Customer Reviews

Project Portfolio Management: A Practical Guide to Selecting Projects, Managing Portfolios, and Maximizing Benefits (Jossey-Bass Business & Management)

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After having evaluated many recent books on the subject of Project Portfolio Management, I found the practical guidance and descriptive clarity as provided by Harvey A. Levine exceptional. Working for Serena Software, I was looking for a single book that could educate and guide a variety of people into PPM, ranging from new Mariner account managers, engineers as well as Mariner customers. Not only does this book provide an easy way to understand the typical Project Portfolio Management process, it is being done using such simple terms, avoiding buzzwords and unnecessary jargon, making it very easy and fast to read, even for a non native English speaking audience. The latter is important if you are operating worldwide. The book does contain some level of repetition, especially in Part Two, but as these are contributing sections and case studies, written by different authors who provide a different angle or viewpoint to the same concepts, I found those especially useful for practitioners (our engineers and customers). The downside of having multiple authors is however that Levine's simple and clear writing style is not always maintained. The advantage of this approach is that within the same book, readers will benefit from learning some related topics such as ways to measure (e.g. earned value, AHP, NPV), Enterprise Project Management, IT Governance, and much more.

As a result, the company has bought over 50 copies to date and I have been recommending this book to our new employees, partners, and customers worldwide who want to build up their knowledge and implementation skills in Project Portfolio Management.

Eddy Pauwels
Serena Software
Antwerp, Belgium

I have been waiting for a good, practical portfolio management book and this one hits the mark for me. It contains a good mix of content including some "theory" as well as a good bit of practical advice. The writing style is clear, to the point, and provides you with enough to go off and make something happen in your organization.

As an aside, I think the graphic on the cover is right on point. We are too often burning the candle at both ends in the project/program/portfolio management space!

This is a great book for someone trying to implement portfolio management in a company. Excellent insight.

This book clears the air on what PPM really is. It truly is a set of business practices that integrates projects with other business operations. I was hired by a client to refurbish their Program Management Office (PMO) and if I had known about the existence of this book, life would have been a lot easier. I endeavored to introduce the idea of selecting the right projects as a responsibility of the PMO, seeing as how there were projects dragging on for many years with no end in sight. The client had many divisions and divisional directors can get very territorial! They had no problem with unproductive projects languishing. The User community had become hardened and found ways to circumvent the work load and workflows and found alternate means to get their daily tasks accomplished. It was an uphill struggle which culminated in my favor when the CIO decided to reorganize the IT department!

I wanted to revamp the PMO into what I considered to be the three PPM management and coordination framework areas: Strategic - Program Management; Coordination - Program & Project Development; Tactical - Project Management & Planning. The PPM approach, I think, is geared more towards the Strategic framework area.

My approach for the Strategic framework was: Align Program to Business Strategy; Project to Program goals; Assess Project viability; Launch/Halt Projects; Resolve goals conflicts between projects; Resolve Resource Conflicts between projects; Manage Program & Projects to Business Critical Dates; Respond to changes in business environment.

Other interesting tips can be found at [...].

This book is one of the required readings at Capella University for students specializing in Project Management. In my research, I rely heavily on this book because of its simplicity and easy approach style. I recommend this book to anyone looking to study the field of Project/Program/Portfolio Management.

Ayman Sokkarie
Capella University PhD Student

This book was cheaper than the regular bookstore connected to the university which I usually buy from, and with being a Prime member, it was even a better deal. Guess where I am buying future books?

Excellent book, with several experts points of view and collaboration.
This book can be used by MBA students to refine their
researchs and professionals that are looking for advices and
tips to implement a good portfolio management practices on the job!

I can't complain about this order, I received it quite quickly and in perfect conditions, I will try to order my next purchases directly from amazon, its delivery and price are pretty good