Papers
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- PM World Today Interviews Max Wideman - Part 1: Probing
Max's Background
- PM World Today Managing Editor David Pells asks Max some searching questions about his involvement in project
management; construction management; and heavy construction. 07/08
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- The Project Management Life Cycle
- A thorough description of the project life span and how to initiate, plan,
execute and close a project successfully. Complete with templates on a CD ROM.
06/08
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- PMHub.net Interviews Max Wideman - The Person
- The editor of PMHub, a web site dedicated to assisting managers study for
the Project Management Institute's PMP® or CAPM® exams, tests Max's credibility
with some probing personal questions. 05/08
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- Power of Enterprise-Wide Project Management
by Dennis L. Bolles and Darrel G. Hubbard (Book review)
- The groundwork for establishing an enterprise-wide project management office
(EPMO) provides good advice: start at the top where executive decisions are made.
02/08
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- The Empty Carousel: A Consumer's Guide to Checked
and Carry-on Luggage by Scott T. Mueller (Book
review)
- Good advice for the travelling project manager - or anyone else for that matter. 12/07
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 8: More Tips on Step 10
- Benefits of harvesting & reporting, roles, and changing strategic direction. 04/08
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 7: Tips on Step 10
- Improving the portfolio: From product launch to project success by ramping up the use of the product. 03/08
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 6: Tips on Steps 8 and 9
- Managing the portfolio: Plan & Execute the Work, Reporting & Review. 02/08
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 5: Tips on Steps 5 to 7
- Logical progression: Prioritizing, Ranking, Balance and Optimizing, and Authorization
01/08
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 4: Tips on Steps 1 to 4
- Logical progression: Setup, Needs/Opportunities, Evaluation and Selection. 12/07
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 3: Projects, Programs, Portfolios and Strategic Direction
- A discussion of the PPM environment including the role of the Project Management
Office and the Project Portfolio Steering Committee. 11/07
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 2: The Project Portfolio Management Life Cycle
- Ten steps to complete the entire PPM cycle. 10/07
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- Ten Steps to Comprehensive Project Portfolio
Management
- Part 1: An Introduction
- It seems that project portfolio managers, and their responsible executives,
still have a lot to learn to make the process complete. 09/07
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- Napoleon on Project Management by
Jerry Manas (Book review)
- Jerry describes the sheer brilliance, work ethic, and tenacity of this French
leader and connects it to the best in project management. 08/07
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- Selling into Project Success
- You cannot really determine project success unless you also examine product
success. And if the product is a success who cares if the project was late and
over budget? But the hazards may be beyond the PM's control. 04/07
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- Credible Ethics and the Environment
- Professional civil engineers are providers of infrastructure for social good.
In this paper we take serious issue over their apparent denial of the associated
"population problem". 03/07
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- Information Systems Project Management, 2nd ed.,
How to Deliver Function and Value in Information Technology Projects by
Jolyon Hallows (Book review)
- Jolyon's advice on managing software projects and what you need to know about
project management in that application domain. 02/07
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- Your Successful Project Management Career
by Ronald B. Cagle (Book review)
- Ronald attempts to answer the almost endless questions around what experience
and training do you need and how do you manage your career - from the perspective
of the IT environment. But the real questions are: What type of projects, and
are you suited? 01/07
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- The Software Development Edge: Essays on Managing
Successful Projects by Joe Marasco (Book review)
- Joe provides valuable lessons for project managers, especially those in the
world of software development. 12/06
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- The Right Projects Done Right! (From Business
Strategy to Successful Implementation) by Paul C. Dinsmore
and Terence J. Cooke-Davies (Book review)
- Paul and Terry join hands across the Atlantic to shed serious light on project
portfolio management. 11/06
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- Project Portfolio Management: A Practical Guide
To Selecting Projects, Managing Portfolios and Maximizing Benefits by
Harvey A. Levine (Book review)
- Is "PPM" just another project management technique or is it serious business?
Harvey obviously thinks the latter. 10/06
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- PRINCE2, 2005 Edition - Part 2 Published
by TSO for the Office of Government Commerce, UK (Book review)
- In this Part 2 we discuss some of the PRINCE2 concepts, the downsides we see
in the methodology and our conclusions. 09/06
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- PRINCE2, 2005 Edition - Part 1 Published
by TSO for the Office of Government Commerce, UK (Book review)
- We provide our views of this widely recognized UK project management standard
methodology, emphasizing the things we like. 08/06
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- The Project Management Tool Kit (100 tips and
techniques for getting the job done right) by Tom Kendrick
(Book review)
- Tom has assembled a compendium of 100 frequently-used project management "processes".
A valuable and handy little reference book of tools and techniques. 06/06
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- Agile Project Management by
Barry Chin, published by AMACOM, NY, 2004 (Book review)
- Barry makes a good case for "agile" project management – under
the right circumstances. We review the advantages and disadvantages. 05/06
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- Managing Successful Programs
Published for Office of Government Commerce, UK (Book review)
- This book, written for the UK Government, explains what a "programme"
really is and how to manage all kinds. Much different from its previous 1999 edition,
there is a lot to learn even from this paper. 03/06
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- The Project Management Question and Answer Book
by Michael W. Newell, PMP, and Marina N. Grashina, PMP,
AMACOM, NY, 2003 (Book review)
- Real answers for real people, a valuable library addition. 02/06
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- Project Cost Control: The Way it Works
- It's not that difficult in theory. It's a lot more difficult in practice.
This paper takes you right through the project life span. 01/06
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- Financially Focused Project Management (FFPM)
by Thomas M. Cappels, J. Ross Publishing,
FL, 2004 (Book review)
- Based on his view that the goal of project management is profitability, Thomas
describes his brand of project management. 12/05
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- Project Procurement Management
by Quentin W. Fleming, FMC Press, CA, 2003 (Book review)
- Quentin provides a sound and much-needed easy-to-read comprehensive guide
to project procurement management. 11/05
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- How Long Should a Software Project Take?
- A concerned correspondent asks a serious question and receives a variety of
responses from a group of experts who put him closer to a resolution. 10/05
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- Advanced Project Portfolio Management and
the PMO:
Multiplying ROI at Warp Speed by Gerald I. Kendall,
PMP & Steven C. Rollins, PMP, J. Ross Publishing, Inc.,
Co-published with International Institute of Learning, Inc., 2003 (Book review)
- This is one of the first comprehensive books on Project Portfolio Management.
It focuses on the IS/IT industry where PPM is most needed. 9/05
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- Project Management Methodologies
by Jason Charvat, John Wiley & Sons, NJ, 2003 (Book review)
- "When all projects in the enterprise follow a standardized template, then
and only then will project management evolve gradually into an everyday way of
life." So says CEO Robert Simplot in the introduction to Jason's book and Jason
explains why and how. 8/05
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- Lessons in Project Management
by Tom and Jeff Mochal, Apress, CA, 2003 (Book review)
- "Painless project management learning" might have been a better title for
this book review but we preferred to stay with the correct title for this paper.
Recommended reading for all those engaged in the IS/IT business environment. 7/05
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- Project Portfolio Governance Guidelines (But
are they complete?)
- A review and commentary of a recent publication Directing Change, by
the Association of Project Management, UK, 2004. This booklet provides practical
guidance on elevating the standard of project portfolio management in most organizations
across all sectors. 6/05
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- PMBOK® Guide, Third Edition - Is More Really
Better? Part 3 Project Management Institute, PA, 2004 (Book
review)
- Third of three articles on the 2004 Guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge. In this part we focus on Section III
of the Guide. 5/05
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- PMBOK® Guide, Third Edition - Is More Really
Better? Part 2 Project Management Institute, PA, 2004 (Book
review)
- Second of three articles on the 2004 Guide to the Project Management
Body of Knowledge. In this part we focus more closely on Sections I
and II of the Guide. 4/05
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- PMBOK® Guide, Third Edition - Is More Really
Better? Part 1 Project Management Institute, PA, 2004 (Book
review)
- First of three articles taking an in-depth look at the Project Management
Institute's latest Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, covering
What We Liked, the Downside and some Missed Opportunities. This Part 1 provides
an overview. 3/05
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- Lessons in Risk Management
- Three short real-life case studies demonstrating benefits of a little risk
planning. 2/05
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- Room for Improvement based
on a PwC study (Report review)
- Authors Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez and Daniel Evrard of PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC), Belgium, set out to discover any correlation between organizational maturity
and project performance. Their report Boosting Business Performance through
Programme and Project Management, June 2004, discloses valuable information
on the current state of project management. 1/05
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- Total Project Control: A Manager's Guide
to Integrated Project Planning, Measuring, and Tracking by
Stephen A. Devaux, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1999 (Book review)
- This book highlights shortcomings in current project control tools because
scope is typically taken as a "given" and its outcome value is not quantified.
Consequently, a sound basis for scope change decision-making is absent. Stephen
proposes a number of metrics to overcome this. 8/04
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- Two Case Studies - #1: The Case of the Never
Ending Scope Creep - #2: The Case of the Unidentified Risks Contributed
by Mauro Maurovic, Australia. Edited for the web by R. Max Wideman
- These two case studies (together with "The Custom Woodworking Company"
lower on this Page) should prove invaluable exercises for instructors conducting
project management course work. 7/04
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- Effective Risk Management: Some Keys to Success,
2nd Edition by Edmund H. Conrow, AIAA, Reston, VA, 2003
(Book review)
- This book discusses how to implement sound project risk management on a wide
variety of defense, commercial, and other large programs and projects. 6/04
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- Project Management Practices: A Compendium
on a CD by the Project Management Institute (Product review)
- A review of this practical learning tool on a CD from the Project Management
Institute shows that it is also well constructed and an asset for the practicing
project manager. 5/04
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- Brainstorming The PMBOK® Guide by Muhamed
Abdomerovic, Dipl. Eng., PMP (Book review)
- Muhamed has undertaken the tremendous task of analyzing the complete PMBOK
Guide to trace all those inputs and outputs and present them as logical sets and
in chronological sequences of content. A very valuable resource. 4/04
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- Risk Management: Tricks of the Trade for Project
Managers by Rita Mulcahy, PMP, RMC Publications, Minnesota
(Book review)
- It is nice to come across a book packed full of practical advice you can use
immediately as a handy reference, especially for project risk management. Light
hearted and easy to read. 4/04
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- Knowledge Mapping and the Price of Knowledge
- A consistent grouping of project management subject matter would be helpful
to practitioners and educators alike for practice, training, education and research.
But is the cost of knowledge too expensive to structure? A comment on APQC's Project
Management Report and PMI®'s OPM3®. 3/04
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- Practical Project Management: Tips, Tactics,
and Tools by Harvey A. Levine, Wiley, NY, NY, 2002 (Book
review)
- This book covers the whole spectrum of project management, ranging from new
paradigms of portfolio management to project communications and how to make them
work. It integrates new ideas with true and trusted old ones, and the text abounds
with useful sidebar tips. 2/04
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- The Role of the Project Life Cycle (Life Span)
in Project Management A review of literature over three
decades
- The life span is a fundamental underpinning of project management, but the
issue is one of strategy: "How much control? Who should have it? And when?" 1/04
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- A Billion Dollar Boondoggle (Case
study)
- If you are going to do something wrong, do it big time. This way, everyone
will be so embarrassed that you will probably get away with it. 12/03
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- A Quarter Century of Project Management Evolution
- A Review of Managing High-Technology Programs & Projects Third
Edition by Russell D. Archibald, Wiley, NY, NY, 2003 (Book review)
- An opportunity to compare Russ's latest book with his original edition to
give us insight into how project management has evolved over the last 25 years.
11/03
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- Modeling Project Management
A review of two decades of literature
- Over the last couple of decades there have been numerous attempts to explain
project management using graphical models. This paper traces these efforts as
a basis for solving this biggest of unresolved issues. 12/03
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- Progressive Acquisition and the RUP - Part
V Contracting Activities
- In this final installment of the series, we take a look at contracting activities
and how they fit into the Rational Unified Process® (RUP®) from the acquirer's
perspective. An Appendix provides a helpful glossary for preparing and administering
progressive software acquisition contracts. 10/03
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- Progressive Acquisition and the RUP -
Part IV Choosing a Form and Type of Contract
- In Part IV we examine the best type of contract for your project and consider
ten interdependent variables that represent the continuum between the best interests
of the acquirer and the best interests of the supplier. 9/03
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- Progressive Acquisition and the RUP - Part
III Contracting Basics
- In Part III we examine the basic elements of an effective contract, the hurdles
that stand in the way, specific content suited to the contracting approach we
propose, and the reasons most companies use centralized procurement. 8/03
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- Progressive Acquisition and the RUP - Part
II Contracts that Work
- In Part II we describe how to modify the traditional contracting process to
fit a progressive acquisition model that meets the needs of both acquirers and
suppliers. 7/03
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- Progressive Acquisition and the RUP - Part
I Defining the Problem and Common Terminology
- An initiative to formulated some basic tenets and recommendations for a progressive
approach to formal acquisition of software development services using traditional
contracting processes. 6/03
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- Software Development and Linearity - Part 2
Why some project management methodologies don't work
- Part 2 continues with a look at Rapid Prototyping, why "linearity" doesn't
work in software development, some associated "people" problems - and some possible
answers. 5/03
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- Software Development and Linearity - Part 1
Popular methodologies
- The needs of IS departments are to maintain, enhance or upgrade existing software
systems, or respond with entirely new software to satisfy new corporate business
initiatives. This paper examines the more popular project management methodologies.
4/03
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- PMP® Project Management Professional Study
Guide by Kim Heldman PMP, Sybex, Alameda CA 2002 (Book review)
- In her Study Guide for the Project Management Institute's PMP certification
exam, the author takes a life span view rather than a knowledge view. 3/03
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- Software Project Risk Management, Success
and Training
- An interview with Max first published in Projects & Profits, November
2002. 1/03
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- The Custom Woodworking Company — Woody
2000 Project (Case Study)
- The incidents described are typical of the types of things that happen in
real-life projects and I have seen most of them. The problems are not difficult
to spot, but can you see why they happened? 12/02
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- Comparing PRINCE2 with PMBoK®
(Book review)
- From time to time we are asked to compare project management systems and methodologies.
PRINCE2 and PMBoK take very different approaches to the presentation of their
material. 11/02
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- Building Practice Guidelines: Typical Linear Responsibility
Charts (continued)
- Fourth of a series of four charts listing typical tasks for a building
project. This presentation continues with the project commissioning, finishing
and post-project support stages of phase 4 of the typical project. 10/02
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- Building Practice Guidelines: Typical Linear Responsibility
Charts (continued)
- Third of a series of four charts listing typical tasks for a building
project. This presentation continues with the final design and tender award and
construction stages of phase 3 of the typical project. 9/02
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- Building Practice Guidelines: Typical Linear
Responsibility Charts (continued)
- Second of a series of four charts listing typical tasks for a building
project. This presentation continues with the concept development and schematic
stages of phase 2 of the typical project. 8/02
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- Building Practice Guidelines: Typical Building Projects
Linear Responsibility Charts (BP-LRC) (with Tasks listed by Project
Phase)
- First of a series of four charts listing typical tasks for a building
project. These lists are segregated according to the project's phase or stage
and each entry recommends who should take the lead and who else should be providing
significant support. This presentation covers the pre-project and concept phases.
7/02
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- Project Teamwork, Personality Profiles and the
Population at Large: Do we have enough of the right kind of people?
- Last of six papers examines the distribution of project
management personality types through the general population and why some people
are difficult to find. 5/02
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- Optimizing Success by Matching Management Style
to Project Type
- Fifth of six papers shows how the findings of the
previous papers can be brought together to better understand the project management
process and higher levels of project success. 4/02
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- Dominant Personality Traits Suited to Running
Projects Successfully (And What Type are You?)
- Fourth of six papers focuses on four dominent personality
styles in project leadership and how these relate to project work and the project
life span. 3/02
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- Toward a Fundamental Differentiation
between Project Types
- Third of six papers proposes a 2x2 matrix for categorizing
projects based on the assumption that different types of work need to be managed
differently. 2/02
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- Improving PM: Linking Success Criteria to
Project Type
- Second of six focuses on the dimensions of project
success, a general project classification matrix and how the two may be correlated.
1/02
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- Project Management: From Genesis to Content
to Classification
- First of six papers describing the search for a best practices linkage
from project classification through management style to project success. 12/01
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- Project Management Appraisal: Testing the Effectiveness
of Your Project's Management
- What if the project status reports clearly indicate that the project is not
going according to plan? 11/01
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- Project Management and Education for the 21st
Century
- If Canada's competitive edge in the global marketplace is to be maintained,
then a proper understanding of project management must become much more widely
spread. 11/01
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- Object Lessons
- Three real-life personal mini case studies. Each provides an example from
which important lessons may be learned. 10/01
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- Applying Resource Loading, Production &
Learning Curves to Construction: A Pragmatic Approach
- In order to optimize productivity on new facility construction, the input
of resources including men, materials and equipment, is varied according to the
planned timing and availability of the work. 10/01
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- Construction Claims - Identification, Communication
& Record Keeping
- A claim is a disguised form of blackmail ... the last chance to bail out a
losing job ... an assertion to a contractual right ... . It is probably not
difficult to guess who expressed which point of view, but at least the common
thread is clear ... extra money. 9/01
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- The Future of Project Management
- I wrote this article in 1992 as a commentary on the past and future of project
management. Now, nearly a decade later one can marvel at the advances that have
been made, but wonder how much we have really learned about project management
in the intervening period. 9/01
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- Project Management - Simple Answers to
Simple Questions
- Originally I wrote this to develop a brochure to promote project management
in one of my client's departments. Today, project management is well established
in the organization, but the answers to the questions are just as necessary. 9/01
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- Total Project Management of Complex Projects
- Improving Performance with Modern Techniques
- A discussion of what it takes to run a successful project, acknowledging the
project's external environment, and the need for project management education
and professionalism. The appendices contain a lot of useful reference information.
8/01
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- Managing the Project Environment
- More and more, project managers must have concern not only for the physical
environment, long term and short, but also the social environment. This paper
suggests how. 7/01
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- The Spectrum of Project Management Future Aspects:
North American Trends
- Key-note address to A Conference under the Northern Lights in Reykjavik,
Iceland, August 31st, 1987. 6/01
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- Project Management of Capital Projects
- An Overview
- This paper looks at the difficulties of managing modern capital projects and
endeavours to reduce the complexities to simpler and more understandable terms.
6/01
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- Good Public Relations: An Essential Part of Successful
Project Management
- Three large projects in which the importance of public relations and promotion
was recognized by the sponsors at the outset. 5/01
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- Scope-Pak Project Planning - Instructions for
Conducting a Project Planning Workshop
- A simple Eight-Step planning technique that you can use to quickly get your
project up and running, organized and under control. 5/01
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- Project Management Institute: In the Beginning …
- A brief history of how the Project Management Institute got started back in
1968/9. 4/01
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- ESA (Ethics, Standards and Accreditation) and All
That
- A serious but somewhat irreverent look at the knowledge framework in project
management. 4/01
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- Executive Control with Flexibility in Managing
Capital Projects
- The need, management philosophy, features, organization and planning a work
breakdown for project managing capital works. 3/01
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- Project Management Simply Explained - A Logical
Framework to Help Your Understanding
- Why we need project management, what it is about, what it consists of, and
in what sequence. 3/01
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- Managing the Development of Building Projects
for Better Results
- The objective of a building project is to
create the best possible facility for a given level of expenditure; the objective
of management should be to establish an effective project team, a unity of purpose
and commitment to results. 2/01
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- Negotiating for Project Benefit Originally
adapted from You Can Negotiate Anything, Audio Cassette, 1990 Audio Renaissance
Tapes Inc., Los Angeles, with permission of the original author Herb Cohen.
- You're working on a project but you don't feel that you have enough authority
to get things done. You are not alone. In fact that is the way most projects really
are. So, how do you get things done? 1/01
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- Project Manager to Project Leader? and the Rocky
Road Between... Vijay K. Verma and R. Max Wideman
- Leadership, management and team building, while all closely allied, are sufficiently
different in the project environment that they require special study. 12/00
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- Defining Project Management Knowledge as a Basis
for Global Communication, Learning and Professionalism
- If we are to advance towards a 'Global Profession' as some suggest, then we
need a vehicle for effective communication and a common understanding of the content
and structure of the field. 11/00
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- A Project Management Knowledge Structure for
the 21st Century
- This paper is a 'discussion' paper rather than a 'solution' paper and describes
the possibilities for a structured arrangement of the elements of a body of knowledge
for project management. 11/00
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- First Principles of Project Management
- This paper is an update of an earlier version that generated some vigorous
exchanges. It sets out a philosophical discussion of the fundamentals of project
management and tries to address some of the issues raised. It is not expected
to be either definitive or final. Rev. 11/03
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All available in pdf
format.
