Today’s new breed, eXtreme projects are different. They feature high speed, high change, high complexity, high risk, and high stress. While traditional projects follow the classic model of ready, aim, fire, eXtreme project managers succeed by shooting the gun and then redirecting the bullet while not loosing sight of their moving target. eXtreme Project Management provides a practical guide for leaders working under high risk and high pressure while producing the desired bottom-line results. Based on Doug DeCarlo’s extensive experience in working with more than 250 project teams, his eXtreme project management model is built around an integrated set of principles, values, skills, tools, and practices proven to consistently work under conditions of rapid change and uncertainty. eXtreme project management is based on the premise that you don’t manage the unknown the same way you manage the known. It’s a people-centric approach to high performance that makes quality of life a fundamental part of the project venture.
eXtreme Project Management
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
FREE Two-Day Shipping for students on millions of items. Learn more |
| |||||||||||||||
 Sell Back Your Copy for $13.75
Whether you bought it on Amazon or somewhere else, you can sell it back through our Book Trade-In Program at the current price of $13.75.
Used Price$30.16
Trade-in Price$13.75
Price after
Trade-in$16.41 |
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $2 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A wake-up call for the project management establishment.”
--Wayne G. Dix, PMP, AXA Financial
--Wayne G. Dix, PMP, AXA Financial
“Inspiration for all of us in the project management profession.”
--Wes Balakian, PMP, chairman and executive advisor, PMI E-Business SIG; and President, TSI
"Not simply a book. It is a mind-expanding experience!"
--Gary R. Heerkens, PMP, CPM, CBM, PE, president, Management Solutions Group, Inc.
“A profoundly thoughtful and useful approach to managing the chaotic projects of our time.”
--Ed Mahler, PMP, president, Project Administration Institute; and president, PMI Westchester, New York, chapter
“A much-awaited alternative to traditional project management.”
--Lauri Koskela, professor, the University of Salford
“Concrete tools for when traditional project management approaches aren't cutting it."
--Victoria Tucker, president, Zero Boundary Inc.
“Doug shows us how to rise above chaos and ambiguity and to achieve results without driving ourselves mad in the process!"
--John J. Turanin, vice president, corporate planning and program management, Aradigm Corporation
“Belongs front and center on our desks where we can use it on a daily basis.”
--William Jacobson, director, project management, Wyeth Research
“A paradigm shift. Universally applicable, beneficial for all projects. Refreshing and delightful.”
--Randall L. Englund, author, Creating an Environment for Successful Projects
“A strong dose of reality and a long-awaited perspective.”
--Jim McDonough, Ph.D., PMP, senior research scientist, Eli Lilly and Company
“Doug DeCarlo adds power and insight to the growing effort to reform project management.”
--Gregory Howell, PE, Lean Project Consulting
“Doug DeCarlo is leading those of us in the IS/IT profession into a new and much-needed arena of speed, yet high-quality systems development.”
--Joan Knutson, PM, Guru Unlimited
“An approach that will greatly increase chances of successfully delivering business value.”
--John Thorp, president, The Thorp Network Inc.; and author, The Information Paradox
“I highly recommend this book to anyone facing challenging projects."
--Zed Day, CIO, University of Kentucky Medical Center
From the Inside Flap
Today’s new breed, eXtreme projects are different. They feature high speed, high change, high complexity, high risk, and high stress. While traditional projects follow the classic model of ready—aim—fire, eXtreme project managers succeed by shooting the gun and then redirecting the bullet while not losing sight of their moving target.
eXtreme Project Management provides a practical guide for leaders working under high risk and high pressure while producing the desired bottom-line results. Based on Doug DeCarlo’s extensive experience in working with more than 250 project teams, his eXtreme project management model is built around an integrated set of principles, values, skills, tools, and practices proven to consistently work under conditions of rapid change and uncertainty.
eXtreme project management is based on the premise that you don’t manage the unknown the same way you manage the known. It’s a people-centric approach to high performance that makes quality of life a fundamental part of the project venture.
Throughout the book, eXtreme Project Management shows project managers, sponsors, and executives how to keep projects in control and deliver business value in the face of volatility by
- Developing a change-tolerant, quantum mind-set
- Applying principles of self-mastery
- Gaining and sustaining commitment to the project mission
- Unleashing motivation and innovation
- Establishing trust and confidence
- Implementing a flexible project management model
- Establishing a real-time communications infrastructure
- Minimizing bureaucracy
- Improving organizational agility
eXtreme project management is a dynamic and exhilarating model for any kind of project that features high doses of speed and volatility, and where failure is not an option.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What DeCarlo describes is not in any way an extreme project management approach but a common sense process of dealing with the insanity of the expectations for many contemporary projects. DeCarlo has great insight and sound advice on how people and processes must adapt to the business and technical requirements of modern projects.
Unfortunately, he overly chides and unceremoniously puts down the traditional "Newtonians" and their traditional planning and change aversion but somewhat begrudgingly recognizes their proper place in the long history and wide spectrum of projects, i.e., "you don't use eXtreme project management to shutdown a nuclear power plant for maintenance."
I think DeCarlo could have make his points without some of the denigrating remarks about traditional project management and managers, particularly, PMPs. He is certainly not unique with this tact among other non-traditional project management authors in the agile software development camp. Leading both traditional and extreme projects and even some which have both concurrent elements, I have found projects dictate their own approach as DeCarlo suggests in the final chapter.
His section on leadership and self-mastery is the keystone and guiding light of the book, a book which DeCarlo confesses is not about project management but about making a difference in an eXtreme world. This section alone is worth the price of the book. This book is really about leading people not managing projects.
One disappointment is DeCarlo's simplified two step prescription for the organizational transition from the traditional to the eXtreme process. He seems to abandon his own protocol on how to plan and execute the transition which should be the first eXtreme project to be undertaken. He seems to take the "Nike" approach to "just do it" by just adopting the Flexible Project Model and applying JIT project management to a few real projects. I have never worked in an organization, traditional or extreme, where it is this simple to implement fundamental changes without getting the buy-in that DeCarlo emphasizes throughout his book. Perhaps, in the next edition, DeCarlo will expand this section and give us some additional insights of how to make the organizational transition using the eXtreme project management approach.
Overall, DeCarlo has written a witty, insightful and common sense approach to eXtreme projects that just may work if you achieve self mastery, demonstrate courage and convince stakeholders to go along. It should be required reading for all students and practioneers of project management and others who are charged with constructively changing themselves and eventually the world.
Unfortunately, he overly chides and unceremoniously puts down the traditional "Newtonians" and their traditional planning and change aversion but somewhat begrudgingly recognizes their proper place in the long history and wide spectrum of projects, i.e., "you don't use eXtreme project management to shutdown a nuclear power plant for maintenance."
I think DeCarlo could have make his points without some of the denigrating remarks about traditional project management and managers, particularly, PMPs. He is certainly not unique with this tact among other non-traditional project management authors in the agile software development camp. Leading both traditional and extreme projects and even some which have both concurrent elements, I have found projects dictate their own approach as DeCarlo suggests in the final chapter.
His section on leadership and self-mastery is the keystone and guiding light of the book, a book which DeCarlo confesses is not about project management but about making a difference in an eXtreme world. This section alone is worth the price of the book. This book is really about leading people not managing projects.
One disappointment is DeCarlo's simplified two step prescription for the organizational transition from the traditional to the eXtreme process. He seems to abandon his own protocol on how to plan and execute the transition which should be the first eXtreme project to be undertaken. He seems to take the "Nike" approach to "just do it" by just adopting the Flexible Project Model and applying JIT project management to a few real projects. I have never worked in an organization, traditional or extreme, where it is this simple to implement fundamental changes without getting the buy-in that DeCarlo emphasizes throughout his book. Perhaps, in the next edition, DeCarlo will expand this section and give us some additional insights of how to make the organizational transition using the eXtreme project management approach.
Overall, DeCarlo has written a witty, insightful and common sense approach to eXtreme projects that just may work if you achieve self mastery, demonstrate courage and convince stakeholders to go along. It should be required reading for all students and practioneers of project management and others who are charged with constructively changing themselves and eventually the world.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you work on projects in the real world, you probably know that most have aggressive schedules, fuzzy and changing requirements, inadequate resources and stressed out teams. For many such projects, conventional project management techniques are inadequate and miss the point.
eXtreme Project Management provides a sorely needed framework to deal with and conquer the project workplace as it really is, not as we might wish it to be. While the book may challenge conventional thinking, its principles and tools are common-sense and flow naturally. This book is an innovative breath of fresh air in the demanding world of project management.
One metaphor from the book strikes me as representative of its significant value. Conventional projects lend themselves to conventional management techniques, as classical music lends itself to a specific score and direction by a conductor. However, most workplace projects are more like jazz pieces performed by ensembles that improvise on a theme, and perhaps even change themes many times in a song. The big problem in the project workplace is that conventional project management tries to force these jazz pieces into a written score that is driven by the conductor. In the middle of the performance, the customer, the marketplace and the technology have all changed into different keys, melodies and tempos and left the orchestra in a state of chaos. It is better to learn to perform, to embrace and to enjoy the jazz project from the start - eXtreme Project Management is the guide to do just that!
Doug DeCarlo's book provides the mindset as well as the principles and toolkit needed for success and sanity in the often crazy world of projects. As someone who has managed technical projects for over 25 years, I have experienced that DeCarlo's approach really works when conventional techniques fail.
eXtreme Project Management provides a sorely needed framework to deal with and conquer the project workplace as it really is, not as we might wish it to be. While the book may challenge conventional thinking, its principles and tools are common-sense and flow naturally. This book is an innovative breath of fresh air in the demanding world of project management.
One metaphor from the book strikes me as representative of its significant value. Conventional projects lend themselves to conventional management techniques, as classical music lends itself to a specific score and direction by a conductor. However, most workplace projects are more like jazz pieces performed by ensembles that improvise on a theme, and perhaps even change themes many times in a song. The big problem in the project workplace is that conventional project management tries to force these jazz pieces into a written score that is driven by the conductor. In the middle of the performance, the customer, the marketplace and the technology have all changed into different keys, melodies and tempos and left the orchestra in a state of chaos. It is better to learn to perform, to embrace and to enjoy the jazz project from the start - eXtreme Project Management is the guide to do just that!
Doug DeCarlo's book provides the mindset as well as the principles and toolkit needed for success and sanity in the often crazy world of projects. As someone who has managed technical projects for over 25 years, I have experienced that DeCarlo's approach really works when conventional techniques fail.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is different from the many books on my bookshelf around the topic of project management. I found this book to be interesting reading, in contrast to the same-old-stuff in most other books, much of which does not really work.
I consult in the area of project management, and my interest is in things that work and are actually useful in the business world. Doug DeCarlo bases his project management model on the dynamics of what motivates people rather than on the mechanics of traditional bricks and mortar project management. Most of us who have managed significant projects inevitably come to realize it is all about people (thus in this regard I disagree with Thomas Connell's view in a prior review), and the author acknowledges that by the breadth his book covers in this regard.
I find this book to add value in the field of project management. At first read I found many things that are immediately useful. In my view, this book is useful both to pick up "tips", as well as for the "infrastructure" it lays out. It's got actionable information in it for beginners through seasoned, professional project managers. I have to go back and read it again. In the meantime, I plan to use it as a reference tool.
I consult in the area of project management, and my interest is in things that work and are actually useful in the business world. Doug DeCarlo bases his project management model on the dynamics of what motivates people rather than on the mechanics of traditional bricks and mortar project management. Most of us who have managed significant projects inevitably come to realize it is all about people (thus in this regard I disagree with Thomas Connell's view in a prior review), and the author acknowledges that by the breadth his book covers in this regard.
I find this book to add value in the field of project management. At first read I found many things that are immediately useful. In my view, this book is useful both to pick up "tips", as well as for the "infrastructure" it lays out. It's got actionable information in it for beginners through seasoned, professional project managers. I have to go back and read it again. In the meantime, I plan to use it as a reference tool.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
eXtreme Project Management
The choice between "traditional project management" (TPM) and "eXtreme project management" isn't an option that pertains to every endeavor - only to projects with complexities that... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rolf Dobelli
Highly recommended
This book is quite different from other project management books which are full of recipes, tips, patterns or case studies. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sebastián E
Kindle version specific
This review concerns the Kindle version specifically. The subject matter is great, the writing style is didactic but engaging. Read more
Published on February 8, 2010 by HoHum
I love this book!
Talk about a great book that chances how you think about project management! I had the luck to attend one of Doug's seminars over a year ago, and I was impressed with how he... Read more
Published on October 10, 2009 by Software Maniac
Lots of Examples
DeCarlo brings the topic of Agile PM, leadership and work/life balance together to encourage the reader to apply these skills to current and future projects. Read more
Published on June 12, 2009 by Sheila A. Canter
Excellent, timely and a new addition to your permanent reference shelf
This excellent book dramatically advances the start-of-the-art in agile project management. It goes well beyond any other book on the subject, covering such new ground as how to... Read more
Published on September 23, 2005 by Michael Cohn
Better than most, relates well to non-technical projects too
There is little I can add to the positive reviews of this book. Most of these works focus on the usual elements and concerns, with more or less emphasis on the various aspects of... Read more
Published on August 22, 2005 by Linda Clark-Borre
It's all here
Doug DeCarlo is a fascinating person and a delightful speaker. To the great benefit of readers everywhere, his essence is now captured in print. Read more
Published on May 23, 2005 by Randall L. Englund
SOLID RESOURCE WITH LOTS OF INFORMATIVE SUBSTANCE.
Extreme projects are characterized by two or more of the following: high stakes; tight deadlines; innovation is primary; success measured only in bottom-line results; bureaucracy... Read more
Published on April 22, 2005 by Gerry Stern
Extreme Project Management
Rarely in my 25-year project career has a book hit so close to my and my clients' workplace. If change is the only constant on your projects then you need to, as the authors says,... Read more
Published on December 10, 2004 by Steven Weidner
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The world of project management has changed radically, totally, and irreversibly. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
extreme project management, extreme project manager, create ownership for results, extreme projects, unleashing motivation, program breakdown structure, meeting work products, stakeholder database, antibiotic projects, intended business outcome, crucial stakeholders, make change your friend, win conditions, agile project management, doug decarlo, scoping meeting, project management infrastructure, vaccine project, uncertainty profile, death march project, project accelerator, vision updated, traditional project management, motivated strengths, schedule mapped Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Project Prospectus, Selected Ones, Best Practice, Worst Practice, X-Virus Vaccine Project, Earthland Security, Real-Time Communications, Sponsor of All Sponsors, Performance Review, Post Meeting, Self Mastery, Change Assimilation, Innovate The Doing, Byron Katie, Project Accelerators, Costs Prelaunch, Jim Lewis, Preliminar Core Team, Sponsor's Vision Planning Meeting Learning, Agile Accelerators Organization, Jim Highsmith, Wall Street New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The world of project management has changed radically, totally, and irreversibly. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
extreme project management, extreme project manager, create ownership for results, extreme projects, unleashing motivation, program breakdown structure, meeting work products, stakeholder database, antibiotic projects, intended business outcome, crucial stakeholders, make change your friend, win conditions, agile project management, doug decarlo, scoping meeting, project management infrastructure, vaccine project, uncertainty profile, death march project, project accelerator, vision updated, traditional project management, motivated strengths, schedule mapped Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Project Prospectus, Selected Ones, Best Practice, Worst Practice, X-Virus Vaccine Project, Earthland Security, Real-Time Communications, Sponsor of All Sponsors, Performance Review, Post Meeting, Self Mastery, Change Assimilation, Innovate The Doing, Byron Katie, Project Accelerators, Costs Prelaunch, Jim Lewis, Preliminar Core Team, Sponsor's Vision Planning Meeting Learning, Agile Accelerators Organization, Jim Highsmith, Wall Street New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 24
books:
See all 24 books this book cites
- Project Management (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) by Harvard Business Review on 7 pages
- The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization (Collins Business Essentials) by Jon R. Katzenbach on page 146, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles" by Marianne Williamson in Front Matter, page 72, and Back Matter
- Radical Project Management by Rob Thomsett on page 148, and Back Matter
- Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher on page 128, and Back Matter
See all 24 books this book cites
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
