PM Book Reviews - December 2006

 


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Managing Smaller Projects

Reviewed by: Catherine Vilaga

 

 

 

Author: Mike Watson
Published by: Multi-Media Publications, Inc.
Date of Review: October 2006
Publication Date: 2006 (U.S.)
List Price: $ 34.95 USD

 

Introduction to the Book:

Managing Smaller Projects is a practical guide to incorporating principles of Project Management to smaller projects simply and easily.  When applied to smaller projects traditional project management methods and techniques often prove ill-suited and result in overkill.  Watson sets out to devise a system that will help people control smaller projects in a logical and effective way without incurring the expensive overhead costs associated with traditional project management methods, tools and techniques.  The result is his proposed Smaller Projects (SP) Method.

As a Human Resources (HR) professional, I find that project management is an important skill set in my profession.  But because most HR projects are considered small to medium in size, the application of traditional Project Management is daunting and not always practical.  The author’s approach allows me to introduce the foundations of project management to human resources projects in a more efficient manner that is tailored to the smaller scale of most HR projects.

Read the full review:
Managing Smaller Projects



Catherine Vilaga

ABOUT THE BOOK REVIEWER

Catherine Vilaga

Cathy Vilaga is a client services team lead with the HR Services group in the Dallas office of Mercer Human Resources Consulting.  She is responsible for helping clients accomplish their strategic human resources objectives and enhance their unique business culture by leveraging Mercer’s expertise in HR, client knowledge, and its breadth and depth of outsourcing products and services.  Before joining Mercer in 2006, Cathy has spent over seven years providing business analysis, project management, and applications development for the human resources functions for companies in the technology industry. Cathy holds a BA from Baylor University and is pursuing an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas.  She is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), the International Association for Human Resources Information Management (IHRIM) and the Project Management Institute (PMI).  She is responsible for program development and communications for the DFW Chapter of IHRIM, and serves on their Board of Directors.  Her commitment to the DFW chapter was recognized in 2006 when she received the DFW Member of the Year Award.  In addition, she is responsible for the editing and the delivery of communications for the PMI HR SIG. Ms. Vilaga lives in North Texas and can be reached at mailto:cathy.vilaga@mercer.com.

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Avoiding Project Disasters "Titanic Lessons for IT Executives"

Reviewed by: René Le Bel

 

 

 

Author: Mark Kozak-Holland
Published by: Multi-Media Publications, Inc.
Date of Review: November 2006
Publication Date: 2006
List Price: $ 44.95 USD (eBook: $ 29.95 USD)

 

Introduction to the Book:

Avoiding Project Disasters parallels today’s hubris of IT practices against the hubris surrounding the building, marketing and operation of the cruise liner named Titanic.  The book is targeted at senior level management needing a resource to understand key IT project issues.  The author Mark Kozak-Holland, a history buff and IT consultant in emerging technologies has written a user-friendly book with chapter objectives, conclusions and extensive appendices.

Read the full review:
Avoiding Project Disasters "Titanic Lessons for IT Executives"



René Le Bel

ABOUT THE BOOK REVIEWER

René Le Bel

René Le Bel has over twenty years experience in educational publishing.  He is the publisher for a secondary science schoolbook company in Texas. His undergraduate degree is from Univerisité de Montréal and he is currently enrolled in the Masters of Project Management at the University of Texas in Dallas. He lives in Dallas with his family and can be contacted at rene@lebel.com

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A Survival Guide for Project Managers

Reviewed by: Karim Osman

 

 

 

Author: James Taylor
Published by: AMACOM
Date of Review: November 2006
Publication Date: 2006
List Price: $ 19.95 USD

 

Introduction to the Book:

This book is a practical guide for project managers. The writer uses his experience to map out the responsibilities of project managers and the corresponding skills required to successfully execute their responsibilities. The writer also includes technical and personal tools to polish these skills.

Read the full review:
A Survial Guide for Project Managers



Karim Osman

ABOUT THE BOOK REVIEWER

Karim Osman

Karim Osman is a Project Engineer in the Nuclear Projects Division of Ontario Power Generation, the Provincial Utility of Ontario, Canada. Prior to working at the utility, he worked with Stone and Webster, an international Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Management (EPCM) company.  He has worked in various projects in the power sector first as a Mechanical Design Engineer, then as a Mechanical Design Lead, then as Design Team Leader, and now as a Project Engineer.  The projects have ranged from new design/build projects to modifications to existing systems in the power station.  Karim has earned a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto and is currently enrolled in the Project Management MBA Program at the University of Texas at Dallas.  He can be contacted at karim.osman@opg.com.

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Titanic Lessons for IT Projects

Reviewed by: Chris Patrick, PMP

 

 

 

Author: Mark Kozak-Holland
Published by: Multi-Media Publications, Inc.
Date of Review: Nov/2006
Publication Date: 2005
List Price: $ 27.96 USD or $17.95 (eBook)

 

Introduction to the Book:

Most Project Managers admit to going through at least 1 catastrophic failure in their career. This book focuses on those projects that fail after production is completed. The Titanic project was unpredictable, unexpected and extremely costly. This book gives a high level correlation between IT project failures and the Titanic story. The author, Mark Kozak-Holland is a Senior Business Architect/Consultant with HP Services. Mark has over 20 years of systems integration and services experience gained internationally in all phases of project development from conception to implementation.

Read the full review:
Titanic Lessons for IT Projects



Chris Patrick

ABOUT THE BOOK REVIEWER

Chris Patrick, PMP

Chris Patrick is an IT Project Manager at AltaOne Federal Credit Union.  Chris is PMP certified with over 6 years of experience in planning, coordinating and implementing IT related Projects and over 7 years of intensive IT leadership experience.  Recently, he has successfully planned, managed, implemented, tested and deployed 60+ IT related projects in a 4-year span. Chris received his Bachelors of Science degree in Management Information Systems from California State University, Chico, USA.  He received a Certificate in Project Management from the University of Texas at Dallas in December 2005 and anticipates graduating from the University of Texas at Dallas with an MBA in December 2007.  Chris can be contacted at cpatrick@altaone.net.

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