Project Planning and Management

Introduction

1 Definition

1.1 The objectives
1.2 Definitions and the context of a project
1.3 Examples projects, example companies, and other entities
1.4 Project impact on companies
1.5 A project, an incident in a fixed organisation
1.6 A project, like any process, must generate value
1.7 Design for effectiveness
1.8 A project must fit within the context of the company
1.9 Project mission, vision, and strategy
1.10 Project development phases
1.11 Project complexity

2 Project management

2.1 Responsibilities
2.2 Project liaison
2.3 Quality
2.4 People
2.5 Leadership styles, management styles
2.6 Resources
2.7 Social responsibility

3 Planning

3.1 Work breakdown
3.2 Estimate duration, efforts, and costs
3.3 Critical path
3.4 Expediting or crashing
3.5 Milestones
3.6 Interfacing
3.7 The initial plan
3.8 Keeping the plan up to date

4 Monitoring and Control

4.1 People, time and the use of the company's resources
4.2 Cost management
4.3 Budget and cash management
4.4 Quality control
4.5 A project team's working environment
4.6 Effective project communication

5 Project Reporting and Line Communication

5.1 Project steering group and company management
5.2 Outputs and completions
5.3 Budget and Cash reporting
5.4 Risk management
5.5 Standard (written) reports
5.6 Escalation procedures

6 Reasons for Success and Failure

6.1 The most important reasons for the failure of a project
6.2 Change management
6.3 Politics and bureaucracy
6.4 Negotiating Strategy

7 Project Sequence Model

7.1 A detailed overview of the project steps
7.2 Project orientation and assignment
7.3 Project proposal
7.4 Set-up and preparation of the project
7.5 Project execution
7.6 Delivery and implementation
7.7 Project termination and evaluation

Appendices

1 Value Worksheet
2 Planning Software
3 Business Effectiveness Principles
4 Warm and Cold Communication
5 Presentations for Project Managers
6 Teaching/Learning Strategies
7 Examples of Work Breakdowns
8 Worksheets, Stakeholder, Barter, Resources, Value
9 Glossary
10 Planning with Spreadsheets

References

Index

About the authors