[.ca] Cheetah Project Management: The Fastest Way to Reach ... (ISBN 0976174952)

Cheetah Project Management:
In Cheetah Project Management, the emphasis is on the team: "If the team is aligned on its project priorities, then it will better understand and work towards aligning its actions" notes the author. Using a team-based approach, the author takes the reader step by step through an e-commerce project case study and demonstrates how to build team consensus on customer/stakeholder requirements, who needs to do what and when, individual roles and responsibilities, determining the critical milestones in the project, identifying and assessing risks, and preparing accurate cost estimates including a clear understanding of cash flow needs and level of effort. Ms. LaBrosse defines Cheetah's Accelerated Project Management as "A process that covers the complete framework for a project team to quickly launch its projects, initiatives and ideas." She then takes you through that framework demonstrating how, in just one day, using the methodology, templates and techniques she provides, a project team can develop a complete project plan covering customer/stakeholder requirements, project scope, project schedules, and project budgets. Building upon the eight components of the accelerated project management (APM) framework, she shows project teams how to: * Clearly communicate with people on the project team and stakeholders/clients about the project. * Accurately define the problems the project will help stakeholders/clients solve. * Specify the requirements of the project in terms of how stakeholders/clients will use the project deliverables. * Clearly define the end points of the project to rein in costs. * Create a high performing project team that is aligned on their roles and responsibilities. * Determine exactly what is needed to get started with the project and what represents completion (and success). * Create measurements to ensure the project meets stakeholders/clients' acceptance criteria. * Define reviews and approvals at each stage of the project. * Assess, quantify, and prevent risks that could derail the Project. * Define the priorities of the project in terms of cost, schedule, and quality. * Identify the constraints and conflicts on doing this project. * Determine the staff and resources required to complete the project. * Create dependency schedules of the interim deliverables with an easy to visualize graphical mapping technique. * Use a quick three point estimating technique to calculate budgets associated with work and resources needed to get the job done. * Adjust the project plan based on issues that arise during the execution of the project. * Record the lessons learned in a way that can used to improve the next project. * Identify how to use what has been learned doing this project. Although Ms. LaBrosse clearly focuses on the project team, she recognizes that individual roles and responsibilities must be well defined and agreed to by team members. She observes, "When everyone is responsible, no one is accountable." A key feature of Cheetah's Accelerated Project Management is single point accountability, meaning that one person is specifically responsible for each interim project deliverable, including risk countermeasures. One of the clear strengths of this book is that it is reader friendly. It is not loaded down with jargon, nor does it preach its message. Rather, it presents a simple and straightforward methodology and guides the reader through it in a clear and readily understandable manner loaded with lots and lots of examples and clarifications. Simple tools and techniques are presented along with easy to follow templates. In determining risk probability and impact, for example, she employs a "highly scientific technique called the gut-feel index (GFI)". The eight components of the APM framework are Project Launch, Project Agreement, Teaming Guidelines, Planning (including Risks), Scheduling, Staffing and Budgeting, Project Tracking, and Lessons Learned. Ms. LaBrosse presents and explains these components in a clear and effective manner. Noting that "People can achieve whatever they put their minds to", she provides the means by which a project team, working together, can achieve a highly successful and productive project launch event.