B

rad leans back in his chair as he finishes his turkey sand-

wich. Life is good. He’s come a long way since that first

wave of panic hit him in Susan’s office, when she made him a

project manager. He can recall the strange sound of the term

“my project” the first few times he said it out loud. Now he actu-

ally likes the way it sounds. And why shouldn’t he? He’s learned

a lot—and accomplished a lot—in a relatively short time.

He’s learned that project management is both a science and

an art—partly mechanical, partly behavioral. He believes he

knows what it takes to be a good project manager and what it

takes to produce a successful project outcome. He believes he

already understands the project management process fairly

well: he demonstrated that when he came up with a much more

cost-effective solution than the one Susan had handed him.

Finally, he’s proud of the way he was able to work with oth-

ers in the organization (many of whom were now on his team)

to prepare and present a comprehensive business case for his

project. And I got it approved by management in record time,

he thinks to himself and smiles.

113

Preparing a

Detailed Project

Plan: Step by Step

7

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