There are plenty of books about project management, but this is the first one written for the people who have the most at stake: the senior executives who will ultimately be held accountable for the successes of the projects they approve and supervise. Top enterprise project management expert Michael Bender explains project management from the perspective that matters most to executives: adding value. Most books view project management from the inside, focusing primarily on lower-level issues, such as the creation of Work Breakdown Structures. A Manager's Guide to Project Management views it from above, explaining how project managers can best achieve the strategic goals of the business; the executive's role in successful project management; and the tools available to executives who want to gain greater value from project management. Drawing on his extensive experience, Bender shows how to: make sure project and enterprise goals align; structure organizations to support more effective project communication and decision making; integrate project processes with other organizational processes; oversee projects more effectively. This book contains a full section on understanding and managing projects as capital investments, including detailed coverage of building balanced project portfolios. Bender concludes with a sophisticated discussion of managing projects in global environments and optimizing resources where multiple projects must be managed.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments . . . ix
About the Author . . . x
Preface . . . xi
Part I Understanding Projects and Project Management
Chapter 1 The Goals of Project Management . . . 1
Chapter 2 Project Management Framework and Structure . . . 13
Chapter 3 Project Definition and Planning . . . 27
Part II Aligning Project Management with the Organization
Chapter 4 Strategic Alignment . . . 53
Chapter 5 A Framework for Strategic Alignment . . . 67
Chapter 6 Organizational Alignment . . . 89
Chapter 7 Process Alignment . . . 109
Part III Project Management Oversight
Chapter 8 Project Cost Management . . . 131
Chapter 9 Project Oversight . . . 151
Chapter 10 Project Management Oversight . . . 167
Part IV Projects as Capital Investments
Chapter 11 Projects as Capital Investments . . . 183
Chapter 12 Developing a Balanced Portfolio . . . 201
Chapter 13 Balanced Portfolio Techniques in Action . . . 217
Part V Globalization and Resource Optimization
Chapter 14 Globalization and Strategic Outsourcing . . . 229
Chapter 15 Optimizing Resources in a Multiproject Environment . . 247*
Endnotes . . . 265
Index . . . 269
*NOTE: Chapter 15 is available for free online at www.ftpress.com/title/9780137136902.
About the Author :
MICHAEL B. BENDER, PMP, is founder and CEO of Ally Business Developers, a consortium of world-class business, organizational, and professional development experts. Bender’s project/program management experience spans 30 years and several continents. He has applied his technical, leadership, and managerial skills to projects including the Hubble Space Telescope; NEXRAD (Next Generation Weather Radar); and air traffic control systems for the United States, UK, and Taiwan. Bender is a speaker for the American Management Association (AMA) and Global Knowledge, and a guest speaker at DePaul University and the Project Management Institute. He has authored many AMA project management seminars and recently completed a study of best practices in multiproject management.
