Project Management books

Delve deep into the various technical practices, principles, and values of Agile. Key Features Discover the essence of Agile software development and the key principles of software design Explore the fundamental practices of Agile working, including test-driven development (TDD), refactoring, pair programming, and continuous integration Learn and apply the four elements of simple design Book Description The number of popular technical practices has grown exponentially in the last few years. Learning the common fundamental software development practices can help you become a better programmer. This book uses the term Agile as a wide umbrella and covers Agile principles and practices, as well as most methodologies associated with it. You'll begin by discovering how driver-navigator, chess clock, and other techniques used in the pair programming approach introduce discipline while writing code. You'll then learn to safely change the design of your code using refactoring. While learning these techniques, you'll also explore various best practices to write efficient tests. The concluding chapters of the book delve deep into the SOLID principles - the five design principles that you can use to make your software more understandable, flexible and maintainable. By the end of the book, you will have discovered new ideas for improving your software design skills, the relationship within your team, and the way your business works. What you will learn Learn the red, green, refactor cycle of classic TDD and practice the best habits such as the rule of 3, triangulation, object calisthenics, and more Refactor using parallel change and improve legacy code with characterization tests, approval tests, and Golden Master Use code smells as feedback to improve your design Learn the double cycle of ATDD and the outside-in mindset using mocks and stubs correctly in your tests Understand how Coupling, Cohesion, Connascence, SOLID principles, and code smells are all related Improve the understanding of your business domain using BDD and other principles for "doing the right thing, not only the thing right" Who this book is for This book is designed for software developers looking to improve their technical practices. Software coaches may also find it helpful as a teaching reference manual. This is not a beginner's book on how to program. You must be comfortable with at least one programming language and must be able to write unit tests using any unit testing framework.

The essential blueprints and workflow you need to build successful AI business applications Key Features Learn and master the essential blueprints to program AI for real-world business applications Gain insights into how modern AI and machine learning solve core business challenges Acquire practical techniques and a workflow that can build AI applications using state-of-the-art software libraries Work with a practical, code-based strategy for creating successful AI solutions in your business Book Description AI Blueprints gives you a working framework and the techniques to build your own successful AI business applications. You'll learn across six business scenarios how AI can solve critical challenges with state-of-the-art AI software libraries and a well thought out workflow. Along the way you'll discover the practical techniques to build AI business applications from first design to full coding and deployment. The AI blueprints in this book solve key business scenarios. The first blueprint uses AI to find solutions for building plans for cloud computing that are on-time and under budget. The second blueprint involves an AI system that continuously monitors social media to gauge public feeling about a topic of interest - such as self-driving cars. You'll learn how to approach AI business problems and apply blueprints that can ensure success. The next AI scenario shows you how to approach the problem of creating a recommendation engine and monitoring how those recommendations perform. The fourth blueprint shows you how to use deep learning to find your business logo in social media photos and assess how people interact with your products. Learn the practical techniques involved and how to apply these blueprints intelligently. The fifth blueprint is about how to best design a 'trending now' section on your website, much like the one we know from Twitter. The sixth blueprint shows how to create helpful chatbots so that an AI system can understand customers' questions and answer them with relevant responses. This book continuously demonstrates a working framework and strategy for building AI business applications. Along the way, you'll also learn how to prepare for future advances in AI. You'll gain a workflow and a toolbox of patterns and techniques so that you can create your own smart code. What you will learn An essential toolbox of blueprints and advanced techniques for building AI business applications How to design and deploy AI applications that meet today's business needs A workflow from first design stages to practical code solutions in your next AI projects Solutions for AI projects that involve social media analytics and recommendation engines Practical projects and techniques for sentiment analysis and helpful chatbots A blueprint for AI projects that recommend products based on customer purchasing habits How to prepare yourself for the next decade of AI and machine learning advancements Who this book is for Programming AI Business Applications provides an introduction to AI with real-world examples. This book can be read and understood by programmers and students without requiring previous AI experience. The projects in this book make use of Java and Python and several popular and state-of-the-art opensource AI libraries.

In an increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) business world, it is more important than ever for organizations to build resilience into their everyday practice.Business Resilience is a practical guide to making organizations more resilient and improving current practices by building on what the organization does well. It explains how managers should constantly monitor their business environment and adapt their priorities depending on the level of disruption - from gradual innovation and improvement in good times to swarming on a single problem during a crisis.Based on the authors' new models for resilience and progress, this book includes frameworks and tools which can be tailored to any organization and used as stand-alone improvements or combined across teams and departments. These practices avoid unnecessary change but enable rapid and sustainable improvements in product development, service delivery and customer value. Learn how to survive and thrive in any environment with this actionable approach to making progress at pace and effectively embedding business resilience.

In today's competitive environment where we are doing everything we can to compete for talent, effective communication ensures we are showcasing our HR programmes in a way which will help us attract, retain and engage talent. Effective HR Communication is a practical guide to develop and deliver effective communication campaigns, ensuring that teams have the knowledge, skills and tools to achieve the desired objectives. Whether introducing new HR programmes or re-launching existing ones, communications help us deliver the key messages so that employees understand, appreciate and action them to meet our HR and business objectives. Effective HR Communication introduces a six-step 'IMPACT' model to explain and demonstrate the critical steps to be followed when developing a communications campaign. This includes steps such as understanding the communication needs and requirements of employees, developing the most robust objectives, selecting and developing the appropriate medium, planning a campaign in an effective manner, leveraging the support of business partners, developing effective communications content, and measuring the success of the campaign. Using a combination of theory, examples, tips and tools from leading experts, this book provides practical information which can easily be used to create effective and impactful communications. Case studies from leading organizations such as BT, LV=, Merlin Entertainments and Reward Gateway are included to further illustrate how communication has been done effectively.

The Complete Beginners' Guide to ITIL Key Features Explains ITIL service strategy and guiding principles Covers all ITIL processes, roles, and functions Describes the ITIL service lifecycle and standards for service design and development An explanation is given in untraditional Layman’s language, with easy to follow examples Explores issues of creating and maintaining value for clients through monitoring Description Dr Pratul Sharma’s exposure to working Industry movers, good practices of IT Service Management and Project Management has enabled him to work closest to the minds of knowledge workers of today’s Industry. This book is a collection of Dr. Pratul Sharma’s real-life examples explaining the concepts of IT Service Management and ITIL which have proven to be the most important aspects of the learning journey of service industry professionals. The examples quoted herein are from the author own experience. The book also provides some entering questions which may be pondered during client discussions or job interviews. What You Will Learn Service Strategy & Design, Service Transition & Service Operation Continual Service Improvement Service Operation Functions ITIL® 2011 Update Who This Book is For This book is a humble attempt to support the endeavour, where an effort has been made to make the knowledge simple and easy to understand even to the professionals who are not IT literate. Even a banker could read the manuscript of the book and easily understand the good practices of IT Service Management described therein. This book will help the readers to understand the relatively new discipline called IT Service Management better. Table of Contents 1. The ITIL® Story 2. Concepts 3. The Story Continues -ITIL® V 3.0 4. Service Strategy 5. Service Design 6. Service Transition & Service Operation 7. Continual Service Improvement 8. Service Operation Functions 9. ITIL® 2011 Update 10. Few Important Questions to discuss 11. The ITIL® Story Summary 12. Abbreviations About the Author Dr Pratul Sharma has been working as an International Trainer, Mentor, Coach & Consultant for past many years after having a successful career in the Industry contributing in all important functions of Global Business Organizations (i.e. sales, presales, delivery, support and consulting etc) during his professional career of more than 2 decades. Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/drpratulsharma Website: vedangsoftware.com vedangjyotish.com

Learn techniques of project scheduling using MS Excel and Solver. Key Features -Covers methods to streamlining project completion and optimising budgets. -Includes techniques for resolving business problems and optimising EVM. -Examines project crashing strategies, linear programming solutions, and the Solver tool. Description This book assists project management professionals in resolving project crashing situations through linear programming. It demonstrates how the PM team can help streamline the project's on-time completion and cost optimization. The book begins with understanding project management processes and frameworks such as WBS, PDM, and EVM. The book helps build familiarity with the PM team's procedures to monitor a project. It helps investigate linear programming problems (LPPs) and the mathematical foundations for their formulation. It covers various approaches to solving the LPP, including graphical methods, their limitations, and the necessity of tools such as MS Excel's Solver. It also covers how the PM team can solve LPP with the help of Solver. This book covers various business and technical scenarios for crashing a project. It teaches how to formulate the problem of optimizing a project for time and cost using LPP. This book then discusses how LPP can be solved using Solver and more complex issues. It also explores the relationship between earned value management and crashing a project. What you will learn -Learn the process of developing the Work Breakdown Structure. -Prepare a project schedule with all contingencies in consideration. -Recognize the circumstances that necessitate considering crashing a project. -Utilize linear programming to formulate and resolve project scheduling issues. -Develop strong proficiency in using MS Excel for Project Management activities. Who this book is for This book is intended for project management professionals at all levels, including project coordinators, operations analysts, quality analysts, and all stakeholders in a running project. Although not mandatory, some background in project management and familiarity with Microsoft Excel would be an advantage. Table of Contents 1. Project Scheduling 2. Earned Value Method 3. Linear Programming Problems 4. Crashing a Project 5. Using LPP to Crash a Project 6. More Complex Problems 7. Linking EVM and LPP 8. Annexure I: Microsoft Excel Basics 9. Annexure II: Advanced Methods of Crashing a Project

Empower Your Agile Software Product Development Scrum Teams with Advanced Scrum Techniques Key Features - Provides a complete overview of various Agile Frameworks, including the Scrum Framework. - Covers numerous scenario-based examples and an in-depth explanation for Scrum Malfunctions and various Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques. - Includes visual illustrations for the Scrum-based Agile Way of Working and its associated various Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques. - Highlights real-time use-cases and experiences for various Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques. Description This book emphasizes on the Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques to be explored, applied, and utilized by the Scrum Teams to establish and improve a fully functional Scrum-based Agile Way of Working. Reading this book not only helps the Scrum Teams to encourage their overall responsibility, accountability, and ownership, but also guides them to become High-Performing Scrum Teams. The book contains numerous real-time use-cases and visual illustrations for various concepts of Scrum Framework, Scrum-based Agile Way of Working, and Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques. It also gives an overview of Scrum Malfunctioning and various ways to prevent and correct it. This book acts as a handy reference for the Scrum Teams to make use of Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques. After reading this book, the readers can look out for any malfunctions present within their Scrum Teams and apply the applicable Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques to address such malfunctions. By applying these techniques, they can also address the scope for a continuous improvement under the Scrum-based Agile Way of Working of their Scrum Teams. What you will learn - Identify Scrum Malfunctions in Scrum Teams along with various preventive and corrective measures. - Adopt Advanced Scrum Add-ons/Techniques and Best Practices for Scrum Roles, Scrum Artifacts, and Scrum Events. - Learn to improvise the Structuring, Alignment, Collaboration, Communication, and Working Agreements of Scrum Teams. - Utilize Advanced Engineering Practices to improve the Technical Agility of Scrum Teams. Who this book is for This book is for Agile Enthusiasts, Agile Coaches, Scrum Practitioners, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, and for the Agile Software Product Development Scrum Teams having a basic know-how of the Scrum Framework and who want to implement various Advanced Techniques/Best Practices of the Scrum Framework to boost their Organizational Agility. Table of Contents 1. Fundamentals of Agile Software Development, Delivery, and Way of Working 2. Agile Frameworks 3. Overview of the Scrum Framework 4. Scrum Malfunctioning and Understanding the need for Advanced Scrum Add-ons 5. Introduction to Advanced Scrum Add-ons 6. Add-ons for Structuring, Collaboration, and Communication within Scrum Teams 7. Add-ons for Scrum Roles and Working Agreement within Scrum Teams 8. Add-ons for Effective and Efficient Product Backlog Management 9. Add-ons for Effective and Efficient Relative Estimation 10. Add-ons for Scrum Events 11. Add-ons for Advanced Engineering Practices and Technical Agility 12. Add-ons for Effective and Efficient Scrum Metrics 13. Add-ons for Scaling Scrum 14. Additional Advanced Scrum Add-ons 15. A Quick Reflection on Scrum Guide 2020 About the Authors Rituraj Patil is an experienced Scrum Master/Agile Coach, who for the past 10+ years has been working with various multinational organizations to develop and deliver high-quality working software products, services, and solution offerings. He is a technology, Lean-Agile (Leadership, Culture, and Management) enthusiast, servant leader, and avid learner. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riturajtpatil/

A comprehensive guide packed with the latest features of Dynamics 365 for customer relationship management Key Features Create efficient client-side apps and customized plugins that work seamlessly Learn best practices from field experience to use Dynamics 365 efficiently Unleash the power of Dynamics 365 to maximize your organization's profits Book Description Microsoft Dynamics 365 is an all-in-one business management solution that's easy to use and adapt. It helps you connect your finances, sales, service, and operations to streamline business processes, improve customer interactions, and enable growth. This book gives you all the information you need to become an expert in MS Dynamics 365. This book starts with a brief overview of the functional features of Dynamics 365. You will learn how to create Word and Excel templates using CRM data to enable customized data analysis for your organization. This book helps you understand how to use Dynamics 365 as an XRM Framework, gain a deep understanding of client-side scripting in Dynamics 365, and create client-side applications using JavaScript and the Web API. In addition to this, you will discover how to customize Dynamics 365, and quickly move on to grasp the app structure, which helps you customize Dynamics 365 better. You will also learn how Dynamics 365 can be seamlessly embedded into various productivity tools to customize them for machine learning and contextual guidance. By the end of this book, you will have mastered utilizing Dynamics 365 features through real-world scenarios. What you will learn Manage various divisions of your organization using Dynamics 365 customizations Explore the XRM Framework and leverage its features Provide an enhanced mobile and tablet experience Develop client-side applications using JavaScript and the Web API Understand how to develop plugins and workflows using Dynamics 365 Explore solution framework improvements and new field types Who this book is for Mastering Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement is for you if you have knowledge of Dynamics CRM and want to utilize the latest features of Dynamics 365. This book is also for you if you're a skilled developer looking to move to the Microsoft stack to build business solution software. Extensive Dynamics CRM development experience will be beneficial to understand the concepts covered in this book.

Discover the endless capabilities and end-to-end project management functionalities of Dynamics 365 Project Operations to drive your firm's project success and ensure rapid business growth in the competitive digital economic worldKey FeaturesDeliver successful projects via improved collaboration, visibility, and teamwork using Microsoft Project Operations solutionsGain real-time data insights to modernize business strategies to increase market shareBuild the right project operations models to meet business needs with an optimized budgetBook DescriptionDynamics 365 Project Operations is a game-changing solution set for project-driven businesses that allows you to deliver commercially successful projects in a timely and cost-effective manner, keeping the project teams productive and collaborative. With this book, you'll find out how you can bring more value to the business by winning new projects and driving exponential revenue growth. Starting with the key principles of Project Operations, you'll understand how it improves project planning and execution. You'll then learn how to successfully deploy Project Operations along with different integration strategies and get to grips with the best approach for sales through project opportunities, project contracts, and pricing workflow implementation. This book will guide you through setting up direct staffing and centralized staffing models and enable you to manage project changes confidently by getting hands-on with project timeline management, pricing management, resource assignments, and modifications. In the final chapters, you'll find out how to use Project Operations effectively for project accounting and finance. By the end of this book, you'll have gained the confidence to deliver profitable projects in a well-connected organization through efficient decision-making and successful customer-client relationships.What you will learnConfigure key elements of Project Operations to drive improved collaboration with your customersDiscover how Project Operations is interconnected with Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 PlatformUnderstand the Project Opportunity-to-Quote-to-Contract workflow and its implications for sellingFind out how to set up and utilize direct staffing and centralized staffing modelsExplore Project Timeline Management using Task, Board, and Timeline viewsFind out how information flows to finance and operations in Project OperationsWho this book is forThis book is for project managers, project leads, business consultants, and business leaders who want to gain a competitive edge by delivering successful projects in a shorter time span with the help of effective operations and workflows across different teams within projects. Knowledge of Microsoft 365 and a sound understanding of business acumen and sales through the delivery process is necessary to get the most out of this book.

Strategic Project Management uses real life case examples to characterize and describe the organizational factors and conditions necessary for projects to thrive and to deliver the organization's strategic objectives. This characterization is formed around ten imperatives which senior managers can implement - both within individual projects and, even more crucially, within the institutions that sponsor them - using the tools provided. Accessible, practical and free of jargon, Strategic Project Management offers the solutions needed to successfully prioritize and manage a portfolio of projects, communicate aims, align priorities to organizational objectives, evaluate progress, manage supplier relationships and anticipate and mitigate the risks at every stage. Supported by a comprehensive package of online resources for project portfolio planning, management and analysis this book will help readers to build on their skills, knowledge and confidence to rise to the challenge of governing and delivering successful projects.