Field Guide to Project Management - Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography Cleland, D. I. (2004). Field Guide to Project Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This is an exceptional book for the projects. Work activities have performance targets, which are collective for generating an inimitable result, subject to resource and time limitations. A project manager possesses excellent organizational and analytical skills to control the team. Project and team management involves strategic planning (Cleland, 2004, p. 5). Remember, strategic planning shall initiate outcomes of the project through a variety of members working mutually, in a coordinated technique to produce desired results. Teams become effective and productive, whenever working on a similar task, since such groups can leverage off one another’s strong point and compensate weaknesses of other colleagues. Project team leadership explains individual roles. Leadership gets dispersed among the members of the team. Team leader leads members to lead themselves. Leaders can generate thought patterns, which are motivating and positive. Project team leadership embraces personal goal setting through self evaluation and observation. Goals can be attained through enhancing illuminating roles among team members. The book, Field Guide to Project Management has the importance of measuring and monitoring individual and team performance (Cleland, 2004, p. 398). Project team leadership should develop motivation using extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Developing skills among team members requires team training and coaching. Global project management entails a framework which tackles the combined challenges in the virtual and distributed projects internationally. Global project management includes leading by exception. The book, Field Guide to Project Management, find many leaders or managers in different time zones, and locations to have detrimental meetings to initiate activities. It is recommendable to plan a vast project management tool for tracking that gives accurate information, right metrics, and maintains the status of the work efforts of everyone appraised. Create team synergies through strategic gatherings (Cleland, 2004, p. 12). A social on line application can be made to allow the team members recognize one another. Respect the numerous cultures, activities and holidays the team members take part in without allowing work boundaries sorting the home. Virtual project team gives a virtual growth of assets. Virtual project team requires core elements. Leadership provided should be robust and experienced. It entails a dedicated project leader, who can construct integrated team. In the first chapter, Field Guide to Project Management, leadership goals ensure consistency in driving the business towards its milestones (Cleland, 2004, p. 8). Vigorous leaders own the project to assure quality and minimized costs, and proper time management. Virtual project team entails expertise provisions of hands-on resources. Team functions should be equal, among members i.e. prevent the matter of a single member of the team, wearing many hats. Extend of new technologies in project management streamline various roles over the project’s life cycle. Technology in project management improves communication, control scheduling and assess risks. In chapter 25, Field Guide to Project Management, software technology has boosted services for numerous projects (Cleland, 2004, p. 329). Software for redundancy and data backup reduces financial losses and project corruption. Web conferencing and email replace personal visits and phone calls in communication. Micro Lync tools offer integrated resolutions that enhance communication and information transfer. Software for diagramming constructs flowcharts and graphical project representations. The effects of stakeholder support on project management can be negative or positive. This is as a result of successful project completion or project execution. The book, Field Guide to Project Management, define stakeholder as organizations and individuals, who participate in the project actively. Stakeholder requires motivation (Cleland, 2004, p. 212). What one should know is that stakeholder participation is specific in context and whatever functions in one state may not be perfect in another. Stakeholder can sell or buy the project, can use and train others to use the project, takes the responsibility to maintain, test, and market the project. Project risks management requires proper analysis rather than the brainstorming, random fashion. Unexpected risks should be prepared for and fortified against in a measured, planned, manner. In the book, Field Guide to Project Management, before risks occur, they should be identified, sorted and evaluated (Cleland, 2004, p. 360). The team discusses issues like delivery timing, availability, necessary conditions, and capability for operation. Project managers should assess, identify, mitigate and take actions towards risk elements. Project procurement management is the action taken to obtain services and goods to support the project. The procurement procedures explain gradually, how to acquire goods from the suppliers. The procurement process enables the project to identify the services and goods to procure and complete orders to suppliers. It receives, review and accept, and approve the items procured. David Cleland provides a notion for the Procurement process in the project that it identifies the contract milestones of the supplier, reviews the performance against the contract, communicates the management status, and resolves the performance issues of the supplier. Schedule management plan in a project is a vital strategy. In chapter one, Field Guide to Project Management, gives the effective and efficient identification of the terminal elements of the project. Tasks and policies should be implemented to start and finish the schedule plan (Cleland, 2004, p. 6). Successful accomplishment of project scheduling leads to the contentment of the stakeholder in the project. Project scheduling entails the management and analysis of the internal processes. The plan has activities like the control of all inventories, purchases evaluations, and logistics. The use of the Critical Path Method in project management pertains to an algorithm typically used in scheduling some project activities. The author in Field Guide to Project Management has the opinion of some critical elements required for the utilization of the Critical Path Method. Activities for accomplishing the project should be identified. The time length for each activity should be approximated (Cleland, 2004, p. 11). The outcomes of this method allow the project coordinators to arrange the tasks according to priorities. The coordinators are able to maintain track of the schedule. David Cleland discusses Project scope management as the action undertaken to make sure that all project work gets addressed and defined. It entails collection of requirements. Here, one defines and documents the requirements necessary for all project objectives. It revolves around the process foundation, which involves the stakeholder register and project charter (Cleland, 2004, p. 214). Defining the scope is a critical step since it involves the development of the product description encompassing assumptions, constraints, and deliverable. It establishes the probable framework for performing the project work. David Cleland takes the initiative to explain Communication in project management as an action taken to generate and disseminate appropriate information effectively. The process ensures that project stakeholder get informed regularly. Communication in project management identifies, decides, drafts, and determines the information required to be disseminated. Communication process recognizes the project stakeholder, identifies their communication needs, and ensures that the right information gets delivered to the right people. References: Cleland, D. I. (2004). Field Guide to Project Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Read More