Facilitating the Project Lifecycle: The Skills & Tools to Accelerate Progress for Project Managers, Facilitators, and Six Sigma Project Teams (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) [Paperback]

Janet A. Means (Author), Tammy Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0787978752 | ISBN-13: 978-0787978754

Step by step, Facilitating the Project Lifecycle guides the project manager/facilitator in making smart choices about when and how to pull key talent together to spell success for the project and ultimately the organization. The authors will help you understand the benefits of using facilitated group work sessions to get real work done during a project and get it done better and more efficiently than more traditional individual work approaches. In addition, the book includes:

• Recommendations for capitalizing on group knowledge to accelerate the building of key project deliverables and ensure their quality as they are built
• A work session structure for planning, delivering, and following up facilitated work sessions
• Guides for building key project deliverables
• Sample agendas
• Proven techniques for managing the group dynamics

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Chock-full of helpful session templates, guidelines, and resources.”
--Ellen Gottesdiener, EBG Consulting, Inc., author, Requirements by Collaboration: Workshops for Defining Needs

“This book is a road map to successful facilitation of teams to realize business improvements and change through projects.”
--Wes Hopmans, director of IT, Crane & Co., Inc.

“Jan Means and Tammy Adams open their notebooks, sharing hard-won procedures, session designs, and tips that would take years to acquire on your own.”
--Maureen Jenkins, chair, International Association of Facilitators

“Anyone who runs projects effectively knows that project success is rooted in people. Facilitating the Project Lifecycle puts people on center stage, which makes it exceptional among project management books.”
--J. Davidson Frame, academic dean, University of Management and Technology

“This book does an amazing job of applying facilitation to the complexities of project management. I can’t imagine a project leader who wouldn’t want to keep this resource handy!”
--Ingrid Bens, author, Facilitating with Ease!

“Jan Means and Tammy Adams give us a toolkit of skills, templates, and techniques essential for success on any project.”
--Doug DeCarlo, author, eXtreme Project Management

“The real roadblock to a successful project is invariably people. This book tackles this challenge head on by leveraging group dynamics to bring teams to consensus and break down barriers to successful project delivery.”
--William M. Ulrich, president, Tactical Strategy Group, Inc., author, Legacy Systems: Transformation Strategies

From the Inside Flap

Facilitating the Project Lifecycle is filled with insights and practical work session techniques that can be readily applied within any project to accelerate the process and enhance quality. This book shows how to prevent some of the more common problems and pitfalls that contribute to poor quality as well as cost and time overruns.

Step by step, Facilitating the Project Lifecycle guides the project manager/facilitator in making smart choices about when and how to pull key talent together to spell success for the project and ultimately the organization. The authors will help you understand the benefits of using facilitated group work sessions to get real work done during a project and get it done better and more efficiently than more traditional individual work approaches. In addition, the book includes

• Recommendations for capitalizing on group knowledge to accelerate the building of key project deliverables and ensure their quality as they are built
• A work session structure for planning, delivering, and following up facilitated work sessions
• Guides for building key project deliverables
• Sample agendas
• Proven techniques for managing the group dynamics

Facilitating the Project Lifecycle also comes with a CD-ROM, which includes the book’s many forms, templates, and checklists.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass (August 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787978752
• ISBN-13: 978-0787978754
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,555,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read for Project Managers, December 9, 2011

By 

K. Cooper (Boise, ID) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Facilitating the Project Lifecycle: The Skills & Tools to Accelerate Progress for Project Managers, Facilitators, and Six Sigma Project Teams (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Paperback)

After hearing Tammy Adams speak at our local PMI Chapter I was intrigued by the content of her presentation. I found this book as well as the companion book "The Project Meeting Facilitator" and devoured them both. Meeting facilitation has been an interest of mine since my days at Cisco Systems. These books bring incredible insight into facilitation skills in a project environment. I highly recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for project and process improvement professionals, October 26, 2011

By 

Carla Howard - See all my reviews

This review is from: Facilitating the Project Lifecycle: The Skills & Tools to Accelerate Progress for Project Managers, Facilitators, and Six Sigma Project Teams (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Paperback)

Facilitating the Project Lifecycle is an excellent resource for all project and process improvement professionals. The instruction is comprehensive, the examples crisp, and the added bonus of the CD which contains usable tools make this a must read for professionals looking to improve their craft. I purchased my copy three years ago, and I find myself referencing it and using the templates in my work often. If you are interested in running meetings more effectively, learning new facilitation techniques, improving communication plans, or managing projects to achieve desired results this book is for you!

5.0 out of 5 stars My Go To Book, June 23, 2011

By 

Jeanette M. Hood - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Facilitating the Project Lifecycle: The Skills & Tools to Accelerate Progress for Project Managers, Facilitators, and Six Sigma Project Teams (Jossey-Bass Business & Management) (Paperback)

This practical advice is my GOTO bible whenever I get into a sticky situation on a project regrdless of my role. The well articulated, practical advice can assist you in mining the nuggets of wisdom within your Subject Matter Expertise community and putting them in useful formats that faciliate project progression.

As with anything, the earlier you follow this advice the better, but if you are lost, lack process,or need to get your team back on track, read this through and implement all or applicable tools at any point.
Jet