Breakthrough Technology Project Management (E-Business Solutions) [Paperback]

Bennet P. Lientz (Author), Kathryn P. Rea (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0124499708 | ISBN-13: 978-0124499706 | Publication Date: September 25, 1998

While there are many books of methods and tools in different areas, project management has few books that actually give detailed tips and lessons on how to effectively set up and manage projects. Most devote all their space to specific methods.
Breakthrough Technology Project Management provides tangible guidelines through examples and suggestions to help people participate in and manage projects more effectively. The authors' techniques and guidelines have been proven over the past 15 years in courses and counseling. Their experience is that many project managers have knowledge of basic definitions, but do not have the training or skills to actually manage the projects effectively. This book is a valuable tool for those working in information systems, engineering, computer science, operations and production, and other environments involving project management.

Key Features
*Illustrates how to carry out collaborative scheduling and planning for large-scale computer systems projects
* Addresses over 100 issues that are encountered in real world systems and software projects
* Distinguishes itself from other PM books by addressing the "how" and not the "what" of project management
* Contains over 250 guidelines and lessons learned in all phases of systems project management
* Offers specific direction on how to deal with a project crisis and how to turn around a failing project
* Contains examples from computing, banking, manufacturing, insurance, government, medical care, transportation, retailing, and distribution
* Includes specific chapters on wide area networks, intranets, client-server systems, and large scale, integrated software packages
* Combines informal writing style with logical organization, making it easy for the reader to access guidelines and lessons learned

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the First Edition
"Addresses such issues as project management strategy; engaging multiple projects; establishing projects and project plans; managing a range of high-technology projects, including software development and implementation, and technology and networking; and coping with specific issues related to personnel, management, technology, vendors, and contractors."
--BOOK NEWS, INC. ®, Portland, OR

From the Back Cover

Although there are many books of methods and tools in different areas, few books actually give detailed tips and lessons on how to effectively set up and manage projects. Most books on project management devote all their space to specific methods. Breakthrough Technology Project Management, Second Edition provides tangible guidelines through examples and suggestions to help people participate in and manage projects more effectively. The authors' techniques and guidelines have been proven over the past 15 years in courses and counseling. This book will prove a valuable tool for those working in information systems, engineering, computer science, operations and production, and other environments involving project management.
The Purpose of this Book is to Answer:
* How can the overall technology project management process be improved?
* Which systems projects should be given resources and approved for action?
* How can all systems and technology projects be better managed together?
* How can individual projects be better managed and more successful?
* What are specific guidelines for managing different types of projects?
The Scope of the Book Answers:
* What projects should be approved?
* How do you formulate and start projects effectively?
* How do you manage single and multiple projects?
* How do you identify, analyze, and address specific project issues?
* How do you obtain results through communicating effectively with management, team members, staff, and vendors? --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 289 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press (September 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0124499708
• ISBN-13: 978-0124499706
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful but not Comprehensive, December 29, 1999

By 

David Balk ([e-mail]) (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breakthrough Technology Project Management (E-Business Solutions) (Paperback)

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.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for project management, March 1, 2000

By 

V. Singh (Mumbai, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breakthrough Technology Project Management (E-Business Solutions) (Paperback)

We do contract programming for maintenance and development for over 600 customers in North America and Europe with a staff of over 300 in various locations around Mumbai. There had been many problems in project tracking and estimation in the past. For over a year we have used this book as a guide for project management. The methods in this book are different from traditional project management and really work. We used the template approach to create templates for over 20 project types in client-server, data warehousing, COBOL maintenance, Internet, and e-commerce. We have since expanded this to 34. The templates have provided a degree of standardization that we were not able to achieve before. The collaborative method in the book has been a key factor to greater programmer participation and estimation. Improved budgeting has resulted as well. Overtime we have refined the template detail three times. We now prepare proposals with greater accuracy. We also perform weekly resource allocation and reporting following the guidelines in the book. The book contains specific guidelines for various types of projects which we have used and expanded upon. Per the suggetion in the book we have also established a data base for experience. This has increased productivity. We have done the same with issues. Issues are associated with tasks in the project plans. This has provided excellent management of risk. We have also used another of the author's books, On Time Technology Implementation. It also provides excellent guidelines for both development and maintenance.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different approach-addressing multiple projects and risk, January 4, 2000

By 

S.K. Kumar (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Breakthrough Technology Project Management (E-Business Solutions) (Paperback)

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.