Understanding Project Management, Third Edition presents a practical, real-world guide for aspiring and practicing project managers. The text follows an ongoing case study from inception to completion. The case guides students through the key aspects of a project, including its scope, quality, schedule, and budget, while also exploring the less tangible challenges that can often either derail a project or lead to its success.
This well-updated new edition features expanded content on agile project management with a new scrum case study, exploration of hybrid project management techniques, and new content on the history of project management, working with remote and international project teams, and Earned Value Management.
Understanding Project Management clearly presents key waterfall, agile, and hybrid project management concepts with examples to enhance learning. This practical guide is an invaluable resource for project management courses at colleges and universities in the US and Canada.
Features
New content includes the history of project management, remote and international project teams, and Earned Value Management as well as expanded content on agile project management and discussion of hybrid project management
The core case study carried throughout the book allows students to see the entire process beginning to end
Robust instructor resources include an updated instructor’s guide, PowerPoint slides, project document templates, scheduling software, additional case studies, and a test bank
Dave C. Barrett is a retired professor and academic lead for Project Management education at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario. He joined Conestoga’s School of Business in 2004 as the first dedicated PM professor, leading the development of the college’s project management offerings. Prior to his teaching career, he worked in private industry for 21 years, where he began as a software developer and rose through the ranks to lead large-scale IT integration programs in the financial services sector.
Barrett holds a Bachelor of Math (University of Waterloo), a Master of Business Administration (Athabasca University), and a Project Management Professional designation. In spite of his technical roots, Barrett places great emphasis on the humanistic aspects of project management. Stakeholder management and engagement have been key to his success, inspiring others—whether students or team members—to remain motivated to deliver maximum value for business partners.
After several years of teaching, he found that introductory project management textbooks were written at an elevated level of technical complexity, which made them less approachable for students new to the project management discipline. This led to his writing of Understanding Project Management: A Practical Guide in 2018, now in its third edition. This book emphasizes straightforward and approachable language while providing a solid foundation in project management. This same approach has been brought to A Modern Guide to Project Management: Agile + Waterfall Approaches.
Barrett lives in Waterloo, Ontario. When not teaching and writing, he values time spent with family and friends. He and his wife enjoy travelling and spending time on Georgian Bay.
“This is a must-have book for every person aspiring to become a project manager. The textbook includes many real-life, easy-to-understand examples to supplement the PM concept and process. The examples also explore both the hard- and soft-skills of an effective PM. Dave C. Barrett uses interesting—and compelling!—illustrations throughout, and his storytelling-style makes it an engaging and fun-to-read textbook.”
—Sheila B. Chu (PMP, CSM, ITIL, BRMP), IT and Business Project Manager/Product Owner/Mentor
“In the updated third edition of Understanding Project Management, Dave Barrett presents a practical, easy-to-follow, yet advanced guide that will help readers not only understand the concepts and aspects of project management but also apply them to manage a project successfully throughout its life cycle. An excellent practical and effective guide that will help learners who are passionate about project management and need a thought-provoking case study guide.”
—Henry Hamud (BSc, PMP, PMI-RMP), President of PMI-Canada’s Technology Triangle
“What sets this book apart is its simplicity – unlike other books that can be confusing and hard to follow, this one makes everything easy to understand. The chapters are well-organized, and the examples are practical, helping you see how the concepts apply in real life. The keywords at the end of each chapter are a helpful tool to remember the main ideas. This book is a must for anyone wanting to truly understand project management.”
—Megha Dey, Student, Project Management – Post Graduate Program, Conestoga College
Instructor Resources
Instructors adopting Understanding Project Management, Third Edition for their course will receive access to supplementary materials, including:
Case studies
GanttUP charts
PowerPoint chapter slides
Template library
LMS-compatible test bank
Instructor’s guide
Contact your rep to view a supplement sample or request a download code.
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