A Project Manager's Book of Tools and Techniques

Cynthia Snyder Dionisio

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781119424857
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technologie et ingénierie
• Subtopic: Ingénierie industrielle

A practical guide for putting PMBOK concepts to work

A Project Manager's Book of Tools and Techniques is an invaluable resource for students and working professionals alike. Whether you're preparing for the PMP exam or just looking to optimize your project management skills, this book provides detailed explanations for over 100 essential tools described in the Project Management Institute's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) Sixth Edition. Going beyond theory and concept to real-world practice, these tools and techniques are the "how" of effective project management; from planning, to implementation, to oversight, and beyond, all phases of the project are represented here to help you more effectively apply critical PMBOK concepts. Comprehensive examples illustrate real-world implementation, and detailed discussion provides expert guidance for both new and experienced project management professionals.

Knowing what to do is much different from knowing how to do it; even perfect understanding of the PMBOK Guide doesn't automatically translate into effective practice. This book is designed to help you bridge that gap and expertly apply current project management standards.

• Delve deeper into the practical tools described in the PMBOK Guide—Sixth Edition
• Follow detailed examples that illustrate effective project management methods
• Master project management applications in preparation for the PMP exam

• Graduate from theory to practice with powerful tools and techniques for success

Concepts are only valuable once they are applied—and then they become a skill set that gets results. The PMBOK Guide is the ultimate authority on project management concepts, but translating those concepts into applicable skills requires a detailed understanding of the tools of the field. A Project Manager's Book of Tools and Techniques is a practical manual for putting essential project management concepts into practice.

Part 1
Data Gathering

1.0 DATA GATHERING TECHNIQUES

Data gathering is often the first technique we employ in a process. Before we can transform process inputs into outputs we often need to gather additional information. In this context, an input is any document, information, or other item that is needed to conduct a process. An output is any document, information, product, or other item that is the result of a process.

Some of the data gathering techniques entail collecting data from individuals or groups, such as focus groups and brainstorming. Some techniques entail collecting information by using tools such as checklists and check sheets. Benchmarking and statistical sampling collect data from procedures that have been performed many, many times by multiple people or even machines.

The techniques described in this section include:

• Benchmarking
• Brainstorming
• Check sheets
• Checklists
• Focus groups
• Statistical sampling

There are other data gathering techniques that are not described in this book because they are either not project specific, or they are in common use. For example, interviewing people, reviewing lessons learned and information from previous projects, and developing questionnaires and surveys are common techniques that are not applied in projects any differently than they would be in any other field. They are common enough that they don’t require further explanation or examples to clarify how they are employed.

As with all techniques, you can use multiple methods to gather data. Use the methods that are easiest to gather the most complete and accurate information you need for your project.

1.1 BENCHMARKING

WHAT IT IS

Benchmarking is gathering data on the best in class, best in industry, or best in organization practices, processes, and products. The information is used as a target to improve processes, products, and results. Benchmarking is most often used in projects to collect requirements, establish quality metrics, establish cost and schedule targets, and establish stakeholder (especially customer) satisfaction targets.

HOW TO USE IT

Use the steps below as a guideline. Tailor the steps as necessary to work within your environment.

1. Identify the process or metric that you want to improve. If you are developing a new product or improving an existing one, identify the aspect of the product you are gathering data about.
2. If you are using benchmarks for improving performance, take a baseline measurement of your current performance.
3. Identify areas in your own company, leaders in the industry, or leaders in other industries with similar processes. These are your “targets” to measure against. You may need to talk with industry peers, consultants, vendors, associations, or other resources to help you discover the industry leaders (targets).
4. Depending on who and where your target is, and what you are benchmarking, you may be able to easily identify the best practices, such as when you are using a target that is internal to your organization. If the target is external, or even a competitor, you may need to gather business intelligence, work with a consultant, or find some other way to determine how they achieve their performan...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part 1 Data Gathering
• Part 2 Data Analysis
• Part 3 Data Representation
• Part 4 Estimating
• Part 5 Interpersonal and Team Skills
• Part 6 Other Techniques
• Appendix: Case Study Scenarios
• Index
• EULA