Book Reviews and Articles

Reviews by the Project Managers Network ·"Managing Projects - A New Approach"by Roberta Willson-Murray. · "Peopleware - Productive Projects and Teams (2nd edition)"by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister. ·"The Complete Idiots Guide to Project Management"by Sunny & Kim Baker.  ·"The New Project Management"by J. Davidson Frame  ·"Project Management in the fast lane - applying the theory of constraints" by Robert Newbold  · The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management” by Eric Verzuh · MS Project 2000 Books – various authors

1 July 1999.  Review by John P. Flynn "Managing Projects – A New Approach" by Roberta Willson-Murray (Wiley, 1997) This book provides a valuable source of Australian project case studies, and for this reason alone deserves a place in a local project manager’s library.  Although not based upon the PMI Body of Knowledge framework, it provides the reader with an effective alternative model for the project life cycle, and combines principles with specific examples from local enterprises, both corporate and public sector. While far from exhaustive, the book provides good coverage of projects and the major steps in initiating and evaluating them. In addition, the author gives many useful examples of project planning forms which will be of general use to managers, particularly those involved in smaller or short term projects. One interesting feature is the author’s solid emphasis on the required competencies for PMs and their team, and various questionnaires and checklists by which these may be assessed. I felt that these alone justified my investment in a copy of the book.

1 July 1999.  Review by John P. Flynn Peopleware – Productive Projects and Teams. 2nd edition by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister. (Dorset House Publishing, 1999) This is a new 1999 edition of a great classic in project management, one whose theme is the fact that people, your people, are not modular and interchangeable. This book, which was originally published in 1987, introduced many such classic issues involved in managing technical teams.  Two of these stand out -  - "Teamicide", the de facto policies and bureaucratic habits in large corporations that prevent teams from coalescing and succeeding, and  - "The Furniture Police", referring to management policies which structure office space as if it were a prison (to the detriment of productivity and quality). I am particulary fond of quoting one ominous phrase from this book in my training sessions - "Somewhere today, a project is failing"! The strength of the book is its insights and its readability. Each chapter is a separate essay, although there are cross-references to common ideas and insights, and you can comfortably read one in a few minutes.  For this new edition, the authors have introduced an entirely new section of 8 chapters, rather than make major changes in the original. Each of these chapters examines trends than have emerged through the Nineties, such as downsizing, process improvement programmes and managing change. I found the authors’ thoughts on these topics as valuable as their original insights. As the authors observe, "Most managers are willing to concede the idea that they’ve got more people worries than technical worries. But they seldom manage that way." This book is an accessible and valuable tool for a professional trying to make that move from technology to team management. I recommend it.

1 June 1999.  Review by Harold Ainsworth "The Complete Idiots Guide to Project Management" by Sunny & Kim Baker.  Published by Alpha Books 1998 Don’t be put off by the title! If you are worried by being seen reading this book cover it with paper. It is worth reading and has lots of good features: Its approaches are realistic and reflects real life projects (change control problems, conflict resolution, resources and other constraints) The Project Management Body of Knowledge (from which competency standards have been developed) is used as the basis for the topics covered and approach used. The coverage is comprehensive and includes a few topics not usually mentioned in Project Management texts, such as: - PM skills - select projects worth doing - don’t try to do them all - project organisation structure  - the pro’s and con’s of each communication medium and the need to select the correct one  It explains effectively more difficult concepts like Critical Path. It is easy to read with diagrams, check lists, humour, useful and interesting quotes and anecdotes. The only negative I found was the Chapter 21 on performance reporting which I felt was a bit light on detailed approaches to getting more accuracy in reporting. There is a quote on page 55 about PM’s with a "we can do anything attitude" which is worth noting - this initial idealised reaction can come unstuck when reality set in and you will find yourself unpopular with both team and management. I believe, along with the authors, that idealism is no substitute for the hard work of detail planning and negotiating around constraints.  I found the book consistent with both modern views and my own views of Project Management. I recommend the book to those wishing to learn more about structured approaches to Project Management in today's complex environment.  It is realistically priced in Australia at $40.

11 April 1999.  Review by Harold Ainsworth "Project Management in the fast lane - applying the theory of constraints" by Robert Newbold, St Lucie Press/APICS series on constraints management  The Theory of Constraints (TOC) was developed by Eli Goldratt in his initial book "The Goal" which looked at production environments. His latest book "Critical Chain" applies the concepts to project management. The critical chain is different from the critical path since it takes into account resource constraints. The problem with typical scheduling is that contingency is built into each task along the path and therefore safety is dissipated and wasted. The solution is to strip this out into buffers managed by the Project Manager and located at the end of the critical chain. Also where non-critical paths merge with the critical chain a feeding buffer is created. Another buffer is a resource buffer where work is prioritised for each critical resource and multitasking is minimised. The aim is to ensure these resources are available when they are required for critical chain tasks. The writer also recommends that all tasks be finished as soon as possible rather than just to schedule - the aim being to find ways of completing early. They suggest intermediate milestones be eliminated since they have the effect of putting a later date on finishing tasks and therefore detract from finishing the project early. The benefits of the TOC is that: it does focus on constraints and especially human resource constraints which are very real on most projects today they also provide a structure or approach to doing this it focuses on earlier delivery not just in time The Harvard Business Review article that reviewed the book "Critical Chain" (on which Newbold's book is based) commented: Goldratts initial work was on production environment and which is often different to Project Management (although Newbold doesn't think so). You do need some milestones to measure progress Reduce the number of projects to solve the resource constraint (an idea I have also been advocating of years!) Maybe the real constraint is Project Management leadership - and I would have to agree with that sentiment and so would many organisations constantly seeking to find more excellent PM's to manage their difficult projects. At a price of $125 I suggest you look it up in the library first! The book is easy to read and provides thought-provoking question to assist in applying the ideas. However whilst it has many good ideas I am not convinced they are that revolutionary, despite the usual American hype that this is the most important innovation in Project Management in 40 years. Some of the principles I have seen used for years on Projects at my former company - maybe we should have been better at selling ourselves! Reference: "Bringing discipline to Project Management ", J Elton and J Roe, Harvard Business Review, March-April 1998. (Note also that many of the issues TOC covers are part of our Advanced PM course offering)

11 April 1999.  Review by Harold Ainsworth "The New Project Management - Tools for an age of Rapid Change, Corporate Reengineering and other Business realities"  by J Davidson Frame (Prentice Hall, 1994) I believe Frame has captured the essence of Project Management in this quote - "project management has centred its attention on getting the job done in an environment where authority is lacking, goals are subject to multiple interpretation, and rules of behaviour are ill defined". I find that most Project Managers can easily relate to this idea. His book is not a cookbook on "how to manage projects". For example scheduling is one chapter whilst other important issues take up the balance of the book. He starts by considering the new business environment in which we have to manage projects - downsizing, outsourcing, change and customer satisfaction, which is key to project success (we need to ensure we understand clearly what their needs are and often they are not sure themselves). Projects rarely fail because of project tools used including PERT or CPM charts (some texts deal with little else). More common reasons are resourcing or lack thereof, politics, inadequate communications, and inadequate project definition. (See my paper on Project Failure at this site). This new project environment includes dealing with complexity, engaging change, managing risk and satisfying customers - things that every project manger grapples with in addition to schedules. Frame suggests three things we must do: More focus on the customer and his/her needs New management tools to complement the old ones (stakeholder management, matrixed team management, outsourcing, EVA -earned value accounting - etc) Ensure the Project Manager has the authority to do the job Topics covered include managing complexity, acquiring political skills estimating and agreeing realistic schedules, integration of costs and schedules for reporting (he outlines the principles of Earned Value Accounting - EVA), and use of performance metrics for status reporting. Frame suggests ideas to be implemented for each topic but you will need to consider what is appropriate for your organisation to use. Also included is an annotated reading list of further material. The price at around $50 (Aust.) is good value for a book which will cause you think further about how you manage projects beyond the scheduling activity. (Note: many of the issues Frame covers are part of our standard PM course offering)

November 1999 review by Harold Ainsworth  The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management by Eric Verzuh - (RRP $26.95) The book is quite readable with a number of charts, diagrams and quotes to break up the text. Some of its strengths are: ·Stresses the importance of the WBS (work breakdown structure) and undertaking sensible estimates using a process (chapter 8 is a good overview of estimating principles) · It emphasises the need to "balance the project" or undertake trade-offs between the competing constraints to find options and eventually a realistic schedule.The failure to do so is the starting point for project problems.  · The chapter on Measuring Progress gives an overview of Earned Value Accounting (EVA) methods which integrate cost and schedule reporting – something we will begin to hear more about in Australia in the future.EVA introduces a discipline in reporting sadly lacking in some projects. · Chapter 13 is called “Application is the art – solving common project problems”.The solutions provide some useful tools.I agree with the point they make – scheduling tools don’t manage projects! · Other chapters often not found in PM books are Stakeholder Management ( a bit weak on how) and Communications, and the need to define Roles and Responsibilities – all good stuff!  The main weakness I identify is that it does not use the structure of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and its five project management processes.Since the PMBOK has such wide industry acceptance, any teaching course or book which doe not use or refer to it is not across current practice. The book is a good introduction to PM principles and worthwhile acquiring at the price.

November 1999 review by John Flynn MS Project 2000 Books Along with the release of Microsoft Project 2000 comes the flood of new book titles on using the product.The number of titles increases annually as writers address the gap caused by inadequate documentation in the shrink-wrap product itself.  I noted a total of 13 titles in the latest copy of the MS Project User Group magazine (from the USA).At least five of these titles have hit the Australian market since the launch of Project, so we can only give the highlights in this short group review. I will do a more extensive review of some of these on our Web site next month, including several which have been released since these reviews were prepared.However the following three titles drew my attention (and dollars). [1] "Microsoft Project 2000 Bible" by Elaine Marmel.IDG Books, 2000.$75 (Aust). This series has always offered lengthy books addressing all features in a product and this is no exception.It provides a complete coverage of all the features in Project 2000, including practical examples of the program’s many features. All new features of the product are covered, including a long section on using the intranet features, including setting up and using Project Central, and publishing progress reports on the Web server. Unlike the other two books in this review, this publication includes the obligatory CD containing the sample schedules, as well as demonstration copies of such useful products as Milestones Etc, Innate Timesheets, Timesheets Professional, Project Kickstart and WBS Chart for Project. Although pricey (compare the US price of $31.95), the book is comprehensive and is a good replacement for what passes for Microsoft documentation these days.Highly recommended. [2] "Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management with Microsoft Project 2000 "  by Ron Black. Que, March 2000.$29.95 (Aust). We reviewed a previous title in this series dealing with just project management and continue to recommend it in many of our courses. This book takes a similar approach - it is chatty and accessible, but full of good Project Management principles each consistent with good practice and the PMI standards, combined with simple graphics, good hints and a wealth of checklists and summaries. The book covers all the major features of the product, including many screen shots to illustrate options, but does so from the viewpoint of the overall planning process, not just the task of scheduling. You will find helpful suggestions to determine scope or kick off a project, as well as obvious ones dealing with creating a WBS and resource planning.Given that it imparts sound planning principles along with its hints and examples, it is a good investment as well as an easy read. [3] "Teach Yourself Microsoft Project 2000 "  by Vickey Quinn.IDG Books, 2000.$29.95 (Aust). This book addresses a different market to that of the previous two. In common with many office product books, it concentrates on a step-by-step approach to Project using screen shots of every major option and setting. This “quick start” approach is quite valid and in fact is preferable to lengthy verbal explanations when your major concern is to complete your schedule.This book is perfectly adequate for this purpose and covers all the major processes you require from Project, although it ignores some useful new features, such as split tasks.It is however well presented and good value at the price.

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