Pittsburgh PMI Book Reviews

***** (out of 5)

April, 2007

5 stars, a new approach to understanding best practices. Approximately 310 pages, available at many of the online bookstores including used versions for less than $10.

The author pulls you into the everyday lives of several project team members, who are challenged with implementing a project where socio-cultural norms are much different that what they are used to. Political tensions are imminent in every decision, and the project manager must decide on what is best for the project, which is not always what is best for everyone

The book is full of lessons learned that can easily be transferred to many IT projects. What's different about this book is that it reads like a novel, not a textbook. Yet, educates the reader using real-world illustrations and references that will draw you into the book to the point where you will not want to put it down.

** (out of 5)

February, 2002

2 stars, approximately 400 pages, available to PMI members through the PMI Bookstore at $ 24, available for less through Amazon.com, and sometimes available used. Very little overlap with the other 2 books PMI is using as cultural references, Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success, and The Cultural Dimension of International Business.

Global Literacies documents the results of a world-wide survey of over one thousand senior executives and in-depth interviews with CEOs of 78 companies from 28 countries.

The author proposes the following Global Leadership Universals:

…        Personal Literacy - understanding and valuing yourself

…        Social Literacy - engaging and challenging people

…        Business Literacy - focusing and mobilizing your business

…        Cultural Literacy - valuing and leveraging cultural differences

Within each of the literacies, the author proposes a number of paired behaviors, and then provides examples from the surveys in support.

Although interesting, I do not believe that any of this helps the reader solve the multi-cultural issues that they may encounter in their work environment, and for that reason I only awarded 2 stars.

*** (out of 5)

February, 2002

3 stars, an interesting read on multi-cultural issues. Approximately 300 pages, available to PMI members through the PMI Bookstore at $ 27, available for less through Amazon.com, and sometimes available used. Very little overlap with the other 2 books PMI is using as cultural references, The Cultural Dimension of International Business, and Global Literacies.

The authors create a model of cultural differences and apply the model to six cultural regions in the world - North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa. The model defines cultural differences in terms of ten variables - Environment, Time, Action, Communication, Space, Power, Individualism, Competitiveness, Structure and Thinking. The authors provide good examples for the reader to follow.

Another chapter takes the standard communications process loop and layers cultural filters on top of it. The authors then examine the effects of the model on typical communications issues. Negotiation is given the same treatment in the following chapter.

**** (out of 5)

February, 2002

4 stars, an interesting read on multi-cultural issues, approximately 200 pages in length. Currently selling at approximately $29 to PMI members through the PMI Bookstore. Very little overlap with the other 2 books PMI is using as cultural references, Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success, and Global Literacies.

The best parts of this book are the Cross-Cultural Scenarios at the end of each chapter. Mini-case studies are presented which illustrate the issues discussed in each chapter. For each case study, a question is posed to the reader; the answers to these questions are provided in an appendix at the end of the book.

Key chapters of the book are as follows:

• Communicating across Cultures - Language

• Communicating across Cultures - The Nonverbal Dimension

• Contrasting Cultural Values

• Negotiating across Cultures

• Coping with Culture Shock

**** (out of 5)

January, 2002

4 stars, specifically addresses Project Management of Information Technology projects internally in an organization of multiple business units. This book will give you concrete examples and ideas that can be put to work on your projects. Generally available at around $ 50.

Focuses on the challenges inherent in a multi-project environment where non-waterfall approaches to software development and implementation are required. Specific e-business related issues are addressed at the end of each chapter.

The book does a good job of telling you HOW to implement project management practices in an IT environment. I particularly liked the way the book treated resources from a multiple project perspective. I was also impressed with the treatment of the CHALLENGE of project management in organizations where the IT group acts as a support group to the various Business Units.

The purpose of the book is to answer the following questions:

…         How can the overall technology project management process be improved ?

…         Which systems projects should be given resources and approved for action ?

…         How can you better manage all systems and technology projects together ?

…         How can individual projects be better managed and more successful ?

…         What are specific guidelines for managing different types of projects ?

 The scope of the book includes these and other technology areas and addresses these questions:

…         What projects should be approved ?

…         How do you formulate and start projects effectively ?

…         How do you manage single and multiple projects ?

…         How do you identify, analyze, and address specific project issues ?

…         How do you communicate effectively with management, team members, staff, and vendors to obtain results ?

 The book is divided into four logical parts:

…         Part I: What should you project management strategy be and how should you address multiple projects ?

…         Part II:  How do you establish projects and project plans ?

…         Part III: How do you successfully manage various kinds of projects ?

…         Part IV: How do you cope with specific issues related to personnel, management, technology, and vendors / contractors ?

***** (out of 5)

December, 2001

5 stars, plenty of effective examples, and at 359 pages, it provides full coverage that's fairly easy reading. Tremendous improvement over the 1^st edition of the book, completely restructured. This book will give you concrete examples and ideas that can be put to work on your projects. Generally available at around $ 50.

The book begins by putting project management in context within corporations and industry. Project classification is touched upon, and there's a particularly useful Competency Profile for project managers. Two case studies are introduced which are used to illustrate and expand on concepts presented throughout the rest of the book.

All of the standard information is there, definition of a project, discussion of the project management lifecycle and the 5 process groups, and particularly useful examples relating to Quality Management and Risk Management. The early stages of Scope Definition are well discussed with some useful examples of Project Overview Statements and Project Description Statements.

The book's treatment of WBS issues is one of the better treatments that I have seen, and this information is followed up with a thorough chapter on the Estimating of Activity Duration, Resource Requirements, and Cost. The standard scheduling information follows, including discussions of Critical Chain Project Management, Joint Project Planning sessions, and examples of Work Package Development.

A discussion of the Recruitment, Organization, and Management of the Project Team is next, including a section on Contract Employees. The book then moves into the Monitoring and Control of projects, including Earned Value; and many helpful hints and techniques related to project control are presented. Change Control and Escalation issues are also addressed.

The book wraps up with Project Closeout, and additional information on Managing Multiple Projects. A CD is included with the book, and it contains the various exercises as well as a 120-day Trial Edition of Microsoft Project 2000. An extensive bibliography is also provided, with references to 112 various project management related texts. A great cross-reference if you need additional sources.