Project management Books

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Book SynopsisA completely updated guide to engineering and construction project managementThis up-to-date guide presents highly effective strategies for managing engineering and construction projects from the initial conceptual stage, to design and construction, all the way to completion. Reorganized to mirror the chronology of a real-world job, Project Management for Engineering and Construction: A Life-Cycle Approach, Fourth Edition addresses all phases of the project lifecycle. You will get field-ready tactics to manage the scope, budget, and schedule of a construction project, starting at the very earliest steps of the process.Coverage includes: Project initiation Preliminary development Work plan development Team selection and development Document control Early estimates Project budgeting Risk assessment and analysis Design proposals Project planning and scheduling Design c

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Book SynopsisRaise the skill and competency level of project finance organizations Project Finance for Business Development helps readers understand how to develop a competitive advantage through project finance. Most importantly, it shows how different elements of project finance, such as opportunity screening and evaluation, project development, risk management, and due diligence come together to structure viable and financeable projectswhich are crucial pieces missing from the current literature. Eliminating misconceptions about what is really important for successful project financings, this book shows you how to develop, structure, and implement projects successfully by creating competitive advantage. By shedding light on project finance failures, it also helps you avoid failures of your own. Offers a roadmap for successful financing, participant roles and responsibilities, and assessing and testing project viability Considers project finance from a broad business development and compeTable of ContentsPreface xiii Acknowledgments xvii About the Author xix Chapter 1 Introduction: Why Project Finance for Business Development? 1 1.1 Origins of Project Finance 5 1.2 Project Finance Advantages and Disadvantages 6 1.3 Corporate and Structured Versus Project Finance 7 1.4 The Project Finance Market 8 1.5 Why a Business Development Approach to Project Finance? 10 1.6 Structure of the Book 13 1.7 Use of the Book to Maximize Benefit 16 Chapter 2 Overview of Project Finance: The Nature of the Beast 19 2.1 Project Taxonomy 22 2.2 Project Finance Phases 23 2.3 Key Elements of Project Finance 25 2.4 Ownership and Financing Structure Considerations 27 2.5 Primary Project Finance Activities 29 2.6 Common Misconceptions and Myths 32 Chapter 3 The Record of Project Finance: Lessons to Avoid Failures 35 3.1 The Record of Project Finance Deals 37 3.2 Reasons for Project Failures 40 3.3 Lessons Learned 56 Chapter 4 Project Financing Processes: Roadmaps for Successful Financing 61 4.1 Variants of Project Financing Processes 63 4.2 Nature of Project Financing Processes 66 4.3 Activities in Project Finance Processes 68 4.4 Milestones of Project Finance Processes 73 4.5 Successful Project Finance Process Characteristics 75 Chapter 5 Project Finance Organizations: Built for Competitive Advantage 79 5.1 The Need for PFOs 81 5.2 Business Definition of PFOs 82 5.3 PFO Skills and Qualifications 98 5.4 PFO Challenges 102 5.5 PFO Performance Evaluation Measures 107 5.6 Characteristics of Successful PFOs 108 Chapter 6 Project Development: Viability and Financeability Essentials 113 6.1 Project Development Prerequisites 116 6.2 Prefeasibility Assessment 117 6.3 Project Definition 118 6.4 Technical Design and Assessment 119 6.5 Feasibility Study 120 6.6 Due Diligence 122 6.7 Project and Financial Structures 124 6.8 Agreements and Negotiations 126 6.9 Project Marketing and Raising Financing 128 6.10 Development Costs and Success Factors 130 Chapter 7 Participants and Responsibilities: Activities and Deliverables 133 7.1 Roles of the Project Team 136 7.2 Roles of the Host Government 137 7.3 Roles of Project Sponsors 138 7.4 Roles of the Project Company 140 7.5 Roles of the Lenders 140 7.6 Roles of Advisors, Consultants, and Insurers 142 7.7 Roles of Multilateral and Unilateral Institutions 148 7.8 Roles of the EPC Contractor 150 7.9 Roles of Technology and Equipment Providers 151 7.10 Roles of Project Offtakers and Suppliers 152 7.11 Roles of the O&M Company 153 Chapter 8 Project Finance Forecasting: Ensuring Sound Decision Making 155 8.1 What Is a Good Forecast? 157 8.2 What to Forecast and Sources of Forecasts 159 8.3 Forecast Assumptions 161 8.4 Project Forecasting Process 163 8.5 Project Demand Analysis 170 8.6 Forecasting Methods and Techniques 172 8.7 Forecast Sanity Checks 179 8.8 Causes and Consequences of Forecast Failures 180 8.9 Forecast Monitoring and Realization Planning 182 Chapter 9 Project Contracts and Agreements: Critical to Project Finance 185 9.1 Structure, Prerequisites, and Costs of Contracts 188 9.2 Contract Development and Negotiation Process 189 9.3 Common Project Finance Contracts 191 9.4 Challenges of Project Finance Contracts 195 9.5 Project Contract Success Factors 197 Chapter 10 Project Risk Management: Crucial for Project Success 199 10.1 Objectives and Importance of Risk Management 200 10.2 Types of Project Risks 202 10.3 Sources of Project Risks 207 10.4 Risk Management Undertakings 209 10.5 Risk Management Process 210 10.6 Risk Management Instruments and Mitigants 214 10.7 Risk Management Benefits, Challenges and Success Factors 220 Chapter 11 Project Due Diligence: A Pillar of Viability and Financeability 225 11.1 Due Diligence Costs and Benefits 227 11.2 Host Country and Industry Due Diligence 230 11.3 Technical Due Diligence 231 11.4 Environmental Due Diligence 232 11.5 Commercial Due Diligence 233 11.6 Legal Due Diligence 234 11.7 Financial Due Diligence 235 11.8 Operational Due Diligence 237 11.9 Risk Management Due Diligence 239 11.10 General Areas of Due Diligence 240 11.11 Report, Assessment, and Quality Characteristics 241 Chapter 12 Funding Sources and Programs: Essential Knowledge and Alliances 245 12.1 Official Project Finance Sources 247 12.2 Private Sources and Instruments 255 12.3 Benefits of Official Funding Source Participation 260 Chapter 13 Structuring Project Finance: How Everything Comes Together 263 13.1 Elements of Project Financing Structuring 266 13.2 Equity and Debt Investor Requirements 268 13.3 Decisions from SPC Ownership to Financing Structure 270 13.4 Determinants of Project Financing 277 13.5 Amalgamation of Financing 279 Chapter 14 Project Financial Model: Assessing and Testing Financeability 283 14.1 Uses of the Financial Model 286 14.2 Financial Model Inputs 288 14.3 Financial Model Calculations and Outputs 290 14.4 Properties of Good Project Financial Models 294 Chapter 15 Trends Impacting Project Finance: Opportunities and Threats 299 15.1 Major Relevant Megatrends 302 15.2 Megatrend Sources and Characteristics 304 15.3 Demographic Trends 305 15.4 Technology and Industry Trends 307 15.5 Trends Impacting the Government Sector 308 15.6 Trends Impacting Sponsors and Investors 310 15.7 Trends Impacting Funding Sources and Financing 311 15.8 Analysis of Trends and Their Impact 313 Chapter 16 Project Finance: A Source of Competitive Advantage? 319 16.1 Sources of Competitive Advantage 322 16.2 Manifestations of Competitive Advantage 323 16.3 Creating Competitive Advantage 326 16.4 Competitive Advantage Reality Check 330 Appendix A Common Project Finance Abbreviations 339 Appendix B Commonly Used Project Finance Definitions 343 Bibliography 353 Index 359

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Book SynopsisAgile Practice Guide has been developed as a resource to understand, evaluate, and use agile and hybrid agile approaches. This practice guide provides guidance on when, where, and how to apply agile approaches and provides practical tools for practitioners and organizations wanting to increase agility. This practice guide is aligned with other PMI standards, including A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) sixth edition, and was devel-oped as the result of collaboration between the Project Man-agement Institute and the Agile Alliance.

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Book SynopsisA quick reference guide for the PMP Exam, this sturdy, laminated card accompanies The PMP Exam: How To Pass On Your First Try, 6th + Agile Edition. Highlighting key agile concepts and terms, this guide is updated for the Jan 2021 PMP Exam. Presenting all 49 processes along with the key inputs, tools, and outputs, this helpful tool also depicts techniques, tables, and graphs to highlight the most important information at a glance. Common formulas are organized for rapid look-up, bringing relevant information for the PMP Exam together in one resource.

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Book SynopsisAnybody recognizes that if things were better organized people would be better off. We have all had experiences with bureaucratic red tape, impersonal government agencies or careless commercial enterprises. The problem of poor organization is serious and costs trillions in waste, inefficiency and lowered productivity. On a more individual level, organization is a key-and often missing-factor in personal success. It is also a necessity for a flourishing family. Attainment of one's goals, no matter how small or how large, requires a knowledge of organization. How do you most efficiently and productively manage your time, your activities and your resources? How do you minimize distractions? And how do you align your strengths in order to accomplish your purposes? L. Ron Hubbard recognized that Man was as lacking in understanding of how to organize his activities as he was about his true spiritual nature. And a sizable portion of his research was devoted to clarify the subject of organization, a task he fully accomplished. This course contains only some of the most basic principles of the organizing technology he developed, but these fundamentals are, by themselves, enough to greatly enhance the activity of any endeavor, whether that of a group or an individual. Chaos and confusion are not natural conditions of life. They only exist when natural laws are not understood and followed. Here are some of the natural laws of organization and organizing.

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Book SynopsisHow does a small development team in an established enterprise apply Disciplined Agile (DA) strategies to successfully improve their agility and provide real valueto their stakeholders? Find out how in Introduction to Disciplined Agile Delivery Second Edition. This guide to Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD) provides the foundation from which to scale agile and lean software development strategies, enabling teams to succeed in the unique situations they face-remembering that context counts.Starting with a Scrum-based approach, we'll show you how the team learns from their experiences and evolves into a lean life cycle, then to a continuous delivery lifecycle within a DevOps environment. We begin with an overview of DAD and work through a case study that describes a team's learnings through several releases of a mission-critical solution.You'll find out how DAD: Gives you the flexibility to use various approaches while covering gaps not addressed by mainstream agile practices; Describes proven strategies that show how programming, design, testing, architecture, analysis, deployment, and many more aspects of solution delivery fit together in a streamlined whole; Shows you how to turn the agile software development dial all the way up!

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Book SynopsisThe path of a doctoral student can feel challenging and isolating. This guide provides doctoral students with key ideas and support to kick-start a doctoral journey, inspire progress and complete their thesis or dissertation. Featuring observations from experienced supervisors, as well as the reflections of current and recent postgraduate researchers, this intimate and entertaining book offers vital insights into the critical moments in any doctoral experience. Bringing together the voices of doctoral supervisors and candidates past and present from around the globe, How to Keep your Doctorate on Track will be a trusted companion for any PhD, DBA or EdD student. Supervisors and those offering support and guidance to doctoral candidates will also glean valuable insight into fresh approaches and their own practice. Contributors include: A. Alecsandru, F. Archontoulis, C. Atkinson, A. Byrnes-Johnstone, J. Callahan, A. Casey, R. Cole, O.S. Crocco, M. Cseh, Z. Djebali, G. Dobson, J. Donaghey, D.C. Duke, U. Furnier, V.O. Gekara, T. Gray, T.W. Greer, A. Hallin, B. Harney, G. Henry, C. Hughes, P. Jordan, M. Knox, S.F. Lambert, A. Lee, Q.Y. Lee, A. Lobo, R. Markey, N.S. Mauthner, E. McDonald, L. McKerr, D. Nickson, K. Nimon, E. Partlow, H. Prescott, N. Reynolds, S. Riaz, A. Robertson, J. Robinson, K. Rosenbusch, G. Ryan, J.J. Saunders, M. Shirmohammadi, M.K. Tran, A. Trif, M. Valverde, P. Watson Black, V. Webster, R. Whiting, C.F. WrightTrade Review‘. . . anyone pursuing graduate work should have plenty of support and at least one practical guide, like How to Keep Your Doctorate On Track. While the primary audience is obviously those considering or undertaking doctoral work, one key secondary audience is supervisors themselves. Each section pairs the perspectives of supervisors/professors with those of students. As the editors themselves point out, the student perspectives can be eye-opening. Perhaps if more supervisors paused to reflect on the varied experiences presented in this text, they could help mitigate some of the anxiety and depression felt by students under their tutelage.’ -- Kelly A Harrison, Technical CommunicationTable of ContentsContents: 1 What we wish we had known: lessons learned to keep your doctorate on track 1 Rebecca Loudoun, Emily A. Morrison, Mark N.K. Saunders and Keith Townsend PART I GETTING INTO IT 2 Choosing your topic: a supervisor perspective 14 Jimmy Donaghey 3 ‘Begin at the beginning’: identifying ideas for a PhD 22 Graeme Dobson 4 ‘I want to do it because I want to do it’: boarding flight PhD 31 Jemma J. Saunders 5 Asking “the” question 34 Emily McDonald 6 Whose doctorate is it anyway? How students and supervisors can work well together 36 Carol Atkinson and Keith Townsend 7 When an orchestra misses its harmony (or how I learnt to work with my supervisors) 43 Mai Khanh Tran 8 ‘How much time do I get?????’ 52 Peter J. Jordan 9 Views from the top and views of the valley: the paths of dissertation literature reviews 55 Maria Cseh 10 Critically reviewing the literature: the ghosts of literature present, past and future 65 Linzi McKerr 11 Reading academic papers: visiting and re-visiting old friends 74 Jennifer Robinson 12 Research philosophies and why they matter 76 Natasha S. Mauthner 13 Getting your research philosophy clear 87 Rosanna Cole 14 Changing philosophy (aka the only PhD is a finished PhD) 95 Brian Harney 15 Designing and conducting a quantitative study: lessons learned from work, home, and school 97 Kim Nimon 16 Strategies for analysing qualitative data: how to get started with making sense of all that material you’ve collected 107 Anette Hallin 17 Discovering statistics and developing a quantitative research design 117 Ursula Furnier 18 Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, how am I making sense of it all? 125 Merrel Knox 19 Too much of a good thing – tradeoffs between training and completion? 135 Keith Townsend PART II GETTING ON WITH IT 20 Critical feedback: transforming criticisms into indispensable insights 142 Emily A. Morrison 21 ‘They think I’m stupid’: dealing with supervisor feedback 159 Amanda Lee 22 No book or resource has all the answers 167 Rebecca Loudoun 23 “Ok Google … since when did you join my supervision team?” 169 Adam Robertson 24 Embracing research ethics: from cognitive walk-through to reflexive journey 171 Rebecca Whiting 25 Gaining ethical approval 182 Nora Pillard Reynolds 26 But I am just going home: research ethics and student safety 191 Safa Riaz 27 Organizational governance: the final hurdles for research approval 193 Amy N.B. Johnston 28 Wearing skirts and writing like a woman: a winding road to gaining access to research 200 Ana Alecsandru 29 Gaining access to apparently easy informants 210 Mireia Valverde 30 Letters from a doctoral researcher to a data collection advice column … and the responses 213 Sharon F. Lambert 31 Addressing power differentials and managing egos: how to collect reliable qualitative data when researching ‘elites’ 228 Chris F. Wright 32 Time is waiting in the wings 238 Mark N.K. Saunders 33 Navigating the supervisory relationship: the case of the disappearing supervisors 248 Vicki Webster 34 Managing time and maintaining focus 256 Colin Hughes 35 Tightrope walking: balancing the dynamic tensions of the doctoral process 264 Andrea Casey 36 Keeping your life on track: living one spoon at a time 272 Emma Partlow 37 Opportunities and challenges of studying abroad 281 Aurora Trif 38 Keeping life and career on track as a non-traditional doctorate student 283 Vicki Webster 39 Finders, keepers, losers, weepers! A doctoral candidate’s reality of changing thesis advisors 285 Polly Watson Black 40 To leave or not to leave your Alma Mater 293 Raymond Markey 41 My journey 303 Gerard Ryan PART III GETTING IT FINISHED AND MOVING ON 42 Eat, sleep, redraft, repeat 308 Ana Lobo 43 Challenges in writing up qualitative findings 316 Victor Oyaro Gekara 44 The power to write 323 Melika Shirmohammadi 45 Writing your thesis quickly and well 325 Tara Gray 46 Rewriting and overcoming writer’s block 336 Grace Henry 47 Overcoming writer’s block (and submission anxiety) 344 Fiona Archontoulis 48 The final mile: avoiding and overcoming viva trip-ups 345 Dawn C. Duke 49 My viva voce examination: a rollercoaster! 356 Zeineb Djebali 50 Let me defend myself (or at least my thesis) 365 Qian Yi Lee 51 Networking with academics to solve your PhD puzzle 367 Adam Robertson 52 Are conferences worth attending as a graduate student? Reflections and lessons from a former graduate student 377 Tomika W. Greer 53 A tale of three dissertations: experiences of transforming mentored research into an article 387 Jamie Callahan 54 How can you publish from your dissertation? 398 Katherine Rosenbusch 55 Publishing from your thesis 408 Dennis Nickson 56 Getting the first academic job 410 Oliver S. Crocco 57 Beyond the doctorate: getting your first job 420 Holly Prescott 58 Publications, what publications? 429 Mark N.K. Saunders 59 Balancing act 431 Polly Watson Black Index 433

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Book SynopsisBuilding a successful product usually involves teams of people, and many choose the Scrum approach to aid in creating products that deliver the highest possible value. Implementing Scrum gives teams a collection of powerful ideas they can assemble to fit their needs and meet their goals. The ninety-four patterns contained within are elaborated nuggets of insight into Scruma (TM)s building blocks, how they work, and how to use them. They offer novices a roadmap for starting from scratch, yet they help intermediate practitioners fine-tune or fortify their Scrum implementations. Experienced practitioners can use the patterns and supporting explanations to get a better understanding of how the parts of Scrum complement each other to solve common problems in product development. The patterns are written in the well-known Alexandrian form, whose roots in architecture and design have enjoyed broad application in the software world. The form organizes each pattern so you can navigate directly to organizational design tradeoffs or jump to the solution or rationale that makes the solution work. The patterns flow together naturally through the context sections at their beginning and end. Learn everything you need to know to master and implement Scrum one step at a time'the agile way.

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Book SynopsisLeading Agile Teams is a practical and engaging guide to help your organization embrace a more agile mindset. Most organizations work in large groups when trying to find solutions for big problems. Agile teams are different. They get more done by having a small self-organized team focus on the highest priority items. Each big problem is broken down and solved by a small, stable group of dedicated professionals. This book will give you the knowledge and tools you need to create and sustain strong agile teams. It is written for the developers, project managers, product owners, and ScrumMasters, who do most of the legwork in getting agile up and running.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The book provides the necessary tools for modern managers to help manage technology and engineering operations. The second edition adds more contemporary topics, such as Ethics, Globalization, Creativity and Innovation."—David Ben-Arieh - Kansas State UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction to Management Challenges for Engineers. THE FUNCTIONS OF ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT. Planning. Organizing. Leading. Controlling. BUSINESS ESSENTIALS FOR ENGINEERING MANAGERS. Cost Accounting for Engineering Managers. Financial Accounting and Management for Engineering Managers. Marketing Management for Engineering Managers. ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM. Engineers as Managers/Leaders. Creativity and Innovation. Ethics in Engineering Management and Workplace. Operational Excellence. Globalization. Engineering Management in the New Millennium. Appendix: Selected Engineering Management and Business Cases.

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Book Synopsis''Excellent . . . reveals that high accomplishment has a signature pattern that reoccurs from sport to politics to business to government'' Matthew SyedThere is no secret formula for success, especially when tackling a new challenge. But what if there were a pattern you could follow? A way of mapping the route and navigating the obstacles that arise?Michael Barber has spent many years advising governments, businesses and major sporting teams around the world on how to achieve ambitious goals on time. Drawing on stories of historic visionaries and modern heroes - from Mary Fischer and Rosa Parks to Paula Radcliffe and Gareth Southgate - Barber presents a unique combination of personal anecdote, historical evidence and interviews from inspirational figures to unpack the route to success.Trade ReviewFull of unexpected insights and personal anecdotes . . . Sir Michael is a quietly inspirational leader -- John Rentoul * Independent *An excellent analysis that reveals that high accomplishment has a signature pattern that reoccurs from sport to politics to business to government. Few people are better placed to describe this pattern than Michael Barber - who has stellar achievements in all these fields -- Matthew Syed

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Book SynopsisThis third edition of Agile Project Management in easy steps has been updated to reflect its ongoing evolution. It explains the principles, practices, and processes of agile project management, by following an entire project, step-by-step, and covering the main activities and deliverables, including:Pre-project foundations, project vision and the business case.Ongoing discovery and definition of scope. Iterative and incremental development. Continual retrospectives and improvement. Post-project close-down and benefits review. Now with four new chapters:The changes from the traditional role and responsibilities. How to apply agile approaches to projects in more controlled environments. How the role of project management changes in organizations moving from projects to continual flow and value streams. Growing trends that project managers can benefit from today. An essential guide for anyone new to agile projects and a valuable source of inspiration for the more experienced.Includes free downloadable templates to get you started.

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Book SynopsisPatricia Kong helps organizations thrive in a complex world by focusing on enterprise innovation, leadership, and teams. She is a people advocate and fascinated by organizational behavior and misbehaviors. She is co-author of The Nexus Framework for Scaling Scrum (Addison-Wesley, 2017). Todd Miller has practical experience as a Scrum Master, Product Owner, Software Developer, and Agile coach on a variety of technical and creative projects across a multitude of industries. He has been a professional Scrum trainer with Scrum.org since 2016. Kurt Bittner has been delivering working products in short, feedback-driven cycles for more than 40 years, and has helped many organizations do the same. He is particularly interested in helping people form strong, self-organizing, high-performance teams that deliver solutions that customers love, and helping organizations use empirical feedback to achieve customer Table of ContentsForeword by Ken Schwaber xi Foreword by Dave West xv Preface xix Introduction xxvii Chapter 1: Finding Purpose 1 Rediscovering Purpose 3 Goals 4 How Goals and Measures Influence Behaviors 7 How to Rediscover Purpose 10 Closing Satisfaction Gaps Creates Value 11 Customer-Focused Goals Enable Autonomy and Purpose 14 Improving Strategic Goals 17 Ask “Why?” to Uncover the Real Objective 17 Refocus “Internal” Goals on What Customers Need to Experience 19 Think About How You Will Measure Progress Toward Your Vision 20 What to Watch For 21 Moving Forward 22 Chapter 2: Using Empiricism to Progress Toward Goals 23 Understanding Value 25 Progressing Toward Goals in a Series of Small Steps 27 Taking Small Steps Toward Goals 29 Steering Toward Goals 32 Adapting Goals 34 Adapting Tactics 36 The Real Purpose of Goals Is to Foster Conversations 36 Losing the Plot and Finding It Again 37 What to Watch For 38 Moving Forward 39 Chapter 3: Becoming (More) Effective 41 Value Is Essential, but Frequency Matters Too 42 It Is Not Delivery Speed That Is Important; It Is Feedback Speed 44 While Focusing on Speed, Do Not Lose Sight of Value 45 Speed Is Not Enough; Teams Must Also Be Effective 46 Too Many Things at Once 48 Where Should Teams Start? 50 Beware the Efficiency Trap 51 Balancing Speed and Effectiveness 52 Cutting Corners: Sometimes Necessary, Sometimes Fatal 53 What to Watch For 55 Moving Forward 56 Chapter 4: Managing and Overcoming Expectations 59 People Who Largely Seek to Validate Expectations Are Often Disappointed 60 Transforming “Bad News” into Just “News” 61 Letting Go of Expectations 64 Expectations Can Be Stubbornly Held 65 Replacing “Meeting Expectations” with “Seeking Goals” 68 Stakeholders and Transparency 69 How to Define and Categorize Stakeholders 70 Escaping the “Echo Chamber” 73 Diverse Perspectives Counter “Groupthink” 76 What to Watch For 77 Moving Forward 78 Chapter 5: Separating the Signal from the Noise 81 Identifying Signals 82 Interpreting Evidence from Signals 84 Dampening the Noise 85 Bias Creates Noise 88 The Customer Is Not Always Right 90 Objectifying Narratives 92 Getting Unstuck 94 Making Decisions 96 What to Watch For 97 Moving Forward 98 Chapter 6: Applying EBM at the Product Level 99 Mind the (Satisfaction) Gap 100 When You Find Yourself in a Hole, Stop Digging 101 Not All Ideas Are Valuable 103 Replacing False Certainty with Experimentation 104 Using Strategic Goal Mapping to Form Experiments 106 Products Are Vehicles for Running Experiments About Value 108 Sometimes Teams Lose the Thread and Need a Reminder 110 Running Experiments and Measuring Results 111 Inspecting Results and Adapting Next Steps 114 Customer Experience Is Not Always About More Features 117 Sometimes You Must Say No 120 What to Watch For 121 Moving Forward 122 Chapter 7: Applying EBM at the Portfolio Level 123 Maximizing Output Does Not Maximize Value 124 The Problems Start with Misfocused Goals 126 Revenue and Profit Are Important, But They Are Poor Goals 127 Reconnecting Investments with Customer Outcomes 128 You Can't Have It All at Once 129 How to Measure Outcomes 130 You Do Not Know What You Do Not Know 131 How to Choose Between Bets 132 Make Small Bets 133 Kill Bad Ideas as Quickly as Possible 135 Propose Experiments 138 Evaluate Proposals 139 Make Sure All the Cards Are on the Table 140 Keep Teams Intact, and Bring Them Work 140 Separating Budgeting from Funding 141 Run Experiments 141 Evaluate Progress Toward Goals 141 What to Watch For 144 Moving Forward 145 Chapter 8: Applying EBM at the Organizational Level 147 Why Change Efforts Fail 148 To Initiate Change, Give People a “Why” 149 Assess Where the Organization Is Today 150 Empowerment Takes Trust, Transparency, and Time 152 Benefits of Empowering Teams 153 Measuring Empowerment 154 Growing Empowerment 155 Inverting the Organization to Support Empowerment 156 Reducing Context Switching 157 Growing Self-Sufficient Teams 158 Aligning Supporting Departments 160 Setting and Adapting Goals 163 Most Goals Can—and Should—Change 163 What to Watch For 164 Moving Forward 165 Index 167

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Book SynopsisThe most essential component of every project manager’s job is the ability to identify potential risks before they cause unnecessary headaches and turmoil all around.All projects are inherently risky, and complex ones can potentially be the downfall for even the most experienced project manager. From technical challenges and resource issues to unrealistic deadlines and problems with your subcontractors, any number of things can go wrong.Fully updated, consistent with PMI® standards, and addressing “VUCA” (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity—the now-common business and project management acronym), this book remains the definitive resource for project managers seeking to be proactive in their efforts to guard against failure and minimize unwanted surprises.Identifying and Managing Project Risk draws on real-world situations and hundreds of risk examples to show you how to:Thoroughly d

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Book SynopsisIn our tumultuous times, understanding and achieving resilience have never been more important. Some organizations have resilience in their DNA. They possess the agility of mind, culture, and organization to survive and thrive no matter what is put in their way.Building Resilient Organizations is focused on identifying what sets these enterprises apart, exploring the nature of resilience for organizations. Along the way, we discover some inspiring global examples of resilient projects in practice and some novel thinking for leaders to consider about what it takes to be resilient over the long haul.With contributions from leading thinkers and practitioners from throughout the world, Building Resilient Organizations will enable you and your organization to further develop resilience as a muscle in your organization.

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: What This Book Is About 1 1 Ten Key Principles of Contracting 13 2 Data, Methods, and Nomenclature 29 3 Contracting and Project Outcomes: The Common Strategies 45 4 Exploring Why They Work the Way They Do 77 5 The Unusual EPC Lump- Sum Strategies 115 6 Collaborative and Relational Contracting Strategies 135 7 Prequalification 159 8 The Use of Supplemental Incentives 181 9 It’s All About Risk 215 10 Who Should Control Contracting Strategy? 243 11 The Effects of Scale 253 12 Toward Fair, Balanced, and Smart 261 Appendix: Description of Independent Project Analysis, Inc. 271 Glossary 275 Index 283

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Book SynopsisProductivity and Reliability-Based Maintenance Management, Second Edition is intended to provide a strong yet practical foundation for understanding the concepts and practices of total productive maintenance (TPM) management—a proactive asset and resource management strategy that is based on enhancing equipment reliability and overall enterprise productivity. The book is intended to serve as a fundamental yet comprehensive educational and practical guide for departing from the wait-failure-emergency repair cycle that has plagued too many industries, instead advancing a proactive and productive maintenance strategy. It is not intended to be a how-to-fix-it manual, but rather emphasizes the concept of a world-class maintenance management philosophy to avoid the failure in the first place. Universities, junior and community colleges, and technical institutes as well as professional, corporate, and industrial training programs can benefit by incorporating these fundamental concepts in their technical and managerial curricula. The book can serve as a powerful educational tool for students as well as for maintenance professionals and managers. In addition to updating the previous historical and statistical data and tables, the second edition expands on and adds to case studies based on current maintenance-related events. Several numerical examples and explanations are revised in order to enhance the clarity of the methodology. The second edition introduces the readers to the state-of-the-art concepts of the Internet of Things (IoT), smart sensors, and their application to maintenance and TPM. Table of Contents About the Author Preface Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 2 Statistical Applications 3 Preventive Maintenance 4 Predictive Maintenance 5 Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation 6 Implementing TPM 7 TPM Implementation and Process Improvement Tools 8 Facility Maintenance Projects Planning and Control 9 Computerized Maintenance Management Systems Case in Point: CMMS and ISO/QS Certification Solutions and Answers to Selected Questions Index

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Book SynopsisA Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide is the go-to resource for project management practitioners. Over the past few years, the project management profession has significantly evolved due to emerging technology, new approaches and rapid market changes. Reflecting this evolution, The Standard for Project Management enumerates 12 principles of project management and the PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition is structured around eight project performance domains. Both the standard and the guide reflect the wide range of development approaches that lead to value delivery. This edition is designed to address practitioners’ current and future needs and to help them be more proactive, innovative and nimble in enabling desired project outcomes. This edition of the PMBOK® Guide: Reflects the full range of development approaches (predictive, adaptive, hybrid, etc.) Provides an entire section devoted to tailoring the development approach and processes Includes an expanded list of models, methods, and artifacts Focuses on not just delivering project outputs but also enabling outcomes; and Integrates with PMIstandards+ for information and standards application content based on project type, development approach, and industry sector.

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Book SynopsisManaging projects just got easierThis book will help you come to grips with the basics of project management in a week. By the end of the week you will know your way through the process more clearly. For a start, you will have to consult your end users to work out their precise requirements. You will then need to work out the best way to deliver the required outputs, consider the size of the team you will need to meet those requirements and prepare a schedule for the project. Most importantly, you will need to firm up costs, work out a budget and develop monitoring procedures to keep to the agreed costs. You will learn tips for communicating well, especially when dealing with unexpected problems that may arise.Each day of the week covers a different area and the material is structured for ease of reference. An introduction gives you a ''heads-up'' as to what the day is about. The main material then explains the key lessons to be learned. Important principles are cTable of Contents : Sunday: Think clearly : Monday: Plan your project carefully : Tuesday: Cost your project wisely : Wednesday: Implement your project successfully : Thursday: Communicate effectively : Friday: Deal with change constructively : Saturday: Conclude and evaluate your project positively

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Book SynopsisOffers insights for CEOs and employees alike, revealing how innovation is being fueled by passionate workers and the companies that give them the time to explore what they care about most. This title focuses on the thought-leaders who are shaking up the corporate landscape, visionaries whose experiences can offer salvation for corporate America.Trade Review"Tate's enthusiastic but objective study gathers momentum as the book progresses; each chapter builds on the previous one, and he's quick to point out the practicality of the process. Whether readers are in the corner office or the boiler room, they'll likely find Tate's opus to be inspiring and informative." -- Publishers Weekly "Useful and inspiring advice for tinkerers." -- Kirkus Reviews "In any organization a lot of the rank-and-file are ready to start efforts which will contribute to their community, maybe building the bottom line. The 20 % Doctrine shows how organizations have made that work in real life, and how you might make that happen where you work." -- Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Craigconnects "The most innovative companies in America are those that are willing to let employees explore their own pet projects on company time. The 20% Doctrine is a smart, well-written look at this new path to innovation, full of examples that are engaging, thought provoking, and intriguingly diverse." -- Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine

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Book SynopsisThe theme of the last edition will continue as authors improve individual chapters by adding a brief introduction that outlines the central points of the chapter and warms up readers for what follows. Each chapter concludes with four additional sections: a listing of additional sources of information in the form of a generously annotated bibliography; a listing of project management principles that summarize chapter content in pithy statements of enduring, universal value; a project management situation--a brief, descriptive case study that illuminates chapter content by way of a practical example; and a student/reader assignment that offers food for thought, discussion, or investigation. More student problems are added in this edition along with new chapters throughout and up-dated chapters where change is warranted. Graphics and illustrations updated with side bar information included throughout and the book with have a new look in a larger 7 3/8 x 9 A trim.Table of ContentsPREFACEACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTIONPart 1: IntroductionChapter 1: The Evolution of Project ManagementChapter 2: Why Project Management?Chapter 3: The Project Management ProcessPart 2: The Strategic Context of ProjectsChapter 4: When to Use Project ManagementChapter 5: The Strategic Context of ProjectsChapter 6: The Board of Directors and Major ProjectsChapter 7: Project Stakeholder ManagementChapter 8: Strategic Issues in Project ManagementPart 3: Organizational Design for Project ManagementChapter 9: Organizing for Project Management Chapter 10: Project Portfolio ManagementChapter 11: Project AuthorityChapter 12: Project Management MaturityPart 4: Project OperationsChapter 13: Project PlanningChapter 14: Project Management Information SystemChapter 15: Project Monitoring. Evaluation, and ControlChapter 16: The Project Earned Value Management SystemChapter 17: Project TerminationPart 5: Interpersonal Dynamics in the Management of ProjectsChapter 18: Project LeadershipChapter 19: Project CommunicationsChapter 20: Successful Project TeamsPart 6: The Cultural ElementsChapter 21: Continuous Improvement Through ProjectsChapter 22: Cultural Considerations in Project ManagementPart 7: New ProspectsChapter 23: Alternative Project TeamsINDEX

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Although there are many books of methods and tools in different areas, few books actually give detailed tips and lessons on how to effectively set up and manage projects. Most books on project management devote all their space to specific methods. Breakthrough Technology Project Management, Second Edition provides tangible guidelines through examples and suggestions to help people participate in and manage projects more effectively. The authors'' techniques and guidelines have been proven over the past 15 years in courses and counseling. This book is a valuable tool for those working in information systems, engineering, computer science, operations and production, and other environments involving project management.

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Book Synopsis Ken Schwaber is president of Advanced Development Methods (ADM), a company dedicated to improving the software development practice. He is an experienced software developer, product manager, and industry consultant. Schwaber initiated the process management product revolution of the early 1990's and also worked with Jeff Sutherland to formulate the initial versions of the Scrum development process. Mike Beedle, an experienced software development practitioner, is the founder and CEO of e-Architects, Inc., a management and technical consulting company that helps its clients develop software in record time. Beedle has contributed to thousands of software projects for the last 20 years, and has used, recommended, and guided others to implement Scrum since 1995. Trade Review"Agile development methods are key to the future of flexible software systems. Scrum is one of the vanguards of the new way to buy and manage software development when business conditions are changing. This book distills both the theory and practice and is essential reading for anyone who needs to cope with software in a volatile world." — Martin Fowler, industry consultant and CTO, ThoughtWorks "Most executives today are not happy with their organization's ability to deliver systems at reasonable cost and timeframes. Yet, if pressed, they will admit that they don't think their software developers are not competent. If it's not the engineers, then what is it that prevents fast development at reasonable cost? Scrum gives the answer to the question and the solution to the problem. — Alan Buffington, industry consultant, former Present, Fidelity Systems Company Table of Contents 1. Introduction. 2. Great Ready for Scrum! 3. Scrum Practices. 4. Applying Scrum. 5. Why Scrum? 6. Why Does Scrum Work? 7. Advanced Scrum Applications. 8. Scrum and the Organization. 9. Scrum Values.

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Book SynopsisTable of Contents 1 Types of information systems projects 2 Business strategy and information systems 3 The business case 4 The organizational framework 5 The programme and project support office 6 Development lifecycles and approaches 7 The profile of a project 8 Project planning: understanding the work 9 Project planning: estimating 10 Project planning: scheduling and resourcing 11 Monitoring progress 12 Exercising control 13 Reporting progress 14 Managing quality 15 Managing risk 16 Value management 17 Selling the project 18 Managing stakeholders 19 Managing suppliers 20 Managing change 21 Leadership and performance 22 Managing the team 23 The project manager 24 Developing your career Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisVinod Sankaranarayanan, a Project Management Consultant at ThoughtWorks, has advised many organizations in the Finance, Travel, Retail, and Healthcare space. Along the way he has handled several large project delivery responsibilities. He has witnessed and driven several sourcing transitions for his clients. Vinod started his professional career in the pre-Agile era and later adapted to the Agile model of working. This has enabled him to empathize with and provide practical suggestions to clients who often find themselves making Agile transitions and sourcing transitions at the same time. Vinod has essayed the roles of a business analyst, tester, pre-sales consultant, program manager, account manager, Agile coach, and practice leader as part of his long IT Journey. Before ThoughtWorks, Vinod worked at Mindtree, a well-known IT services organization. At Mindtree he was one of the founding members of the Business Analysts Council and the Agile Council, focusing on creTrade Review“There are many shifts occurring today as companies implement their digital business strategies. One aspect of this shift—companies are adjusting their approach to outsourcing in part by reinsourcing systems critical to their new technology-driven strategies. The problem is that there is little research or information available on transferring application systems knowledge and ownership from one organization to another—until now. In Software Ownership Transfer, Vinod draws on his experiences, large and small, in making such critical transfers. I particularly like his distinction between knowledge transfer and ownership—not ownership in the legal sense, but ownership in the sense of a team taking ‘ownership’ of their new responsibility. Knowledge transfer is only the first step in ownership transfer. If you are contemplating the transfer of an application system—from a vendor to in-house or from one internal location to another (as happens often today)—then you need to use this book as a model for making your transfer a success.” — Jim Highsmith, author of Agile Project Management, coauthor of The Agile Manifesto “Software is becoming increasingly central to most modern organizations. Indeed, it has become trite to observe that one should no longer have a ‘digital strategy’ or a ‘technology strategy’: These strategies now form the core of the business strategy itself. This shift is seeing many organizations reconsider their software-sourcing strategy, such as, for example, bringing back in-house resources that they previously outsourced. The process of transferring the ‘ownership’ of core digital products is complex and can frequently be the source of disappointment, to say the least. In the worst case, significant investments can be lost in the transfer process. In this book, Vinod Sankaranarayanan draws upon his significant experience in digital product ownership and transfer, backed by copious real-life examples, and draws some important recommendations for any leader or organization overseeing a transition between teams, whether internal or external. A highly recommended read for any leader who is contemplating or is in the process of a digital product transfer.” — Chris Murphy, group managing director, Europe, Middle East, and South Asia, ThoughtWorks “Vinod has written a compelling book on a topic that is generating a lot of interest today but whose business outcomes are not yet clear. Combining his own rich experience as a practitioner of Agile techniques with a lucid narrative style, Vinod provides many insightful perspectives to address the challenging yet essential function of ownership transfer of IT projects. More importantly, Vinod has been able to bring structure and practical application to an area that most often than not is ad-hoc and ambiguous. This piece of work is an important step in addressing a question that will become more and more relevant in the complex world of IT outsourcing and offshoring in the years to come.” — Rizwan Hazarika, CIO and cloud advisory services lead, ASEAN region, IBM “Knowledge transfer is an area that too many executives are willing to throw under the bus (along with QA) when budgets and deadline pressures begin to loom. Vinod provides a compelling rationale for understanding why knowledge transfer needs to be planned as a normal part of the SDLC. We ignore his analysis at our own peril!” — John Peebles, senior vice-president, digital media at Sothebys “Every once in a while, the care and feeding of software assets changes hands in enterprise IT. This may be because of a decision to outsource, insource, or simply switch vendors. The quality of the handover is crucial, as Vinod points out in this one-of-a-kind book. But handovers receive less attention than required—in practice as well as in theory—as evidenced by the lack of books on this topic. Handovers are typically dealt with as a three-month transition exercise, usually irrespective of the size and complexity of the transition. Post-transition performance almost always dips as a result, and it takes years to recover. Software Ownership Transfer provides excellent insights on what it takes to avoid post-transition blues.” — Sriram Narayan, author of Agile IT Organization Design and IT management consultant at ThoughtWorks “Typically in a project-transition context, the environment is hostile as one team is losing the work and the other is taking it over, which leads to not-so-productive outcomes. Vinod has brought in a new approach to the situation, using Agile principles and values, making it a more collaborative effort. The book is a good read with rich elucidation of experiences and case studies of real-life engagements.” — Vishwesher Hegde, partner, PM Power Consulting “Every organization has to deal with ownership changes in software projects. Hardly any organization, however, consciously plans for such transitions to be successful. The costs of poorly executed ownership transfers are huge and have a permanent impact on the organization and its business. Vinod Sankaranarayanan, in this book, draws upon his extensive experience in the software industry to build a framework and a step-by-step guide for us to use whenever we execute ownership transfers in our teams, organizations, or business-units. This book is a must-read and a must-have for IT project leaders and architects. It is guaranteed to increase the chances of software ownership transfer success manifold.” — Vishy Ranganath, director of product development at Intuit “I would suggest this book for anyone transferring any IT service. No matter how many transfers you have been a part of (specific service, acquisition, divestiture, etc.), there’s always a gotcha you need to look out for, and this book makes you aware of most of them. Personally, I found the areas of Agile consideration to be most beneficial because this is so relevant for today’s mature development organizations. It’s obvious Vinod took his time to make this book so clear even the most non-techy of techies can understand it. It’s easy to understand if you are a developer, manager, PM, or exec.” — Armando Morales, senior manager, Cisco IT “Knowledge transition is one of the most important phases of a software development lifecycle. Vinod has very beautifully captured various aspects of the process and has given great suggestions so that other projects could benefit from it. The book has an interesting narrative based on real-life experiences and practical situations that keeps the reader engaged. While the book would be useful for any software development methodology, the Agile way of doing the knowledge transition makes sure that both the parties actively pair during the transition to ensure the ownership transfer and not just to complete yet another milestone.” —Pravin Thakur, offshore development head, Thetrainline.com “This book is a good reference for the ownership-transfer approach. It covers aspects related to both management and engineering practices. Vinod has very well explained his experience, to which we can relate.” —Anish Cheriyan, director-quality, Huawei Technologies, India “Ownership transfer is not an everyday affair in project delivery. Neither is it so rare that people in the industry can wish it away. It is a crucial phase of projects and lays the foundation for a new beginning. At the same time, it is a perilous path as this phase brings with it many unknown unknowns. It is also dangerous because leaders are not always in control of situations given the multi-party involvement. Vinod brings out much needed attention and focus to an underrated topic through this book. The book provides details on both hard and soft aspects that play out during an ownership transfer. It also brings an interesting angle on using Agile principles for such activities. A must-read for technologists who want to handle such transitions professionally.” —Padmanabhan Kalyanasundaram, head of the delivery excellence group at Mindtree “We are starting to see the influence of Agile combined with digitization in almost every organization. Ownership of these initiatives is a key criterion to making Agile successful in today’s fast-paced tech world. Vinod has captured the essence of ownership in delightful detail, including the challenges and pitfalls, which are illustrated very well with real-life examples. He brings in a refreshing approach to taking ownership utilizing the fundamental principles of Agile. A very useful book for transition managers and all members in the delivery organization.” —Jijo Olassa, CEO and cofounder, Verbat Technologies “Project transitions are common in a multi-actor world. One of the key components of transition is knowledge transfer. Vinod provides a practitioner’s multidimensional perspective on best practices to adopt covering technical and human-related aspects. It covers Lean Agile, the three bridges, and specific measurement metrics to quantify the efficacy of the process. These are based on real-life experiences from the trenches. If you are interested in quickly executing the insights in this book, you would find the Things to Know and Do sections extremely crisp and actionable. Overall it fills a much-needed knowledge gap and can serve as an execution playbook for effective project transfers.” — Derick Jose, cofounder, Flutura “Vinod has put together a compelling book that illustrates how not to be doing knowledge transfers. He has then married Agile philosophies to provide a completely different take on knowledge transfers, or ownership transfers, as he calls them. Since I had run a similar exercise, I could relate to a lot of the principles in the book. Coming from a product management background, I was particularly interested in the concept of ‘continuous business.’ The narrative-driven style ensures that the book is an easy read. The approaches given in this book will aid any IT organization as they execute their restructuring efforts or revamp their sourcing strategies.” — Linda Taylor, product manager, thetrainline.com “This book addresses a topic missing in current literature. It provides a valuable addition to the professional literature. In particular, the text is based upon the actual experiences of the author and his team. Numerous real-life examples are cited and bring the text a rich sense of practical advice. More important, the author has generalized the team experience and shown how this knowledge may be applied generally. While the book focuses primarily upon the issues faced by teams who use an Agile approach, most of the topics can be applied more globally. I have participated in ownership transfer, especially in the re-insourcing of IT services from Electronic Data Systems to the Blue Shield of California client team. Almost all of that development had been accomplished in a more traditional fashion. We would have benefited greatly from having a guidebook such as this to assist us.” — Daniel Scott, chief consultant, LD Scott Consulting “A thorough and interesting account of a complex handover. This book talks candidly about a topic that the industry prefers not to address openly. This unique insight provides lessons for anyone thinking about taking over or handing over the development and running of a system. Seeing where others have succeeded and failed gives real practical guidance on everything from the structuring of contracts to the running of the teams.” — Brett Ansley, CPO, VictoriaPlum.com “Organizations constantly strive for operational excellence, which also translates into expensive initiatives in the form of business transformation projects. The most crucial aspect of these projects is not about going for the best solution but about ensuring transition into superior business processes with minimal disruption. Every servicing organization has a certain well-documented methodology for these transition activities. However, most of these methodologies suffer from near-sighted or one-sided risk mitigation strategies (for the vendor only) and often result in frustration and unhappiness on the client’s part. Vinod is putting together a well-defined framework around this critical aspect of project delivery. This book will be a handy tool for novices as well as for seasoned professionals in providing a structured framework for transition with crucial business transformation projects. The emphasis on Agile methodology for knowledge transfer is very relevant right now as more and more customers are moving out of waterfall delivery expectations and are aiming for quicker payback from their investments. This book will help servicing vendors in delivering critical projects smoothly sans any operational risk or any cultural shock alike.” — Gaurav Mishra, enterprise data architect, BMO Harris Bank “Knowledge transition is important to any project. Vinod has shown how it can be made collaborative and effective while focusing on business continuity with his vast experience in ownership transfers. This book is useful for anyone attempting to move projects between teams located anywhere.” — Pramod Sadalage, coauthor of NoSQL Distilled and Refactoring Databases: Evolutionary Database Design “Each IT application transfer project has its nuances and while there is a framework and best-practice guideline—the success or otherwise of a project is based on a clear understanding of its nuances and challenges, which would then pave the way for a well thought-out transfer program. Vinod has articulated well the need to strike a balance between leveraging such a standard framework and chalking out a fit-for-purpose program. Vinod has further brought this out through some options, such as, for instance, by outlining the efficacy of DevOps model, a model that seems to stand a much better chance of succeeding. IT application transfer projects often go off rails due to a short-term focus. Vinod has again described the importance of defining a scope that looks beyond the short-term milestones and considers the overall needs of the business—that is, the sustainability of the outcome of such transfer projects. A critical success factor for an IT application transfer project is the need for upfront and continuing trust among all stakeholders, and more importantly, an alignment on the mutual benefit of the project. Vinod has articulated well the people dynamics and how an ‘upfront foundation of trust’ could cut out wastes in the process and ensure that teams are working for a common purpose. Blatantly obvious, but Vinod has stressed the importance of this dynamic in a very compelling manner.” — Ravikumar MR, head of strategic operations - global markets, Allied World Assurance Company “This book is not a theoretical dissertation on transferring ownership of a software project; it is a usable reference guide on how to set up a project to enable successful transition. Many of the ideas generated will lead to a healthy team environment and make for better all-around product delivery.” — Sameer Deans, delivery partner (principal consultant) “This book is an excellent treatise on a highly critical subject, which is often not only taken for granted but also done incorrectly. The book is even more credible as Vinod has expounded the topic based on his extensive practical experience. IT products and solutions are highly valuable knowledge-based assets, and therefore it is imperative that the ‘ownership’ of knowledge transfer be done diligently. The approach propounded by Vinod, which is based on Agile principles, will certainly help in significantly reducing the disruptions and uncertainties not only during the transfer process, but more importantly, after the transfer as well.” — Sunil Mundra, Agile principal consultant, ThoughtWorks “In a fast-paced world where knowledge transfer is often outstripped by the speed of business—with the next project often takes focus before the last project is fully embedded and sustainably maintained—Vinod provides much-needed practical insights that bring agility to this last mile of implementation.” — Betty Enyonam Kumahor, managing partner, The Cobalt Partners “This book breaks the misconception that software ownership transfer is confined to knowledge transfer. Through various anecdotes, Vinod takes us on a journey of the complete spectrum of software ownership transfer, discussing the technology issues, process issues, people issues, emotional issues, security issues, stakeholder expectations, etc. He also gives practical information on how to use Agile methodology in ownership transfer and how we measure progress. A good read if you are involved in any kind of software ownership transfer.” — Dattatri Salagame, COO - digital transformation and enterprise solutions, Happiest Minds Technologies “In an IT application knowledge-transition scenario, it is the ownership transfer that makes or breaks the day. This is seldom understood. Vinod has brought out this aspect with good anecdotes from other situations as well.” — Ramesh Ramakrishnan, Tata Consultancy Services “The book provides some excellent examples and food for thought to anyone who is considering or about to embark on the perilous journey that is software ownership transfer. Pulling from the concepts and principles of Agile development, as well as from the author’s own broad experience, the reader will be well armed with a list of considerations to help them work through the handover process. A worthwhile read!” — Cecile Diener, product manager, Equidelta Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1: The Challenge with Knowledge Transfers Chapter 2: Ownership Transfer: Bringing Home a Child Chapter 3: The Approach Chapter 4: The Program Chapter 5: Being Agile Chapter 6: Culture Chapter 7: Engineering Chapter 8: Infrastructure Chapter 9: Continuous Business Chapter 10: Executing Ownership Transfer Chapter 11: Process Chapter 12: Measuring Ownership Transfer Chapter 13: The Three Bridges Chapter 14: Putting It Together Chapter 15: Conclusion Chapter 16: Epilogue

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Book SynopsisDamon Poole has provided Agile coaching and training for thousands of people at companies such as EMC, Capital One, Oanda, Ford, and Fidelity. He speaks frequently at Agile Alliance, Agile New England, Kentucky Fried Agile, Atlassian Summit, Agile and Beyond, Agile Toronto, and others. As a coach of coaches at Eliassen, Damon led the Agile Delivery team which grew to hundreds of Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches in the field. He created Eliassen's Agile Transformation approach and the training content across all aspects of Agile, and led the effort to provide opportunities for the coaches to advance in their coaching journey. This background gave Damon the opportunity to learn from hundreds of Agile Coaches in an enormous variety of client environments and from the wider international Agile community. Damon is an International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach, International Coach Academy Certified Professional Coach, and is an ICAgile Certified ProfeTable of ContentsPreface xiiiAcknowledgments xixAbout the Authors xxi Chapter 1: Basics of Professional Coaching 1 What Is Professional Coaching? 1 Our Coaching Toolbox: Principles, Objectives, and Techniques 6 Objective-Based Coaching 7 An Example Coaching Conversation 12 Powerful Questions: The Primary Tool of Professional Coaching 14 Applying Professional Coaching to Teams and Organizations 19 Chapter Summary 19 Chapter 2: Professional Coaching in Depth 23 Professional Coaching Starts with Permission 24 The Session Purpose 25 Exploring the Coachee's Mental Landscape 29 Forward Motion (aka Planning) 30 Closing a Coaching Session 33 Coaching Techniques 34 An Extended Example of Professional Coaching 36 Chapter Summary 39 Chapter 3: Acting as a Mirror 41 Neutrality: The Absence of Distortion 42 Fully Absorbing Information 43 Consider Your Response 46 Reflecting the Coachee in Your Response 47 Helping the Coachee Focus 50 Using the Team to Augment Your Coaching 53 A Complete Summary of Professional Coaching 55 Chapter Summary 57 Chapter 4: Offering Expertise 59 Resisting the Urge to Provide Unsolicited Expertise 60 Handling Explicit Requests for Expertise 60 Sharing the "Minimum Viable" Amount of Expertise 66 We All Have Blind Spots 69 Applying a Coaching Mindset to Teaching 71 Creating a Self-Serve Knowledge-Sharing Environment 72 Guidelines for Sharing Feedback and Expertise 74 Additional Considerations for Sharing Feedback and Expertise 74 Receiving Feedback as a Coach 76 Chapter Summary 76 Chapter 5: Coaching toward Performance 79 Connecting People with Their Best Selves 80 Shifting from Obstacles to Goals 83 Providing Feedback on the Coachee's Journey 85 Rewiring Our Thought Patterns 88 Team Self-Coaching 94 Supporting Coachee Improvement Efforts 94 Chapter Summary 95 Chapter 6: Being the Best Coach You Can Be 97 Bring Your Whole Self to Coaching 98 Leverage Your Emotional Intelligence 102 Experiment and Take Risks to Grow as a Coach 105 Consider Specialized Tools and Techniques 107 Incorporate Coaching Skills into Your Everyday Interactions 109 Pursue Excellence 112 Chapter Summary 114 Chapter 7: Leveraging Group Facilitation 117 The Best Results Emerge from Self-Organizing Teams 118 Facilitation Structures and Practices That Maximize Coachee Choice 119 Powerful Activities--Powerful Questions for Teams 122 Additional Opportunities for Team Coaching 125 Case Studies 126 Chapter Summary 133 Chapter 8: The Coaching Engagement 135 Discovering the Work That Needs Doing 136 Doing the Work 137 Measuring Agility 140 What's Your Coaching Engagement Model? 141 Coaching Contrasted with Other Services 142 The Coaching Agreement for the Coaching Engagement 143 Chapter Summary 148 Appendix A: Exercises 151 Guidelines for the Exercises 151 Exercises for Chapter 1 153 Exercises for Chapter 2 155 Exercises for Chapter 3 157 Exercises for Chapter 4 160 Exercises for Chapter 5 161 Exercises for Chapter 6 162 Exercises for Chapter 7 164 Exercises for Chapter 8 165 Additional Exercises 166 Appendix B: References 169 Our Coaching Principles 169 Coaching Objectives 170 Behaviors to Do and Avoid 171 Professional Coaching Starting Reference 173 Guidelines for Creating Powerful Questions 175 Additional Powerful Questions 176 Guidelines for Sharing Feedback and Expertise 177 Guidelines for Staying in the Coaching Mode as Much as Possible 178 Example Descriptions of an Agile Coach and Professional Coaching 179 Example Coaching Agreements--For Individuals, Teams, and Organizations 181 Example Service Offerings 184 Coaching Techniques 186 Recommended Resources 195 Index 197

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Agile coaches, you're gonna be happy with this book. Kenny Rubin has created an indispensable resource for us. Do you have a manager that just doesn't 'get it'? Hand them this book and ask them to flip to Chapter 3 for a complete explanation of how Scrum is less risky than plan-driven management. It's written just for them-in management-speak. Want to help the team come to a common understanding of Scrum? The visual icon language used throughout this book will help you help them. These are just two ways this book can aid you to coach Scrum teams. Use it well." -Lyssa Adkins, Coach of Agile Coaches, Agile Coaching Institute; author, Coaching Agile Teams "One of the best, most comprehensive descriptions of the core Scrum framework out there! Essential Scrum is for anyone-new to or experienced with Scrum-who's interested in the most important aspects of the process. Kenny does an excellent job of distilling the key tenets of the Scrum framework into a simple format with compelling visuals. As a Scrum coach for many teams, I continually reference the material for new ways to help teams that are learning and practicing the framework. I've seen Scrum continually misinterpreted and poorly implemented by big companies and tool vendors for more than ten years. Reading this book will help you get back to the basics and focus on what's important." -Joe Balistrieri, Process Development Manager, Rockwell Automation "Corporate IT leadership, which has been slow to embrace agile methods, would benefit immensely from giving a copy of this book to all of their project and delivery managers. Kenny Rubin has laid out in this book all the pragmatic business case and process materials needed for any corporate IT shop to successfully implement Scrum." -John F. Bauer III, veteran of technical solution delivery in large corporate IT shops "Kenny's extensive experience as a consultant, trainer, and past managing director of the Scrum Alliance is evident in this book. Along with providing the basics and introduction to Scrum, this book addresses the questions of masses-what happens to project managers? Essential Scrum helps us understand the big picture and guides how organization leaders can support and be involved with their Scrum teams for successful agile transformations." -Sameer S. Bendre CSM, PMP, Senior Consultant, 3i Infotech Inc. "If you're new to agile development or to Scrum, this book will give you a flying start. The examples and descriptions are clear and vivid, and you'll often find yourself asking a question just before the book addresses that very topic." -Johannes Brodwall, Principal Solution Architect, Steria Norway "Kenny's well-structured explanations have a clarity to them that echoes the sensibilities of Smalltalk-the development environment with which he worked for years and from which both Scrum and Extreme Programming were born. This book pulls together a thorough set of agile management principles that really hit the mark and will no doubt guide you toward a more effective agile approach." -Rowan Bunning, Founder, Scrum WithStyle "There are lots of books on Scrum these days, but this book takes a new angle, a reality check for software practitioners. Kenny uses real-world examples and clear illustrations to show what makes a solid foundation for successful agile development. Readers will understand the value of building quality in, and the reality that we can't get everything right up front; we must work incrementally and learn as we go. It might have 'Scrum' in the title, but the book leverages effective practices from the larger agile universe to help managers and their teams succeed." -Lisa Crispin, coauthor, Agile Testing "Kenny Rubin managed to write the book that I want everyone associated with Scrum development to read! He covers everything you'll need to know about Scrum and more!" -Martine Devos, European Scrum Pioneer and Certified Scrum Trainer "I've reviewed a number of agile books in the past few years, so the question of 'Do we really need another one?' always comes to my mind. In the case of Kenny's book, I very much believe the answer is 'yes.' Getting the benefit of different, experienced perspectives on commonly encountered and needed material is valuable. Kenny has one of those valuable perspectives. One unique aspect of the book is an interesting 'iconography'-a new icon language for Scrum and agile that Kenny has created. I believe you'll find value-added material in this book to expand your ideas for how Scrum can be applied." -Scott Duncan, Agile/Scrum coach and trainer "Anyone who has had Scrum training or has been part of a Scrum team will find Essential Scrum to be a great follow-up read. It dives into the details of how to become more agile through implementing Scrum processes, and it explains exactly how to break down complex projects into manageable initiatives (or 'sprints'). Kenny Rubin provides a wealth of relevant case studies on what worked-or what didn't-in a variety of organizations. The simple layout and businesslike graphics make it easy to scan quickly and find specific topics. Any organization that is seeking to evolve from a traditional waterfall approach toward a more agile methodology will find Essential Scrum a definitive guidebook for the journey." -Julia Frazier, product manager "Developing software is hard. Adopting a new way of working while in a project is even harder. This book offers a bypass of many of the pitfalls and will accelerate a team's ability to produce business value and become successful with Scrum. I wish I had this kind of book when I started using Scrum." -Geir Hedemark, Development Manager, Basefarm AS "I am convinced that Essential Scrum will become the foundation reference for the next generation of Scrum practitioners. Not only is it the most comprehensive introduction to Scrum in publication today, but it is also extremely well written and easy on the eye with its fantastic new visual Scrum language. If that isn't enough, Kenny shares a range of his valuable personal insights and experiences that we can all certainly learn from." -Ilan Goldstein, Agile Solutions Manager, Reed Elsevier "Scrum is elegantly simple, yet deceptively complex. In Essential Scrum, Kenny Rubin provides us with a step-by-step guide to those complexities while retaining the essential simplicity. Real-world experiences coupled with enlightening illustrations make Scrum come to life. For senior managers and team members alike, this is a must-read book if you are starting or considering whether to implement Scrum in your organization. This will certainly be a book recommended to my students." -John Hebley, Hebley & Associates "Kenny unpacks a wealth of wisdom and knowledge in Essential Scrum, providing valuable and comprehensive insights to the practical application of agile/Scrum. Whether you're new to agile or are looking to reach a greater maturity of continuous improvement in your organization, this is a definitive handbook for your toolbox." -David Luzquinos, Head of Agile Enablement, Agile Coach, Betfair "Kenny Rubin continues to provide clarity and insight into adopting agile in a pragmatic way. In one hand he holds the formal or ideal Scrum definition and in the other, the pragmatic application of it. He brings the wisdom of his workshops and years of experience to the table, and now for you to read in his latest book. If you are about to start out on your agile adoption journey or are seeking guidance midcourse, grab a copy." -Cuan Mulligan, freelance coactive Agile coach "A decade after publication of the first Scrum books, it is time to combine the essential aspects of the Scrum framework with the practical experiences and approaches of the last ten years. Kenny Rubin does so in a satisfying and nondogmatic way. The reader gets a pragmatic look at Scrum and learns when and how to best apply Scrum to achieve business benefits." -Yves Stalgies, PhD, Director IT, www.etracker.com "Adoption of Scrum is most successful when everyone involved-even peripherally-with product development has a good understanding of the fundamentals. Essential Scrum provides an ideal overview of both the big picture and the details in an accessible style. It is sure to become a standard reference." -Kevin Tureski, Principal, Kevin Tureski ConsultingTable of ContentsList of Figures xxv Foreword by Mike Cohn xxxi Foreword by Ron Jeffries xxxiii Preface xxxv Acknowledgments xxxix About the Author xliii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 What Is Scrum? 1 Scrum Origins 3 Why Scrum? 4 Genomica Results 4 Can Scrum Help You? 5 Closing 10 Part I: Core Concepts 11 Chapter 2: Scrum Framework 13 Overview 13 Scrum Roles 14 Scrum Activities and Artifacts 16 Closing 28 Chapter 3: Agile Principles 29 Overview 29 Variability and Uncertainty 32 Prediction and Adaptation 37 Just-in-Time Work 43 Validated Learning 44 Work in Process (WIP) 48 Progress 54 Performance 56 Closing 58 Chapter 4: Sprints 61 Overview 61 Timeboxed 62 Short Duration 64 Consistent Duration 67 No Goal-Altering Changes 69 Definition of Done 74 Closing 78 Chapter 5: Requirements and User Stories 79 Overview 79 Using Conversations 81 Progressive Refinement 82 What Are User Stories? 83 Level of Detail 86 INVEST in Good Stories 88 Nonfunctional Requirements 93 Knowledge-Acquisition Stories 93 Gathering Stories 95 Closing 98 Chapter 6: Product Backlog 99 Overview 99 Product Backlog Items 100 Good Product Backlog Characteristics 101 Grooming 104 Definition of Ready 108 Flow Management 110 Which and How Many Product Backlogs? 112 Closing 118 Chapter 7: Estimation and Velocity 119 Overview 119 What and When We Estimate 120 PBI Estimation Concepts 123 PBI Estimation Units 128 Planning Poker 129 What Is Velocity? 133 Calculate a Velocity Range 134 Forecasting Velocity 135 Affecting Velocity 135 Misusing Velocity 137 Closing 138 Chapter 8: Technical Debt 139 Overview 139 Consequences of Technical Debt 141 Causes of Technical Debt 144 Technical Debt Must Be Managed 148 Managing the Accrual of Technical Debt 149 Making Technical Debt Visible 153 Servicing the Technical Debt 155 Closing 162 Part II: Roles 163 Chapter 9: Product Owner 165 Overview 165 Principal Responsibilities 166 Characteristics/Skills 171 A Day in the Life 174 Who Should Be a Product Owner? 176 Product Owner Combined with Other Roles 181 Product Owner Team 182 Closing 184 Chapter 10: ScrumMaster 185 Overview 185 Principal Responsibilities 185 Characteristics/Skills 188 A Day in the Life 190 Fulfilling the Role 191 Closing 193 Chapter 11: Development Team 195 Overview 195 Role-Specific Teams 195 Principal Responsibilities 196 Characteristics/Skills 198 Closing 211 Chapter 12: Scrum Team Structures 213 Overview 213 Feature Teams versus Component Teams 213 Multiple-Team Coordination 218 Closing 223 Chapter 13: Managers 225 Overview 225 Fashioning Teams 227 Nurturing Teams 231 Aligning and Adapting the Environment 233 Managing Value-Creation Flow 235 Project Managers 237 Closing 243 Part III: Planning 245 Chapter 14: Scrum Planning Principles 247 Overview 247 Don’t Assume We Can Get the Plans Right Up Front 248 Up-Front Planning Should Be Helpful without Being Excessive 248 Keep Planning Options Open Until the Last Responsible Moment 249 Focus More on Adapting and Replanning Than on Conforming to a Plan 249 Correctly Manage the Planning Inventory 251 Favor Smaller and More Frequent Releases 252 Plan to Learn Fast and Pivot When Necessary 254 Closing 255 Chapter 15: Multilevel Planning 257 Overview 257 Portfolio Planning 259 Product Planning (Envisioning) 259 Release Planning 261 Sprint Planning 264 Daily Planning 264 Closing 265 Chapter 16: Portfolio Planning 267 Overview 267 Scheduling Strategies 270 Inflow Strategies 275 Outflow Strategies 280 In-Process Strategies 283 Closing 285 Chapter 17: Envisioning (Product Planning) 287 Overview 287 SR4U Example 290 Visioning 291 High-Level Product Backlog Creation 294 Product Roadmap Definition 295 Other Activities 298 Economically Sensible Envisioning 299 Closing 306 Chapter 18: Release Planning (Longer-Term Planning) 307 Overview 307 Release Constraints 311 Grooming the Product Backlog 315 Refine Minimum Releasable Features (MRFs) 316 Sprint Mapping (PBI Slotting) 316 Fixed-Date Release Planning 318 Fixed-Scope Release Planning 323 Calculating Cost 325 Communicating 326 Closing 330 Part IV: Sprinting 333 Chapter 19: Sprint Planning 335 Overview 335 Approaches to Sprint Planning 338 Determining Capacity 340 Selecting Product Backlog Items 343 Acquiring Confidence 344 Refine the Sprint Goal 346 Finalize the Commitment 346 Closing 346 Chapter 20: Sprint Execution 347 Overview 347 Sprint Execution Planning 349 Flow Management 349 Daily Scrum 354 Task Performance—Technical Practices 355 Communicating 356 Closing 360 Chapter 21: Sprint Review 363 Overview 363 Participants 364 Prework 365 Approach 368 Sprint Review Issues 372 Closing 373 Chapter 22: Sprint Retrospective 375 Overview 375 Participants 377 Prework 378 Approach 380 Follow Through 391 Sprint Retrospective Issues 392 Closing 393 Chapter 23: The Path Forward 395 There Is No End State 395 Discover Your Own Path 396 Sharing Best Practices 396 Using Scrum to Discover the Path Forward 397 Get Going! 398 Glossary 401 References 423 Index 427

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Book SynopsisStefan Wolpers is a Professional Scrum Trainer at Scrum.org, Agile Coach, and Scrum Master, specializing in guiding agile transformations through practices like Scrum, LeSS, Kanban, Lean Startup, and professional product management. He's a licensed Agile Fluency Team Diagnostic facilitator with a history of senior leadership roles. His agile coaching focuses on scaling product delivery for fast-growing, venture-capital-backed startups as well as transitioning existing teams in established enterprises. Stefan curates the widely-followed Food for Agile Thought newsletter, engaging 50,000+ global Agile enthusiasts. He shares insights on Age-of-Product.com, hosts a vibrant Slack community of 18,000+ agile practitioners, and has authored e-books on agile themes, garnering over 100,000 downloads.Table of ContentsForeword by Dave West xv Foreword by Janna Bastow xvii Preface xix Introduction xxv Chapter 1. Scrum Master Anti-Patterns 1 Introduction 1 The Scrum Master According to the Scrum Guide 2 Possible Reasons Why Scrum Masters Leave the Path 2 Anti-Patterns from Acting as an Agile (Line) Manager 5 Scrum Master Anti-Patterns by Scrum Events 15 The Sprint Planning 15 The Sprint 17 The Daily Scrum 20 The Retrospective 22 Food for Thought 26 Conclusion 26 Chapter 2. Product Owner Anti-Patterns 29 Introduction 29 The Role of the Product Owner According to the Scrum Guide 30 Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns 31 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns 40 Sprint Anti-Patterns 42 Product Owner Anti-Patterns during the Daily Scrum 46 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns 50 Food for Thought 52 Conclusion 52 Chapter 3. Scrum Developer Anti-Patterns 55 Introduction 55 The Role of the Developers in Scrum 56 Developer Anti-Patterns by Scrum Events 56 Sprint Anti-Patterns 56 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Developers 66 Anti-Patterns during the Daily Scrum 68 Developer Anti-Patterns Concerning the Sprint Review 75 Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of Developers 76 Anti-Patterns at the Product Backlog Level 77 Food for Thought 81 Conclusion 81 Chapter 4. Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns 83 Introduction 83 Common Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns 84 Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns at the Organizational Level 84 Sprint Anti-Patterns of the IT Management 96 Incentivized Scrum Stakeholder Anti-Patterns 98 Stakeholder Anti-Patterns at Scrum Event Level 104 Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns 105 The Daily Scrum 105 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of Stakeholders 106 The Sprint Review 106 The Sprint Retrospective 107 Food for Thought 108 Conclusion 108 Chapter 5. Sprint Anti-Patterns 109 Introduction 109 The Purpose of the Sprint 109 Sprint Anti-Patterns 111 Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 111 Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Developers 112 Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 113 Sprint Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 113 Sprint Anti-Patterns of the IT Management 118 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of Stakeholders 121 Food for Thought 123 Conclusion 124 Chapter 6. Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns 125 Introduction 125 Preparing the Sprint Planning 127 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns 127 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Developers 127 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 132 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 134 Sprint Planning Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 138 Food for Thought 139 Conclusion 140 Chapter 7. Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns 141 Introduction 141 The Purpose of the Daily Scrum According to the Scrum Guide 142 Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns 143 Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 143 Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Developers 146 Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 150 Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 150 Daily Scrum Anti-Patterns of the Stakeholders 151 Food for Thought 154 Conclusion 155 Chapter 8. Sprint Review Anti-Patterns 157 Introduction 157 The Scrum Guide on the Sprint Review 158 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns 159 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 159 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 162 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Developers 165 Sprint Review Anti-Patterns of the Stakeholders 167 Food for Thought 174 Conclusion 175 Chapter 9. Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns 177 Introduction 177 The Scrum Guide on the Sprint Retrospective 178 Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns 179 Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 179 Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Master 187 Sprint Retrospective Anti-Patterns of the Organization 191 Food for Thought 194 Conclusion 195 Chapter 10. Product Backlog and Refinement Anti-Patterns 197 Introduction 197 The Product Backlog According to the Scrum Guide 198 Common Product Backlog Anti-Patterns 200 General Product Backlog Anti-Patterns 200 Product Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 207 Product Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Developers 209 Product Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 211 Food for Thought 212 Conclusion 213 Chapter 11. Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns 215 Introduction 215 Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns 216 Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 217 Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Developers 220 Sprint Backlog Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 225 Food for Thought 228 Conclusion 228 Chapter 12. Increment Anti-Patterns 229 Introduction 229 The Purpose of the Increment According to the Scrum Guide 230 Increment Anti-Patterns 231 Increment Anti-Patterns by the Scrum Team 231 Increment Anti-Patterns of the Stakeholders or the Organization 240 Food for Thought 242 Conclusion 242 Chapter 13. Product Goal Anti-Patterns 245 Introduction 245 The Purpose of the Product Goal According to the Scrum Guide 246 Product Goal Anti-Patterns 247 Product Goal Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 247 Product Goal Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 251 Product Goal Anti-Patterns of the Organization 254 Food for Thought 257 Conclusion 257 Chapter 14. Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns 259 Introduction 259 How to Create Sprint Goals 260 Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns 261 Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 262 Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns Induced by the Organization 267 Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns by the Developers 269 Sprint Goal Anti-Patterns by the Product Owner 271 Food for Thought 272 Conclusion 272 Chapter 15. Definition of Done Anti-Patterns 273 Introduction 273 Creating a Successful Definition of Done 275 Definition of Done Anti-Patterns 277 Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Developers 278 Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Scrum Team 281 Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Organization 289 Definition of Done Anti-Patterns of the Product Owner 290 Food for Thought 291 Conclusion 291 Appendix A. How to Sabotage Scrum Masters and Product Owners at an Organizational Level 293 Appendix B. Toolbox 305 Index 369

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Book SynopsisSumeet Gayathri Moghe, Principal Product Manager at Thoughtworks, is an agile specialist with 20+ years of IT consulting experience. He has helped clients deliver new products and adopt agile ways of working in travel, payments, financial services, education, analytics, consulting, retail, and beyond. Moghe has always worked in distributed teams, and went all-remote in 2017, long before it was commonplace. He blogs about remote collaboration at asyncagile.org.Trade Review"Async is the superpower the most successful distributed teams have already realized, so understanding the playbook for implementing async-first practices is a must-do for any leader moving into this type of operating system. Sumeet has done a phenomenal job outlining that here."--Chase Warrington, Head of Remote, Doist "Collaboration is going async. The advantages are just too great: global reach--which enables more inclusion--and time zone immunity. Sumeet excellently decomposes the issues. And by zeroing in on async leadership, he tackles the elephant in the async room: leadership. Yes, you can be an effective leader, asynchronously."--Cliff Berg, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Agile 2 Academy "The Async-First Playbook is a must-read for anyone part of agile teams in today's fast-paced and distributed work environment. This insightful book shows how adopting an async-first approach can transform the way teams collaborate. The result--higher productivity, better inclusion, and most importantly, fun! The future of work is remote, and async-first collaboration is the key to unlocking its potential. Through concrete examples, this book provides a roadmap for embracing asynchronous communication, enabling teams to focus on deep work and stay in a state of flow. I recommend this book to anyone seeking to unlock the full potential of remote collaboration and achieve better outcomes for their team."--Iwo Szapar, Co-founder & Head of Remote, Remote-First Institute "Asynchronous work, when implemented well, can help create a sustainable and calm way of working. It enables individuals to design their days around productivity and priorities, creating a happier and more human-centric workplace. The Async-First Playbook thoroughly examines effective asynchronous work practices' benefits (and the challenges, too). This playbook discusses fundamental prerequisites that should be in place before transitioning to an async-first approach, including leadership practices, potential challenges, and a starter kit to help you determine your next steps. If you seek to alleviate information overload and minimize meetings, The Async-First Playbook is a valuable resource."--Lisette Sutherland, Director of Collaboration Superpowers, https://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com "At a time when organisations are experimenting with how to make the most out of remote work, Sumeet offers a step-by-step approach on how to make software development practices more inclusive and future-proof. Furthermore, the section aimed directly at managers and leaders also turns the book into a strong advocacy-tool for sustainable remote collaboration."--Pilar Orti, Director of Virtual not Distant "The Async-First Playbook is a comprehensive guide for teams and leaders looking to optimize their remote work practices for a distributed world. The pandemic helped us see that knowledge work really shouldn't have a place, and now it's time to recognize and embrace that this work can be better accomplished asynchronously, too. Location-independent work? That's the first step in the transformation. Have you tried time-independent work? Sumeet shows us how."--Tyler Sellhorn, host, The Remote Show podcast "The Async-First Playbook is not just another book on Agile practices. It's a game-changer for teams looking to optimize their collaboration through asynchronous communication. In this comprehensive guide, you'll find everything you need to know about the principles, frameworks, tools, workflows, and cultural changes necessary to embrace an async-first approach. Even though I've been working in a remote setup with an async-first approach for many years, I still found improvements that I'll implement with my team. I found especially valuable the chapter on 'The Async-First Leadership Mindset,' and I can't wait to share this book with my team."--Oana Calugar, Collaboration Consultant, Mural "Every software company has recently been forced to adapt to remote work, and subsequently workers have awakened to the possibilities afforded by more flexible working. Companies have been experimenting and iterating to find a new equilibrium between in-office, hybrid, and fully remote work, and there have been many fits and starts. What's been missing is a practical guide on how to make the most of this newly popular work style so that both employees and employers win. Sumeet's book perfectly fills the void, giving teams and leaders the tools they need to escape the trap of synchronicity and make the most of their newfound asynchronous flexibility."--Patrick Sarnacke, Managing Director, Thoughtworks UK "The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked many publications about remote and hybrid work models. While benefits such as improved work-life balance and diversity have been praised, concerns about weakened personal relationships and burnout are also significant. One crucial element is that, too often, the cons result from companies attempting to put in place novel models while retaining old office-centric practices. That is why I like this book. In The Async-First Playbook, Sumeet Gayathri Moghe offers a practical, hands-on approach to making remote work effective for software development businesses. He emphasizes defaulting to action and provides actionable recommendations for optimizing distributed work arrangements. As someone who has led an organization through a similar journey and had valuable conversations with Sumeet while doing that, I can attest that this book packages knowledge from real-world techniques with a successful track record."--Matheus Tait, Managing Director, Thoughtworks Spain "Building on commonly established working patterns that have been adopted by many in the agile software development movement, Sumeet deftly re-examines the goals of these practices, and identifies remote-friendly alternatives that can lead your team to new heights. Of particular note is the emphasis on honing both writing and reading skills, and on guarding the time to use them both effectively. Those looking to navigate this new frontier would be well advised to set some time aside and read this first!"--Andy Yates, Head of Technology, Corporate Strategy, Thoughtworks "The pandemic forced the tech workforce all over the world to work remotely. And since then, the focus has been on overcoming the challenges of remote working. Sumeet argues that the opportunity is bigger--to work differently, adopting async-first approaches and practices, to increase productivity and creativity by creating space for deep work and better collaboration amongst teams. The Async-First Playbook is a complete practitioner's guide to learn and implement async ways of working for yourself, your team, and your organization. In a new distributed and remote working world, this book has the potential to unlock productivity, better teamwork, and allow for improved work-life balance. A total must-read for technology or knowledge workers."--Sameer Soman, Managing Director, Thoughtworks India "Want to boost productivity and cut costs in your engineering organization? Sumeet's new book offers practical, actionable recommendations for optimizing team performance and streamlining processes via asynchronous ways of working. In today's digital-first world, boards are taking notice of the skyrocketing cost of engineering. Sumeet's book provides a valuable perspective on this issue, offering strategies for achieving better results in less time and at a lower cost. Whether you're a seasoned engineering leader or just starting out, this is a must-read for anyone looking to drive change and improve their organization's performance in a highly remote setting."--Sagar Paul, Head of Global Solutions, Thoughtworks "The Async-First Playbook is the book that the distributed agile world has been eagerly awaiting for years! Sumeet's direct and to-the-point writing style hits hard and very convincingly challenges our traditional norms. The book stays true to the format of a playbook by providing recommendations that are highly actionable and will enable the stated impact. An amazing must-read for software professionals."--Santosh Mahale, Director, Engineering Group | e4r (Engineering for research) "The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work, and it is now here to stay. However, many companies are still struggling to adapt to this new reality. This is where The Async-First Playbook comes in. In this book, the author makes a compelling argument for why async-first practices are essential for modern knowledge work. He guides the reader through the foundational elements needed to create an async-first culture, from individual and team practices to leadership and management styles. The author also highlights the challenges that come with remote work and provides readers with practical advice on how to avoid common pitfalls. Whether you're a developer, manager, or senior leader, this book will provide you with the tools you need to succeed in the new world of work."--Sunil Mundra, Org. Change and Transformation Leader, CXO Advisor, ThoughtworksTable of ContentsForeword by Martin Fowler xxiForeword by Darren Murph xxiiiPreface xxvAcknowledgments xxixAbout the Author xxxiii Part I: Adapting to the New Normal 1 Chapter 1: There's Got to Be a Better Way to Work 3Work Deserves a New Look 5A Better Work Environment for All of Us 11 Chapter 2: Foster a Mindset for Change 13Four Simple Ideas 13Go Far, Go Together 19Ready for the First Steps 19 Part II: Prepare to Go Async-First 21 Chapter 3: The Tools You Need 23With Tools, Less Is More 23Tools Are Everything; Tools Are Nothing 27 Chapter 4: The Biggest Async-First Superpower 29Writing Is a Practice; Documentation a Product 30To Work Async-First, We Must Write 41 Chapter 5: Three More Async-First Superpowers 43What an Async-First Superhero Looks Like 43Personal Productivity Leads to Team Productivity 47 Chapter 6: Calm Things Down with Collaboration Protocols 49Work Execution vs. Workflow 49Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals 56 Part III: The Practitioner's Guide 57 Chapter 7: Meetings as the Last Resort 59Just. Too Many. Meetings. 59Async-First, with Small Shifts 66 Chapter 8: The Value of Being Face to Face 69From URL to IRL 69So Much for Meetings 75 Chapter 9: Micro-Moves to Shift Left 77Small Shifts, Easy Wins 77Build Async-First Behavioral Cues 85 Chapter 10: Write a Team Handbook 87Distributed Teams Need a Single Source of Truth 87Aim for a Shared Reality 95 Chapter 11: Tame the "Instant" in Instant Messaging 97Make Messaging Productive 97Messaging: Just Not Instant 105 Chapter 12: Standup Meetings: An Easy Shift Left 107Distributed Standups Can Be Painful 108Standups = Conveyance/Strong Relationships 116 Chapter 13: Take Charge of Your Development Cycles 117Sprint Ceremonies Can Hinder Async Work 117The Key to Asynchrony Is a Strong Process 125 Chapter 14: Run Meaningful Retrospectives 127Infrequent Retros Lead to Poor Team Health 127Scrum for the 2020s 135 Chapter 15: Kickoffs and Desk Checks: Reduce Ritualized Interruptions 137How to Maintain Quality with Fewer Meetings? 138Make Your Feedback Loops "Remote Native" 145 Chapter 16: Questions to Reimagine Your Tech Huddles 147The What and the Why 148Not a Zero-Sum Game 153 Chapter 17: Pair Programming: The Elephant in the Room 155A Polarizing Topic 155If It's Fun for You, Pair by All Means 161 Chapter 18: Audit Trails from the Flow of Your Work 163The "Just Ask" Pattern Breaks Down 163Trails as the Most Frequent Form of Documentation 171 Chapter 19: Communicate Tech and Functional Design 173An Agile Approach to Design 173Simplify Communication Complexity 178 Chapter 20: Two Stable Pieces of Handbook Documentation 181Being Agile About Documentation 181Good Documents Reduce Guesswork 186 Chapter 21: Craft an Efficient Onboarding Process 189Write Once, Run Many Times 189Onboarding Efficiency = Team Efficiency 195 Part IV: Async-First Leadership 197 Chapter 22: The Async Leadership Mindset 199The Tyranny of "The Way" 199Make Time for the Essential Stuff 206 Chapter 23: Manage Your People with Care 209Corrections in the Right Direction 209Be the Bridge Between Your Team and Your Company's Culture 216 Chapter 24: Set Up Your Team for Success 217Design for Success 217Your Virtual Workplace Needs Configuring 227 Chapter 25: Farm Tacit Knowledge in Your Company 229Beyond Handbooks: Into Communities 229From Team Knowledge to Company Knowledge 238 Part V: Navigate the Pitfalls 241 Chapter 26: The Great Hybrid Kerfuffle 243People's Preferences Are Heading Remote 243Choice and Autonomy Are the Key Words 253 Chapter 27: The Async Island 255Unpacking Organizational Inertia 255While Being a Guerilla, Don't Forget Advocacy 265 Chapter 28: Toxicity in the Virtual Workplace 267Toxicity Builds: One Benign Step at a Time 267As a Leader, Stay Vigilant 271 Part VI: Bring It All Together 273 Chapter 29: The Async-First Starter Kit 275Five Stages of Sensible Defaults 275A Team Shift, Owned by the Team 285 Chapter 30: A Brave New World of Work 287Another World of Work Is Possible 289It's Time to Sign Off 295 Endnotes 297Index 321

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Book SynopsisDr. Vijay Kanabar is an associate professor and the director of Project Management Programs at Boston University's Metropolitan College. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field, he was honored with the PMI Linn Stuckenbruck Teaching Excellence Award in 2017. He has a track record of advising organizations such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Staples, United Way, and Fidelity Investments on training and technology needs. As a distinguished author, he delved into AI research three decades ago, developing AI expert systems that aided project practitioners in cost estimation. Additionally, he holds certifications such as PMP, PMI-ACP, and CSM. Jason Wong is an IT leader at a Boston-based hospital and an adjunct professor at Boston University, where he teaches project, program, and portfolio management and shares his profound understanding of generative AI with students, guiding them to master the methods necessary for developing gTable of ContentsChapter 1 Dawn of A New Era Chapter 2 Stakeholders and Generative AI Chapter 3 Building and Managing Teams Using AI Chapter 4 Choosing A Development Approach With AI Chapter 5 AI-Assisted Planning for Predictive Projects Chapter 6 Adaptive Projects and AI Chapter 7 Monitoring Project Work Performance With AI Chapter 8 The Role of AI In Risk Management Chapter 9 Finalizing Projects with AI Chapter 10 AI Tools for Project Management Chapter 11 Looking Ahead

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Book SynopsisWhat is a project? How are projects organized to deal with a complex, rapidly changing, and uncertain world? Why are projects the organization of the future? A project is a temporary organization and one-time process established to achieve a desired outcome. Projects range in size from small teams to large international joint-ventures and temporary coalitions of public and private organizations. What distinguishes projects from all other organizational activities - such as mass produced products and services - is that a project is finite in duration, lasting from hours, days, or weeks to years, and in some cases decades. Each project is disposable. It brings together people and resources to accomplish a goal and when the goal is accomplished, the organization disappears. When projects are complex, unpredictable, and changing, their plans have to be flexible and able to adjust to situations that cannot foreseen at the outset. In this Very Short Introduction Andrew Davies looks at how projects have developed since the industrial revolution to create the human-built world in which we live, work, and play. Considering some of our greatest endeavours such as the Erie Canal, Apollo Moon landing, Japanese product development, and Chinese ecocity projects, Davies identifies how projects are organized and managed to design and produce large and complex systems, cope with fast changing conditions, and deal with the immense uncertainties required to create breakthrough innovations in products and services. He concludes by considering how projects could be organized to address the challenges facing the post-industrial society of the 21st century. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewA goldmine of insights into project management -- how it is actually done and how it could be done better. Andrew Davies should be read by anyone interested in understanding and improving the management of projects. * Bent Flyvbjerg, Professor and Chair at Oxford University's Saïd Business School, co-author of Megaprojects and Risk *Andy Davies has written a concise and engaging intellectual history of project management theory and practice, filled with detailed case studies -- recommended reading for all scholars and practitioners of project management. This book is a little gem. * Raymond Levitt, Stanford University. *If you are considering a career in project management or are already involved in one or more projects and want to know how to improve the system then let this book become your bible ... Projects: A Very Short Introduction ... offers a veritable goldmine of insights, anecdotes and analysis of the very basics of project management, showing how it is done, and advising on how it can be done better. * Jade Taylor-Salazar, E&T Magazine *Table of ContentsPREFACE; REFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX

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Book SynopsisA practical management guide to the ideas in marketing and strategy for MBA and executive courses, this book focuses on key issues relevant to modern business. It gives step-by-step guides to developing a marketing strategy, making pricing decisions and developing advertising and communications plans.Table of ContentsBrief Contents 1. Management: objectives and tasks 2. The customer-led business 3. Segmentation, positioning and the marketing mix 4. Strategic market planning 5. Market dynamics and competitive strategy 6. Building successful brands 7. Innovation and new product development 8. Pricing policy: delivering value 9. Communications strategy 10. Managing personal selling 11. Managing marketing channels 12. Marketing in service businesses 13. Turnaround management 14. Marketing in the twenty-first century

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