Project Management JumpStart -- Introduction -- Who Should Read This Book -- What This Book Covers -- Making the Most of This Book -- Building the Foundation -- The Project Management Journey -- Is It a Project? -- Where Are We Going? -- A Bird's-Eye View -- Know the Structure of Your Organization -- Benefiting from Project Management Practices -- Tools of the Trade -- Understanding Project Processes -- Twenty-first Century Project Management -- What's Old Is New Again -- Constraints -- Where Do You Go from Here? -- Becoming PMP Certified -- Certifying with CompTIA's Project+ -- Formal Education Programs -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Developing Project Management Skills -- A Little Bit of Everything -- Communication Is the Key -- Organizing Techniques -- General Management Skills -- People Management Skills -- Communicating Your Style -- Exchanging Information -- Active Listening -- How Many Connections Are There? -- Ten Tips for Communicating Effectively -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Initiating the Project -- Selecting Projects for Success -- How Projects Come About -- Project Requests -- Selecting and Prioritizing Projects -- Feasibility Study -- Meeting the Stakeholders -- Working with the Project Sponsor -- Documenting Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities -- Competing Needs of Stakeholders -- Creating the Project Charter -- Purposes for the Charter -- Essential Elements of a Project Charter -- Holding the Project Kickoff Meeting -- Creating the Agenda -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Defining the Project Goals -- Agreeing on the Deliverables -- Goals and Objectives -- Deliverables -- Discovering Requirements -- Requirements-Gathering Process -- Critical Success Factors -- Identifying Assumptions and Constraints -- Defining Assumptions -- Defining Constraints -- Creating the Project Scope Statement.

Contents of the Project Scope Statement -- Obtaining Sign-off -- Creating the Project Scope Management Plan -- Creating the Communications Plan -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Breaking Down the Project Activities -- Constructing the Work Breakdown Structure -- Organizing the WBS Levels -- Work Packages -- Identification Codes -- Outline View -- Defining Tasks and Activities -- Managing the Work -- Activity Sequencing -- Determining Milestones -- Constructing the Responsibility Assignment Matrix -- Estimating Activity Durations -- Expert Judgment -- Parametric Estimating -- Establishing Dependencies -- Constructing a Network Diagram -- Precedence Diagramming -- Activity on Node -- Arrow Diagramming Method - Activity on Arrow -- Diagramming Method of Choice -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Planning and Acquiring Resources -- Planning the Project Team -- Skills Assessment -- Deciding Who's Needed -- Negotiating for Team Members -- Staffing Assignments -- Acquiring Materials, Supplies, and Equipment -- Questions to Ask -- Make or Buy -- Procurement Plan -- Resource Plan -- Contracting for Resources -- Request for Proposal and More -- Soliciting Bids -- Choosing a Supplier -- Awarding the Contract -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Assessing Risk -- Identifying Risks -- Types of Project Risks -- Common Project Risks - Where Are They Hiding? -- Identification Techniques -- Risk Analysis Techniques -- Risk Probability and Impact -- Risk Tolerance -- Planning for Risks -- Responding to Risks -- Accepting -- Avoiding -- Transferring -- Mitigating -- Exploit -- Share -- Enhance -- Contingency Planning -- Residual and Secondary Risks -- Risk Management Plan -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Developing the Project Plan -- Creating the Project Schedule -- Project Schedule Components -- Program Evaluation and Review Technique.

Calculating the Critical Path -- Working with the Project Schedule -- Schedule Display Options -- Quality Management Plan -- Documenting the Plan -- Cost of Quality -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Budgeting 101 -- What Makes Up a Budget? -- Project Costs -- Direct Costs versus Indirect Costs -- Gathering the Docs -- Budgeting Process -- Budget Items -- Budget Woes -- Following the Processes -- Estimating Techniques -- Analogous Estimating -- Bottom-Up Estimating -- Resource Cost Rates -- Parametric Estimating -- Computerized Tools -- Ask the Experts -- Ask the Vendors -- Estimating Costs and Finalizing the Budget -- Questions to Ask -- Finalizing the Budget -- Down Memory Lane -- Are You in Control? -- What's the Cost? -- Budget Approvals -- Establishing a Cost Baseline -- Call It a Plan -- How Big Is It? -- Obtaining Approvals -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Executing the Project -- Assembling the Team -- Project Team Kickoff Meeting -- Four Stages of Team Development -- Effective Team Characteristics -- Negotiation and Problem-Solving Techniques -- Start at the Beginning -- The Six Approaches to Problem Resolution -- Project Manager's Role in Team Development -- Rewarding Experiences -- Leadership Power -- Gaining Trust and Respect from Team Members -- Professional Responsibility -- Progress Reporting -- Who Gets What? -- Status Reports and Action Logs -- Taking Corrective Action -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Controlling the Project Outcome -- Change Happens -- How Changes Come About -- Establishing Change Management Control Procedures -- Forming a Change Management Plan -- Establishing a Change Control Board -- Tracking Changes -- Assessing the Impacts of Change -- Calling in Reinforcements -- Adjusting for Scope and Schedule Changes -- Managing and Revising Costs -- Monitoring and Controlling Project Processes.

Performance-Reporting Tools -- Risk Monitoring -- Is the Project in Trouble? -- Just Say No -- Early Warning Signs -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Closing the Books -- Happy Endings -- Details, Details -- Breaking Up Is Hard to Do -- Training and Warranty Period -- Implementing the Project -- Documenting Lessons Learned -- Obtaining Project Sign-off -- Is the Customer Happy? -- Archiving Project Documents -- It's Party Time! -- Terms to Know -- Review Questions -- Answers to Review Questions -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Chapter 9 -- Chapter 10 -- Chapter 11 -- Chapter 12 -- Sample Project Management Forms -- Sample Project Management Checklists -- Glossary -- Index.