As the economy moves toward a services orientation, companies are struggling with how to improve their offerings. Process management is a key component of the services that companies provide. This book has three main parts: mapping, improvement, and error-proofing and metrics. In the first part--mapping--the reader will learn how to map a process so that the map is immediately understandable for identifying the roles, work steps, and automation support used in process delivery. The second part--improvement--provides a series of techniques for defining, prioritizing, and analyzing problems from several perspectives. The first perspective is called "leaning," and its purpose is to remove waste from an existing process. The second perspective is "cleaning," during which the remaining steps following leaning are analyzed for possible improvement. The third perspective is "greening," which explores opportunities and trade-offs for outsourcing, coproduction, and environmental improvements related to the process. The final third of the book--error-proofing and metrics--presents several techniques for ensuring risk mitigation for the new process and for measuring changes that define their impacts, and illustrates a method for proposing changes to executives in a "case for change." Overall, the book provides a blueprint of how to develop a discipline for process management that applies to any type of work.

With the vast majority of Facebook users caught in a frenzy of 'friending', 'liking' and 'commenting', at what point do we pause to grasp the consequences of our info-saturated lives? What compels us to engage so diligently with social networking systems? Networks Without a Cause examines our collective obsession with identity and self-management coupled with the fragmentation and information overload endemic to contemporary online culture. With a dearth of theory on the social and cultural ramifications of hugely popular online services, Lovink provides a path-breaking critical analysis of our over-hyped, networked world with case studies on search engines, online video, blogging, digital radio, media activism and the Wikileaks saga. This book offers a powerful message to media practitioners and theorists: let us collectively unleash our critical capacities to influence technology design and workspaces, otherwise we will disappear into the cloud. Probing but never pessimistic, Lovink draws from his long history in media research to offer a critique of the political structures and conceptual powers embedded in the technologies that shape our daily lives.

"An updated and revised edition of the bestselling guide to managing projectsFor any professional responsible for coordinating projects among different departments, across executive levels, or with technical complexity, The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management offers comprehensive instruction on how to deliver on time and on budget. Get the step-by-step advice you need to find the right sponsor, clarify objectives, and set realistic schedules and budget projections. This Fourth Edition of the 200,000-copy bestseller now covers critical new topics including: software and IT projects, agile techniques, and project selection.Perfect for beginners or experienced managers needing to bring their systems up to date, The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management allows readers to extract maximum information in minimum time. The most comprehensive introduction to project management, updated to reflect changes in the business environment over the past few years Full of downloadable forms and spreadsheets to help you implement the techniques in the book Offers updated advice on getting the most from Microsoft Project "--