We are excited to announce the ProjectManagement.com March book club! The book club provides an opportunity to participate in webinars and discussions around selected books relevant to the overall practice of project management. The book club occurs in three parts:
- Opening pre-recorded webinar which will be used to introduce the book. During this 30 minute pre-recorded webinar, the author will provide a high level overview of the concepts in his/her book, familiarizing participants with the information.
- Discussion thread on ProjectManagement.com with input from the book club host and author. During the last week of the discussion, questions will be collected to present to the author in the closing webinar.
- **PMI-member exclusive** Closing Q&A live webinar with the author responding to questions submitted both through the online book club discussion thread and during the webinar. The webinar will be a panel style discussion with open dialogue between the moderator and the author.
The first 25 PMI Members registered for the closing book club webinar will receive a complimentary copy of the book and will be notified via email. Additional participants will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book at their own expense. All community members will be able to view the book club opening webinar and participate in the discussion forum. PMI members will be able to participate in the book club closing webinar. We will evaluate the content of each opening and closing book club webinar to determine the eligibility and breakdown for PDUs.
Our book club book for March is How to Manage Complex Programs by Tom Kendrick.
Tom Kendrick, PMP, is the program director for Project Management and Agile Management for UC Berkeley Extension and a faculty member of the American Management Association. His professional experience includes 20 years with Hewlett-Packard and five years as an internal project management consultant for Visa Inc. He has also directed projects in the United States, Europe, and Asia for General Electric, DuPont, ADP Network Services, and as an independent consultant. He is the author of Results Without Authority, The Project Management Tool Kit, and Identifying and Managing Project Risk.
About the book:
Large-scale programs involve many projects and countless jobs. As program manager, you’re charged with coordinating the thousands of distinct actions this requires—managing the deliverables, workflow, and staff that comprise all the interconnected projects (possibly spread across the globe!)
Whether you’re already managing a program—or looking ahead to filling that role—you need a repertoire of practical, dependable approaches to plan for and control the often competing demands you face every day.
How to Manage Complex Programs delivers exactly what it promises: high-impact techniques for handling project workflow, deliverables, and teams. These techniques will enable you and your program staff to convert large-scale undertakings into collections of smaller, well-managed projects. While the scope will remain complex and layered, the information and techniques presented here will allow you to manage them coherently and efficiently. These strategies can be applied to any program, and are especially well adapted to high-tech undertakings.
To every topic presented in this manual Tom Kendrick brings nearly 40 years’ experience practicing and teaching project and program management. In clear, accessible text, amplified by diagrams, graphs, and real-life examples, Kendrick reveals the fundamental concepts and proven approaches that will help you master program management.
Step by step this book will guide you through controlling the structures and hierarchies that make up a large-scale program, from initiation through execution and finally to successful closure.
- Break complex deliverables into manageable chunks
- Control program scope
- Develop credible, workable plans that manage workflow dependencies
- Conduct periodic in-depth plan reviews
- Establish effective governance
- Manage diverse stakeholder perspectives and priorities
- Organize program staff and project leaders into a high-performing team
- And much more
So much is riding on the vision, acuity, and ability of the program manager. Let How to Manage Complex Programs be your go-to resource for the broad understanding and tested, effective tactics that bring order to complexity and lead to flawless execution.
Our March book club host is Tara McCallum. Tara A. McCallum is a CEO and founder of Tara A. McCallum Inc.; a minority woman owned business. As a strategic consultant she has partnered with such organizations as Bank of America, CHEP, VF Corporation, Accenture, and The Department of Defense. Having worked as a consultant with various organizations Ms. McCallum has used her talents to complete projects in SAP, ERP, and OCM; often with a focus on Project Management. Ms. McCallum has also worked in Development, Training and Delivery, as well as Procurement. Additionally, she is a member of Project Management Institute, ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) and Scrum Alliance. Ms. Tara A. McCallum graduated from The University of Phoenix with a Master’s degree in Management with a specialization in Human Resources Management. She currently holds certifications from Purdue University in Lean/ Six Sigma, Instructional Design and is also a Certified Scrum Master. In her spare time Tara enjoys volunteering for The American Red Cross, The Boys and Girls club as a big sister, Portamento’ of Hope – a homeless outreach kitchen, as well as her church.
To register for the closing live book club webinar, please visit the webinar page on ProjectManagement.com, find the book club closing webinar and click on the “Register for this webinar” link.
Please visit the book club information and discussion on the Project Management.com books page.
For additional questions, please visit the ProjectManagement.com Book Club FAQ page.
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