About
the Book
Who
should read this book?
We've
seen books on Project Management for Dummies and for Idiots so
both of those readerships are already served. (This does not
mean that if you're a dummy or an idiot you shouldn't buy this
book. Please feel free to do so.) We're actually trying to reach
the people who have to cope with running projects on a
day-to-day basis.
The
materials in the book are intended for use by people who are
practicing project managers or are thinking about becoming
project managers. We sent out requests to a large number of
people for their "best practices," and got a very
sparse reply. Since project managers all talk about best
practices we thought there would be a lot more information
coming. It didn't, so we wrote from both our experiences.
We
hope that some idea in the book will help you be a slightly
better project manager. In the case of the veteran project
manager we hope that the best practices will trigger memories of
past projects. We all go though common experiences as project
managers and hopefully we will offer ideas on best practices
that make the day and project more enjoyable. In fact, we'd like
to think that if just one of them will work for you that the
savings in pain or dollars will be more than the price of the
book.
| Jim Blaylock,
PMP |
Dr. Rudd
McGary, PMP |
About
the Authors
Jim Blaylock, PMP
Jim has over 25 years of project
management experience working in both the public and private
sectors. He holds a BS in Chemistry and a MS in Computer Systems
Management (information Systems). In addition to having headed
several large Information Technology (IT) and Project Management
organizations, he has led projects in both IT and Automated Materials
Handling that included Manufacturing, Logistics, Distribution,
Financial, and Planning and Control systems.
He is a graduate of the
Crosby Quality College and certified as a PMP since 1993. He has
been a member of the Southwest Ohio Chapter of PMI since 1992
and has served on their Board of Directors since 1997. Jim has a
number of articles published on Risk and Project Management in
PMI local and international publications and is a frequent guest
speaker on Project Management at universities in the Cincinnati/Northem
Kentucky area. In addition, he is an adjunct professor at Xavier
University in the Williams College of Business, teaching
Operations Management to MBA candidates.
Jim is married to Fran, and
they have two sons Jeff and Brad. They acquired their first
daughter recently when Jeff married Lynette.
Rudd McGary, Ph.D., PMP
McGary has worked in
project management for more than 20 years in the private,
public, and academic areas. His dissertation topic at the Ohio
State University concerned the entry of new technologies into
the public marketplace. In addition he has been the CEO of two
companies, working with various clientele in both the US,
France, Germany, and Canada. A member of the PMI Central
Ohio Chapter since 1999, McGary is now
the VP of Certification, helping various chapter members to
become certified.
He has been a monthly columnist on
business in a variety of magazines in addition to a weekly
columnist for seven newspapers In addition to his practical
management background, Rudd has been on the faculty of Indiana
University, the University of Iowa, and the Ohio State
University.
Rudd is married to the lovely Sharon,
and has two boys, Clayton and Carter. They all live together
with the great white dog, Picasso.
