Managing Multiple Projects

Let’s face it — who among us has only a single project? Multiple projects are the norm, not the exception, and there are very good reasons why this is so. A lot of projects simply aren’t big enough to justify the investment of a full-time project manager; having only one is impractical. Depending on the availability of resources, a multiple project environment can accomplish substantial work while lowering the overhead burden of project management by consolidating processes. In this book, you will learn how to recognize the characteristics and to manage effectively in each of these situations, how to plan and organize your work, how to influence other people who may not report to you in an official supervisory capacity, and how to get results.

About the Authors

Michael S. Dobson, PMP, is an internationally known authority on project management and author of 22 previous books, including The Juggler’s Guide to Managing Multiple Projects (PMI, 1999). As principal of Dobson Solutions (dobsonsolutions.com) and the Sidewise Institute (sidewiseinsights.com), Michael consults, speaks, and trains on project management topics throughout the world. His clients range from the U.S. Navy’s nuclear propulsion program to Calvin Klein Cosmetics. As an operating executive and project manager, Michael has been Vice President, Discovery Software International; Vice President, Games Workshop; and Director of Marketing and Games Development, TSR, Inc. He was part of the team that built the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in the 1970s.

Deborah S. Dobson, M.Ed., is assistant vice president/director of leadership and organizational development for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a 44,000-person Fortune 500 scientific, engineering, and technology applications company. She was previously a senior vice president with broadline foodservice distributor U.S. Foodservice, and division vice president of GATX Terminals. She is the co-author of Enlightened Office Politics (AMACOM, 2001), Managing UP! (AMACOM, 2000), and Coping With Supervisory Nightmares (SkillPath, 1997), and most recently a contributing author to the International Society for Performance Improvement’s Handbook of Improving Performance in the Workplace (Volume 1: Instructional Design and Training Delivery) (Pfeiffer, 2010). She holds a Masters in Education from Loyola University Maryland, and a bachelor’s degree from Towson State University.