Hello, could someone help me find a book on Project Management 101? This may seem like an incredibly simple question, but since I am not living in a country where English is the native language, it's difficult to get a good overview of available books in English.
Specifically, I am looking for a book that describes reformulating a project assignment, phasing a project, decision making and project start-up.
I'd be grateful if anyone can send me a book title or ISBN number.
Larisa, I have a "Best of Breed Book" section on my website that should be of some help. Tom Welch, WWW.MoneyWords.Com Saving Changes...
Michael BrownProject Manager| JPMorganChaseDeerfield, Il, United States
Larisa,
Almost any book by Harold Kerzner would be recommended as a "Project Mgmt. 101" book. He's one of several Project Management "Guru's" I'd also recommend fatbrain.com as a good source of books off the internet. Saving Changes...
Kerzner's books are generic, dry, and reference mostly out-of-date sources from the 1960s and 1970s. His books are not a casual read and designed for PMs involved in large scale programs. For example, most IT projects today involve a team of 5 to 25 members, not 1000s as in a government program or construction project. Here's a better idea in choosing a book: First, consider your targeted audience in terms of level of interest, expertise, and experience in the topic at hand. Next, consider your industry and functional activities in picking a book. If, for example, you are an experienced IT project manager like me, a book by Kerzner is total a waste of money since he does not directly address the needs of today's PMs working in the technology sector. One shoe does not fit all. Tom Welch, WWW.MONEYWORDS.COM
I'll agree with Tom that different books on the subject address different audiences, not only in content but in style. (And it is, after all, style that gets one to stick with and care about the content.)
In my Critical Chain world, I usually suggest a pair of books. For managers and non-PMs, the book to read to get a handle on the underlying causes of project (non-)performance is Eli Goldratt's CRITICAL CHAIN from North River Press.
While the managers are reading that one, the PMs should probably take a look at Lawrence Leach's CRITICAL CHAIN PROJECT MANAGEMENT from Artech House Publishers.
I'm totally enthralled by Larry's book! Initially I wondered how his book could be worth it's asking price (compared with the list supplied by Barnes and Noble that his purchasers "also bought", which ran half the price for books of sometimes twice as many pages), but I can say now, it's worth every penny.
Unfortunately, for me, the funding I would have used to license and deploy critical chain scheduling tools and train everyone in TOC thinking tools, etc. for our project-oriented engineering services company became unavailable due to a mission critical urgent need in another area of the company.
I pine for Critical Chain, I made my case well and my senior managers were convinced of the true value of this approach. But if replacing the engine on your car will get you much better mileage, with a 6 month payback, it still can't hold a candle to fixing your failed brakes!
Paula, I observed several managers at Lucent Technologies in Naperville, IL, that made the case for Critical Chain/TOC licenses and across the board training, who are now either been "demoted" or told to find other jobs after pissing major chunks of the budget and getting pathetic results. IMHO, TOC is a production control scheduling technique designed for high volume light manfacturing, not IT/IS environments. TOC is NOT a project management methodology, but a scheduling strategy at best. My advice to you or anyone else who sticks his or her neck out on a program that may prove to be inappropriate or not generate desired results (VALUE) is first update your resume BEFORE implementing TOC licensing and training. Tom Welch, WWW.MoneyWords.Com Saving Changes...
