The Rational Project Manager: A Thinking Team's Guide to Getting Work Done
In today's increasingly complex business environment, more and more of the work companies do is done in the form of projects. To be profitable and successful, an organization's projects must be completed on time and on budget, while also meeting its goals. As a result, the art of project management has become increasingly vital to businesses everywhere.In the tradition of the phenomenal business bestseller The Rational Manager, this comprehensive guide explores and explains the rationale, processes, and tools of successful project management. While The Rational Project Manager covers the nuts and bolts of the discipline, it also offers a unique concentration on the logic and thought processes necessary for successful project completion.Senior consultants from Kepner-Tregoe, the consultancy whose founders revolutionized organizational problem solving and decision making in The Rational Manager, authors Andrew Longman and Jim Mullins provide one-of-a-kind guidance on problem solving and decision making in project management. Contrary to the litany of excuses heard when projects fail—from "we didn't have enough time," to "we didn't have good enough people"—the majority of failed projects are the result of poor planning and poor critical thinking. That's why this book provides such a heavy focus on the vital skills of communication and problem solving.The authors divide project management into three stages—definition, planning, and implementation—exploring each stage in depth and showing project managers and contributors how to apply concepts and avoid common mistakes. Setting aside theoretical exploration, complex formulas, and software-as-savior cure-alls, The Rational Project Manager focuses on the fundamentals of why projects fail and offers a proven methodology for making sure they don't.Practical, straightforward, and comprehensive, this one-of-a-kind resource is the bible for project managers everywhere. Offering unsurpassed insight on the methodology and critical-thinking skills that form the cornerstone of any successful project, The Rational Project Manager helps get work done.