Rating: 
Summary: Let the stovepipes topple and the silo demolition begin!
Review: For anyone who has communication problems on their projects, here is an answer. Hal Mooz, Kevin Forsberg and Howard Cotterman have written a dictionary. Comprehensive in its scope, the authors have integrated definitions of project management, systems engineering and software engineering. In short, they have added to the legacy created by comprehensive book: Visualizing Project Management Like it, the nearly 2.000 definitions in the new volume are supported by practical illustrations. The explanations employed span the chasms that often separate the diverse disciplines that rely on the art of project management. I would be remiss if I left readers with the impression this is a mere dictionary. It is not. It is a unique reference. It bridges the unique vocabularies of the many disciplines that contribute to an organization. It includes special sections that speak to the problems and techniques of communicating in the project environment. If accepted and adopted by the diverse project management community, this book has the potential to establish a consistent platform. Team members would free their creative talents. No more time wasted time attempting to communicate. Once, I believed all project management practitioners should own three books: Visualizing Project Management, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling and The Fast Forward in Project Management. It is time to clear some space on your Project Management bookshelf. Communicating Project Management has earned a spot there - and it promises not to collect dust.
Rating:
Summary: Make Room on the Bookshelf
Review: For anyone who has communication problems on their projects, here is an answer. Hal Mooz, Kevin Forsberg and Howard Cotterman have written a dictionary. Comprehensive in its scope, the authors have integrated definitions of project management, systems engineering and software engineering. In short, they have added to the legacy created by comprehensive book: Visualizing Project Management Like it, the nearly 2.000 definitions in the new volume are supported by practical illustrations. The explanations employed span the chasms that often separate the diverse disciplines that rely on the art of project management. I would be remiss if I left readers with the impression this is a mere dictionary. It is not. It is a unique reference. It bridges the unique vocabularies of the many disciplines that contribute to an organization. It includes special sections that speak to the problems and techniques of communicating in the project environment. If accepted and adopted by the diverse project management community, this book has the potential to establish a consistent platform. Team members would free their creative talents. No more time wasted time attempting to communicate. Once, I believed all project management practitioners should own three books: Visualizing Project Management, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling and The Fast Forward in Project Management. It is time to clear some space on your Project Management bookshelf. Communicating Project Management has earned a spot there - and it promises not to collect dust.
Rating:
Summary: Let the stovepipes topple and the silo demolition begin!
Review: Hal Mooz, Kevin Forsberg, and Howard Cotterman once again offer a timely and practical resource for systems engineers, project managers, and process managers. I am recommending this book to all my friends and colleagues. Communicating Project Management offers readers many examples of communications techniques to use; pitfalls that often occur as well as suggestions for sidestepping them. The authors also provide excellent examples of the type of business aspects that must be considered and communicated throughout the project life cycle. I particularly like the use of illustrations and examples in Part 5, Terms and Definitions; all organizations should use this technique to communicate the domain-discipline glossaries for all project team members.
Rating:
Summary: Helps settle conflict and confusion
Review: I have a well-worn copy of the author's Visualizing Project Management that has helped me understand and then communicate to others the intertwined processes of Project Management and Systems Engineering. I have found no other book that does this as well. Now I have acquired Communicating Project Management that along with providing valuable insights into verbal and non-verbal communication provides a very complete integrated lexicon of Project Management, Systems Engineering, SEI CMM/CMMI, and other relevant terms in a single location. Best of all when definitions can be enhanced with illustrations and examples they are. I have actually found myself reading these definitions for enjoyment after having entered the book to resolve an issue. This book is a must have reference for every leader and practitioner in the PM and SE profession and is essential to establishing a common vocabulary across organizations.
Rating:
Summary: When you must be understood
Review: I have owned this book for less than 90 days, and it is one of the more important books in my personal project management library. It gives me definitions of key terms available no where else.
Quentin W. Fleming, Author
Tustin, California
Rating:
Summary: Communicating Project Management
Review: One of the critical success factors for managing high technology programs is a common vocabulary. Whether it be communications within the program or outside the program, unless all stakeholders have a common understanding of the terminology involved, the probability of effective performance is greatly diminished. This book helps establish that commonality and should be required reference for all technology programs, especially those in the development or formulation stages.
Rating:
Summary: Keys to teamwork and collaboration
Review: This book augments the author's "Visualizing Project Management" (ISBN 047135760X), which I consider to be one of the best books about project management. The reason why I consider this book to be invaluable is in the collection of techniques and models that foster or directly support collaboration and communication. I especially like the emphasis on communication at the human level, and how the authors highlight barriers and how to overcome them. This material is more than anecdotal - it is reinforced with formal techniques, process models, and cognitive factors. More importantly, the authors delve into communications between and among members of global or geographically dispersed teams, including cultural factors. Given the growing number of teams that are comprised of internal company resources, and off-shore outsourced providers this information is topical and invaluable. Visualizing Systems Management - The Visual Process Model in Chapter 2 is a direct tie-in to the authors' earlier book, and is the foundation of their approach to facilitating communications. The reference project cycle in Chapter 4 is another touchpoint to their earlier book. However, that earlier book is not required to get maximum benefit from this one - this material will augment any book on project management, including standards such as the Project Management Institute's PMBOK and the U.K. standard, PRINCE2. The foregoing material comprises approximately a third of the book. The remaining two thirds is devoted to general project management terms and definitions, and acronyms. The terms and definitions are more like an encyclopedia than a dictionary because many are lavishly illustrated and many entries are full explanations of the term, concept or technique. The value of this is your project team will be working from a common set of terminologies, and the book will serve as a ready reference for anyone unfamiliar with a particular technique or concept associated with project management.
Rating:
Summary: Keys to teamwork and collaboration
Review: This book augments the author's "Visualizing Project Management" (ISBN 047135760X), which I consider to be one of the best books about project management. The reason why I consider this book to be invaluable is in the collection of techniques and models that foster or directly support collaboration and communication. I especially like the emphasis on communication at the human level, and how the authors highlight barriers and how to overcome them. This material is more than anecdotal - it is reinforced with formal techniques, process models, and cognitive factors. More importantly, the authors delve into communications between and among members of global or geographically dispersed teams, including cultural factors. Given the growing number of teams that are comprised of internal company resources, and off-shore outsourced providers this information is topical and invaluable. Visualizing Systems Management - The Visual Process Model in Chapter 2 is a direct tie-in to the authors' earlier book, and is the foundation of their approach to facilitating communications. The reference project cycle in Chapter 4 is another touchpoint to their earlier book. However, that earlier book is not required to get maximum benefit from this one - this material will augment any book on project management, including standards such as the Project Management Institute's PMBOK and the U.K. standard, PRINCE2. The foregoing material comprises approximately a third of the book. The remaining two thirds is devoted to general project management terms and definitions, and acronyms. The terms and definitions are more like an encyclopedia than a dictionary because many are lavishly illustrated and many entries are full explanations of the term, concept or technique. The value of this is your project team will be working from a common set of terminologies, and the book will serve as a ready reference for anyone unfamiliar with a particular technique or concept associated with project management.
Rating:
Summary: Communicating Project Management is a critical reference
Review: This book is a critical reference resource for anyone involved in putting systems together from supporting staff to senior management alike. The authors provide key insight to the skill and art of communicating to project teams and contains an excellent dictionary of words used in project development. The book is easy reading and applies across vertually any domain (Information Technology, Business reengineering, Intelligent Transportation Systems, DOD, Aerospace etc.). The highly DOD and Aerospace technical jargon has been clarified and simplified and made applicable to anyone in the systems development arena.
Rating:
Summary: Communicating Project Management
Review: This book is an outstanding reference that will greatly assist the process of getting diverse people, teams, or companies communicating using the same terminology. I wish that I would have had this book 9 years ago when I was the Lead Systems Engineer for a development project involving 6 contractors. This book would have assisted in squaring away our project terminology differences so that we could have focused more attention on the technical terminology issues. I certainly would have provided a copy to each contractor and stated that the terms and acronyms in Sections 5 and 6 respectively are the ones that the project will use. The book is an outstanding companion to the authors' Visualing Project Management book which my company has used for many years as a textbook for teaching project management. The first section of the book provides a quick refresher on some key communication concepts. It reminds the reader of typical pitfalls that occur when communicating within a project. Section 3 provides a short summary of the numerous organizations that are currently involved in the establishment of project management and systems engineering standards and models. Overall, it is an outstanding reference book.
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