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100 of 102 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive. One stop for Project Management knowledge., April 13, 2003
This review is from: Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (Hardcover)
Several people I have talked to seem to have mixed feelings about this book. Most never get past the first few pages in the book and many are afraid not to have this book prominently displayed on their desks. The latter is to avoid someone mistaking them for a junior project manager. The best way to review this monumental book on project management is to list the most common arguments for and against the book. The book presents comprehensive knowledge of project management that you can substitute only by purchasing several books on the subject by other authors. Dr. Harold Kerzner is also one of the most respected experts on Project Management. Dr. Kerzner now has several companion books to supplement this main text book. One area that the book was considered lacking in the past was with regards to case studies. You can now buy his latest book that is dedicated to covering just case studies. The writing style is extremely easy to read and follow. Once you read his explanation on any topic, you will find that it is hard to disagree with him because his explanations are very compelling. The reasons many people have disliked the book - the book is too boring to read, it is too long a book, it is a compilation of bullet lists, there are not enough case studies (or problems/exercises), etc. I can't say anything about the first complaint because it is actually true but if you are in the middle of a project and have a burning question, I can promise you that is isn't so boring to pull up the relevant section in the book and find a reasonable explanation to your question. The book is very long because it is an exhaustive treatment of the Project Management field. There is no reason to read it in one sitting. Regarding being a compilation of bullet lists, it does seem that way. But when you have been in project management for a while and have an appreciation for the difficulty of the field, the lists don't get in the way. The author has enough explanations surrounding the bullet lists that I never found them annoying. To address the complaints regarding case studies, problems/exercises, there is now a book dedicated to case studies and I believe there have always been workbooks that he authored which contained more problems/exercises. A good approach to follow regarding the usage of this book is to buy it early on in your career but stop after reading just the first few chapters. As you are gaining experience and have been exposed to a majority of the project management field, it is time to refer to this book more often. I have followed the book through several editions over the years and looked up various topics as questions popped up in my mind while going through a project. I am yet to finish the whole book (this is my 7th year reading the various editions of his book) after all these years but I didn't expect to. It is a great reference book and I have been using it as one. There are better books to read on project management if you looking for a quick overview. 'The Little Black Book of Project Management' by Michael Thomsett comes to mind along with 'Project Management - Planning and Control' by Rory Burke. If you are looking for help with the PMP preparation, I highly recommend 'PMP Exam Prep' by Rita Mulcahy. Read my review on her book for more detailed information on taking the exam. IIL offers several Project Management classes that are taught by excellent instructors if you like what you read in this book and are looking for more of the same. A copy is given out as part of the class materials (for some of their classes). I hope you benefit from reading this book as much as I did and thanks for your patience. This is indeed a difficult book to review.
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42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Encyclopedic but dry, September 28, 2000
Harold Kerzner has written a tome that encompasses virtually all areas of Project Management (PM). Where he excels is in placing PM in the Organizational context. A read of this book can tell you how PM will fit into an organization, and the types of conflict that can arise when line management and project management come together.Some aspects of the book (e.g. planning and project leadership/influence skills) are comprehensive enough to be books themselves. If you did not buy this one book, you might haveto buy many different books at higher cost to achieve the same coverage of topics. I have also found the author's coverage of issues to be thoughtful, comprehensive and meaningful. It is not fluffy. Do not expect to start using this book the day you get nominated as a Project Manager. This is more in the nature of a study book, and less like a workbook, or a what-do-I-need-to-do-starting-tomorrow-morning guide. However your diligence in studying its contents will, I believe, be richly rewarded. What do I not like about this book? * The author's endless fascination with bullet points. In some places the book reads like it was a transcript of his lectures. * Style of delivery is very dry. There is no change of tempo. * Poor figures. I could not understand many of the statistical figures at first glance. * Bad taste in cartoons. 'Nuff said. * The binding -- it is gummed at the spine for a very heavy book. Handle it roughly and it will come apart.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Tough to rate..., January 14, 2003
PROS: Kerzner's work is a great REFERENCE for those preparing for the PMP exam. Kerzner is one of the driving forces behind those exams, so this work is one of the most recommended references for this sort of preparation. CONS: I've never liked the extreme amount of repetition in this work. Several times I had to set it down for a while because the repetition became difficult to ignore or just skip over. I believe that repetition in learning is good; however, the repetition should be up to the student, not the author. The layout of this book, in my opinon, is distracting. For someone who reads quickly, it can be distracting to have to stop on almost every page and do a quick scan of what was missed as one reads. At times, the sidebars and callouts seem to emphasize the items of lesser importance. OVERALL: Treat this work like you would any other REFERENCE guide. Don't try to read it from start to finish. Use another exam resource, such as the PMP publications if you are preparing for the PMI exams. Use another how-to book if you are trying to apply PM techniques to improve your project office or your own projects. It's odd; as a text, this book rates poorly. But as a reference guide, it does better -- hence, the 3 star rating. I recommend this as an item to own, just don't try to curl up for a good night's reading with it.
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by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
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