Systemic and Systematic Project Management

This book applies systems thinking to treat project management in a systemic and systematic manner from a problem-solving perspective. Considering the project as a system, the book discusses traditional project planning and organizing, as well as some neglected aspects of the project, namely how to prevent cost and schedule escalation, how to deal with change, recognize problems in time to prevent project failure and what to do when things go wrong during the implementation states of a project. This book provides you with a better understanding of the systems approach to problem-solving and project management that will enable you to be more successful at managing projects.FeaturesTreats projects as systemsPresents project management as a problem-solving paradigmDiscusses how to incorporate prevention into planning and how to show the valueDescribes what to do and how to cope with unanticipated problems that arise during the project implementation stateIntroduces new tools and techniques

1. Introduction. 2. Management: General and Project Management. 3. The Attributes of a Project.4. The Nine Systems Model. 5. Project Planning. 6. Project Staffing. 7. Project Scheduling for Success. 8. Cost Estimating. 9. Reducing Project Schedule and Cost. 10. Performance Monitoring and Controlling. 11. An Introduction to Managing Risk and Uncertainty Over the Project Life Cycle. 12. Impact of Change on Cost and Schedule. 13. The Human Element. 14. Considerations for Special Types of Projects. 15. Project Audit and Closure. 16. Ethics. Appendix 1. The Case Study. Appendix 2. Introduction to MCSSRP Exercise. Appendix 3. MCSS Technical Details. Appendix 4. Events That will Cause Cost and Schedule Changes. Appendix 5. Staffing Resumes for Exercise. 1. Notes. 2. Resumes.

Joseph Eli Kasser has been a practicing systems engineer and project manager for more than 48 years and an academic for 20 years. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (Singapore), the author of four books and many conference and journal papers. He is a recipient of many awards including NASA’s Manned Space Flight Awareness Award (Silver Snoopy) for quality and technical excellence for performing and directing systems. He spent 2007-2016 teaching and researching the nature of systems thinking.