Breakthrough Technology Project Management, 2e

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Summary: Best overall IT project management book
Review: Many software and IT project management books just cover development--as if maintenance, operations, and support did not exist. This book covers all parts of IT. The book has chapters on operations/maintenance/enhancement, software packages, and technology projects. An entire part of the book is devoted to issues-consultants, human resources, business, and technical. It not only identifies the issues, but addresses how to identify, prevent, and solve them. There are good examples from banking, electronic commerce, insurance, and manufacturing.

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Summary: realistic and usable guide to IT projects
Review: Our organization has reviewed over 50 books in IT and general project management from the view of usability and useful methods for a multiple project, complex environment. We found books like Schwabe and Menche somewhat useful, but very limited in dealing with the actual problems faced in projects. There was just too much introductory material. This book, on the other hand, is very useful in that it addresses problems such as scope creep, changing requirements, high management expectations, dealing with vendors and users, and other specific issues. It is also being translated into Chinese. This is the book you should get if you want to address problems in real projects and want specific guidelines.

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Summary: A Must for managing IT projects
Review: Overall, if you are involved in IT project management, you want this book. This book is really valuable in daily project work. the book gives techniques on how to address many IT situations. It covers how to manage part-time people on a project, motivation of the team, technology change, replacement team members, escalating an issue to a crisis, managing a crisis, team motivation. All forms of presentations to management are covered as well. Outlines for each type of presentation are given. We now follow these as a standard. Gathering lessons learned from projects is a major point of the book--we implemented that too.

Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This a very good book. It is written by two people that together have more than 40 years of experience in project management (PM) and provides with real and usefull examples.
I strongly recommend reading to people that already know PM. Its not a basic book in PM.

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Summary: more practical than what is out there
Review: This book gets right to the point. Excellent guide for project management of IT projects from actual case examples. If you want the theoretical, go to Hollings or other books. If you want the practical, go here.

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Summary: Helpful but not Comprehensive
Review: This book is best suited as supplemental reading for seasoned project managers who are looking for fresh ideas or a different approach that may not have occurred to them. Many of the concepts discussed can only be applied in specific circumstances, and judging when to use them takes some experience. The book should not be used as an introductory text for new managers or as the basis of a technology development process. Despite the title, there is nothing novel enough in the 281 pages to be described as 'breakthrough'. Perhaps because the authors try to concentrate on specific themes, there is also a lack of completeness. For example, aside from a few sentences, there is no discussion of budgeting, estimating, risk management, or quality assurance. Much of the guidance assumes that a project manager has more control over the organization than is typical. Some of the ideas could actually contribute to worse project performance. On the positive side, the book is stuffed full of guidelines that can be applied to most projects. The authors expand on such ideas such as managing multiple projects together as a 'slate' and using the number of issues to indicate project progress. The informal writing style makes it easier to read than the typical project management textbook. The book doesn't need to be read from front to back. The lists of things to consider while managing a project are well organized and indexed. For example, if a manager needs some fresh ideas about how to deal with a poorly performing team, just flip to Chapter 14 and browse for the problem and recommended solutions. Although one of the authors is from a university, there is a curious lack of academic rigor. While there is a short bibliography, there is a complete absence of footnotes. In other words, there are many claims made, but no independent confirmation can be made of the data. Do the methods described actually work? We have only the authors' opinion. They sometimes confuse tools and technology with management principles. Broad statements abound about how everything is different in the modern world and how IT projects are even more different. However, the examples in the book describe an organization that most reasonable managers would describe as already dysfunctional. While the ideas presented may be 'breakthrough' to such a fictional company, they are really just common sense to most well run organizations. You may just not have thought of them yet.

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Summary: Different approach-addressing multiple projects and risk
Review: This book is quite different from standard project management books. It addresses multiple projects as well as associating risk in tasks with issues related to projects. Our firm in Malaysia adopted the approach in the book. We first retrofitted over 50 project plans into templates with a standard resource list. We then defined issues for the projects. We uncovered on our own about 75 issues. Then we matched up the issues with those in the book. We found that another 35 issues applied to the projects. So far, we have constructed a data base of about 225 issues. We have now about 55 templates. We have found that the approach reduces time in doing scheduling. We are doing assignment of staff through the management of multiple projects. Overall, we have found the method to be effective. It might be useful for the authors to add more issues and guidelines as these are very helpful.

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Summary: Breakthrough Tech PM a Must for High-Tech Systems PMs
Review: This book promotes the "how" not the "what" that you see in so many other PM books. I have read several other books over the past few months (Lewis', Keough's, etc.) They were helpful; however, Lientz & Rea's book was invaluable throughout our annual corporate planning process. It included helpful technology & business trending information, project management maturity within the organization, a structured approach for how to develop a project concept and getting it through management approval, what skills to look for in effective PMs, and much more. The most important information in the book, however, is the authors' understanding of inter- and intra-project dependencies within an organization. I was able to create a very good four-quarter systems' program plan based upon my learnings from this book. If you already have a good grasp of basic PM concepts and theory, but want more assistance with the "how's" or useful "best known methods," this book is for you. Please note that I am using the 1999 edition.

Rating:
Summary: Breakthrough Tech PM a Must for High-Tech Systems PMs
Review: This book promotes the "how" not the "what" that you see in so many other PM books. I have read several other books over the past few months (Lewis', Keough's, etc.) They were helpful; however, Lientz & Rea's book was invaluable throughout our annual corporate planning process. It included helpful technology & business trending information, project management maturity within the organization, a structured approach for how to develop a project concept and getting it through management approval, what skills to look for in effective PMs, and much more. The most important information in the book, however, is the authors' understanding of inter- and intra-project dependencies within an organization. I was able to create a very good four-quarter systems' program plan based upon my learnings from this book. If you already have a good grasp of basic PM concepts and theory, but want more assistance with the "how's" or useful "best known methods," this book is for you. Please note that I am using the 1999 edition.

Rating:
Summary: Best practical guide for technology project mgmt
Review: This book takes someone through project management step by step. The book examines what problems are encountered at each step and how to overcome them. The book covers maintenance, new technology, development, and software packages. It also addresses how to manage multiple projects. The experience of the authors is brought out well in the examples and the lessons learned.