No-Drama Project Management

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. The No-Drama Project Manager

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 1-14

3. Project Management Success

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 15-28

4. Identify Requirements

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 29-44

5. Prioritize

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 45-57

6. Manage Change

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 59-74

7. Align with the Client

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 75-88

8. Testing Assumptions

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 89-104

9. Identify Decision Makers

   • Bart Gerardi

   Pages 105-121

10. Communicate Effectively

    • Bart Gerardi

    Pages 123-141

11. Develop a Plan

    • Bart Gerardi

    Pages 143-154

12. Prepare for Problems

    • Bart Gerardi

    Pages 155-169

13. Establish Metrics

    • Bart Gerardi

    Pages 171-186

14. Know the Roles

    • Bart Gerardi

    Pages 187-204

15. Handling the Truly Unexpected

    • Bart Gerardi

    Pages 205-221

16. The End of Drama

    • Bart Gerardi

    Pages 223-239

17. Back Matter

    Pages 241-251

    PDF

No-Drama Project Management: Avoiding Predictable Problems for Project Success is a book for project managers who want or need to be more effective. Having a project crash and burn is never a great situation, author Bart Gerardi explains, but it’s not a career buster—unless the failure appears on the short list of recurring, avoidable problems that can and will pop up during any project. If your project fails due to a lack of planning, for example, expect a trip to the woodshed. Why? Your “unexpected problem” was actually both predictable and avoidable.

This book is an exploration of the preventable problems that cause project failures and how to steer clear of them. It includes far more than simple rookie mistakes like trying to please the wrong stakeholder or misunderstanding your role on the team. Those who have been around the block a few times will also find tips and insights that can help them reignite a stalled or meandering career. The sections on managing change adroitly or handling truly unexpected challenges, for example, can get veteran project managers back on track.

There are plenty of books about the science of project management that cover such things as creating a work-breakdown structure or a Gantt chart. No-Drama Project Management is about the art of project management. It contains methods and techniques—illustrated with stories from Gerardi’s rich store of experiences—that’ll help project managers shine and become promotable. This book:

• Describes the common obstacles that all projects face, and how to defuse or avoid them
• Explains how project managers can hold a mirror to their own  performance and improve it
• Shows project managers how to become masters at expecting the unexpected and thereby ratcheting up their success rates

Bart Gerardi is a program manager for an e-commerce company. He has been a consultant, manager, and leader for 15 years. Bart s love of bringing projects to market has spanned several companies, positions, and waves of Internet fads. Always on the lookout for new projects to run, he also manages the delivery of several teams bringing the next generation of e-commerce to the industry.

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