Customer Reviews

Projects in Less Time:: A Synopsis of Critical Chain

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was sorry I purchased "Projects in Less Time" and felt a little cheated. Maybe I read the title and description wrong. About 15 minutes after I received it I realized the title and summary of what the book "promised" to tell me didn't match the contents that much. Being the book is relatively inexpensive it was not worth the time and trouble to send it back. I see this book has gotten a lot of high ratings ("5") here at Amazon. That doesn't seem right to me because the book is about "Projects" yet lacks usefulness and content from a Project Management (PM) point of view. The final let-down in this book for me was that the main case study/example toward the end of the book was about a production constraint example--not a CCPM example. Here's where I'm coming from: I am both an experienced practicing project manager and a project management instructor. I recently "discovered" books on Theory of Constrains (TOC) and Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) over the last year. I have also purchased and learned several CCPM scheduling software packages. I am not saying "don't buy this book". If you are looking for a "brief" on Theory Of Constraints (TOC) using Goldratt's production examples and don't want to read Goldratt's books, which some folks don't like because they are long novels, then this book might be great for you. For someone looking to learn more about CCPM--it may not be for you. If you are like me, I would start with The Goal, the read some other Goldratt books. Then for more technical how-to in order to implement CCPM I'd look to Lawrence Leach's books. I spent an hour writing this to help prevent others from wasting their time and money if they got it wrong--like me. I hope my comments can be helpful to some, either way.

If you are in a hurry and want to understand the essence of Critical Chain this is the book to read. There aren't many wasted words but the important TOC concepts are covered and even expanded upon in this synopsis of Goldratt's Critical Chain. It would be well worth any project manager's time to read this short (125 pages) book.

Mark Woeppel is a very experienced Theory of Constraints expert and widely respected in TOC circles. He's done a nice job here of explaining Goldratt's Critical Chain approach to managing projects.

Mark has written a chapter by chapter synopsis of Goldratt's Critical Chain book, along with his own commentary and a case study. My first thought was that this was a cunning plan to write a book very quickly, but even though I've already read Critical Chain a half-dozen times, or more, and I've used the approach in reality, I am happy to say that I've learnt lots from Mark's additional commentary.

I used to have a description of the book here, but I see that it has been duplicated elsewhere.

I wrote this because I found there were very few resources available to give someone the essence of critical chain. Eli Goldratt's book, Critical Chain, while very readable, is difficult to extract the main ideas of this way of managing projects.

so - while it's not deep in terms of theory, it IS a short read on the main concepts of critical chain extracted from Eli's book. I have added my own experiences of implementing the concepts and what makes an implementation successful.

One other point that a reviewer made about the case study not being a CCPM project, he obviously didn't read the case. The case study presented was in a volume production construction environment - and we did use CCPM. That's why it's in the book!

If you want a airplane (or train) ride trip to understand what critical chain is all about, this the book for you. Enjoy!

Mark does an excellent job relating the important parts of Goldratt's story to the actions needed to begin to reduce much of the chaos that attends projects in most organizations. Mark's writing is clear and concise, and illustrations are simple and effective. He sharpens the focus of Goldratt's work and translates the key ideas into usable information. Success with critical chain continues in many organizations large and small, and on many types and sizes of projects. A valuable addition to any project manager's library.

I found this book a great supplement and synopsis of Dr. Goldratt's book Critical Chain. It isn't that Goldratt's book is a tough read, in fact it is entertaining and straighforward. But Mark Woepple's book is a great addition to the novel. He adds detailed analyses, concise examples, and opens up another layer to the novel that can make for a richer experience. It is not like a cheat sheet to the book, although could be for beginners, but it also adds more depth and another perspective that I found valuable as a leaders, an instructor, and a coach for TOC/CCPM in the professional world. Thank you Mark for this read.

This is book is very practical book in terms of ToC. Easy to understand and apply the concept.

For those who have read Critical Chain (the book by Dr. Goldratt), Mark's book is a quick and useful refresher. For those who have been practicing Critical Chain (the method), it is a good "back to basics" reminder.

Mark Woepple has done it again! He has created a practical guide for implementing CCPM in any work environment. I am totally confused by the person who rated this book as only a 1 of 5 rating? This book is a must for people who are attempting to understand and implement CCPM, especially if they have little experience in doing so. Mark is a "Master of Simplification" and Projects in Less Time, in this context, is a masterpiece! Thank you Mark for everything you do in promoting ToC and CCPM. I give this short book my highest endorsement!

Bob Sproull
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If you need to obtain a quick understanding of Critical Chain Project Management this is the book for you. It goes through Goldratt's critical chain project management book chapter by chapter, giving a readers digest version of what is presented in each chapter and then presents commentary on the key ideas that Goldratt is trying to convey.