Customer Reviews

Total Project Control: A Manager's Guide to Integrated Project Planning, Measuring, and Tracking (Operations Management Series)

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Devaux states in the preface ... "that TPC views the entire project process, from initial conception through delivery to the customer, as a coherent whole. It offers a major improvement over traditional project management..." This appears to be restating the obvious. What professional project management process and manager would not consider all the external and internal impacts on the project success?

The book suggests that professional project managers "don't" address projects as a whole. No doubt there are examples of failure, but are these the outcome of not addressing the project as a whole? Terry Williams' text provides many references for the analysis of project failures.

It is also suggested that "traditional project management" neglects this "whole." Is this neglect a result of the failure to use the tools or training that project managers already have? Is it a failure to use the standard processes - PMBOK for example? Do project managers really need a new method, or do they simply need to use the methods, processes, and frameworks already in place as a profession. Since there obvious needs for improvement in managing project, hopefully this book will answer that question.

At a detailed level, DIPP (Devaux Index of Project Performance) and other "home brew" indices, offer little in terms of newness or business value, beyond estimates already in place. Expected Monetary Value (EMV) and "real options" theory are mature performance assessment processes. Devaux takes these concepts and uses the Estimate to Complete (ETC) in the denominator to construct his index - DIPP. DIPP is not a well behaved indicator though, generating a "divide by zero" error when the project nears its completion. This is not desirable behavior near the end of a project where careful "leading indicators" are needed to produce a "soft landing."

Another major disappointment, as mentioned above, is the complete lack of a bibliography or reference materials. It is unfathomable in today's mature project management profession that Devaux would have no documented basis for his ideas. To this point there is no reference to the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) concept or risk management using EMV. Both are mature processes in project portfolio management and the risk management associated with making decision choices in the presence of statistical uncertainty.

The core flaw in the DIPP concept is that it does not consider the sunk costs of a project in the estimate of the "project profit." By ignoring the sunk cost, or at least by not insisting it be considered, Devaux creates a unstable index of the benefits of the project. By using only the Estimate To Complete (ETC) and the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) produced by the project, the past is ignored. "Real Options" theory is a much better starting point for the goal suggested by Devaux.

For any predictor of the future, it's critical to understand the concept of a posterior statistic - one in which a revised probability is obtained after receiving new information. Instead of ignoring the past sunk costs, it should be a source of information used to forecast future outcomes.

For $89.00 I can't recommend the book. At this price point there are more mainstream works with a solid academic and field experience background.

This book extends beyond control to encompass three important areas that begins with project selection, and adds to how projects are planned and scheduled. These areas are:
1. Set of tools and approach for governance and program management.
2. Adds profitability as a dimension to project management.
3. Proves that critical path method (CPM) is not an anachronistic technique - merely one that's misunderstood.

Governance and program management tools that the author introduces are powerful and ensure that project selection is based on profitability and business goals. While there is an entire body of knowledge on project selection techniques, what sets Mr. Devaux's approach apart is his tools are incorporated into the project management process as opposed to merely initiating it. The tools are:
* [Devaux's] Index of Project Performance (DIPP), which is one of the most powerful project selection and prioritization techniques I've encountered. DIPP is especially applicable to product-based projects because it computes the cost of lost opportunity and the impact of being late to market. For internal projects it provides a clear link to business imperatives, which can bridge the gap between IT and the business.

* [Devaux's] Removed Activity Gage (DRAG). Overlook the fact that the author loves to name techniques after himself because this is an advanced technique that accurately computes the amount of time an activity adds to a project (or can save if the activity is removed). This technique is a powerful addition to the project manager's array of tools for schedule compression and resource management.

* Doubled Resource Estimated Duration (DRED) is a measure of resource elasticity; in other words, some activity cannot be shortened by adding resources and others can. DRED allows you to determine the best use of your resources.

* Cost of Leveling with Unresolved Bottlenecks (CLUB), which is another advanced technique for schedule management, and, used in conjunction with Resource Availability Drag (RAD) and DRAG, give credence to Devaux's argument that the critical path method is a powerful element of project management.

This book also has much to offer to anyone who has just been placed in charge of a program management office (PMO). One note: Devaux is given to hyperbole at times. He makes claims that traditional project management techniques, such as earned value project management are flawed, yet he bases his approach on them. Look beyond this because his approach is powerful and works in practice.

After a useful reminder on why we need to plan and a visual seven-step process (AIM-FIRE) to manage changes to this planning, this book presents new concepts in how to compare the three sides of the project triangle (scope, time, cost) by using a common unit (dollars). Scope should be translated into customer value which will decrease over time as the market opportunity vanishes. The author makes the observation that the critical path is never determined for sure because of the incertitude on the estimates and provides help to evaluate the activities on and off the calculated critical path that might influence the most the duration of the project over its course. From these metrics and the impact on the Economic Monetary Value of the project, proper decisions can be made to allocate more resources or fast-track some tasks.
These concepts are very interesting but not easy to implement with available tools (e.g. MS Project) and frankly not very easy to understand.

Had to buy it for a class but found it very interesting. The author is well versed in project management and he gives good advice on how to better project control and scheduling.

Total Project Control is a book that delves into the nuts and bolts of project management and delivers the goods. There are plenty of titles out there that profess to guide the reader through the maze that is project management. Even the gurus at the Project Management Institute, with the PMBOK (Project Management Body Of Knowledge) describe what the process should be but they don't give you the information to get it done. Total Project Control does.

Mr. Devaux lays his foundation firmly atop the standard principles of project management but he deftly takes you to new levels with a set of tools such as DIPP (Devaux's Index of Project Performance) that calculates the profitability of your project, as well as DRAG (Devaux's Reduced Activity Gauge) to guide you through the process of optimizing your project. Critical Path makes a lot more sense when used with DRAG. There are also tools for resourcing such as the CLUB (Cost of Leveling with Unresolved Bottlenecks) and DRED (Doubled Resource Estimated Duration) and RAD (Resource Availability Drag).

If you're serious about project manager this book is for you. I've been a professional project manager for 14 years and I was very impressed.

This is not just a manual for project management, but something every executive and functional manager should read. Like it or not, we are all project managers, whether our roles involve in depth involvement in a single multi-task project, or a bottom line overview of resource distribution and the delivery of multiple products or services. Finally someone has quantified scope, resources and time, and provided a tool to evaluate project the value of project-based decisions as never before. Thank you Mr. Devaux.

- David Wamback, Harvard University

I provide my cleints a copy of the book as part of each training and consulting engagement. It is the best reference for taking a systems view of their project environment. Expecially useful is the section on managing a project portfolio - no other book discusses it so well. My clients are now considering DIPP and "expected monitary value" of their projects in a portfolio for the first time. And, they are amazed they made decisions without them. Nice work Devaux!