Plan and Track Project Work: Accidental Project Manager's Toolkit Series - Book #1

Step by step how to break down the things that need to be done to complete a project, put it into the form of a project plan, and then track project status to get the job done. Beginners as well as those with project experience will find useful, actionable, project planning and tracking steps in this little book. Start by downloading (no cost - free - inclusive) an Excel based project planning and tracking template. Open the book and step through project planning and tracking what, how, and why organized around easy to use project tools (templates) to help you with: Project work planning - organize your planned work (work breakdown structure) and make work assignments, Project work estimates - figure out what it's going to take to do the work Project budget - construct a project budget and track project cost Project status - enter actual dates, actual work, and actual project costs so you can track project status through to project completion Use the template to follow along and see how things can be done without getting all tied up in knots with project management software. I include a lot of images with numbered step by step instructions. You may want to refer to your template or enter some information to see how it works. Make a copy of the template before you start plugging stuff in so you don't forget and save the template with your messing around data in it. Yes you probably need some tools to get the job done but there's no reason to get wrapped around the axle by some sort of project management software that is (a) overkill for what you are trying to accomplish, (b) the wrong size and shape for what you need to do, or (c) both. Here are some options for coming up with right sized project planning and tracking tools that fit your needs: 1. Add features to the free template based on examples and descriptions in the book. 2. Or build your own tools based on the information in the book. 3. Or purchase the "for sale" version for a few bucks, save yourself a lot of time, and tweak it if needed, as needed, to suit your circumstances. Want to find out more about these templates? There are "look inside" documents for these and other project management templates at my SmallBizOrgTools.com Web site. Plan and Track Project Work is the first in a series that expands on project management topics covered in my book The Accidental Project Manager's Survival Guide: Templates, Methods, and Stuff You Need to Know. Chapters 3-5 from the survival guide (and the glossary of terms) are included as appendices at the end of this book. I did this just in case you aren't familiar with or as familiar as you would like to be with how to break down your project work and some terms associated with that. Terms such as work breakdown structure (WBS), phase, activity, task, key event, variance, etc. The three chapters are: (3) High Level Work Planning: Breaking the Big Things Down to Phases-Activities-Tasks, (4) Detailed Level Work Planning: Work Items Inputs-Actions-Outputs, and (5) Detailed Level Work Planning: Work Schedule and Project Budget This book is for, among others: Someone with little or no project management experience Someone with enough experience to know they need help - additional things for their project management tool kit Small businesses and organizations - project management templates and methods geared towards your low cost, low maintenance needs