Project Management Made Fast and Easy for IT Professionals

Unlike any other book you'll find, this IT project management book synthesizes project management fundamentals, IT processes and procedures, and business fundamentals. Learn how to align your IT projects to the company's strategic objectives. Also learn how to determine which project will solve the right problem at the right time while still delivering high-quality results. You'll become an expert in fine-tuning the work process to ensure projects are completed on time, under budget, and with the required functionality and features. If you've ever wondered how to get on the fast track to CIO...you might just be holding the answer in your hands.

• Align IT Projects with Corporate Strategy: Run your IT department more like a business and use IT projects to support or extend the corporate mission.
  

• Navigate Corporate Politics: Develop the skills you need to succeed in a political environment, even if you really dislike company politics.
  

• Effectively Manage Your IT Project Team: Master the complexities of managing teams of people with different work styles, languages, cultures, and generations.
  

• Define and Design Successful IT Projects: Learn the seven major steps of the project management process: define, organize, form the team, plan, manage, track, and close the project.
  

• Build High-Quality Projects from the Ground Up: Deliver higher quality project results using consistent, repeatable, easy-to-use steps.
  

• Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) : Delineate the work to be accomplished and identify task owner, entry/exit criteria, and completion criteria.
  

• Mitigate "Scope Creep" in Your Projects: Continually analyze proposed changes to projects and avoid the ripple effect of making unnecessary changes or additions to the scope of your projects.
  

• Manage IT Project Risk, Change, and Variance: Incorporate new tools and techniques to manage the risks that change and variance inject into your IT project.
  

• Complete a Project Audit: Examine your project's goals, achievements, deliverables, and metrics against compliance with scope, time, cost, and quality requirements.

REVISED TOC

Chapter 1 What's Project Management Got To

Do With IT?

Chapter 2 What's Corporate Strategy Got To

Do With IT?

Chapter 3 Navigating Corporate Politics

Chapter 4 Managing the IT Project Team

Chapter 5 Defining IT Projects

Chapter 6 Organizing IT Projects

Chapter 7 Quality From the Ground Up

Chapter 8 Forming the IT Project Team

Chapter 9 Planning IT Projects

Chapter 10 Managing IT Projects

Chapter 11 Tracking IT Projects

Chapter 12 Closing Out IT Projects

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 10 Ratings

YOUR CHEATING PROJECT MANAGEMENT! - 2006-05-07
Reviewer Rating:
Are you an IT professional who's looking for a fast and easy way to do project management? If you are, you're in luck! Author Susan Snedaker, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that synthesizes project management fundamentals, IT processes and procedures, and business fundamentals.

Snedaker, begins by looking briefly at business process improvement and how project management fits into that world. Then, she explores corporate strategy issues so you can navigate through the sometimes confusing world of corporate IT funding. The author continues by showing you the why and how politics operate in organizations, and the insight and knowledge you'll gain that will help you navigate corporate policies more effectively. Next, she explores the skills that are required to manage the IT project team. Then, the author starts digging into IT project management itself. She continues by developing a bit more project detail including elements such as priorities, specifications, user requirements, and project infrastructure, to name just a few. Next, she looks at some of the ways you can build quality into your project without implementing an additional quality management program. The author continues by showing you how to put together a project team and how to assign roles and responsibilities to team members. Then, she shows you how to break the project down into manageable components so that you can not only plan the work, but you can develop a more realistic schedule and budget.
Next, she discusses strategies for managing your IT project. The author continues by reviewing a few more technical approaches to measuring project progress. Finally, she looks at the inputs, actions, and outputs from this final phase of IT project management.

This most excellent book shows you how to align your IT projects to the company's strategic objectives. It also shows you how to determine which project will solve the right problem at the right time while still delivering high-quality results.

Good Supplement to the Project Management course of study - 2006-02-23
Reviewer Rating:
After taking Project Management I, II and III, and reading the classics like Kerzner's _Project Management_, this book is a solid supplement. In addition to the "basics" it gives insights on dealing with people, organizations and requirements in straight manner format.

The grey box inserts give real life examples on the topics discussed. I found the section on "forming the team" to be of great value. The sections on "quality" and "diagraming the processes" are full of valuable suggestions.

This is most certainly a book of value and I'm glad to add it to my library.

Great read for motivated professional - 2009-08-13
Reviewer Rating:
Right to the point book. Covers what you really need to know about specific situations without holding your hand through the "how to". As a person who's been involved in fast moving IT projects I feel like this book really covers what you need to know to be on the right path to a successful project. I wouldn't use it as a bible but if you're looking for food for thought as a young project manager this is a great option.

Review - 2009-06-15
Reviewer Rating:
I received the book in few days and in good condition. In my opinion, you can trust this seller.

No nonsense information, straight up - 2007-08-07
Reviewer Rating:
I have been in charge of some small companies IT departments over the years. Technology changes at the speed of light and it is very difficult to keep up with it. This book gives no nonsense information, checklists, etc about various topics in project management. I think the reason why they named it 'How to Cheat...' is because it is a single book containing all the information needed to understand what IT project management is all about. I especially like the sections on dealing on how to understand corporate and business strategies and how IT is supposed to support them. When you don't have the money to go to school, this is a great book to have!

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