Understanding Project Management

Dave C. Barrett, an experienced practitioner, has revised this textbook for a second edition aimed at people who already manage projects and those hoping to start. The writing is plain and accessible. This edition adds new illustrations to clarify core concepts, brings its terminology more closely in line with the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Sixth Edition, which it cites throughout, and expands its set of key terms and practical examples.

The book follows one continuing case study from the first stage of a project through to its close. Along the way, readers see how a project manager reasons and acts at each step, including the drafting of project documents. These documents are authentic and were produced alongside the case. The text focuses on the central areas of scope, quality, schedule, and budget, and also examines the softer, harder-to-measure factors that can throw a project off course or help it succeed.

Rather than only listing procedures, the book explains why particular processes exist, why certain decisions get made, and how the different parts of project management connect. Its approach is not tied to any single field, so it suits readers in any discipline or industry.

The instructor resources have been expanded with new case studies for in-class activities, along with extension cases that present additional situations and problems for classroom discussion.