Customer Reviews

Radical Project Management

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Five years ago I read the most insightful and inspiring book on project management I had ever seen. This was morbidly titled "Deathmarch" due to the proliferation of unrealistic projects that I.T. teams found themselves caught up in.

I have now found a new contender for my favourite book on the topic, in Radical Project Management by Rob Thomsett. Coincidentally, it is part of a series edited by Ed Yourdon, the author of Deathmarch!

This book is novel in its approach by embracing two key facts.

Firstly, project management is no longer a dry topic, best left to crusty managerial types. The modern I.T. professional needs to be all of network guru, web developer, database administrator, software developer and, of course, project manager. Hence, even the most hands-on techie has to grip this topic!

Secondly, traditional project management methodologies are losing relevance in today's wired world where the only constant factor is change.

Thomsett argues that such practices are inward-looking and static. Conversely, his "Radical" philosophy looks outward, embracing stakeholders, management and end-users, seeking to involve them in the project's development from conception to implementation.

This is what Thomsett means by calling his philosophy "radical" - it departs from tradition. The term also, to my mind, plays on the "RAD" - Rapid Application Development - paradigm that boosted languages like Delphi and Visual Basic into the limelight. RAD languages also sought to involve end-users in the creative development process by allowing the rapid construction of functional prototypes.

Of course, a mere philosophy by itself is insufficient (consider the USSR!) and pleasingly, Thomsett fills his pages with case studies, details of new project management tools and how to successfully use them, and just good common-sense and stories "from the chalk face". As one reads this book, it is abundantly evident that the author is writing from a wealth of experience - this book is by an I.T. professional for I.T. professionals.

I wholeheartedly recommend it, and it certainly has found a place on my desk.

Finally a practical project management book that goes beyond Gannt charts, time lines or budgets. I have already found it useful in finding out why and where some of my projects went wrong and the lessons I can learn for the future.

Thomsett has added principles to project management that have often been talked about, but that are rarely (and effectively) applied; for example quality, realisation of business objectives, distinction between project objectives and solutions.

This is not just a book for project managers; anybody who is involved in projects in some way or another (business analysts, HR professionals, people who commission projects) will get a better understanding of what it takes to deliver projects successfully.

And if you're a movie fanatic - you'll love the references to some great classics.

This book loses its momentum by focusing on jargon and buzzwords intead of clear and solid points. The effort of reading this book is not a complete loss - there are some good suggestions and models, but any of Gerald Weinbergs books are shorter and better reads with 10x less pretension and unnecessary complexity.

I just spent three days in a workshop with Robert Thomsett. He is an amazing speaker and overall great guy. The workshop was based on this book and, even though I haven't yet finished, I feel safe in saying that this book is perfect for anyone wanting a better understanding of project management. I am in the IT business but feel that the tools given here are applicable across the board. If possible, I also highly recommend attending one of the workshops - it was by far the best I have attended and would have been willing to sit there for another week just to pick his brain.