The Project Manager's Guide to Making Successful Decisions

Table of contents

1. Cover
2. Title Page
3. Copyright
4. About the Authors
5. Dedication
6. Contents
7. Preface
8. Acknowledgments
9. Chapter 1: Good Decision-Making: The Key to Project Success
   1. Good Decision-Making Begins with a Decision Context
   2. The Three Cornerstones of Decision-Making
   3. Why Projects Fail
   4. A Planned Process for Decision-Making
   5. A General Framework for Making Decisions
10. Chapter 2: Managerial Decision-Making
    1. Managerial Decisions Defined
    2. Strategic, Operational, and Tactical Decisions
    3. Generic Project Management Decisions
    4. The Importance of Project Management Decisions
    5. Project Management Decisions Contribute to Project Success
    6. A Management Perspective on Failed Projects: Two Case Studies
    7. The Solution—Good-Quality Decisions
11. Chapter 3: Decisions and the Project Management Life Cycle
    1. The Project Management Life Cycle
    2. Control Gates within the Project ManagementLife Cycle
    3. Stakeholder Decisions in the Project Management Life Cycle
    4. Other Life-Cycle Models
12. Chapter 4: Overview of Decision-Making
    1. The Basics
    2. Literary Views of Decision-Making
    3. Decision Quality
    4. History of Decision-Making
    5. Approaches to Decision-Making
    6. Decision-Making Methods and Aids
    7. Implementing the Decision
13. Chapter 5: Project Management Decisions
    1. A Project Management Decision Structure
    2. Decisions for Project Management
    3. Product (Operational) System Decisions
    4. Development (Project Management Organization) System Decisions
14. Chapter 6: Framing the Decision
    1. The Importance of Decision Frames
    2. A Suggested Frame
    3. Suggested Decision Frame Format for Project Management
15. Chapter 7: Generating Decision Alternatives
    1. The Problem Definition Process
    2. Searching for Alternatives
    3. Using All Alternatives to Find Additional Alternatives
    4. Determining the Need for More Information and Analysis
    5. Alternatives and Decision Frames—The Cuban Missile Crisis
16. Chapter 8: Analyzing the Alternatives in Terms of Values and Uncertainty
    1. Qualitative Approaches
    2. Quantitative Approaches
    3. Dealing with Biases and Heuristics
    4. Requirements for Good Decisions
17. Chapter 9: Handling Risk and Uncertainty
    1. Risk
    2. Project Management Risks
    3. How to Address Risk
    4. Developing a Risk Management Plan
    5. Continuing Risk Management
    6. What Is Uncertainty?
    7. How Do People Address Uncertainty?
18. Chapter 10: Training Project Managers as Decision Makers
    1. The Elements of Traditional Project Management Training
    2. The Pitfalls of Project Management Training
    3. A Decision Analysis Curriculum
19. Appendix A: Project Success Case Studies
20. Appendix B: Project Management Decisions
21. Appendix C: An Introduction to Decision Trees
22. References
23. Additional Reading
24. Index