Preface

The field of project management has a dirty little not-so-secret: Despite amazing technological advances, the majority of projects do not come in on time, on budget, and on scope.

Ever-larger and more-complex projects are attempted, but they often are understaffed and outsourced—to save money! This leaves project managers grappling with software bugs and engineering issues on top of their daily plate of change requests, client issues, and other project management curveballs.

Adding to the challenge, more and more project managers are hired on as consultants or contractors, managing teams made up of permanent employees—who thus outrank them, and who are loyal to the functional manager rather than to the project manager. On top of that, the new normal includes managing with half the team physically located oceans or continents away.

All these factors make your job harder. That’s why I wrote this book: to make your life easier. I took the current best practices from the new PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, and other leading sources and broke them down into quick, easy-to-read Q&As. The first edition of this book has helped many readers, and many have already earned their CAPM® and PMP® certifications, immediately making them more promotable and marketable. Many have thanked me for helping them move on to bigger and better positions.

The Project Management Answer Book introduces the reader to the key principles of project management that every private- or public-sector PM needs to know. Its clear, concise style makes the book popular with PMs at all levels, including many who speak English as a second language (Facebook “likes” from 25 countries at the time of this writing!) And it is especially useful for experienced managers looking for new tools and skills to help them on their projects and help them pass their PMP® tests.

I have been using The Project Management Answer Book as a text for my project management classes at New York University, Internet Institute USA, and the U.S. Army since its publication in 2011. I’m excited to present this second edition, with more than 100 new Q&As, three new chapters, two new appendixes, and many more best practices, templates, and PMP® Test Tips for the new PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition. I drew on my IT project experience at Fortune 100 companies, as well as seminars at PMI’s annual congresses, the PMI NYC chapter, NYC Scrum, Agile NYC, and NY SPIN, as well as books, blogs, and podcasts by expert PMs, agilists, and Scrum Masters. Included also are hands-on tips shared from the trenches by some of my students (more than 2,000 to date).

The book shares dozens of PMP® Test Tips sprinkled throughout all the chapters, based on the more than 4,000 hours I have taught in a range of project management classes. I have added a chapter devoted to passing the PMP® and CAPM® Exams (Chapter 15, “How to Become PMP® Certified”) which offers many proven methods toward preparing for the exams. Several appendices provide additional PMP® study materials that have helped a great many students in my classes, as well as a handy reference of the best networking and information resources for PMs.

The book has a dual content: It’s very much geared to the PMP® certification exam, but it’s also a hands-on practitioner’s guide with a great many tips and real-world best practices. The new chapter on scrum agile (Chapter 14, “Scrum Agile: The New Wave in Project Management”) provides a strong introduction to many of the key terms and concepts in this hot new area of project management.

The Project Management Answer Book contains 15 chapters. Each opens with a short overview to orient the reader to the topic. Many end with valuable “Top Ten Pitfalls” for that topic. Many diagrams and sidebars are provided for quick scanning and readability, plus project management templates that have been very popular with my readers and students are included to assist you. For the reader’s convenience, the questions from all the Q&As in the book are listed in the table of contents, providing quick access and easy navigation (very handy for the e-version).

Wishing all my readers and students much continued success …

—Jeff Furman, PMP