Rating: 
Summary: Thank You Mr. Murch!!!!
Review: As a full time ITS project manager for over ten years, currently working for a major public retirement system, I have nothing but kudos for Mr. Murch's latest tome. In today's world, where it has become fashionable to define oneself as a project manager, even if the only project you have ever managed is picking up a roll of stamps for the boss on your lunch break, Richard Murch sets forth clearly what skills/abilities are necessary in order to honestly be called a project manager. This work should be beneficial both to the novice, learning about project management for the first time, as well as a guide to the executive faced with selecting a project manager for his/her staff. Mr. Murch's book vividly describes, in easy to grasp examples, the techniques I have believed in and practiced for many years. I wish every executive in my company would read this book, my job would be much easier. I plan on keeping my copy on my desk, at all times, as a constant reminder of those skills I need to practice daily, in order to be a success as a project manager
Rating: 
Summary: Too general ... no case studies, examples, best practices
Review: Best Practices on Every Page This is an excellent well-written, concise and extraordinary value book. As a IT professional with over 25 years project management experience I have been looking for a complete guide to PM - and now I have found it. The book leads the reader through the phases, issues, techniques and best practices in the industry. I shall be using it for teaching PM best practices in my corporation from now on as well as recommending it to other managers. It is an exceptional well produced book, with well-illustrated diagrams and explanations where appropriate. It has clarity and style - unlike many PM books. I was also surprised to find a FREE class questions and answers available from the publishers in a separate volume. Clearly Murch knows his craft and what makes good ( and bad ) project management. I would encourage Murch to write another follow-on book in the same style and quality that deals with advanced IT PM techniques. For a book like that is clearly needed in the IT industry. Must recommend this book for all interested in PM, IT professionals and end users, seniro IT management and students Thank you,
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Summary: >>>> Best Practices on Every Page
Review: Best Practices on Every Page This is an excellent well-written, concise and extraordinary value book. As a IT professional with over 25 years project management experience I have been looking for a complete guide to PM - and now I have found it. The book leads the reader through the phases, issues, techniques and best practices in the industry. I shall be using it for teaching PM best practices in my corporation from now on as well as recommending it to other managers. It is an exceptional well produced book, with well-illustrated diagrams and explanations where appropriate. It has clarity and style - unlike many PM books. I was also surprised to find a FREE class questions and answers available from the publishers in a separate volume. Clearly Murch knows his craft and what makes good ( and bad ) project management. I would encourage Murch to write another follow-on book in the same style and quality that deals with advanced IT PM techniques. For a book like that is clearly needed in the IT industry. Must recommend this book for all interested in PM, IT professionals and end users, seniro IT management and students Thank you,
Rating:
Summary: Too general ... no case studies, examples, best practices
Review: Book provides very general high level overview of PM. It does not get into details such as case studies, examples or best practices, documentation etc. You can read the same information on the web freely.
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Summary: IT Project Management - Black art or Engineering Science ? ?
Review: Hi My name is Richard Murch and thanks for your interest in my book. IT Project management - Black art or Engineering Science? - This is the question that I answer in this book. For over 30 years I have managed, participated and observed many hundreds of projects both large and small and I have always been struck by the importance of good project management and I have distilled my thoughts, observations and recommendations for project management in this book. Today, and in the future project managers' play a key role in launching new products and managing for success. As leaders in the IT industry, project managers create strategies and orchestrate carefully designed action plans to successfully complete projects often incorporating complex, dynamic requirements. Fortune Magazine calls it "Career Number 1," and project management is becoming a top career choice for many highly talented computer professionals. What can be more satisfying than managing and delivering a project that creates value and profit? Project management leadership has become a highly sought-after skill, as increasingly competitive global marketplace demands that businesses get new products, services and business development completed quickly, on time and within budget. But good Project Managers must be trained, managed and motivated which I discuss in this book From small companies to web-based businesses to giant global financial institutions, project managers are fueling much of the successful development of exciting new business enterprises. They do this by delivering projects that have consistent value and help increase profits. Talented and knowledgeable project managers will command the best assignments, salaries, other compensation and bonuses. They are the future business leaders, entrepreneurs and global citizens proving their value to any organization competing in today's fast-paced marketplace. This book is intended for the novice project manager responsible for IT projects, regardless of size or complexity. Because of the broad nature of its coverage, it can be used as a valuable introduction to key topics on the entire project lifecycle for someone previously unfamiliar with the nature of IT projects. For moderately experienced individuals, it can become a convenient reference manual to help reinforce the basic understanding of IT project management. I hope you enjoy the book - as much as did writing it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent nuts and bolts reference for project management
Review: I am a student at DeVry University working on a B.S. in Information Technology. I plan on keeping this book (actually I have two) as part of my permanent library. This book covers the basics of IT project managent including the steps of the systems development life cycle(SDLC) in a very logical and concise manner..as most of us techies tend to think. Clearly, Mr. Murch is an experienced professional IT manager. His advice focuses on what is practical and makes sense. I wish that I had had this book when I needed resources for my systems analysis term paper. Good books in this field are rare!
Rating: 
Summary: Where are the best practices?
Review: I found little value in this book. Perhaps I misunderstood the title, but I hope to save you from doing the same. This book contains no best practices - only a very general (and incomplete) overview of the project management process. I would have expected to see a book heavy on "practice" considering the book's title, but the book is mostly theory at a very high level. The book has more of a dictionary feel than anything else. The project management process is presented, and each area in the process is defined (at least partially). Sections on release management, configuration management, and problem resolution were under a page long. From the description and other reviews, I was really expecting to find some meat in these areas. For that matter, most of the chapters were rather light on content - again, not what I would expect in a "practice" book. A few other notes: * The writing style is rather dry - not academic, but more corporate process team.
* The quality of the book materials, binding, typography are excellent.
* Resources for further reading are poor.
* Some excellent graphics: CRUD matrix, process overview, status report template (it's for this reason that I didn't give it a one star)
* Case studies were poor: they seemed to have no ties to the chapter in which they were presented. In a nutshell, for a very high-level overview of project management theory, this book will prove beneficial. If you have a background in project management, or are familiar with the process, or are looking for infomration you can put to work, this is not the book for you.
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Summary: Unique and Unusual Book - Highly Recommended
Review: I just finished reading the book. I thought the writing style was clear; however, despite its claim to be useful to experienced users, I found it lacking. I thought its approach to the topic was very good - well organized, but it provided little depth. Besides any mention of earned value, the book did not mention methodologies, other than RAD. Even if this book serves as an otherview of IT PM it should mention different methodologies. The book is useful as a introduction to IT PM, if you understand it's limitation. Unfortunately, for a novice PM, THEY WON'T - that is the problem. The bullets points and checklists are decent, but they are not available on cd-rom or via the web.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Light for Experienced PM
Review: I just finished reading the book. I thought the writing style was clear; however, despite its claim to be useful to experienced users, I found it lacking. I thought its approach to the topic was very good - well organized, but it provided little depth. Besides any mention of earned value, the book did not mention methodologies, other than RAD. Even if this book serves as an otherview of IT PM it should mention different methodologies. The book is useful as a introduction to IT PM, if you understand it's limitation. Unfortunately, for a novice PM, THEY WON'T - that is the problem. The bullets points and checklists are decent, but they are not available on cd-rom or via the web.
Rating:
Summary: Unique and Unusual Book - Highly Recommended
Review: I've been an IT project manager for about 30 years, working on every type of project, style and size. I have managed projects from a team of 1- to over 400 FTE's. I have just gone back to get my Master's in PM and this book helped me to attain that goal. This book was used as a textbook in one of my classes. It provides the clearest, most concise directions for project management skills I have ever seen ( and I have seen many. The writing style is precise, clear and imparts knowledge though out. The book is well structured and logical in its various sections, and anyone trying to get their IT management to buy into the concept of project management training would do well to champion this book. Clearly, Mr. Murch has done the project management profession a great service by providing it with a text that can be used for many years to come. I highly recommend it for all PMs - either experienced, novice or intermediate. There is something here for everyone. The best reason for reading this book is it will give you the tools and techniques with which to properly manage projects and be successful. Get it - Read it- Learn from it.
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