How to Run Successful High-Tech Project-Bases

This book offers you practical, real-world steps to creating a Structured Project Management (SPM) system throughout your organization. Based on the ten steps in best-selling author Fergus O'Connell's previous book, How to Run Successful Projects, this book expands on that concept to offer a thorough solution to keeping today's high-tech companies competitive, on budget, and on schedule.

Fergus O'Connell graduated with a first in mathematical physics from University College Cork. He began his career in the Computer Centre of University College Cork and worked with companies such as CPT, ICL, and Retix before founding ETP in 1992. He has lectured on project management at University College Cork and Boston University and on television for the National Technological University. He lives with his wife, son, daughter, three dogs, two horses, three ponies, and a donkey beside the River Barrow in Ireland. He is currently chairman and CEO of ETP.

Preface

xiii

Acknowledgments

xiv

Introduction

xvii

Part One ``Fixing'' Projects

1

(156)

The 10 Steps

3

(36)

The 10 steps

5

(7)

PSI

12

(3)

Assigning PSIs

13

(1)

Interpreting PSIs

14

(1)

Magicians vs. Dukes of Wellington [step 5(b)]

15

(7)

Magicians

16

(1)

Dukes of Wellington

17

(1)

Objections

17

(5)

People (steps 4 and 6)

22

(2)

Why projects fail

24

(1)

User assistance

25

(14)

Scoping Projects and Making Plans (Steps 1--5)

39

(16)

Introduction

41

(1)

Scoping the project (step 1)

42

(1)

Making the plan (steps 2--5)

43

(9)

List of Jobs

43

(2)

The power of assumptions

45

(3)

One leader

48

(1)

Assign people to jobs

48

(1)

Put contingency into the plan

49

(2)

Iterate steps 2--5(a)

51

(1)

Document the plan

52

(1)

Present the plan

52

(1)

Agree on next actions

52

(1)

User assistance

52

(3)

Running Projects (Steps 6--10)

55

(16)

Introduction

57

(1)

Monday meetings

58

(1)

Daily routine

59

(2)

Code green

60

(1)

Code yellow

60

(1)

Code orange

60

(1)

Code red

60

(1)

Status reporting

61

(6)

User assistance

67

(4)

Assessing Project Plans (Steps 1--5)

71

(16)

Introduction

73

(1)

User assistance

73

(14)

Assessing Projects (Steps 1--10)

87

(14)

Introduction

89

(1)

User assistance

90

(11)

Rescuing Projects: Rescuing = Assessing + Scoping and Planning (Steps 1--10)

101

(4)

Introduction

103

(2)

Auditing Completed Projects (Steps 1--10)

105

(10)

Introduction

107

(1)

User assistance

108

(7)

Running Multiple Projects

115

(12)

Introduction

117

(1)

Organization-wide supply and demand

118

(1)

Organization-wide project assignment

119

(1)

Personal dance cards

119

(1)

User assistance

120

(7)

Building a Historical Database (Knowledge Management)

127

(8)

Introduction

129

(1)

Data

130

(1)

Information

130

(1)

High-level estimates and actuals

130

(1)

Templates for projects

131

(1)

Project performance information

131

(1)

Knowledge

131

(1)

User assistance

132

(3)

Analyzing Project Management Processes (Steps 1--10)

135

(14)

Introduction

138

(1)

Comparing your methodology/procedures with the 10 steps

139

(1)

Adapting existing project management infrastructure/tools

140

(1)

User assistance

140

(9)

Managing Subcontractors

149

(8)

Introduction

151

(1)

Planning

151

(4)

Choosing the subcontractor

152

(1)

Writing the contract

153

(2)

Execution of the plan

155

(2)

Part Two Implementing Structured Project Management in Organizations (iSPMiO)

157

(58)

The Organization-Wide Status Report (OSR)

159

(6)

Introduction

160

(1)

What is an OSR?

161

(1)

What use is an OSR?

162

(3)

Project Management Performance Model

165

(10)

Introduction

167

(1)

Project management performance scale

168

(6)

Pointer---the organizational performance indicator (OPI)

174

(1)

Figuring Out Where You Are

175

(10)

Introduction

177

(1)

Organization as the sum of its projects

177

(1)

Soft audit

178

(1)

Calculate the OPI

179

(1)

User assistance

179

(6)

Start Making It Better

185

(10)

Introduction

187

(1)

Fix the reds

187

(1)

Clear the blues

188

(1)

Search and destroy oranges

189

(2)

Resolve issues

191

(2)

Within-project issues

191

(1)

External-to-project issues

192

(1)

User assistance

193

(2)

Case Studies

195

(6)

Introduction

197

(1)

Case study #1

197

(2)

Case study #2

199

(2)

The Lazy Manager's Weekly Routine

201

(6)

Introduction

203

(1)

The weekly routine

204

(3)

Monday

204

(2)

Tuesday--Friday

206

(1)

Program for a Project-Based Organization

207

(8)

Introduction

209

(1)

The seven things

209

(3)

Find an approach

210

(1)

Train practitioners

210

(1)

Find some tools

210

(1)

Build a database of previous projects with which the tools interact

211

(1)

Enforce the approach

211

(1)

Standard operating procedures

211

(1)

Educate the rest

211

(1)

Little implementation plan

212

(3)

Part Three Treating Your Organization as a Project

215

(28)

Building the Plan

217

(22)

Introduction

219

(1)

Visualize the goal

219

(2)

List of jobs

221

(1)

One leader

222

(1)

Assign people to jobs

223

(1)

Contingency

223

(1)

Manage expectations

223

(1)

So how much work is involved in producing one of these plans?

224

(1)

User assistance

225

(14)

Executing the Plan

239

(4)

Introduction

241

(1)

Executing the plan

241

(1)

PSI for the entire organization

241

(1)

Step 4 assessments

241

(1)

User assistance

242

(1)

Part Four So Why Do Things Go Wrong?

243

(22)

Why Do Projects Go Wrong?

245

(12)

Introduction

246

(1)

So why do projects go wrong?

247

(1)

The first-time project manager's tale

248

(1)

A cautionary tale #1

249

(1)

The small software project manager's tale

250

(1)

A cautionary tale #2

251

(2)

The larger software project manager's tale

253

(1)

A final cautionary tale

254

(1)

Epilogue

255

(2)

Why Do Organizations Go Wrong?

257

(8)

Introduction

259

(1)

Terrific plans

259

(1)

Outstanding products

260

(1)

Play to win

260

(1)

Turbo-charged employees

261

(1)

Workplace sizzle

262

(1)

Learning organization

262

(1)

Forward intelligence system

263

(1)

Conclusion

263

(2)

Bibliography

265

(2)

Other references

266

(1)

About the Author

267

(2)

Index

269

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How to Run Successful High-Tech Project-Bases Organizations

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials