An essential resource presenting state-of-the-art literature in the theory and process of project management, The AMA Handbook of Project Management has long been considered the authoritative guide. Revised to reflect the latest changes to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) and the Project Management Professional Exam®, the Fourth Edition provides an updated set of principles and processes, enabling you to fully understand this constantly evolving field.

Whether you’re a student of project management, a current project management professional, or someone involved in projects, the book provides indispensable guidance on various topics, from preparing to take the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification Exam, to thriving in a specific organization and succeeding in your project management career. Divided into clear, easy-to-reference sections, the book:

• Introduces you to the basic accepted practices and principles of project management.

• Discusses the growth and creation of project management from an historical and global perspective, with an eye toward ethics, professionalism, and career development.

• Reveals areas that have become crucial organizational issues in project management, including multiple projects, programs, performance measurement, portfolio selection and management, enterprise systems, organizational culture and structure, and alignment with strategy.

• Provides a glimpse of where the discipline is heading, examining leading-edge topics such as new methodologies and organizational structures, globally diverse teams, break­through technologies, Agile Project Management, and sustainability.

The book further goes on to consider project management’s application and adaption to a variety of industries and their environments, including construction and engineering, new product development, information technology, and more, featuring new chapters on healthcare, marketing, financial services, and infrastructure development.

Moving far beyond the essentials of dealing with individual projects, this compendium of the best thinking in project management introduces you to the advanced, professional aspects of the field you must master in order to excel, including: the interaction of projects with other major depart­ments of the organization, such as accounting, finance, and other groups affected by the results of the project; the requirements for managing multiple projects simultaneously; proper management of the power structures and conflicts that typically surround projects; the expected contri­butions of projects to the organization; and your own career potential.

Packed with new information and filled with practical guidance designed to move you ahead no matter where you are in your project management career, The AMA Handbook of Project Management is an essential addition to your bookshelf.

PAUL C. DINSMORE, PMP, is an international authority on project management and organizational change. He has been honored with PMI’s Distinguished Contributions Award, and is a Fellow of the Institute.

JEANNETTE CABANIS-BREWIN, Editor-in-Chief for Project Management Solutions, Inc., and principal of The WordSource, LLC, has written about project management for many years, and is a recipient of PMI’s Distinguished Contributions Award.

Praise for Previous Editions:

“Invaluable in providing...knowledge for real professionals….a reference book that should find a spot on any serious project manager’s bookshelf.”

— Technical Communication magazine

“The book’s editors—Paul Dinsmore and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin—should be commended for doing an excellent editorial job….[the editorial effort] is particularly significant in view of the fact that this handbook comprises work written by 42 distinct authors….All chapters are informative and well written….its objective is to put project management into its contemporary context, enabling readers to get up to speed on important issues in project management today. In my view, the book has done a fine job in achieving this objective.”

— J. Davidson Frame, PMP, The Project Management Journal

Presenting the latest, up-to-the-minute thinking in a highly complex and constantly changing field, the Fourth Edition of The AMA Handbook of Project Management is an indispensable reference to the critical concepts and theories you must master in order to succeed. The book—thoroughly updated and compatible with the most recent Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certi­fication Exam, and reflecting the latest changes to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowl­edge (PMBOK®)—compiles essays and advice from the field’s top professionals.

Featuring new chapters on stakeholder management, agile project management, program manage­ment, project governance, and change management, this comprehensive resource shows you how to:

• Handle the transition from project idea to project reality

• Manage political and resource issues

• Engage stakeholders

• Plan for resistance to change

• and much more

Containing definitive models, case studies, advice, and solutions to specific project management dilemmas, the book covers crucial skills such as: strategic planning; resource allocation; risk and change management; productivity and quality assessment; scope, cost, and time management.

Packed with research-based information and advice from experienced practitioners, The AMA Handbook of Project Management analyzes and clarfies the task of managing projects from every angle. The opening chapters correspond with those of the most recent PMBOK® Guide. The book looks at the history and current state of project man­agement as a profession, beginning with a discussion of project management basics, and moving forward to provide you with a glimpse of where the discipline and the organizations in which it is practiced may be heading.

The Fourth Edition takes a close look at the specific challenges you will face as you move beyond the individual project, from the realities of organizational life, to inescapable issues such as organizational culture and structure, synchronization of multiple projects, and alignment with strategy. The book highlights the latest trends from a global perspective, and provides you with a practical understanding of how they will affect you as a project management practitioner. You’ll gain a clear understanding of how project management fundamentals must be adapted to different industry and professional environments, including marketing, financial services, healthcare, and infrastructure development.

The AMA Handbook of Project Management remains a must-read for any project management professional or student.