Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Resource to Start Project Management Quickly, June 20, 2000
This review is from: The Little Black Book of Project Management (The little black book series) (Paperback)
I was looking for a book that would get me going fairly quickly. I had a project with a tight budget that was going to take the better part of a year. I needed to start managing it, and I needed to start then. Those 600+ page college-text style tomes were not going to help. Then I found this little gem, and I was off and running. Thomsett starts at the beginning--organizing-- then in 11 chapters and 182 pages describes planning, team-building, budgeting, scheduling, communication, documentation, review, and even tips for eliminating common problems. The most important (and common) tools such as PERT and Gantt charts, flow diagrams, etc. are all here. There are even exercises after each chapter (with answers in the appendix) so you can test yourself and make sure you've got it. This book helped me get it, and gave me the tools I needed to be able to manage my project successfully. If you're an accomplished project manager, this book will seem basic (although it may be a good review). If you're starting down this path or want to share the basics with your team members, you'll find it to be quite helpful.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Misleading Advice, January 20, 2004
By A Customer
This book offers a lot of advice to would be project managers; unfortunately, little of it appears to be born of experience. In fact, following this book to the letter would lead to one novice pitfall after another. The author recommends against adding float (he calls it 'fudge') to cost or time budgets. Experience yields contact with variance, and variance is a fact of life that cannot be denied in the planning phase. Toward the end of the book, advising how to build a career, the author suggests that projects should always be brought in on time and on budget. Without float, how in the world can things come in on time and on budget without a miracle? Although some of the information provided is useful, the mistakes in here are toxic enough to warrant avoiding the book. I would think a book entitled 'little black book' would provide some coverage of organizational politics. Perhaps this is a book that could be sent anonymously to one's enemies? My advice is to avoid the book, and to avoid getting your boss the book, despite the fact that other reviews describe it as an executive primer.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Basics of Project Management, June 3, 2008
If you are new to the world of project management, and you are looking for a handy, easy-to-read, yet detailed collection of information about successfully managing projects, then this book is a great place to start.
This book methodically walked through the steps of successful project management: initial planning, assembling a project team, budgeting, work scheduling, and project reviewing. Besides those key project management basics, it included a chapter on the importance of project-related communications and a chapter on the career challenges and opportunities of project management. At the end of each chapter was a short "work project" to help the reader check his understanding of the chapter's main points. Throughout the book, the author identified many additional resources (i.e. books and websites) to expand and complement the information presented. The book also made use of many effective checklists and figures to organize and present the information.
As a retired career Marine officer with many years of successfully managing events and projects, and now as a contractor supporting diverse government and military organizations, this book helped me to smoothly transition to the world of civilian project management.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
