Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This book explains the many techniques which have been developed to help you manage projects successfully using very clear objectives within a commercial environment. Examples are drawn from construction, civil engineering, product launches, publishing, computer hardware and software, scientific projects and aerospace.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction
• Setting the stage
• Project management centres on avoiding problems
• The invisible project manager
• Project management is an emerging profession
• Getting the words in the right order
• Introduction to project management
• What is project management?
• What is project planning?
• How do you project plan?
• Nine steps to a successful project
• The scope of the project and its objectives
• Defining the project
• Changes to the project
• Establishing key dates
• Evaluation of potential risks
• The cost/time/quality triangle
• The spectrum of projects
• The need for planning
• Project planning
• The bar chart versus network analysis
• Network analysis - a primer
• Activity-on-arrow plans
• The precedence convention
• Choosing the tasks
• Drawing up the plan
• A fly on the wall
• Resource management
• Resource definition
• Resource allocation
• Resource aggregation
• Resource aggravation
• Resource levelling
• Resource smoothing
• Resource hierarchies
• Resource calendars
• Money management
• Progress monitoring and control
• Concepts
• Cost monitoring
• Reporting
• Computers and other boxes with many buttons
• PERT - a potted history
• Hardware and software
• Types of software
• Some words of advice
• Advanced critical-path topics
• Work breakdown structure and organizational breakdown structure
• Merging plans, boiler plating, or task processing
• Hammocks
• Calendars
• Constraint dates
• Negative floats
• Subprojects
• Claims
• The people issues
• The role of the project manager
• The classification of people
• Decision making
• Motivation
• Choosing project-planning software
• Hardware
• Software criteria
• Major software suppliers
• Risk management
• Qualitative risk
• Quantitative risk
• Case study: The British Library
• Contingency and insurance
• Terminology Definitions
• Alternative definitions
• Further reading
• Index