He Project Planning Workshop Handbook

The Project Planning Workshop Handbook

The secret to project success is to get the planning stage right. However the one thing that no-one will teach you is how to run a project planning workshop, until now. This step-by-step guide shows you exactly how to organise and run successful project kick-off workshops using the Index Card Planning method. Once you have learned how to plan with Index Cards you will have the skills you need to plan any project, large or small, with complete confidence. Updated book includes over 40 pages of new content including examples, pictures and case studies.You'll learn how to: * Engage project stakeholders and get their support * Boost team collaboration and eliminate silo working * Set realistic goals that don't change from month to month * Get the funding and resources you need to deliver your project * Turn the results of your workshop into effective schedules quickly and easily using Microsoft Project or other project management software tools. Whether you are new to project management, a PMI associate member or an experienced project management professional (PMP), you will love this new approach to project planning. Table of Contents: 1 - A Crisis Just Around The Corner - Why organisations struggle to attract and retain people with project leadership skills, and why project planning is the missing ingredient in project success. 2 - A Comparison Of Different Project Planning Approaches - A summary of different methods for planning projects, including advantages and disadvantages, and why Index Card Planning is a new take on planning that boosts leadership, engagement and collaboration. 3 - Why Index Card Planning Works - A description of the Index Card Planning method and why it outperforms other forms of planning. 4 - Planning Your Workshop - How to get started, getting your project Sponsor's support, Agreeing who should attend and who should not, and booking your venue and other facilities. 5 - What You Need for Your Index Card Planning Workshop - The five essential items you need for your first workshop (all of which you can buy for just a few dollars) 6 - Preparing For Your First Index Card Planning Workshop - What you need to do in the days before your workshop, and what to do on the day itself so that you get off to a perfect start. 7 - Running Your Index Card Planning Workshop - How to run your workshop from start to finish. This chapter breaks down the workshop into specific steps and shows you how to engage your attendees, how to create a shared vision for your project, and how to get your attendees to produce a detailed plan for achieving that vision. 8 - Following Up After Your Workshop - How to maintain the momentum from your workshop and why you should complete a debrief with your project sponsor.9 - How To Convert Your Index Card Plan Into Your Project Schedule - The exact steps you should take to create a project schedule based on the results of your workshop using Microsoft Project or other project management software tools. 10 - The Key Business Benefits of Facilitated Planning Workshops - The benefits of using a facilitator and what you can expect from a facilitated planning workshop 11 - Frequently Asked Questions about Index Card Planning - The questions that most people ask about the Index Card Planning Method from over five years of organising and running workshops for projects of all shapes and sizes and across many different industry sectors. Appendix A - Case Studies And Example Plans. This new section of the book contains case studies describing the results from real Index Card Planning workshops, including the work streams and key project milestones for a data and analytics project, a data migration project and an enterprise data warehouse project. This is a no-fluff, step-by-step guide to organising and running project kickoff workshops that you can use on your very next project. If you are ready to become a better project manager then this is the book for you.

MAPA-Project: a Practical Guide to Integrated Project Planning and Evaluation

The Complete Project Management Office Handbook

This updated and completely revised edition of a bestseller extends the concepts and considerations of modern project management into the realm of project management oversight, control, and support. Illustrating the implications of project management in today’s organizations, The Complete Project Management Office Handbook, Third Edition explains how to use the project management office (PMO) as a business integrator to influence project outcomes in a manner that serves both project and business management interests. Helping you determine if a PMO is right for your organization, this edition presents a five-stage PMO competency continuum to help you understand how to develop PMOs at different competency levels and associated functionalities. It also identifies five progressive PMO development levels to help you identify which level is best for your organization. Updates to this edition include: A refinement of the 20 PMO functions that guide PMO setup and operations A new section that provides an effective evaluation of PMO maturity indicators based on the prescribed 20 PMO functions presented in the handbook A new section on Establishing a Project Management Office that details a comprehensive process for determining the needs, purpose, and functionality for a new PMO Best practices that have cross-industry value and applicability The book includes checklists, detailed process steps, and descriptive guidance for developing PMO functional capability. The up-to-date PMO model defined will not only help you better understand business practices in project management, but will also help you to adapt and integrate those practices into the project management environment in your organization. For anyone associated with start-up and smaller PMOs, the book explains what can be done to create less rigorous PMO functional capabilities. It also includes helpful insights for those who need to specify and demonstrate "quick-wins" and early PMO-based accomplishments in their organization.