Ryan Archer Topic: Panic Attacks Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the nature, extent, and symptoms of panic attacks I can’t breathe, my arms are tingling, I’m really dizzy, and it feels as if my heart is about to fly out of my chest. When this happened to me three years ago at an outdoor concert, I was really frightened. At the time, I had no idea what was going on. My doctor told me later that I had experienced a panic attack. I have learned a lot about my condition during the past three years, and I did additional research for this speech. Today I would like to inform you about the nature of panic attacks, the people affected most often by them, and the options for treatment. Connective: Let’s start with the nature of panic attacks. I. Panic attacks are a severe medical condition with a number of physical and mental symptoms. a. As defined by the National Institute of Mental Health, panic attacks involve “unexpected and repeated episodes on intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms.” 1. The attacks usually come out of nowhere and strike when least expected. 2. Their length can vary from a few minutes to several hours. b. There are a number of symptoms common to most panic attacks 1. Physical symptoms include a pounding heart, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and numbness of tingling sensations in the arms and legs. 2. Mental symptoms include acute fear, a sense of disaster or helplessness, and a feeling of being detached from one’s own body. Connective: Now that you know something about the nature of panic attacks, let’s look at how widespread they are. II. Panic attacks affect millions of people A. According to the American Psychiatric Association, six million Americans suffer from panic attacks. B. Some groups have a higher incidence of panic attacks than do other groups 1. The National Institute of Mental health reports that panic attacks strike women twice as often as men. 2. Half the people who suffer from panic attacks develop symptoms before the age of 24. Connective: Given the severity of panic attacks, I’m sure you are wondering how they can be treated. III. There are two major options for treating panic attacks. a. One option is medication 1. Antidepressants are the most frequently prescribed medication for panic attacks 2. The rearrange the brain’s chemical levels so as to get rid of unwanted fear responses. b. Another option is cognitive-behavioral therapy 1. This therapy involves techniques that help people with panic attacks gain control of their symptoms and feelings. a. Some techniques involve breathing exercises b. Other techniques target through patterns that can trigger panic attacks 2. According to David Barlow, author of the Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders, cognitive behavioral therapy can be highly effective. As we have seen, panic attacks affect millions of people. Fortunately, there are treatment options to help prevent panic attacks and to deal with them when they o.

1. Ryan Archer
Topic: Panic Attacks
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the nature,
extent, and symptoms of panic attacks
I can’t breathe, my arms are tingling, I’m really dizzy, and it
feels as if my heart is about to fly out of my chest. When this
happened to me three years ago at an outdoor concert, I was
really frightened. At the time, I had no idea what was going on.
My doctor told me later that I had experienced a panic attack. I
have learned a lot about my condition during the past three
years, and I did additional research for this speech. Today I
would like to inform you about the nature of panic attacks, the
people affected most often by them, and the options for
treatment.
Connective: Let’s start with the nature of panic attacks.
I. Panic attacks are a severe medical condition with a number of
physical and mental symptoms.
a. As defined by the National Institute of Mental Health, panic
attacks involve “unexpected and repeated episodes on intense
fear accompanied by physical symptoms.”
1. The attacks usually come out of nowhere and strike when
least expected.
2. Their length can vary from a few minutes to several hours.
b. There are a number of symptoms common to most panic
attacks
1. Physical symptoms include a pounding heart, shortness of
breath, lightheadedness, and numbness of tingling sensations in
the arms and legs.
2. Mental symptoms include acute fear, a sense of disaster or
helplessness, and a feeling of being detached from one’s own
body.

2. Connective: Now that you know something about the nature of
panic attacks, let’s look at how widespread they are.
II. Panic attacks affect millions of people
A. According to the American Psychiatric Association, six
million Americans suffer from panic attacks.
B. Some groups have a higher incidence of panic attacks than do
other groups
1. The National Institute of Mental health reports that panic
attacks strike women twice as often as men.
2. Half the people who suffer from panic attacks develop
symptoms before the age of 24.
Connective: Given the severity of panic attacks, I’m sure you
are wondering how they can be treated.
III. There are two major options for treating panic attacks.
a. One option is medication
1. Antidepressants are the most frequently prescribed
medication for panic attacks
2. The rearrange the brain’s chemical levels so as to get rid of
unwanted fear responses.
b. Another option is cognitive-behavioral therapy
1. This therapy involves techniques that help people with panic
attacks gain control of their symptoms and feelings.
a. Some techniques involve breathing exercises
b. Other techniques target through patterns that can trigger
panic attacks
2. According to David Barlow, author of the Clinical Handbook
of Psychological Disorders, cognitive behavioral therapy can be
highly effective.
As we have seen, panic attacks affect millions of people.
Fortunately, there are treatment options to help prevent panic
attacks and to deal with them when they occur. In my case, the

3. combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy has
been extremely helpful. I don’t know if I will ever be
completely free of panic attacks, but at least I understand now
what they are and what I can do about them.
hroughout the fifty-odd years of software development, the
industry
has gone through at least four generations of programming
languages
and three major development paradigms. We have held
countless sem-
inars on how to develop software correctly, forced many courses
into
undergraduate degree programs, and introduced standards in our
organizations
that require specific technologies. Still, we have not improved
our ability to suc-
cessfully, consistently move from idea to product. In fact,
recent studies document
that, while the failure rate for software development efforts has
improved in recent
years, the number of projects experiencing severe problems has
risen almost 50
percent.1 There is no magic in managing software development
successfully, but a
number of issues related to software development make it
unique.

4. John S. Reel, Trident Data Systems
Critical Success
Factors In Software
Projects
S o f t w a re p ro j e c t s a re s t i l l l a t e, o ve r b u d g e
t, a n d
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t f a i l s b e f o re
e ve r d e l i ve r i n g a n a p p l i ca t i o n . T h i s c l e a r,
co m m o n s e n s e
re v i e w o f f u n d a m e n t a l p ro j e c t m a n a g e m e n
t t e c h n i q u e s
re m i n d s u s t h a t w e s t i l l h a ve a l o n g w a y t o
g o.
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1 8 I E E E S o f t w a r e M a y / J u n e 1 9 9 9 0 7 4 0 - 7 4 5
9 / 9 9 / $ 1 0 . 0 0 © 1 9 9 9 I E E E
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UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
MANAGING COMPLEXITY
Several characteristics of software-based en-
deavors complicate management. First, software-
based systems are exceptionally complex. In fact,
many agree that “the basic problem of computing
is the mastery of complexity.”2 Because software de-
velopers must deal with complex problems, they are

5. generally very intelligent and complex individuals,
which also complicates the management formula.
Add the fact that developers are trying to hit a mov-
ing target—user requirements—and you get a
volatile mixture of management issues.
These and many other influ-
ences contribute to a fantastically
high failure rate among software
development projects. The Chaos
study, published by the Standish
Group, found that 26 percent of
all software projects fail (down
from 40 percent in 1997), but 46 percent experience
cost and schedule overruns or significantly reduced
functionality (up from 33 percent in 1997).1 The
study also shows that the completion rate has im-
proved because companies have trended towards
smaller, more manageable projects—not because
the management techniques have improved. Can
you imagine a construction firm completing only 74
percent of its buildings and completing only 54 per-
cent of the buildings within schedule and budget?
To change this trend, we must place special empha-
sis on certain factors of the management process.
You may think the answers lie in elaborate analy-
sis methodologies, highly advanced configuration
management techniques, or the perfect develop-
ment language. Those elements of the technology
landscape are as important as highly scientific and
analytical research in analysis and design method-
ologies, project management, and software quality.
However, blueprints of the latest train technology
didn’t improve life in the Wild West until rail com-
panies invested in the fundamental aspects of train

6. transportation—tracks and depots. Likewise in soft-
ware, more “advanced” technologies are far less crit-
ical to improving practice than embracing what I be-
lieve are the five essential factors to managing a
successful software project:
1. Start on the right foot.
2. Maintain momentum.
3. Track progress.
4. Make smart decisions.
5. Institutionalize post-mortem analyses.
Granted, even a detailed review of these may
leave you wondering what’s new here. Not much—
this is common-sense, basic management stuff. And
yet these principles are not commonly employed. If
they were, we would not see such high failure rates.
START ON THE RIGHT FOOT
It is difficult to call any of these factors most im-
portant, since they are all critical to the success of
large development efforts. However, getting a pro-
ject set up and started properly certainly leads this
class of factors. Just as it is difficult to grow strong
plants in weak soil, it is almost impossible to suc-
cessfully lead a development effort that is set up im-
properly. Tom Field analyzed pitfalls in software de-
velopment efforts and gave 10 signs of IS project
failures—at least seven of which are fully deter-
mined before a design is developed or a line of code
is written.3 Therefore, 70 percent of the dooming
acts occur before a build even starts.
Here are 10 signs of IS project failure:3

7. 1. Project managers don’t understand users’
needs.
2. The project’s scope is ill-defined.
3. Project changes are managed poorly.
4. The chosen technology changes.
5. Business needs change.
6. Deadlines are unrealistic.
7. Users are resistant.
8. Sponsorship is lost.
9. The project lacks people with appropriate
skills.
10. Managers ignore best practices and lessons
learned.
Given this information, what can we do to get
projects off to a successful start?
Set realistic objectives and expectations—
for everyone
The first objective in getting a project off to a
good start is to get everyone on the same wave-
length. Management, users, develop ers, and
d e signers must all have realistic expectations. In
M a y / J u n e 1 9 9 9 I E E E S o f t w a r e 1 9
At least seven of 10 signs of IS project failures
are determined before a design is developed
or a line of code is written.
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case your customers haven’t heard, remind them
routinely that this system will not solve all of their
problems and it will probably create new issues. The
new system should cost-effectively solve more prob-
lems than it creates. The developers must also un-
derstand that the customers do not know exactly
what they want, how they want it, or how it will help
them. Often, they don’t even know how much they
can spend. Everyone has to come to the table with
their eyes open, willing to cooperate and listen. To
avoid later heartache, pay strict attention to the
commitments made by both sides.
Build the right team
Nex t, you must put together the right team.
First ensure that you have enough resources to get
the job done. If you do not get commitments for
resources up front, the effort is doomed. If man-
agement is not excited enough about the effort
to give it enough resources, you may not have the
suppor t necessary for success. Remember, too,
that you will likely need more resources than you
think. We are all inherently optimistic, so guard
your personnel projections and err on the high
side from the start.
Building the right team means getting good
people. This is hard because companies usually want
to place personnel moving off other efforts.

9. Sometimes these people are good resources, but
not always. However, also recognize that you do not
need, or want, all of the very best designers and de-
velopers. In my experience, staffing around 20 per-
cent of the team with the best available works well.
This figure is loosely supported in Fred Brooks’essay
“The Surgical Team.”4 His team of about 10 people
includes two who are real experts (the Chief
Programmer and the Language Lawyer). Having too
many stars creates ego issues and distractions, while
not having enough can leave the team struggling
with small problems.
The rest of the team should be good, solid de-
velopers with compatible personalities and work
habits. The more advanced team members can step
ahead into uncharted waters, develop the most crit-
ical algorithms and applications, and provide
technical mentoring to the rest of the team.
The most critical element in selecting people is
creating an environment in which they can excel, and
that lets you focus more on technology than team
dynamics. You don’t want a team of clones, but you
do want people who are compatible with one an-
other and with the company and team environment
you are striving to establish. For example, a married-
with-kids, laid-back, nine-to-five
developer might not work well on
a team of young, single, forceful
seven-to-eleven developers. This
doesn’t mean the former is any
less qualified or productive.
Actually, that laid-back developer may produce bet-

10. ter code and be more productive than the rest of the
group. If you think that first person brings a calming,
focused influence without either “side” becoming
overly frustrated, maybe it is a good fit after all. At
any rate, you must take these factors into consider-
ation when building your team.
Wherever possible, and it usually is possible, in-
volve customers and users in the development. Not
only does this help build higher levels of trust be-
tween developers and users, it also places domain
experts within arm’s reach of the developers
throughout development. This increases the chance
that you will develop a product that meets the user
requirements.
Give the team what they think they need
Once you have built a strong team, you must next
provide it with an environment that encourages pro-
ductivity and minimizes distractions. First, do your
best to arrange quiet, productive office spaces. This
is often impossible given most corporate realities,
but a comfortable office setting can yield dramatic
results. Highly productive environments contain
white boards, meeting areas (formal and informal),
private office areas, and flexible, modern lab facili-
ties. Add comfort elements such as stereos, light dim-
mers, coffee machines, and comfortable chairs; you
will create an environment where people can focus
on their work and forget the rest of the world.
Once you have a team with a productive office
space, you need the proper equipment. Do not for
any reason scrimp on equipment. The difference be-
tween state-of-the-art machines and adequate de-

11. velopment systems is less than $1,000. You will prob-
ably spend at least $100,000 per year to keep a good
developer, including salary, bonuses, benefits,
training, and other related expenses. That extra
$1,000 amortized over two years represents less
2 0 I E E E S o f t w a r e M a y / J u n e 1 9 9 9
By the time you figure out you have a quality
problem, it is probably too late to fix it.
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than 1/2 percent of the employee cost.
Finally, your team needs tools. Get good, proven
tools from stable companies. Nothing will derail a pro-
ject faster than using unsupported tools. The team
also needs training on those tools; losing files and
folders from ignorance and inexperience is painful
and costly. The term tool does not just mean com-
piler. You also need analysis and design, configura-
tion management, testing, back-up management,
document production, graphics manipulation, and
troubleshooting tools. This is, however, an area where
going first-class does not necessarily mean spending
the most money. Shop carefully, review a lot of op-
tions, and involve the entire team in the decision.
MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM
By now, you have your development team en-

12. ergized with strong co-workers, a great working
environment, and some high-end hardware.
Congratulations, you have momentum. The next
critical factor is maintaining and increasing this
momentum. Building momentum initially is easy,
but rebuilding it is dreadfully difficult. Momentum
changes often during the course of a develop-
ment effort. These changes add
up quickly, so it is crucial to
quickly offset the negative shifts
with positive ones.
You should focus on three key
items to maintain or rebuild team
momentum:
♦ Attrition—keep it low.
♦ Quality—monitor it early on and establish an
expectation of excellence.
♦ Management—manage the product more
than the people.
Attrition
Attrition is a constant problem in the software in-
dustry. It can spell disaster for a mid-stream software
project, because replacement personnel must
quickly get up to speed on software that is not com-
plete, not tested, and probably not well-docu-
mented yet. A tremendous amount of knowledge
walks out the door with the person leaving, and
those left behind have a scapegoat for every prob-
lem from then on. Also, in this tight labor market,
the lag time between when a person quits and

13. when a replacement is hired can wreak havoc with
even the most pessimistic schedules.
Quality
You cannot go back and add quality. By the time
you figure out you have a quality problem, it is prob-
ably too late to fix it. Establish procedures and ex-
pectations for high levels of quality before any other
development begins and hire developers proven to
develop high-quality code. Have the developers par-
ticipate in regular peer-level code reviews and ex-
ternal reviews.
Invariably, when a project is cruising along, every-
body is excited, the status reports look great, and
the GUI is awesome, everything goes wrong. There
may be a bad test report, a failed demo, or a small
change request from the customer that becomes
the pebble that starts an avalanche. You fix one bug,
or make one change, and cause two more. Suddenly,
the development team that was making fantastic
progress is mired in repairing and modifying code
that has been in the bank for months.
Management
Manage your product more than your personnel.
After all, the product is what you are selling. So, if your
corporate culture can handle it, don’t worry about
dress codes or fixed work hours. Relax and let people
deliver things at the last minute. Then critique their
products. If the products are not acceptable, you can
start working with the individuals to improve their
products. The goal here is to not make individual is-

14. sues team problems. Just because one or two peo-
ple like to come in at 10:00 a.m. and work until 5:00
p.m., abusing the flexibility you give, doesn’t mean
you should dampen the environment for the whole
team. Too often, project leads avoid confronting the
individuals and merely “fix” the problem by setting
arbitrary team rules. Soon, everyone is griping about
deviant co-workers and the strict management.
Those are the sounds of momentum slipping away.
Roll a few of these decisions together, and the team
is soon focused more on avoiding the rules or tattling
on offenders than on producing a quality product.
When you do have a legitimate personnel prob-
lem, deal with it quickly. If you must let someone
go, do it quickly and then meet with your team to
explain what happened. As long as you are being
M a y / J u n e 1 9 9 9 I E E E S o f t w a r e 2 1
Project leaders often avoid confronting
individuals and merely “fix” a problem
by setting arbitrary team rules.
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fair, these experiences will contribute to the team’s
cohesiveness and allow them to rebuild momen-
tum quickly.
TRACK PROGRESS

15. Consider the intangible nature of software com-
pared to traditional brick-and-mortar construction.
Construction results in a physical manifestation of
a conceptual model—the blueprint becomes a
building that people can touch and see. They can
also touch and see all of the little pieces as they are
being nailed, welded, glued, or screwed to the
framework during construction. Software develop-
ment begins as a conceptual model and results in
an application, so there is no physical manifestation
of software that can be touched and measured, es-
pecially during construction.
A large problem in managing software develop-
ment is figuring where you are in your schedule.
How complete is a module? How long will it take to
finish modules X, Y, and Z? These are hard questions
to answer, but they must be addressed. If you don’t
know where you are in relation to the schedule, you
cannot adjust and tweak to bring things back on
track. Many methodologies exist for tracking
progress; select one at the right level of detail for
your effort, and use it religiously.
MAKE SMART DECISIONS
Making smart decisions often separates suc-
cessful project leaders from failures. It shouldn’t be
hard to identify a bad decision before you make it.
Choosing to rewrite a few of Microsoft’s dynamically
linked libraries to accommodate your design
choices, for example, is a poor decision. Yet I have
seen at least four major projects attempt such in-
sanity. If your application needs to communicate
across a serial connection, do you buy a commercial

16. library of communications routines or develop your
own from scratch? If you build it from scratch, you
can then implement your own personally designed
protocol. Bad call. Always use commercial libraries
when available, and never try to create a new com-
munications protocol. At best, it will cost you a for-
tune. At worst, it will sink your project.
People also consistently make bad decisions in
selecting technologies. For example, how many peo-
ple chose to develop applications for the Next plat-
form? Most never finished their applications before
that platform went away. When you pick a funda-
mental technology, whether a database engine, op-
erating system, or communications protocol, you
must do a business and a technical analysis. If the
technology isn’t catching market share and if a
healthy company doesn’t support it,
you are building your project on a
sandy foundation.
Because your foresight is fallible,
use your design to insulate yourself
from the underlying technology.
Encapsulate the interface to new or
niche technologies as much as possible. Think about
which technologies will be prone to change over
your product’s lifetime and design your application
to insulate—to a practical level—your code from
those changes.
You will have many opportunities to make good
decisions as you negotiate the customer’s require-

17. ments. Strive to move the requirements from the
complicated, “never been done before” category to
the “been there, done that” category. Often, users
request things that are marginally valuable without
understanding the complexity. Explain the ramifi-
cations of complicated requirements and require-
ments changes in terms of cost and schedule. Help
them help you.
POST-MORTEM ANALYSIS
Few companies institutionalize a process for
learning from their mistakes. If you do not take time
to figure out what happened during a project, both
the good and the bad, you are doomed to repeat it.
What can you learn from a post-mortem analy-
sis? First, you learn why your schedule estimates
were off. Compensating for those factors in the next
project will dramatically improve your estimating
techniques. A post-mortem will also help you de-
velop a profile for how your team and company de-
velop software systems. Most companies and teams
have personalities that strongly impact the devel-
opment cycle. As you go through post-mortem
2 2 I E E E S o f t w a r e M a y / J u n e 1 9 9 9
If you don’t take time to figure out what
happened during a project, both the good
and the bad, you’re doomed to repeat it.
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18. analyses, these personalities emerge as patterns
rather than as isolated incidents. Knowing the pat-
terns allows you to circumvent or at least schedule
for them on your next project.
In his book Managing Software Development
Projects, Neal Whitten offers six steps for executing
a post-mortem review of a project:5
♦ Declare the intent: Announce at the beginning
of the project that you will hold the review. Also
define what topics will be addressed, and set the
procedures.
♦ Select the participants: Choose representa-
tives from each major group associated with the pro-
ject. To ensure an objective review, management
should not participate directly.
♦ Prepare the review: After the project is com-
plete, assign review participants to gather data. This
should include metrics, staffing, inter- and intra-
group communications, quality, and process.
♦ Conduct the review: The actual review should
not require more than a few days of meetings. All
participants should start by presenting their find-
ings and experiences with the project. Next, the
group prepares two lists: things that went right and
things that went wrong. Participants can then begin
to work on what went wrong to develop solutions.
♦ Present the results: The participants should

19. present the results to the development team and
executive leadership.
♦ Adopt the recommendations: The company
must implement the recommendations on upcom-
ing projects. Without this follow-through, the
process yields a marginal benefit.
The premise and benefit of performing post-
mortem analyses are validated by the process im-
provement movement inspired by W. Edwards
Deming during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He suggests objectively measuring a given
process and using those measurements to eval-
uate the influence of changes to the processes.
Only by measuring a system and analyzing those
incremental measurements can you truly improve
the system.6
Guess what? Your company’s software methods
and habits for developing software constitute a sys-
tem. It is far less defined than an assembly line, but it
is still a system. The post-mortem analysis allows you
to modify that system for the next “production run.”
These five critical factors hold true regardless ofthe design and
development methodology,
the implementation language, or the application
domain. However, this is not an exhaustive list—
many other factors influence the successful man-
agement of a software development effort. But if
you master these five, you greatly increase the odds
of completing your project on time and within bud-
get. Just as important, you increase your chances of
actually delivering something your users want. ❖

20. REFERENCES
1. R. Whiting, “News Front: Development in Disarray,”
Software
Magazine, Sept. 1998, p. 20.
2. J. Martin and C. McClure, Structured Techniques for
Computing,
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J.,1988.
3. T. Field, “When BAD Things Happen to GOOD Projects,”
CIO, 15
Oct. 1997, pp. 55-62.
4. F.P. Brooks, Jr., The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on
Software
Engineering, Addison Wesley Longman, Reading, Mass., 1995.
5. N. Whitten, Managing Software Development Projects, John
Wiley & Sons, New York, 1995.
6. R. Aguayo, Dr. Deming: The American Who Taught the
Japanese
About Quality, Fireside Books, New York, 1990.
M a y / J u n e 1 9 9 9 I E E E S o f t w a r e 2 3
John S. Reel is the chief technology offi-
cer of Trident Data Systems, an informa-
tion protection and computer network-
ing company. He is a co-inventor of
patented COMSEC technology. He
received a BS in computer science from
the University of Texas at Tyler and a PhD
in computer science from Century

21. University. He also worked for the US Department of Defense
in systems support, software development, and management.
He is a member of the IEEE, the IEEE Computer Society,
Information Systems Security Association, and the Armed
Forces Communications and Electronics Association.
About the Author
Readers may contact Reel at 6615 Gin Road, Marion, Texas
78124; e-mail [email protected]
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PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
THE MANAGERIAL PROCESS 7E
ERIK W. LARSON
CLIFFORD F. GRAY
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Erik W. Larson
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Oregon State University
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT: THE MANAGERIAL PROCESS,
SEVENTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York,
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Erik W. Larson
ERIK W. LARSON is professor of project management at the
College of Business,

32. Oregon State University. He teaches executive, graduate, and
undergraduate courses
on project management and leadership. His research and
consulting activities focus on
project management. He has published numerous articles on
matrix management,
product development, and project partnering. He has been
honored with teaching
awards from both the Oregon State University MBA program
and the University of
Oregon Executive MBA program. He has been a member of the
Portland, Oregon,
chapter of the Project Management Institute since 1984. In 1995
he worked as a Ful-
bright scholar with faculty at the Krakow Academy of
Economics on modernizing
Polish business education. He was a visiting professor at
Chulalongkorn University in
Bangkok, Thailand, and at Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative
State University in Bad
Mergentheim, Germany. He received a B.A. in psychology from
Claremont McKenna
College and a Ph.D. in management from State University of
New York at Buffalo. He
is a certified project management professional (PMP) and Scrum
Master.
Clifford F. Gray
CLIFFORD F. GRAY is professor emeritus of management at
the College of Busi-
ness, Oregon State University. He has personally taught more
than 100 executive
development seminars and workshops. Cliff has been a member
of the Project Man-
agement Institute since 1976 and was one of the founders of the
Portland, Oregon,

33. chapter. He was a visiting professor at Kasetsart University in
Bangkok, Thailand, in
2005. He was the president of Project Management
International, Inc. (a training and
consulting firm specializing in project management) 1977–2005.
He received his B.A.
in economics and management from Millikin University, M.B.A.
from Indiana Univer-
sity, and doctorate in operations management from the College
of Business, University
of Oregon. He is certified Scrum Master.
About the Authors
vii
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“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains
its original dimensions.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
To my family, who have always encircled me with love
and encouragement—my parents (Samuel and
Charlotte), my wife (Mary), my sons and their wives
(Kevin and Dawn, Robert and Sally) and their children
(Ryan, Carly, Connor and Lauren).
C.F.G.
“We must not cease from exploration and the end of all
exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the

34. place for the first time.”
T. S. Eliot
To Ann, whose love and support have brought out the
best in me. To our girls Mary, Rachel, and Tor-Tor for
the joy and pride they give me. And to our grandkids,
Mr. B, Livvy, and Xmo, whose future depends upon
effective project management. Finally, to my muse,
Neil—Walk on!
E.W.L
viii
Our motivation in writing this text continues to be to provide a
realistic, socio-technical
view of project management. In the past, textbooks on project
management focused
almost exclusively on the tools and processes used to manage
projects and not the
human dimension. This baffled us since people not tools
complete projects! While we
firmly believe that mastering tools and processes is essential to
successful project
management, we also believe that the effectiveness of these
tools and methods is
shaped and determined by the prevailing culture of the
organization and interpersonal
dynamics of the people involved. Thus, we try to provide a
holistic view that focuses
on both of these dimensions and how they interact to determine
the fate of projects.
The role of projects in organizations is receiving increasing

35. attention. Projects are
the major tool for implementing and achieving the strategic
goals of the organization.
In the face of intense, worldwide competition, many
organizations have reorganized
around a philosophy of innovation, renewal, and organizational
learning to survive.
This philosophy suggests an organization that is flexible and
project driven. Project
management has developed to the point where it is a
professional discipline having its
own body of knowledge and skills. Today it is nearly impossible
to imagine anyone at
any level in the organization who would not benefit from some
degree of expertise in
the process of managing projects.
Audience
This text is written for a wide audience. It covers concepts and
skills that are used by
managers to propose, plan, secure resources, budget, and lead
project teams to suc-
cessful completions of their projects. The text should prove
useful to students and
prospective project managers in helping them understand why
organizations have
developed a formal project management process to gain a
competitive advantage.
Readers will find the concepts and techniques discussed in
enough detail to be imme-
diately useful in new-project situations. Practicing project
managers will find the text
to be a valuable guide and reference when dealing with typical
problems that arise in
the course of a project. Managers will also find the text useful

36. in understanding the
role of projects in the missions of their organizations. Analysts
will find the text useful
in helping to explain the data needed for project implementation
as well as the opera-
tions of inherited or purchased software. Members of the
Project Management Insti-
tute will find the text is well structured to meet the needs of
those wishing to prepare
for PMP (Project Management Professional) or CAPM
(Certified Associate in Project
Management) certification exams. The text has in-depth
coverage of the most critical
topics found in PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge
(PMBOK). People at
all levels in the organization assigned to work on projects will
find the text useful not
only in providing them with a rationale for the use of project
management processes
but also because of the insights they will gain on how to
enhance their contributions to
project success.
Our emphasis is not only on how the management process
works, but more impor-
tantly, on why it works. The concepts, principles, and
techniques are universally
Preface
ix
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37. x Preface
applicable. That is, the text does not specialize by industry type
or project scope.
Instead, the text is written for the individual who will be
required to manage a variety
of projects in a variety of different organizational settings. In
the case of some small
projects, a few of the steps of the techniques can be omitted, but
the conceptual frame-
work applies to all organizations in which projects are
important to survival. The
approach can be used in pure project organizations such as
construction, research orga-
nizations, and engineering consultancy firms. At the same time,
this approach will
benefit organizations that carry out many small projects while
the daily effort of deliv-
ering products or services continues.
Content
In this and other editions we continue to try to resist the forces
that engender scope creep
and focus only on essential tools and concepts that are being
used in the real world. We
have been guided by feedback from practitioners, teachers, and
students. Some changes
are minor and incremental, designed to clarify and reduce
confusion. Other changes are
significant. They represent new developments in the field or
better ways of teaching
project management principles. Below are major changes to the
seventh edition.
∙ Learning objectives have been established for each chapter and
the corresponding

38. segment has been marked in the text.
∙ Chapter 16 Oversight has been eliminated and critical
information on project matu-
rity models is now part of Chapter 14.
∙ Chapter 18 Project Management Career Paths has been
eliminated and essential
information from this chapter is now in Chapter 1.
∙ A new set of network exercises have been developed for
Chapter 6.
∙ A new set of crashing exercises have been developed for
Chapter 9 which introduce
crashing concepts in a developmental way.
∙ The Chapter 2 Appendix on Request for Proposal is now part
of Chapter 12.
∙ Terms and concepts have been updated to be consistent with
the sixth edition of the
Project Management Body of Knowledge (2015).
∙ New student exercises and cases have been added to chapters.
∙ The Snapshot from Practice boxes feature a number of new
examples of project
management in action as well as new Research Highlights that
continue to promote
practical application of project management.
∙ The Instructor’s Manual contains a listing of current YouTube
videos that corre-
spond to key concepts and Snapshots from Practice.
Overall the text addresses the major questions and challenges
the authors have

39. encountered over their 60 combined years of teaching project
management and con-
sulting with practicing project managers in domestic and
foreign environments. These
questions include: What is the strategic role of projects in
contemporary organiza-
tions? How are projects prioritized? What organizational and
managerial styles will
improve chances of project success? How do project managers
orchestrate the complex
network of relationships involving vendors, subcontractors,
project team members,
senior management, functional managers, and customers that
affect project success?
What factors contribute to the development of a high-
performance project team? What
project management system can be set up to gain some measure
of control? How do
managers prepare for a new international project in a foreign
culture?
Preface xi
Project managers must deal with all these concerns to be
effective. All of these
issues and problems represent linkages to an integrative project
management view.
The chapter content of the text has been placed within an
overall framework that inte-
grates these topics in a holistic manner. Cases and snapshots are
included from the
experiences of practicing managers. The future for project
managers appears to be
promising. Careers will be determined by success in managing

40. projects.
Student Learning Aids
Student resources include study outlines, online quizzes,
PowerPoint slides, videos,
Microsoft Project Video Tutorials and web links. These can be
found in Connect.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Scott Bailey for building the end-of-
chapter exercises for
Connect and Tracie Lee for reviewing them; Pinyarat
Sirisomboonsuk for revising
the PowerPoint slides; Oliver F. Lehmann for providing access
to PMBOK study
questions; Ronny Richardson for updating the Instructor’s
Manual; Angelo Serra for
updating the Test Bank; and Pinyarat Sirisomboonsuk for
providing new Snapshot
from Practice questions.
Next, it is important to note that the text includes contributions
from numerous stu-
dents, colleagues, friends, and managers gleaned from
professional conversations. We
want them to know we sincerely appreciate their counsel and
suggestions. Almost
every exercise, case, and example in the text is drawn from a
real-world project.
Special thanks to managers who graciously shared their current
project as ideas for
exercises, subjects for cases, and examples for the text. Shlomo
Cohen, John A.
Drexler, Jim Moran, John Sloan, Pat Taylor, and John Wold,
whose work is printed,

41. are gratefully acknowledged. Special gratitude is due Robert
Breitbarth of Interact
Management, who shared invaluable insights on prioritizing
projects. University stu-
dents and managers deserve special accolades for identifying
problems with earlier
drafts of the text and exercises.
We are indebted to the reviewers of past editions who shared
our commitment to
elevating the instruction of project management. The reviewers
include Paul S. Allen,
Rice University; Denis F. Cioffi, George Washington
University; Joseph D. DeVoss,
DeVry University; Edward J. Glantz, Pennsylvania State
University; Michael Godfrey,
University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh; Robert Key, University of
Phoenix; Dennis Krum-
wiede, Idaho State University; Nicholas C. Petruzzi, University
of Illinois–Urbana/
Champaign; William R. Sherrard, San Diego State University;
S. Narayan Bodapati,
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville; Warren J. Boe,
University of Iowa;
Burton Dean, San Jose State University; Kwasi Amoako-
Gyampah, University of
North Carolina–Greensboro; Owen P. Hall, Pepperdine
University; Bruce C. Hartman,
University of Arizona; Richard Irving, York University; Robert
T. Jones, DePaul
University; Richard L. Luebbe, Miami University of Ohio;
William Moylan, Lawrence
Technological College of Business; Edward Pascal, University
of Ottawa; James H.
Patterson, Indiana University; Art Rogers, City University;
Christy Strbiak, U.S. Air
Force Academy; David A. Vaughan, City University; and

42. Ronald W. Witzel, Keller
Graduate School of Management. Nabil Bedewi, Georgetown
University; Scott Bailey,
Troy University; Michael Ensby, Clarkson University; Eldon
Larsen, Marshall University;
Steve Machon, DeVry University–Tinley Park; William
Matthews, William Patterson
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xii Preface
University; Erin Sims, DeVry University–Pomona; Kenneth
Solheim, DeVry
University–Federal Way; and Oya Tukel, Cleveland State
University. Gregory Anderson,
Weber State University; Dana Bachman, Colorado Christian
University; Alan Cannon,
University of Texas, Arlington; Susan Cholette, San Francisco
State; Michael Ensby,
Clarkson University; Charles Franz, University of Missouri,
Columbia; Raouf Ghattas,
DeVry University; Robert Groff, Westwood College; Raffael
Guidone, New York City
College of Technology; George Kenyon, Lamar University;
Elias Konwufine, Keiser
University; Rafael Landaeta, Old Dominion University;
Muhammad Obeidat, Southern
Polytechnic State University; Linda Rose, Westwood College;
Oya Tukel, Cleveland
State University; and Mahmoud Watad, William Paterson
University.
Victor Allen, Lawrence Technological University; Mark

43. Angolia, East Carolina
University; Alan Cannon, University of Texas at Arlington;
Robert Cope, Southeastern
Louisiana University; Kenneth DaRin, Clarkson University; Ron
Darnell, Amberton
University; Jay Goldberg, Marquette University; Mark Huber,
University of Georgia;
Marshall Issen, Clarkson University; Charles Lesko, East
Carolina University; Lacey
McNeely, Oregon State University; Donald Smith, Texas A&M
University; Peter
Sutanto, Prairie View A&M University; Jon Tomlinson,
University of Northwestern
Ohio. We thank you for your many thoughtful suggestions and
for making our book
better. Of course we accept responsibility for the final version
of the text.
In addition, we would like to thank our colleagues in the
College of Business at
Oregon State University for their support and help in
completing this project. In par-
ticular, we recognize Lacey McNeely, Prem Mathew, Keith
Leavitt and Pauline Schlip-
zand for their helpful advice and suggestions. We also wish to
thank the many students
who helped us at different stages of this project, most notably
Neil Young, Saajan
Patel, Katherine Knox, Dat Nguyen, and David Dempsey. Mary
Gray deserves special
credit for editing and working under tight deadlines on earlier
editions. Special thanks
go to Pinyarat (“Minkster”) Sirisomboonsuk for her help in
preparing the last four
editions.
Finally, we want to extend our thanks to all the people at
McGraw-Hill Education for

44. their efforts and support. First, we would like to thank Dolly
Womack, and Christina
Holt, for providing editorial direction, guidance, and
management of the book’s devel-
opment for the seventh edition. And we would also like to thank
Melissa Leick,
Jennifer Pickel, Egzon Shaqiri, Bruce Gin, and Karen
Jozefowicz for managing the
final production, design, supplement, and media phases of the
seventh edition.
Erik W. Larson
Clifford F. Gray
xiii
Guided Tour
Established Learning Objectives
Learning objectives have been added to this edition to help stu-
dents target key areas of learning. Learning objectives are listed
both at the beginning of each chapter and are called out as mar-
ginal elements throughout the narrative in each chapter.
End-of-Chapter Content
Both static and algorithmic end-of-chapter content, including
Review Questions and Exercises, are now
assignable in Connect.
SmartBook
The SmartBook has been updated with new
highlights and probes for optimal student
learning.

45. Snapshots
The Snapshot from Practice boxes have been
updated to include a number of new exam-
ples of project management in action. New
questions based on the Snapshots are also
now assignable in Connect.
New and Updated Cases
Included at the end of each chapter are between one and five
cases which demonstrate key ideas from the text
and help students understand how Project Management comes
into play in the real world. New cases have
been added across several chapters in the 7th edition.
26
Organization Strategy
and Project Selection2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
2-1 Explain why it is important for project managers to
understand their organization’s strategy.
2-2 Identify the significant role projects contribute to
the strategic direction of the organization.
2-3 Understand the need for a project priority system.
2-4 Apply financial and nonfinancial criteria to assess
the value of projects.
2-5 Understand how multi-criteria models can be
used to select projects.

46. 2-6 Apply an objective priority system to project
selection.
2-7 Understand the need to manage the project
portfolio.
OUTLINE
2.1 The Strategic Management Process: An
Overview
2.2 The Need for a Project Priority System
2.3 A Portfolio Management System
2.4 Selection Criteria
2.5 Applying a Selection Model
2.6 Managing the Portfolio System
Summary
C H A P T E R T W O
Lar66093_ch02_026-065.indd 26 10/4/16 4:52 PM
28 Chapter 2 Organization Strategy and Project Selection
alignment even more essential for success. Ensuring a strong
link between the strategic
plan and projects is a difficult task that demands constant
attention from top and mid-
dle management.
The larger and more diverse an organization, the more difficult
it is to create and

47. maintain this strong link. Companies today are under enormous
pressure to manage a
process that clearly aligns projects to organization strategy.
Ample evidence still sug-
gests that many organizations have not developed a process that
clearly aligns project
selection to the strategic plan. The result is poor utilization of
the organization’s
resources—people, money, equipment, and core competencies.
Conversely, organiza-
tions that have a coherent link of projects to strategy have more
cooperation across the
organization, perform better on projects, and have fewer
projects.
How can an organization ensure this link and alignment? The
answer requires inte-
gration of projects with the strategic plan. Integration assumes
the existence of a stra-
tegic plan and a process for prioritizing projects by their
contribution to the plan. A
crucial factor to ensure the success of integrating the plan with
projects lies in the
creation of a process that is open and transparent for all
participants to review. This
chapter presents an overview of the importance of strategic
planning and the process
for developing a strategic plan. Typical problems encountered
when strategy and proj-
ects are not linked are noted. A generic methodology that
ensures integration by creat-
ing very strong linkages of project selection and priority to the
strategic plan is then
discussed. The intended outcomes are clear organization focus,
best use of scarce orga-
nization resources (people, equipment, capital), and improved
communication across

48. projects and departments.
Why Project Managers Need to Understand Strategy
Project management historically has been preoccupied solely
with the planning and exe-
cution of projects. Strategy was considered to be under the
purview of senior manage-
ment. This is old-school thinking. New-school thinking
recognizes that project
management is at the apex of strategy and operations. Aaron
Shenhar speaks to this issue
when he states, “. . . it is time to expand the traditional role of
the project manager from
an operational to a more strategic perspective. In the modern
evolving organization, proj-
ect managers will be focused on business aspects, and their role
will expand from getting
the job done to achieving the business results and winning in
the marketplace.”1
There are two main reasons why project managers need to
understand their organiza-
tion’s mission and strategy. The first reason is so they can make
appropriate decisions
and adjustments. For example, how a project manager would
respond to a suggestion to
modify the design of a product to enhance performance will
vary depending upon
whether his company strives to be a product leader through
innovation or to achieve
operational excellence through low cost solutions. Similarly,
how a project manager
would respond to delays may vary depending upon strategic
concerns. A project man-
ager will authorize overtime if her firm places a premium on
getting to the market first.
Another project manager will accept the delay if speed is not

49. essential.
The second reason project managers need to understand their
organization’s strat-
egy is so they can be effective project advocates. Project
managers have to be able to
demonstrate to senior management how their project contributes
to their firm’s mis-
sion. Protection and continued support come from being aligned
with corporate objec-
tives. Project managers also need to be able to explain to team
members and other
Explain why it is impor-
tant for project managers
to understand their orga-
nization’s strategy.
2-1LO
1 Shenhar, A., and Dov Dvie, Reinventing Project Management
(Harvard Business School, 2007), p. 5.
Lar66093_ch02_026-065.indd 28 10/4/16 4:52 PM
84 Chapter 3 Organization: Structure and Culture
In 2016 Google Inc. topped Fortune
magazine’s list of best companies to
work at for the seventh time in the
past ten years. When one enters the
24-hour Googleplex located in
Mountain View, California, you feel that you are
walking through a new-age college campus rather
than the corporate office of a billion-dollar business.
The collection of interconnected low-rise buildings

50. with colorful, glass-encased offices feature upscale
trappings—free gourmet meals three times a day,
free use of an outdoor wave pool, indoor gym and
large child care facility, private shuttle bus service to
and from San Francisco and other residential areas—
that are the envy of workers across the Bay area.
These perks and others reflect Google’s culture of
keeping people happy and thinking in unconven-
tional ways.
The importance of corporate culture is no more evi-
dent than in the fact that the head of Human Resources,
Stacy Savides Sullivan, also has the title of Chief Cul-
ture Officer. Her task is to try to preserve the innovative
culture of a start-up as Google quickly evolves into a
mammoth international corporation. Sullivan character-
izes Google culture as “team-oriented, very collabora-
tive and encouraging people to think nontraditionally,
different from where they ever worked before—work
with integrity and for the good of the company and for
the good of the world, which is tied to our overall mis-
sion of making information accessible to the world.”
Google goes to great lengths to screen new employees
to not only make sure that they have outstanding tech-
nical capabilities but also that they are going to fit
Google’s culture. Sullivan goes on to define a Google-y
employee as somebody who is “flexible, adaptable,
and not focusing on titles and hierarchy, and just gets
stuff done.”
Google’s culture is rich with customs and traditions
not found in corporate America. For example, project
S N A P S H O T F R O M P R A C T I C E 3 . 4 Google-y*
teams typically have daily “stand-up” meetings seven min-
utes after the hour. Why seven minutes after the hour?
Because Google cofounder Sergey Brin once estimated

51. that it took seven minutes to walk across the Google cam-
pus. Everybody stands to make sure no one gets too com-
fortable and no time is wasted during the rapid-fire
update. As one manager noted, “The whole concept of
the stand-up is to talk through what everyone’s doing, so if
someone is working on what you’re working on, you can
discover and collaborate not duplicate.”
Another custom is “dogfooding.” This is when a
project team releases the functional prototype of a
future product to Google employees for them to test
drive. There is a strong norm within Google to test new
products and provide feedback to the developers. The
project team receives feedback from thousands of
Google-ys. The internal focus group can log bugs or
simply comment on design or functionality. Fellow
Google-ys do not hold back on their feedback and are
quick to point out things they don’t like. This often
leads to significant product improvements.
© Caiaimage/Glow Images
simply rely on what people report about their culture. The
physical environment in
which people work, as well as how people act and respond to
different events that
occur, must be examined. Figure 3.6 contains a worksheet for
diagnosing the culture of
an organization. Although by no means exhaustive, the checklist
often yields clues
about the norms, customs, and values of an organization:
1. Study the physical characteristics of an organization. What
does the external
architecture look like? What image does it convey? Is it unique?
Are the buildings

52. * Walters, H., “How Google Got Its New Look,” BusinessWeek,
May 10, 2010; Goo, S. K., “Building a ‘Googley’ Workforce,“
Washington Post, October 21, 2006; Mills, E., “Meet Google’s
Culture Czar,” CNET News.com, April 27, 2007.
Lar66093_ch03_066-099.indd 84 10/4/16 5:10 PM
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xiv
Note to Student
You will find the content of this text highly practical, relevant,
and current. The con-
cepts discussed are relatively simple and intuitive. As you study
each chapter we sug-
gest you try to grasp not only how things work, but why things
work. You are
encouraged to use the text as a handbook as you move through
the three levels of
competency:
I know.
I can do.
I can adapt to new situations.
Project management is both people and technical oriented.
Project management
involves understanding the cause-effect relationships and
interactions among the
sociotechnical dimensions of projects. Improved competency in
these dimensions will
greatly enhance your competitive edge as a project manager.

53. The field of project management is growing in importance and
at an exponential
rate. It is nearly impossible to imagine a future management
career that does not
include management of projects. Résumés of managers will
soon be primarily a
description of the individual’s participation in and contributions
to projects.
Good luck on your journey through the text and on your future
projects.
Chapter-by-Chapter Revisions for the Seventh Edition
Chapter 1: Modern Project Management
∙ New Snapshot: Project Management in Action 2016.
∙ Information updated.
∙ New Snapshot: Ron Parker replaced Research Highlight:
Works well with others.
∙ New case: The Hokie Lunch Group.
Chapter 2: Organization Strategy and Project Selection
∙ New Snapshot: Project Code Names replaced HP’s Strategy
Revision.
Chapter 3: Organization: Structure and Culture
∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ Snapshot: Google-y updated.
∙ Snapshot: Skunk Works at Lockheed Martin updated.
Chapter 4: Defining the Project
∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ New case: Home Improvement Project.

54. Note to Student xv
Chapter 5: Estimating Project Times and Costs
∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ New Snapshot: London 2012 Olympics: Avoiding White
Elephant curse.
∙ Expanded discussion of Mega Projects including the
emergence of white
elephants.
Chapter 6: Developing a Project Schedule
∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ New Exercises 2-15 and Lag Exercises 18-21.
∙ Shoreline Stadium case replaces Greendale Stadium case.
Chapter 7: Managing Risk
∙ Learning objectives established.
Chapter 8 Appendix 1: The Critical-Chain Approach
∙ Learning objectives established.
Chapter 9: Reducing Project Duration
∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ Snapshot: Smartphone Wars updated.
∙ New exercises 1-7.
Chapter 10: Leadership: Being an Effective Project Manager

55. ∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ New Research Highlight: Give and Take.
∙ Ethics discussion expanded.
Chapter 11: Managing Project Teams
∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ Expanded discussion on project vision.
Chapter 12: Outsourcing: Managing Interorganizational
Relations
∙ Learning objectives established.
∙ Discussion of RFP process.
∙ New Snapshot: U.S. Department of Defense’s Value
Engineering Awards 2015.
Chapter 13 Progress and Performance Measurement and
Evaluation
∙ Learning Objectives established.
∙ Discussion of milestone schedules.
∙ New Snapshot: Guidelines for Setting Milestones.
∙ Discussion of Management Reserve Index.
∙ New case: Shoreline Stadium Status Report.
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xvi Note to Student
Chapter 14: Project Closure
∙ Major Revision of chapter with more attention to project audit

56. and closing
activities.
∙ New Snapshot: The Wake.
∙ New Snapshot: 2015 PMO of the Year.
∙ New Snapshot: Operation Eagle Claw.
∙ Project Management Maturity model introduced.
Chapter 15: International Projects
∙ Learning Objectives established.
Chapter 16: An Introduction to Agile Project Management
∙ Learning Objectives established.
∙ New Snapshot: Kanban.
xvii
Preface ix
1. Modern Project Management 2
2. Organization Strategy and Project
Selection 26
3. Organization: Structure and Culture 66
4. Defining the Project 100
5. Estimating Project Times and Costs 128
6. Developing a Project Plan 162

57. 7. Managing Risk 206
8. Scheduling Resources and Costs 250
9. Reducing Project Duration 304
10. Being an Effective Project Manager 338
11. Managing Project Teams 374
12. Outsourcing: Managing
Interorganizational Relations 418
Brief Contents
13. Progress and Performance Measurement
and Evaluation 458
14. Project Closure 514
15. International Projects 544
16. An Introduction to Agile Project
Management 578
APPENDIX
One
Solution
s to Selected Exercises 603
Two Computer Project Exercises 616

58. GLOSSARY 633
ACRONYMS 640
PROJECT MANAGEMENT EQUATIONS 641
CROSS REFERENCE OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT 642
SOCIO-TECHNICAL APPROACH TO
PROJECT MANAGEMENT 643
INDEX 644
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xviii
Contents
Preface ix
Chapter 1
Modern Project Management 2
1.1 What Is a Project? 6
What a Project Is Not 7
Program versus Project 7

59. The Project Life Cycle 8
The Project Manager 9
Being Part of a Project Team 11
1.2 Current Drivers of Project Management 12
Compression of the Product Life Cycle 12
Knowledge Explosion 12
Triple Bottom Line (Planet, People, Profit) 12
Increased Customer Focus 12
Small Projects Represent Big Problems 15
1.3 Project Governance 15
Alignment of Projects with Organizational
Strategy 16
1.4 Project Management Today: A Socio-Technical
Approach 17
Summary 18
Chapter 2
Organization Strategy and Project
Selection 26
2.1 The Strategic Management Process:

60. An Overview 29
Four Activities of the Strategic Management
Process 29
2.2 The Need for a Project Priority System 34
Problem 1: The Implementation Gap 34
Problem 2: Organization Politics 35
Problem 3: Resource Conflicts and Multitasking 36
2.3 A Portfolio Management System 37
Classification of the Project 37
2.4 Selection Criteria 38
Financial Criteria 38
Nonfinancial Criteria 40
2.5 Applying a Selection Model 43
Project Classification 43
Sources and Solicitation of Project Proposals 44
Ranking Proposals and Selection of Projects 46
2.6 Managing the Portfolio System 48
Senior Management Input 48
The Governance Team Responsibilities 49
Balancing the Portfolio for Risks and Types

61. of Projects 50
Summary 51
Chapter 3
Organization: Structure and Culture 66
3.1 Project Management Structures 68
Organizing Projects within the
Functional Organization 68
Organizing Projects as Dedicated Teams 71
Organizing Projects within a Matrix
Arrangement 75
Different Matrix Forms 76
3.2 What Is the Right Project Management
Structure? 79
Organization Considerations 79
Project Considerations 79
3.3 Organizational Culture 81
What Is Organizational Culture? 81
Identifying Cultural Characteristics 83
3.4 Implications of Organizational Culture for

62. Organizing Projects 86
Summary 89
Chapter 4
Defining the Project 100
4.1 Step 1: Defining the Project Scope 102
Employing a Project Scope Checklist 103
4.2 Step 2: Establishing Project Priorities 106
4.3 Step 3: Creating the Work Breakdown
Structure 108
Major Groupings Found in a WBS 108
How WBS Helps the Project Manager 108
A Simple WBS Development 109
4.4 Step 4: Integrating the WBS with the
Organization 113
4.5 Step 5: Coding the WBS for the Information
System 113
4.6 Process Breakdown Structure 116

63. Contents xix
4.7 Responsibility Matrices 117
4.8 Project Communication Plan 119
Summary 121
Chapter 5
Estimating Project Times
and Costs 128
5.1 Factors Influencing the Quality of
Estimates 130
Planning Horizon 130
Project Complexity 130
People 131
Project Structure and Organization 131
Padding Estimates 131
Organization Culture 131
Other Factors 131
5.2 Estimating Guidelines for Times, Costs,
and Resources 132

64. 5.3 Top-Down versus Bottom-Up
Estimating 134
5.4 Methods for Estimating Project Times
and Costs 136
Top-Down Approaches for Estimating Project Times
and Costs 136
Bottom-Up Approaches for Estimating Project
Times and Costs 140
A Hybrid: Phase Estimating 141
5.5 Level of Detail 143
5.6 Types of Costs 144
Direct Costs 145
Direct Project Overhead Costs 145
General and Administrative (G&A) Overhead
Costs 145
5.7 Refining Estimates 146
5.8 Creating a Database for Estimating 148
5.9 Mega Projects: A Special Case 149
Summary 151
Appendix 5.1: Learning Curves for
Estimating 157

65. Chapter 6
Developing a Project Plan 162
6.1 Developing the Project Network 163
6.2 From Work Package to Network 164
6.3 Constructing a Project Network 166
Terminology 166
Basic Rules to Follow in Developing Project
Networks 166
6.4 Activity-on-Node (AON) Fundamentals 167
6.5 Network Computation Process 171
Forward Pass—Earliest Times 171
Backward Pass—Latest Times 173
Determining Slack (or Float) 175
6.6 Using the Forward and Backward Pass
Information 177
6.7 Level of Detail for Activities 178
6.8 Practical Considerations 178
Network Logic Errors 178

66. Activity Numbering 179
Use of Computers to Develop Networks 179
Calendar Dates 182
Multiple Starts and Multiple Projects 182
6.9 Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer
to Reality 182
Laddering 182
Use of Lags to Reduce Schedule Detail and Project
Duration 183
An Example Using Lag Relationships—The Forward
and Backward Pass 186
Hammock Activities 188
Summary 189
Chapter 7
Managing Risk 206
7.1 Risk Management Process 208
7.2 Step 1: Risk Identification 210
7.3 Step 2: Risk Assessment 212
Probability Analysis 215
7.4 Step 3: Risk Response Development 216

67. Mitigating Risk 216
Avoiding Risk 217
Transferring Risk 217
Accept Risk 218
7.5 Contingency Planning 219
Technical Risks 220
Schedule Risks 222
Cost Risks 222
Funding Risks 222
7.6 Opportunity Management 223
7.7 Contingency Funding and Time Buffers 223
Budget Reserves 224
Management Reserves 224
Time Buffers 225
7.8 Step 4: Risk Response Control 225
7.9 Change Control Management 226
Summary 230
Appendix 7.1: PERT and PERT Simulation 240
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68. http://www.ebook3000.org
xx Contents
Chapter 8
Scheduling Resources and Costs 250
8.1 Overview of the Resource Scheduling
Problem 252
8.2 Types of Resource Constraints 254
8.3 Classification of a Scheduling
Problem 255
8.4 Resource Allocation Methods 255
Assumptions 255
Time-Constrained Project: Smoothing Resource
Demand 256
Resource-Constrained Projects 257
8.5 Computer Demonstration of Resource-
Constrained Scheduling 262
The Impacts of Resource-Constrained
Scheduling 266

69. 8.6 Splitting Activities 269
8.7 Benefits of Scheduling Resources 270
8.8 Assigning Project Work 271
8.9 Multiproject Resource Schedules 272
8.10 Using the Resource Schedule to Develop a
Project Cost Baseline 273
Why a Time-Phased Budget Baseline
Is Needed 273
Creating a Time-Phased Budget 274
Summary 279
Appendix 8.1: The Critical-Chain Approach 294
Chapter 9
Reducing Project Duration 304
9.1 Rationale for Reducing Project
Duration 306
9.2 Options for Accelerating Project
Completion 307
Options When Resources Are Not Constrained 308
Options When Resources Are Constrained 310

70. 9.3 Project Cost–Duration Graph 313
Explanation of Project Costs 313
9.4 Constructing a Project Cost–Duration
Graph 314
Determining the Activities to Shorten 314
A Simplified Example 316
9.5 Practical Considerations 318
Using the Project Cost–Duration Graph 318
Crash Times 319
Linearity Assumption 319
Choice of Activities to Crash Revisited 319
Time Reduction Decisions and Sensitivity 320
9.6 What If Cost, Not Time, Is the Issue? 321
Reduce Project Scope 322
Have Owner Take on More Responsibility 322
Outsourcing Project Activities or Even the Entire
Project 322
Brainstorming Cost Savings Options 322
Summary 323

71. Chapter 10
Being an Effective Project Manager 338
10.1 Managing versus Leading a Project 340
10.2 Managing Project Stakeholders 341
10.3 Influence as Exchange 345
Task-Related Currencies 345
Position-Related Currencies 346
Inspiration-Related Currencies 347
Relationship-Related Currencies 347
Personal-Related Currencies 348
10.4 Social Network Building 348
Mapping Stakeholder Dependencies 348
Management by Wandering Around (MBWA) 350
Managing Upward Relations 351
Leading by Example 353
10.5 Ethics and Project Management 356
10.6 Building Trust: The Key to Exercising
Influence 357
10.7 Qualities of an Effective Project Manager 359
Summary 362

72. Chapter 11
Managing Project Teams 374
11.1 The Five-Stage Team Development Model 377
11.2 Situational Factors Affecting Team
Development 379
11.3 Building High-Performance Project Teams 381
Recruiting Project Members 381
Conducting Project Meetings 383
Establishing Team Norms 385
Establishing a Team Identity 387
Creating a Shared Vision 388
Managing Project Reward Systems 391
Orchestrating the Decision-Making Process 392
Managing Conflict within the Project 394
Rejuvenating the Project Team 398
11.4 Managing Virtual Project Teams 399
11.5 Project Team Pitfalls 403
Groupthink 403
Bureaucratic Bypass Syndrome 404

73. Contents xxi
Team Spirit Becomes Team Infatuation 404
Going Native 404
Summary 405
Chapter 12
Outsourcing: Managing Interorganizational
Relations 418
12.1 Outsourcing Project Work 420
12.2 Request for Proposal (RFP) 424
Selection of Contractor from Bid Proposals 425
12.3 Best Practices in Outsourcing Project Work 426
Well-Defined Requirements and Procedures 426
Extensive Training and Team-Building Activities 428
Well-Established Conflict Management Processes
in Place 429
Frequent Review and Status Updates 431
Co-Location When Needed 432
Fair and Incentive-Laden Contracts 432
Long-Term Outsourcing Relationships 433

74. 12.4 The Art of Negotiating 434
1. Separate the People from the Problem 435
2. Focus on Interests, Not Positions 436
3. Invent Options for Mutual Gain 437
4. When Possible, Use Objective Criteria 138
Dealing with Unreasonable People 438
12.5 A Note on Managing Customer Relations 439
Summary 442
Appendix 12.1: Contract Management 451
Chapter 13
Progress and Performance Measurement
and Evaluation 458
13.1 Structure of a Project Monitoring Information
System 460
What Data Are Collected? 460
Collecting Data and Analysis 460
Reports and Reporting 460
13.2 The Project Control Process 461
Step 1: Setting a Baseline Plan 461
Step 2: Measuring Progress and Performance 461

75. Step 3: Comparing Plan against Actual 462
Step 4: Taking Action 462
13.3 Monitoring Time Performance 462
Tracking Gantt Chart 463
Control Chart 463
Milestone Schedules 464
13.4 Development of an Earned Value Cost/Schedule
System 467
Percent Complete Rule 467
What Costs Are Included in Baselines? 467
Methods of Variance Analysis 468
13.5 Developing a Status Report: A Hypothetical
Example 470
Assumptions 470
Baseline Development 470
Development of the Status Report 471
13.6 Indexes to Monitor Progress 475
Performance Indexes 477
Project Percent Complete Indexes 474
Software for Project Cost/Schedule Systems 477

76. Additional Earned Value Rules 478
13.7 Forecasting Final Project Cost 476
13.8 Other Control Issues 481
Technical Performance Measurement 481
Scope Creep 483
Baseline Changes 483
The Costs and Problems of Data Acquisition 485
Summary 486
Appendix 13.1: The Application of Additional Earned
Value Rules 505
Appendix 13.2: Obtaining Project Performance
Information from MS Project 2010
or 2015 511
Chapter 14
Project Closure 514
14.1 Types of Project Closure 516
14.2 Wrap-up Closure Activities 518
14.3 Project Audits 521
The Project Audit Process 522
Project Retrospectives 525

77. Project Audits: The Bigger Picture 529
14.4 Post-Implementation Evaluation 532
Team Evaluation 532
Individual, Team Member, and Project Manager
Performance Reviews 534
Summary 537
Appendix 14.1: Project Closeout Checklist 539
Appendix 14.2: Euro Conversion—Project Closure
Checklist 541
Chapter 15
International Projects 544
15.1 Environmental Factors 546
Legal/Political 546
Security 547
Geography 548
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78. xxii Contents
Economic 549
Infrastructure 550
Culture 551
15.2 Project Site Selection 553
15.3 Cross-Cultural Considerations:
A Closer Look 554
Adjustments 555
Working in Mexico 556
Working in France 559
Working in Saudi Arabia 560
Working in China 562
Working in the United States 563
Summary Comments about Working in Different
Cultures 565
Culture Shock 565
Coping with Culture Shock 567
15.4 Selection and Training for International
Projects 568
Summary 571

79. Chapter 16
An Introduction to Agile Project
Management 578
16.1 Traditional versus Agile Methods 580
16.2 Agile PM 582
16.3 Agile PM in Action: Scrum 585
Roles and Responsibilities 586
Scrum Meetings 587
Product and Sprint Backlogs 588
Sprint and Release Burndown Charts 589
16.4 Applying Agile PM to Large Projects 592
16.5 Limitations and Concerns 593
Summary 595
Appendix One: