Project Management Process Improvement

No matter how perfect a project plan may be on paper, it is worthless if nobody actually uses it. This innovative guide shows you how to ensure that your team has the process capabilities needed to successfully carry out any project plan you put to paper. By using the SEI’s Capability Maturity Model, The Project Management Maturity Model, and PMBOK Knowledge areas, you can baseline your team’s process level to see how it measures up to those required by a project plan.

The book shows you how tocommunicate these baseline capabilities, and the gaps between baseline andtarget capabilities, to your team and upper management You are provided with ahost of metrics that let you target specific areas of improvement needed toraise your project team’s process maturity to the target level. Moreover, thisunique resource offers you proven tools and techniques that you can use everyday to ensure the success of your project process improvement program. The bookconcludes with practical methods to take your project team to the next level ofprocess effectiveness.

The book shows you how tocommunicate these baseline capabilities, and the gaps between baseline andtarget capabilities, to your team and upper management You are provided with ahost of metrics that let you target specific areas of improvement needed toraise your project team’s process maturity to the target level. Moreover, thisunique resource offers you proven tools and techniques that you can use everyday to ensure the success of your project process improvement program. The bookconcludes with practical methods to take your project team to the next level ofprocess effectiveness. Contents:Introduction to the ProcessImprovement Lifecycle - The Importance of Process Improvement. Typical ProjectImprovement Practices. Definition of the Process Improvement Life Cycle. Pointsto Remember.Overview of the Project Management Maturity Model - The SEICapability Maturity Model. The Project Management Maturity Model. PMBOK KnowledgeAreas. Maturity Profile by Knowledge Area. Assessing Current Maturity Level - Overview of the SurveyQuestionnaire. Reporting the Process Maturity Baseline. Reporting theProject/Process Maturity Gap. Points to Remember.Metrics to Identify Improvement Opportunities - Project Level.Process Level. Prioritizing Improvement Opportunities. Points to Remember. Tools to Investigate Improvement Opportunities - Couger’sProblem Solving Model. Fishbone Diagrams. Force Field Analysis. ParetoDiagrams. Process Charts. Root Cause Analysis. Points to Remember.Commissioning Improvement Initiatives - Characteristics of anImprovement Initiative. Scoping the Initiative. High-Level Planning of theInitiative. Monitoring the Initiative. Redirecting the Initiative. Closing theInitiative. Points to Remember. Measuring the Effectiveness of ImprovementInitiatives - Project Level. Process Level. Points to Remember.Closing Thoughts - Implementation Challenges. SuggestedImplementation Strategies. Points to Remember.Appendices - Maturity Level Survey. Bibliography.

Robert K. Wysocki is president ofEnterprise Information Insights, a consulting firm based in Worcester, MA thatspecializes in project management training. A member of the ProjectWorldExecutive Advisory Board and the author of several best-selling books, Dr.Wysocki is also series editor of the Artech House Effective Project ManagementSeries. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in mathematics from Southern MethodistUniversity.