Making It Happen: A Non–Technical Guide to Project Management

Making It Happen: A Non–Technical Guide to Project Management provides a fresh and clear approach to project management. Written in the form of a novel, it covers the basics of project management in a friendly, interesting, and memorable way.
Will Campbell, a reasonably competent middle manager, is suddenly thrust into managing a high–profile project that could make or break his career. With no project management experience, and armed only with the guidance of his eccentric menror, Martha, Will learns the hard way. As Will navigates the rough seas of company politics, treacherous competition, and a project swirling out of control, he narrowly evades many pitfalls, and masters some indispensable project management tools along the way.
Against the backdrop of this personal drama, a simple, rational approach to project management unfolds. Will′s ability to grasp these principles is the key to his survival, and could be the key to yours. Making It Happen enables the reader to transform risky, real–life situations into success.Provides a simple, non–technical approach, useful to any business person involved in teams or managing projectsOffers practical tools and principles that will make any project a success: from office moves to product roll–outs, systems implementations to training program delivery, and everything in betweenBoxes, definitions, and charts highlight key points and practical project management tips.

Spis treści:
Preface
Part One: GENESIS
Chapter 1: Sink or Swim
Chapter 2: Grasping the Scope
Chapter 3: What is a Project?
Chapter 4: The Team Meets
Chapter 5: Sifting Through the Mess
Chapter 6: Asking the Right Questions
Chapter 7: Writing the Objective Statement
Chapter 8: The Project Manager Faces the Board
Part Two: THE PROJECT TEAM
Chapter 9: The Team′s Roles
Chapter 10: Company Politics
Part Three: THE DESIGN PHASE
Chapter 11: What is Design, and How Long Does it Take?
Chapter 12: Organizing the Design Process
Chapter 13: The User′s Needs
Chapter 14: Charts, Costs, and Other Puzzles
Chapter 15: More Problems with Schedules
Part Four: EXECUTION PLANNING
Chapter 16: Tasks
Chapter 17: A Dependency Chart
Chapter 18: Finding and Fixing Mistakes
Part Five: EXECUTION
Chapter 19: Altering Plans
Chapter 20: On a Crash Course
Chapter 21: A New Assignment
Part Six: THE REVIEW PROCESS
Chapter 22: Assessing Assignments
Part Seven: THE PROJECT MANAGER′S SURVIVAL MANUAL
Chapter 23: Recording the Fundamentals
Part Eight: NEW FRAMEWORKS
Chapter 24: Checking Assumptions
Epilogue

Nota biograficzna:
Mackenzie Kyle is the Principle of the Beringer Group and an associate at Manageering, a firm specializing in project management consulting and training. He has spent the last 15 years working on a variety of project management related assignments at organizations in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Okładka tylna:
Making It Happen: A Non–Technical Guide to Project Management provides a fresh and clear approach to project management. Written in the form of a novel, it covers the basics of project management in a friendly, interesting, and memorable way.
Will Campbell, a reasonably competent middle manager, is suddenly thrust into managing a high–profile project that could make or break his career. With no project management experience, and armed only with the guidance of his eccentric menror, Martha, Will learns the hard way. As Will navigates the rough seas of company politics, treacherous competition, and a project swirling out of control, he narrowly evades many pitfalls, and masters some indispensable project management tools along the way.
Against the backdrop of this personal drama, a simple, rational approach to project managem ent unfolds. Will′s ability to grasp these principles is the key to his survival, and could be the key to yours. Making It Happen enables the reader to transform risky, real–life situations into success.Provides a simple, non–technical approach, useful to any business person involved in teams or managing projectsOffers practical tools and principles that will make any project a success: from office moves to product roll–outs, systems implementations to training program delivery, and everything in betweenBoxes, definitions, and charts highlight key points and practical project management tips.