Advanced Project Management: A Complete Guide to the Key Processes, Models and Techniques [Hardcover]

Alan Orr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004

*A practical title that guides the reader through the key skills required when managing large, and complex projects, including IT

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Written to help project managers to revise and advance their skills... takes readers through all the key skills they will need to ensure that they deliver projects successfully. -- Management Services

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Alan Orr MBA is a chartered engineer who has worked as a project manager with major blue chip companies such as British Airways, CAA, Motorola, Nokia, Sony and Ericsson. At present, Orr is Global Head of Project Development for Picsel Technologies in Glasgow, Scotland, provider of embedded software with offices in Europe, Asia, and the US. Orr has managed all types of projects, large and small, from IT systems building to operating software development. Some of his projects encompassed working for the UK's air traffic control authority where he led two large European consortium projects developing innovative computer systems to allow more effective air traffic control, to being the IT Program manager for the British Airways' development of Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5, leading the design work on one of the largest IT deployments in Europe. He then moved on to Symbian where he led programs developing embedded software technologies for mobile phones.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Kogan Page Business Books (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749440945
• ISBN-13: 978-0749440947
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,582,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow and content free, September 19, 2004

By 

Carlton (Real world) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Project Management: A Complete Guide to the Key Processes, Models and Techniques (Hardcover)

This book completely misses out on the important ideas. It goes in painful detail through whether to use glue, sticky tape, pins or post-it notes to stick paper to to a wall, but fails to explain how to think of what to write on the paper. Each chapter ventures towards an important topic, then misses it. Each example is unrealistic.

Where you might think that senior project managers would have to deal mainly with human issues rather than technical ones, this book has only half a page on getting to know the project team, and suggests that people will be sufficiently motivated by seeing someone in the canteen using project merchandise like a pen.

I didn't find anything 'advanced' here.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended !, March 14, 2005

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advanced Project Management: A Complete Guide to the Key Processes, Models and Techniques (Hardcover)

Advanced projects are particularly demanding because of their complexity, novelty, scale, scope, cost and logistics. Author Alan D. Orr provides a detailed and useful guide to every step of advanced project management. He leaves nothing to chance or to the imagination. The charts and spreadsheets he recommends are clearly appropriate to the purpose, and his outline of project management questions, planning milestones, team building methods and tracking tools are clear and to the point. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone managing a complex project for the first time. We believe even a seasoned project manager would find it useful.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, helpful, excellent, October 23, 2004

By 

John T - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Project Management: A Complete Guide to the Key Processes, Models and Techniques (Hardcover)

I'm relatively new to project management and I needed a book that was practical and human in it's approach. This book was it. It's enabled me to see beyond the charts and methods and relaise that running projects successfully is about people. The book covers team building, stakeholder management and the politics of driving through the work - just what I've been searching for.

In particular I found it really helped me realise that I need to go further in my thinking if I want my projects to succedd.

This was excellent I'd thourghly recommend it to anyone.