Using the Project Management Maturity Model: Strategic Planning for Project Management Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book represents an excellent effort to apply the capability maturity model(CMM) to project management.For reference, the CMM was originated by Mitre Corp. and developed by the Software Engineering Institute originally as a benchmark for determining an organization's software engineering capabilities.It has become a widely used benchmark in the software engineering community and has been extended to other domains, such as human resources (the People Capability Maturity Model) and other disciplines.
The book starts off with an introduction, followed by three chapters that lay the groundwork for the author's maturity model: The Need for Strategic Planning for Project Management, Impact of Economic Conditions on Project Management, Principles of Strategic Planning.The ideas and material presented here are very much applicable to program management offices.
Project Management Maturity Model (PMMM) is introduced in the next chapter, which ties project management to an enterprise-wide strategic planning initiative. It also provides a project management-centric view of capability maturity.The next five chapters are devoted to each of the five levels of the PMMM: Level 1 (Common Language), Level 2 (Common Processes), Level 3 (Singular Methodology), Level 4 (Benchmarking), and Level 5 (Continuous Improvement).
The value of this is project management practices can be assessed against a standard benchmark for capability, which is something that cannot be achieved by comparing these practices against Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge.
There is one pitfall to the PMMM that the author proposes: it uses a different paradigm than the CMM, which is Level-1 (Ad Hoc), Level-2 (Repeatable), Level-3 (Defined), Level-4 (Managed) and Level-5 (Optimizing).This is not a problem outside of the software development industry and IT domain where the CMM is not known.However, because the CMM integrates project management into its process areas, the disparity of terminology, assessment paradigm and the model itself will cause confusion and make implementing the PMMM in a CMM organization a nightmare.
One thing I do like very much is the balanced approach the author takes.This is shown in a chapter titled "Special Problems with Strategic Planning for Project Management."Also, the case studies at the end of the book are excellent reading.
Here's the conundrum:the project management profession needs a benchmark and the PMMM is well thought out and thorough.However, the PMMM differs in many ways from the CMM.My personal take is at least the author drove a stake into the ground by raising an awareness of the need for a PMMM. He also has thought this through and the model itself is sound.I found the book invaluable and thought-provoking.It does lay the foundation for a PMO, as stated by a previous reviewer, and that is something that is only marginally addressed in the official U.S. PM standard (Project Management Body of Knowledge).The value outweighs the cited pitfall, in my opinion, and earns this book 5 stars and my recommendation that every serious PM read this book.

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Product Description:
updated for today's businesses-a proven model FOR assessment and ongoing improvement

Using the Project Management Maturity Model, Second Edition is the updated edition of Harold Kerzner's renowned book covering his Project Management Maturity Model (PMMM). In this hands-on book, Kerzner offers a unique, industry-validated tool for helping companies of all sizes assess and improve their progress in integrating project management into every part of their organizations.

Conveniently organized into two sections, this Second Edition begins with an examination of strategic planning principles and the ways they relate to project management. In the second section, PMMM is introduced with in-depth coverage of the five different levels of development for achieving maturity. Easily adaptable benchmarking instruments for measuring an organization's progress along the maturity curve make this a practical guide for any type of company.

Complete with an associated Web site packed with both teaching and learning tools, Using the Project Management Maturity Model, Second Edition helps managers, engineers, project team members, business consultants, and others build a powerful foundation for company improvement and excellence.

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