Introduction

Managing a project is not unlike directing a movie, coaching a major league baseball team, or flying the space shuttle around the moon. Of course, if you were directing a movie you d be working with superstars. If you were coaching a major league team, you might win the pennant. And if you were flying the space shuttle, you d have a great view. But with project management, you get to experience some of the same thrills I m sure directors, coaches, and astronauts experience.

Relax. This book will help you become the superior project manager you ve dreamed of becoming. IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish will show you how to get started, get funding, and get the project done. You ll discover advanced project management techniques, the mechanics of project management, and inspiration to keep moving towards the end result of any technical project. I ll show you how you can direct your team to work together and independently. I ll show you how you can motivate team members , get management fired up about your project, and keep yourself from burning out. This book takes you from project management basics to advanced concepts on such topics as creating budgets , devising Work Breakdown Structures, and sustaining an exciting environment that will guarantee your success over and over.

As a project manager, you ll be challenged and forced to think on your feet, and you ll learn how to lead people rather than just manage them. Project management is a wonderful life experience that will stretch your brain and abilities further than you ever thought possible. Some people love project management so much they ve dedicated their careers to it. These professionals love the exhilaration of finding a solution to a seemingly impossible predicament. They love the nirvana of resolving disagreements between coworkers ”and watching their team become tight as family. They thrill over each success en route to the victory of completing the project on track and on budget.

My hope is that you ll become one of these people and that I can help get you there. This book is written based on my experiences as a project manager. How I wish a book of this caliber were available when I started my career! Fortunately for you, it s here now. You can (and I hope you do) read the book from cover to cover. Or, if you really want to, you can skip from chapter to chapter. Heck, read it backwards if it helps you! Regardless of your reading tactics, the best way to learn is by doing. Do yourself a big favor and complete the exercises at the end of chapter ”they ll help to reinforce what you ve read. If you re new to project management, try to discuss some of the issues in this book with an accomplished project manager. Once you ve finished reading the book, teach someone else what you ve learned. After all, teaching is just learning twice.

Finally, if you d like to discuss any of the topics in this book, feel free to drop me an e-mail. I try to respond to as many as possible. You can reach me at [e-mail]. I wish you my best in your career and your endeavors as a project manager.