Project Management for Dummies

Projects have been around since ancient times. Noah built the ark, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine – all projects. Why then, is the topic of project management suddenly of such great interest today? The answer is simple. The audience has changed and the stakes are higher.

Successful businesses and organizations create projects that produce desired results in established timeframes with assigned resources. As a result, businesses are increasingly driven to find individuals who can excel in this project-oriented environment. And that's where this guide comes into play.

Reading Project Management For Dummies could help a diverse group of people, some of which include the following:

• Senior managers and junior assistants (the senior managers of tomorrow)
• Experienced project managers and people who've never been on a project team
• People who've had significant project management training and people who've had none
• People who've had years of real-world business and government experience and people who've just entered the workforce

By reading this guide, you'll gain insight into beginning a project, supporting it throughout its life, and bringing it to a successful closure. You'll discover how to manage the uncertainties surrounding a project, and uncover the definitions to the most common project management terms. And you'll figure out how to handle some of the more common project management situations you'll encounter, from dealing with the people involved to organizing the mountains of paperwork.

While most businesses are looking for ways to get a better handle on their projects, what no one is saying is that the majority of people who become project managers aren't doing so by choice. Instead, project management is often an unexpected but required progression in their chosen career paths. Think of this guide as a friend or comfortable resource that has more to share each time you crack it open as you experience new situations in which you can apply the knowledge.

Stanley E. Portny, PMP, is a renowned project-management consultant who has trained more than 25,000 people in over 100 organizations, including Hewlett-Packard and AT&T.