The Project Manager’s Partner, Second Edition
(You say: “Just show me the Table of Contents!” … OK! Click here to see the TOC and a list of all 57 PM tools in The Project Manager’s Partner, Second Edition. And you can email me at greers_pm@yahoo.com for a free PM tool sample!)
Overview
Like its predecessor, The Project Manager’s Partner Second Edition draws its inspiration from The Project Management Institute’s Guide to PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), seeking to provide specific how-to-do-it tips for achieving many of the PM practices identified in PMBOK’s. Also like its predecessor, the Partner is organized around 20 Key Project Manager Actions and Results – the lion’s share of the book is devoted to providing new project managers with the tools to take any of these actions and get quality results.
Compared to the original Project Manager’s Partner, the second edition has a completely restructured introduction to project management (PM) basics that presents the reader with just enough introduction to the field of PM to provide a foundation for using the tools. Part I concludes by providing readers with a hands-on assignment designed to help them develop a unique Project Life Cycle as the foundation for a project they may be planning. Building on this unique life cycle, Part II provides another assignment which encourages readers to identify which of the Key Project Manager Action Items in Part III they will need to start planning their projects – so the emphasis on hands-on performance begins early!
This edition also includes an entirely new discussion (with a samples and worksheets) on the distinction between estimating effort versus estimating durations for activities.
Finally, the author has drawn on his recent experiences implementing the Partner in training and consulting engagements to create many powerful new PM tools (guidelines, checklists, worksheets). In addition to all of the tools and examples found in the original Partner, this second edition contains 25 new items, bringing the new Partner’s total number of tools to support project management to 57! (See detailed Table of Contents.)
We hope you enjoy this handbook and that you find it to be a valuable tool for planning and managing your projects.
An Unsolicited Testimonial…
Reviewer Rick Saia wrote in Computerworld:
“This, Greer’s third book on the subject, is especially focused on rookie project managers. The book covers project management from soup to nuts and is dotted with several easy-to-understand forms and tables that can guide you through a project. It also offers questions for readers to answer in order to determine whether a project has passed certain checkpoints. Don’t skip the introduction: Reading it can help you pick out the parts of the book you may feel you need to read, given your project management experience – or lack of it. Also, check out Appendix E, which outlines six guidelines that can help you decide whether to kill a project. After all, if a project merits a death sentence, there’s no sense in wasting your company’s money today.”
An Unbiased Review
Check out this unbiased and unsolicited In-depth Book Review by Eileen Dormuth: The Project Manager’s Partner
What Other Reviewers Are Saying About The Project Manager’s Partner
According to Barry Davis at HRD Press: “The Project Manager’s Partner is possibly the most heavily reviewed and quality controlled product that HRD Press has ever published. Our reviewer list is made up of professionals who are representative of the new type of project managers.” Below are some of their comments about The Project Manager’s Partner.
- “I have already begun to use it. . I won’t let it go. I wish I had this for my last project. I like the way it is laid out, so you can pick and choose what you want to look at. Pitfalls and Concerns are very good… I need steps, checklists like this to help me evaluate what I’m doing. . .I would never have the time or interest in getting formal PM training or certification… This is a very timely work and an important niche you are filling [i.e., part-time project managers].” – Jackie Hazlett, AT&T
- “It is terrific! I would love to sit down and work through a project in a systematic way using this product. It’s really well-thought-out and [contains] great information. The Pitfalls and Cautions are great– they can prevent a lot of mistakes.” — Wendy Weeks, Microsoft
- “I like it a lot.. want to hand it around now [in draft form... to people who are planning a project]… there are a lot of people around here who could use this… It is very practical and accessible: I can read it today and apply much of it to my projects tomorrow.” — Cynthia France, The Southern Company
- “What I like about [The Project Manager's Partner] is that it makes project management content agnostic – it can be applied to a farm project as easily as a manufacturing product… It’s widely applicable to any project … Also, it’s scalable. . you can use the methods on large or small projects.” — Valorie Beer, former manager of training at Apple University, & head of training with Netscape Communications
- “Wonderful… a great book… especially liked the third section, making worksheets available as needed… the Pitfalls & Concerns are valuable… everyday examples are good.. good layout… it will be extremely useful.” — Heidi Smith, Apria Healthcare
- “This is well-written [reading the whole thing went fast. I really like it... it looks good and I want it for my managers." -- Karen Wolfe, Xerox Corp.
- "These checklists are critically valuable. I will use them routinely, even though I am experienced in project management." -- Clyde Bennett, Business Analyst [You can see a more extensive and updated review from Clyde at the Amazon.com website.]
- “Masterful… flows well and is easy to use. Where were you when I was struggling with this stuff?” John Greer, Pennsylvania Electric Company (Ret.)
How to Order
This book is published by HRD Press. To order via the web, go directly to the HRD Press web site.
(Note: You may purchase HRD Press publications here using your credit card.)
Or contact HRD Press at:
- 22 Amherst Road
Amherst, MA 01022 - Telephone (USA & Canada): (800) 822-2801, press 2 for customer service
- Telephone outside USA or Canada: (413) 253-3488
- Fax: (413) 253-3490
- e-mail: info@hrdpress.com
- web site: http://www.hrdpress.com
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Do you like this article? The latest edition of The Project Manager’s Partner: A Step-by-Step Guide to Project Management contains 57 tools, checklists, and guidelines to help project managers. For more information, click on the link above or phone HRD Press at (800) 822-2801.
Would you like a custom-tailored, on-site PM workshop for your organization? Click here to check out the possibilities or send an e-mail to greers_pm@yahoo.com.
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(C) Copyright 2009 from Michael Greer’s Project Management Resources web site. The URL is http://www.michaelgreer.com. For more information, send e-mail to greers_pm@yahoo.com. — Feel free to copy and distribute for informational (not-for-profit) purposes.
Posted: September 13th, 2009 under Project Management.
Pingback from Beyond PM Certification: Achieving PM Performance Improvement | Michael Greer's PM Resources
January 10, 2010 at 10:45 am
[...] This document (created in 1996) resulted when I worked with a team of veteran project manager reviewers to tease out 20 key PM competencies out of PMI’s initial PMBOK (clearly a body of KNOWLEDGE as opposed to a set of competencies). It was the road map that helped me create my best-selling HRD Press text/tool collection, The Project Manager’s Partner. [...]