Project scheduling is required for good project management, and the schedule represents the project plan under a specific set of assumptions, often that it will avoid new risks or even those that have occurred on previous occasions. The typical Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule assumes that the project team knows how long the scheduled activities will take. Yet, the experienced project manager knows that duration values so precisely stated are actually only estimates based on assumptions...

Project managers tend to believe their cost estimates - whether they have exceeded budgets in the past or not. It is dangerous to accept the engineering cost estimates, which are often optimistic or unrealistic. Though cost estimates incorporate contingency reserves below-the-line, these estimates of reserves often do not benefit from a rigorous assessment of risk to project costs. Risks to cost come from multiple sources including uncertain project duration, which is often ignored in cost...

Often referred to as the “black art” because of its complexity and uncertainty, software estimation is not as difficult or puzzling as people think. In fact, generating accurate estimates is straightforward—once you understand the art of creating them. In his highly anticipated book, acclaimed author Steve McConnell unravels the mystery to successful software estimation—distilling academic information and real-world experience into a practical guide for working software professionals. Inst...

Projects fail because of risks that are discovered too late, are ignored or simply are not sought. This statement seems trivial at first glance, but it is not so obvious for many stakeholders. With effective risk management, you keep your project under control and eliminate 90% of all project problems before they occur.This book describes the most important methods and tools how to successfully apply risk management in projects in a practical and easy-to-use way. You will receive h...

Learning Six Sigma CAN be a painless process!Six Sigma is among the most effective process methods used today--and it's also among the most baffling topics to those new to the subject.The good news is Six Sigma DeMYSTiFieD, second edition, explains it all in a language you'll understand. This easy-to-understand reference teaches the methods of Six Sigma, explains their applications, and tests expertise--without confusing statistics and formulas. In no time, you'l...

'This book is suitable for courses at the MBA core level, PGDIBO students who are pursuing International Business at PG level, MS in supply chain management level, upper undergraduate level, and also suitable for executive education. The book is very constructive for managers involved in creating, optimizing or redesigning a supply chain. Readers after reading would unquestionably have say to, the supply chain decision-making process and build academic orientation in logistics.'Glo...

The most complete, current guide to Six Sigma“Best practices in Six Sigma are continuously evolving, just as Six Sigma itself evolved from earlier best practices in quality improvement. …This fourth edition… (features) expanded materials on innovation, strategic development, Lean, and constraint management. …You’ll notice many references to free online materials within the text, such as Excel file templates that can be used for analyzing projects, or videos that provide an in-dep...

Praise for Enterprise Risk Management and COSO: A Guide for Directors, Executives, and Practitioners"Enterprise Risk Management and COSO is a comprehensive reference book that presents core management of risk tools in a helpful and organizedway. If you are an internal auditor who is interested in risk management, exploring this book is one of the best ways to gain an understanding of enterprise risk management issu...

Master and apply both the technical and behavioral skills you need to succeed in any inventory management role or function! Now, there’s an authoritative and comprehensive guide to best-practice inventory management in any organization. Authored by world-class experts in collaboration with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), this text illuminates planning, organizing, controlling, directing, motivating and coordinating all the activities used to efficiently contro...

The practices of revenue management and pricing analytics have transformed the transportation and hospitality industries, and are increasingly important in industries as diverse as retail, telecommunications, banking, health care and manufacturing. Segmentation, Revenue Management and Pricing Analytics guides students and professionals on how to identify and exploit revenue management and pricing opportunities in different business contexts.Bodea and Ferguson introduce con...

This chapter comes from Lean Six Sigma for Supply Chain Management , written by a master black belt/educator. Neatly condensed into a 10 step process, this book teaches you how to apply the tenets of lean operations (from the Toyota Production System) and Six Sigma management principles to supply chain management. Author Jim Martin includes more than 200 tables and figures describing roadmaps, critical success characteristics as well as specific information necessary to fully integrate Lean S...

Project Risk and Cost Analysis focuses on risk in the context of project management, primarily in the area of risk’s effects on project costs, with emphasis on the many modern tools that help you and your organization quantify and manage project risk.  You will learn how to perform a formal risk and cost analysis, apply the Earned Value Method to risk management, and adjust schedule and budget reserves appropriately for your project conditions. The book follows the basic project risk manageme...