Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)When I am asked to recommend a good book on project management I always recommend Visualizing Project Management by Forsberg, Cotterman and Mooz.That book teaches project management the right way, in my opinion, by laying a solid foundation.However, at some point you will master the material through application and experience, and you'll want to go to the next level.That is where this excellent book will take you.
As you mature as a project manager you eventually discover that the technical aspects are a great foundation, but the 'soft skills' are essential to success. The book starts with these.The author provides some excellent material on how to make effective oral and written presentations, negotiation skills and leadership.
Don't get the impression that this book does not cover technical material.It does, and it goes pretty deep into some advanced techniques.For example, the author provides a very comprehensive discussion of work breakdown structures (WBS) and how to develop them. In my opinion the biggest failure of projects is the fact that a WBS is never developed before the estimating and scheduling is performed.I really liked the network analysis chapter.It presented in clear prose how to risk-adjust a critical path, which is something I learned over a decade ago, but am met with blank stares when I mention this to most project manager.Indeed, most project managers don't know what a critical path is (they use the term often enough, they just don't know what itmeans), much less how to perform a critical path analysis. This book will provide this information and a few easy-to-learn techniques as well.I thought that the chapter on earned value was adequate. I was glad to see it included in the book and give the author credit for his comprehensive treatment, but I almost fell asleep here.I recommend that serious project managers augment the earned value knowledge in this book with Earned Value Project Management, 2nd Edition by Quentin Fleming and Joel Koppleman.That book was written by authors who developed the 32 earned value criteria for the Project Management Body of Knowledge (2000 version).
The part of the book that covers managing a project is filled with great advice.I thought the chapter on project selection was particularly valuable because it is objective and based on financial formulae that should be applied to these kinds of decisions. The sample reports are also good templates that should be in every project manager's tool kit.
Overall, this book will give a seasoned project manager much sound advice and provide him or her with an array of advanced techniques. It is truly a project manager's survival guide earning it a solid five stars and a place on the list of the handful of books that I always recommend.
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Product Description:
Seeing a project through to completion involves not just technical knowledge--of tools like Work Breakdown Schedule, Gantt Charts, and Network Analysis--but also human skills, such as the ability to communicate, negotiate, listen, and lead. After all, it's people who do most of the work on projects, and "people problems" can derail even the most meticulously planned project. Practical and user-friendly, A Survival Guide for Project Managers covers both the technical side and the human side.
Now in an affordable paperback edition, the book has been revised to reflect the latest version of the PMBOK(r) Guide, and includes new material on topics including Project Risk and the Project Management Office. The book shows readers how to:
* develop the interpersonal and business skills required of a project manager* resolve conflicts and improve negotiation capabilities* understand and apply the technical tools of project management* establish project teams, and more
Packed with forms and other tools, this is the ultimate resource for project managers.
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