Arras People's Top Ten

Project Management Demystified
Geoff Reiss

"In his book Project Management Demystified, Geoff Reiss takes a real-world, warts-and-all look at the experiences and skills of a project manager. He starts with the premise that a good project manager is unlikely to be recognised by their organisation; that if they run their projects well, they will remain invisible and that the only time their profile is raised is when their projects hit trouble."

Read More Here

Project Scope Management Study Guide
Frank Payne, Brandon McCormick

A study guide for the Project Scope Management area of knowledge as listed in the PMBOK. This study guide provides a road map for what you can expect to find on the PMP certification exam. Complete with a practice test for this subject, our series is the best way to prepare for your exam."

Reinventing Project Management: The Diamond Approach to Successful Growth & Innovation
Aaron J Shenhar and Dov Dvir

REVIEW: "Reinventing Project Management provides [an understanding of how to execute] in a clear, concise and thoughtful manner." - Automotive Design and Production, November 2007

Effective Project Management Through Applied Cost & Schedule Control
James A. Bent, Kenneth Humphries

This work outlines a state-of-the-art project control and trending programme, focusing on advanced applied-cost and schedule-control skills for all phases of a project at both owner and contractor level.

Using PRINCE2
Paul Bradley, Melanie Franklin

An interesting book that makes a valuable contribution to ensuring that PRINCE2™ remains a practical tool for the project manager.

PRINCE2™ - A Practical Handbook
Colin Bentley

A firm favourite at Arras People and a book which has been well-thumbed during our own careers as Project Managers. A good size which covers the essentials of PRINCE2™ and a good alternative buy to the large course issued versions.

Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2: 2009 Edition
OGC

Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2™: 2009 Edition (PRINCE2™ Guidance) from the OGC. The official guide to PRINCE2™ after the latest revamp - these books are part of the official training courses. Available from the TSO.

Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2: 2009
OGC

An OGC-backed guidebook tailored toward how to direct projects successfully behind the revamped 2009 edition of PRINCE2™. Role descriptions, governance, real world examples and product description outlines a-plenty in this handbook.

Passing the Prince2 Examinations: 2009 Edition (Prince 2)
OGC

The guidebook, complete with the updated syllabus, to passing the PRINCE2: 2009 edition qualifications tests. Make use of the 2009 Examinations design and editorial standards, and guidelines for candidates submitting both Foundation level and Practitioner level sample papers.

People Issues and PRINCE2
OGC

People Issues and PRINCE2™ - hurrah! Acknowledgement of that great variable on projects - people! A guide for Project Managers on the people issues in the project environment.

PRINCE2 2009 Process Model: A Comprehensive Graphical View of All the Standard PRINCE2 Management Products and Processes (Wall Chart)
Key Skills ILX

The PRINCE2: 2009 Product and Process wall chartshows how each of the Processes relate to each other, and follows each of the Processes in detail, showing how they flow and combine with each other.

Project Change Management
H. James Harrington, Daryl L. Conner, Nicolas S. Horney

In your projects have you ever been faced with resistance to change? Interesting book to have to hand and dip into when stuck or want to see other ideas at whatever stage of the project you are at. A must read If you are involved in project management and want to understand how change management ideas might compliment what you as a project manager are trying to achieve. (A handy CD-ROM is available with some versions.)

Business Benefits through Programme and Project Management
OGC

Available from the OGC aimed at senior managers interested in how Managing Projects using PRINCE2™ benefits their business.

The Definitive Guide to Project Management
Sebastian Nokes, Ian Major, Alan Greenwood, Mark Goodman

A bold statement, but it's refreshing to see a book written by people who are actual "do-ers" rather than academics. Some real life examples also help the book along.

All Change!: Project Leader's Secret Handbook
Eddie Obeng

Obeng helps you diagnose your project and identify the types of issues you are facing. It provides you with the methods, tools and framework you need to get your projects implemented. Written from your point of view, it accepts that your life is already busy and pulls out the core which yields big results.

Managing Smaller Projects
Mike Watson

He covers all the essential skills of managing smaller projects. From project start-up, to managing risk, quality, and change, through to controlling the project and implementing a simple control system, Mike Watson cuts through the jargon of project management.

One Project Too Many: A Novel Approach to the Management of Projects, Portfolios and Programmes
Geoff Reiss, Geoff Leigh

The story unfolds to show that the 'politics' of an organisation is just as important as 'best practice' management. A new CEO and his 'project challenge' to the organisation takes the reader through all the by-ways of modern project & programme management with a cast of characters who display many of the frailties of those of us who work in projects.

The Perfect Leader: All You Need to Get It Right First Time
Andrew Leigh & Michael Maynard

"Are leaders born or made? This handbook aims to show clearly how everyone can learn to exercise leadership by identifying the seven "I"s of leadership: insight; initiative; inspiration; involvement; improvisation; individuality; implementation." An excellent book that addresses the basic points of leadership based on observing the best practice of natural leaders An area which we think figures very highly in the Project Manager role. A must for any aspiring PM!.

The Handbook of Project-Based Management
J. Rodney Turner

An excellent book by J. Rodney Turner who was Director of Project Management at Henley Management College (UK), where he used to run an MBA programme for project-based management. Don't take our word for it - it also has excellent reviews from Amazon Readers too.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management
Kim Baker, Sunny Baker

REVIEW: "...by marketing and business-development specialists Sunny and Kim Baker, outlines proven ways to apply this key skill to various situations. In typical Idiot's Guide fashion, it explains all of the steps necessary to plan a project, assemble and lead teams, monitor progress and bring resultant efforts to a successful conclusion." - Amazon Review, Howard Kottman

Project Management for Dummies
Stanley E. Portny

A good series of books anyway the "Dummies" series and the project management one is no exception - good high level stuff that's easily understood. The book intends to give insight into beginning a project, supporting it throughout its life, and bringing it to a successful closure.

Project Manager: Mastering the Art of Delivery in Project ManagementRichard Newton

A book that seems to come very highly recommended indeed - check out the reviews on Amazon. The Project Manager - Mastering the Art of Delivery comes recommended due to its focus on project delivery, good real life examples and a book that will appeal to both new and old pros.

Now this one we loved! Tiny book, 106 pages, the first 65 are planning - excellent! This is a good book to have on any project team whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the game. Full of all those little tools; SWOT, SMART, 5 M Analysis, etc. Good for working with project teams that may not know some of the principles.

Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007 for Project Managers
Kim Heldman and William Heldman

After attending the PPSOSIG conference on Tools, Techniques and Approaches, one of the presenters mentioned this book. Having never seen it before we wanted to share it with others. One of the outcomes of the conference was the importance of MS Excel in project management today.
> See the presentation (PDF)

PMP Certification for Dummies
Peter Nathan, Gerald Everett Jones

The know-how people need to pass the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. Quick Assessment questions at the beginning and Prep Tests at the end of each chapter enhance the reader's understanding of the material.

Forget what you have learnt at business school - this is the stark reality! Management Stripped Bare is a refreshingly honest guide to what management is really all about.

Project Management of Multiple Projects and Contracts
Jack Loftus

The whole spectrum from the Capital Expenditure Budgeting Process through to Commissioning and Beneficial Use is covered in this detailed guide to project managing multiple different projects.

The Project Management Institute Project Management Handbook
Jeffrey K. Pinto

More than twenty-five project management experts provide guidance that is both accessible to novices and rich with new insights for seasoned professionals looking to improve their project management processes.

The Management of Projects
Peter W. G. Morris

The Management of Projects examines the experience gained and lessons learned from the management of projects over the past 50 years

MSProject2003 - Step by Step

Expertly build your skills with Microsoft Office Project 2003. Work at your own pace through this easy-to-follow guide taking just the lessons you require or working from cover to cover.

Quantitative Methods in Project Management
Karayan

Written for the project professional and day-to-day practitioner, this book provides the policies, methods, and tools to make good project management decisions.

Microsoft® Office Project 2003 Inside Out
Teresa Stover

Discover how you can really put your project management skills to work!! This extremely well thought-out reference has all the information you need to master every major tool, task, and enhancement in Project 2003.

The Advice Business
Charles J. Fombrun, Mark D. Nevins

REVIEW: "Consulting firms shape the evolution of best practices even as they are crucial in the delivery of those practices to clients. The Advice Business takes a wonderfully comprehensive look at the consulting industry from a practical as well as scholarly perspective." — Michael L. Tushman, Harvard Business School

Management Consulting in Practice: Award-winning International Case Studies: 4
Fiona Czerniawska, Paul May

This important new book explores the relationship between top management consultant teams and their clients. Through a series of case studies it presents best practice in consulting at the sharp end of contemporary management across all disciplines.

Teamwork and Project Management
Karl A. Smith, P.K. Imbrie

Teamwork, projects, collaborative problem solving, innovation, and creativity are central to success in engineering, especially in the increasingly global economy. The overall goal of "Teamwork and Project Management, Third Edition" is to prepare you for these aspects of professional practice in engineering.

Project Management Case Studies
Harold Kerzner, Ph. D

Demonstrates a selection of project management case studies documenting successful implementation of project management by real companies.

The Project Management Life Cycle
Jason Westland

Whether you are a project manager, senior manager, team member, consultant, trainer or student, you will be able to use this book to improve the way in which you manage projects.

Improving Your Project Management Skills
Larry Richman

With this book, individuals and companies recognise the value of up-to-date, repeatable project initiatives that they can implement throughout their own organisations to improve processes, streamline productivity, and drastically reduce costs.

Kerzner's Project Management Logic Puzzles
Harold Kerzner, Ph.D

This book includes 100 logic problems tailored for project managers. It also includes a problem solving framework, hints for solving the puzzles and solutions.

The Art of Project Management
Scott Berkun

Learn how to plan, manage and lead projects in this personal account of hard lessons learned over a decade of work in the industry. Complex concepts and challenges are distilled into practical nuggets of useful advice.

Project Risk Management
D van Well-Stam, F Lindenaar, S van Kinderen, B P van den Bunt

A project is never without risks. An unforeseen problem or requirement can delay the whole process, causing havoc for everyone involved. Risk management is a structured form of risk control that unearths possible bottlenecks early and thus ensures that a project is both better managed and controlled. Project Risk Management is a practical and concise book that outlines a tried and tested approach that has been used successfully on a number of large projects.

Project Management Disasters & How to Survive Them
David Nickson, Suzy Siddons

Examines the causes of project management failures and what can be learnt from them. This book focuses on risk management - identifying risks and strategies to deal with them; how to support and lead project teams when things go wrong; how to turn a disaster into something positive; and guidance on what not to do.

Advanced Project Management
Alan D. Orr

To move from intermediate to advanced project management, a project manager must understand not only the project itself, but the overall needs of the company. This book explains the necessary skills, setting out the processes, methods and tools which enable the management of complex projects.

The Project Management Scorecard: Measuring the Success of Project Management Solutions
Jack J. Phillips, Ph. D; Timothy W. Bothell, Ph.D, G. Lynne Snead

The reason this book is useful is that it connects tactical processes with strategy through the Balanced Scorecard. The traditional approach to project management starts with a set of processes - defined in PMBOK for example - and applies these processes to the project in the hope that their use will improve the success probability of the project.

Project Sponsorship: Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success
Randall L. Englund, Alphonso Bucero

Formerly a book of the month selection by Arras People, this groundbreaking book addresses a widespread but poorly understood problem - project managers answer to the strategists and decision-makers who decide to initiate and fund their projects, but these senior executives often know little about the project management discipline and process.

Training Cluster Sheet: Managing Project in Human Resources, Training and Development
Dr. Vivien Martin

Recently published book which specifically concentrates on HR / human resources projects. Specifically targetted at operational professionals within HR who are often tasked with managing projects as part of their business as usual job. A good guide - pitched at the right level and combines the necessary processes / tools to do the project management as well as specific examples.

The NHS IT Project
Sean Brennan

This volume examines the past, present and possible future of managing patient data. The reader is introduced to the layers of computing that will fit together to create a single patient record. Patient security and confidentiality are discussed, along with the practical issues surrounding the introduction of the programme.

Project Management Guidebook
(.PDF) Method 1-2-3

Free e-book from Method 1-2-3 - a good generic overview of Project Management.

Will Your Next Mistake be Fatal?: Avoiding the Chain of Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Organization
Robert Mittelstaedt

We read a lot about projects going wrong, in fact that's nearly all the headlines in recent years in relation to projects and project management. This book looks at mistakes from a corporate perspective – an intelligent and entertaining read.

Leading Change
John P Kotter

This is perhaps the best (and easiest to read) book on change management that has ever been written. Kotter sets out an eight stage process that organisations need to follow to reap the benefits of transformational change, including Establishing a Sense of Urgency, Creating the Guiding Coalition and Developing a Vision and Strategy, to name a few.

Project Management in the Real World
Elizabeth Harrin

A short cut to project management experience: it summarizes over 250 years' of experience from professional project managers. Anecdotes and tips are backed up with theory and references, along with case studies from the US, Holland, France, Australia as well as the UK. Filled with snappy, 'how-to' tips and ideas, project managers will benefit from solid, innovative ideas and learn tricks from professionals to help them deliver projects more successfully.

Managing Project Uncertainty
David Cleden

TIPOFFS REVIEW, JUNE 2009: "Few quotes from Managing Project Uncertainty resonate nearly as well with the project manager as Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke's 'No plan survives contact with the enemy' (pg. 28). Author Cleden surmises that von Moltke's statement 'sits at the heart of any strategy for managing uncertainty.' In essence, Cleden is talking about projects as if he is talking about the future – no one knows what's going to happen..."

Read More Here

The Complete Guide to Project Management for New Managers & Manager Assistants
Elle Bereaux

The Complete Guide to Project Management is aimed at new Project Managers and Project Assistants and endeavours to give them a complete overview of their new role. It takes the reader through the whole process of running a successful project and gives them the tools required to do so. Practically everything you could ever need is covered.

Read More Here

The Little Black Book of Project Management
Michael C. Thomsett

Michael C. Thomsett's third edition in his nearly two decade revisions of Little Black Book may provide such division, but this reviewer found it enhancing and insightful. The American-written and published Black Book features constant breakaway from endless text consistently, and critics of such style when employed here by Thomsett seem to be dust specs of over think and nitpicking.

Read More Here