Author: Geoff ReissPublisher: Taylor & Francis
Size: 224 pages
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. This view struck a chord, reminding me of a conversation I had with a colleague many years ago when we came to the belief that the organisation for which we then worked would recognise staff for winning large projects or for rescuing projects from the mire, but rarely for the successful and drama-free management of a project throughout its life cycle. Fortunately, side-marks mark the opportunities for the project manager to draw attention to their contribution.
In defining project management as a profession, it is described as being agnostic with regard to the business or type of project. A series of paragraphs introduce project management in many different areas, from publishing to space exploration, charity events to defence, construction to business change; and describe the nature of projects in each of these areas. The principles and techniques of the project manager are the same in each of these areas, in the same way that the principles and techniques used by an accountant are constant across industries. It is noted that project managers do not perform the productive work of the project, they manage that work. This important aspect of the profession seems self-evident to the majority of project managers I know, yet completely alien to recruiters who persist in asking for their project managers to have technical skills.
A large portion of the book is devoted to describing the stages of a project and the activities undertaken by the project manager during those stages. The textual descriptions of the work are immediately approachable; though when addressing the details of the topics, the descriptions are less successful, either as an approachable introduction for the layman, or as a clear reference book.
The chapter on People Issues provides a useful reminder to the project manager that their projects are performed by teams of people, and that people are all different. The reader is introduced to the Adair model (unfortunately Mr Adair goes uncredited, which hinders further research), and descriptions of many personality types that would be familiar to anyone who has looked at the works of Jung, Meyers-Briggs or Belbin tests. A comparison of the traits of project managers versus those of managers is interesting, though the suggestion that project managers need to be “impatient”, “anticipate what people will say and interrupt”, and “consider their own view of themselves important”, reads like a recipe for the type of project manager who leaves a trail of casualties in their wake. Such project managers do exist, but their teams generally work ‘for’ them rather than ‘with’ them, and team members are rarely seen queuing up to work on their next project.
The book provides an interesting perspective on the profession of project management that will amuse and prepare people embarking on their careers. It may put a number of potential project managers off the profession; this may be for their own good. For project managers looking for a reference book to take them through the mechanics of planning, running and reporting on a project, there are books that present the material more clearly, though without the humour.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER: John Greenwood has around 15 years of project management experience gained in the engineering and IT industries, and has been an active member of the PMI UK Chapter. He holds a degree in Physics from the University of Birmingham, and has worked for a number of years as a Systems Engineer in the defence electronics industry.
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Twitter: maltaee
I’m looking for social media guide or book for project manager. Any advice?
NGPM = Next Generation Project Managers
.-= Mohammed Al-Taee´s last blog ..So You Think You Are A Social Media Expert? =-.
Twitter: projectmgmt
Hi Mohammed
You’re in luck, Elizabeth Harrin from A Girl’s Guide to Project Management is currently writing a book about social media and project management. Head over to the website: http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/ and make contact with Elizabeth, she’s also on twitter http://www.twitter.com/pm4girls