters-local office conflicts. Valuable for anyone involved in international projects of all types.