The Project Management Institute Project Management Handbook (Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series) - Hardcover

The Definitive Guide to the Field's Best Practices In recent years, project management has become a profession unto itself. And with a membership numbering in the tens of thousands, the Project Management Institute is the organization that's setting the profession's standards. In this authoritative handbook, more than twenty-five top experts from academia, consulting, and private industry define the current state of project management and detail for readers all of the practical elements that constitute a superior practice. In clear, accessible language, these experts provide a comprehensive overview of the technical, organizational, administrative, and interpersonal elements of successful project management. They detail the essentials of project planning-from risk management to resource allocation to scheduling. They describe the team-building, motivational, and conflict-management challenges that project leaders face. And they delineate critical success factors as well as major pitfalls to avoid. At last, project managers across all industries can readily reference the best practices of their profession and benchmark their skills against those of their most accomplished colleagues.

Driven by recent business trends, project management has grown beyond its roots in engineering and aerospace to transform the service, financial, computer, and general management sectors. Along the way, it has accumulated a standardized body of knowledge that can be used to handle large-scale development projects in any industry. Now, the world's premier organization for project management assembles that knowledge in one authoritative volume.
With 35,000 members around the globe and its own certification program, the Project Management Institute serves as a clearinghouse for the most up-to-the-minute information in this burgeoning field. Its Project Management Handbook brings together more than twenty-five experts from academia, consulting, and private industry to take a critical look at the state of the art and suggest ways to improve it.
In clear, accessible language these experts provide a comprehensive overview of the technical, organizational, administrative, and interpersonal elements of successful project management. They define the unique aspects of projects and the role they play in organizational success. They detail the essentials of project planning—from risk management to resource allocation to scheduling. They describe the team-building, motivational, and conflict-management challenges that project leaders face. And they delineate critical success factors as well as the major pitfalls to avoid.
For beginners hoping to build their knowledge about project management principles, those in mid-career looking to update their understanding of best practices, and seasoned professionals striving to benchmark their progress against standards set by the experts, this essential reference provides practical information on every page.