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Over the past 5 years, I have read many project management books. This is my 65th book review. You can find all my project management book reviews here.
Karen B. has written Managing Projects: a Team-Based Approach, a text book. Brown and Nancy Lea Hyer. It is a text book that is general and all-encompassing, aimed at project management students.
Although the authors claim it is for project managers, project team members and support personnel, functional managers who provide resources for projects, customers (and representative), project sponsors, subcontractors and anyone involved in project delivery, it is very broad and I believe it’s primarily aimed at people who are learning about project management.
This is evident in the fact each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends by providing follow-up activities. These often begin with: “In a group of four to six classmates …”. This is not to say that the text-book approach is wrong. This book is very useful for students.
The examples are current and relevant. The book is easy to use with lots of diagrams, tables and screenshots. You will find many stories and case studies that illustrate real-life project management.
Although I didn’t find anything new in Managing Projects’s focus on working with teams, there are some interesting points to books like Kim Heldman’s Project Management Professional Exam Study guide. One example of team-based work is the involvement of the team in the development of the schedule using mind-mapping, sticky notes, and mind-mapping. The book stresses the importance of involving the team in order to get buy-in and accuracy.
I have reviewed many project management books, but this book is the first to introduce the concept of “do no harm”. The authors write:
A project must meet the criteria for effectiveness in the triple constraint and, more generally, in a balanced scorecard. It should also be done in a responsible manner. If a project has caused harm to employees, the wider society, or the environment, it is not considered a success.
This, along with a case study on drilling for oil in Arctic, is literally the end of the book on the subject “Do no harm”, but I’m glad it made the cut.
This book is solid for anyone interested in project management. I recommend it to students and instructors.
Amazon.co.uk: Buy Now
Over the past 5 years, I’ve read many project management books. This is my 65th book review. You can find all my project management book reviews here.
