Introduction

We all know what it takes for a project to be inspiring to be a part of and to lead efficiently to the requested outcome. It is common sense to be proactive in the management of a project!

This book claims that it is a kind of natural law that we immerse ourselves into the project execution – even at stages when proactive project management is needed for creating suitable conditions for the project execution.  The consequence is that the project management takes place reactively, after the problems have already occurred during the execution.

1.      The Title:

“Proactive Project Management– How How to make common sense common practice”

2.      The Basics:

This book aims at shifting the project management from taking place reactively – towards, to a greater extent, taking place proactively. To be proactive implies that the management initiatives takes place where managerial challenges have not yet occurred or been recognized by the participants and parties.

A shift from recognizing what is common sense – towards making it common practice implies a conscious and persistent effort by the project manager and other partners involved in the management of the project. The book supports such a shift by presenting a variety of mindsets and related methods and tools.

3.      Summary:

One mindset is that the project management process itself should also be lead. You promote proactive project management by planning and evaluating relevant management initiatives – and by adapting the level of effort and the tools for the project’s degree of complexity. The entire book can be considered as a method with tools for such an reflective level of leading project management.

Another mindset is that the project management is not only a task for the project managers.  The project owners, the participants and other parties must also be proactively involved in the management process. Such co-management means that the analyses and plans created will become more relevant– and have more impact on the project process. The general tool for such an approach, as presented in this book, is to facilitate the management activities.

The entire book is a supplement to the existing literature on project management. The new mindsets and methods promote the idea of being a more reflective project manager – and thereby gaining even more benefit from knowledge obtained from other books and from personal experiences.

4.      Target Audience:

Project managers; Senior project managers; Project directors; Project management consultants

5.      Scope:

The 14 chapters in the book shift between chapters on leading project management marked with red letters – and chapters on performing project management marked with black letters:

1. How to use the book
2. Projects and project management
3. Leading project management
4. Facilitate management activities
5. Project preparation
6. Project analyses –
7. Master project planning
8. Project anchoring
9. Project start-up
10. Detailed project planning
11. Manage project execution
12. Ongoing project leadership
13. Stepwise project control
14. Project close-out

6.      Relevant reading

On www.fangel.dk you can register for one of the monthly webinars where the author, Morten Fangel, presents the essential mind-sets of the book.

Furthermore, on www.fangel.dk you can as owner of the book get access to a number of templates which reflects the essential methods of the book.