Introduction to the Second Edition

PROJECT MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE and skills can help you complete projects on schedule, within budget, and in full accordance with project specifications. At the same time, they help achieve the other goals of the organization, such as productivity, quality, and cost-effectiveness. By definition, every project is unique—a specific set of tasks aligned to meet stated requirements. But a skilled project manager consistently applies universal processes and skills to bring consistency and results to one project after another. Learning project management skills can help you implement these proven strategies for clarifying project objectives, avoiding serious errors of omission, and eliminating costly mistakes.

This book guides you step-by-step through all the processes in the life of a project, beginning with defining project scope and requirements. It explains how to create a work breakdown structure and diagram the activities into a logical sequence using simple network diagrams. It then describes techniques for estimating work on these activities, including trade-offs in time, cost, and resource allocation. You then learn how to compile your schedules, budgets, and resource plans into a comprehensive project plan.

Chapters will teach you how to monitor and control project activities using your project plan as a baseline. In addition to hard project management skills, you will learn the people skills needed to lead and direct project teams to get the job done. The book also includes chapters on identifying and managing risk and how to properly close the project and document lessons learned.

This book is based on the best-selling American Management seminar “Improving Your Project Management Skills,” attended by thousands of project professionals every year. This second edition has been updated for consistency with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)—Fourth Edition, published by the Project Management Institute. It reflects the latest professional standards in project management and provides current project management practices and examples.

Your organization demands and deserves superior project execution and consistent results. These powerful project tools, based on a world-class learning program and proven, universal project management tenets, will help you streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve productivity in your project environment.