2010 Books of the Month

Author: Robert A. Powell, Dennis M. Buede
Publisher: Kogan Page

"...Whilst it’s great to read about all the things you should check, do and monitor that will ensure your project is on time, on budget and successful it is refreshing to find a book that helps answer the question: Where did my project go wrong?"

Author: Clark A. Campbell with Mike Collins
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Size: 182 pages

One of my guilty pleasures (I feel I can admit this amongst fellow PMs) is that I enjoy reading books about project management– and the seemingly endless array of philosophies, techniques and tools for getting the job done. And I must admit, when I read the rather ambitious title of this book, I was more than a little sceptical.

Arras Book of the Month: January 2011

Author: Ralph R. Young, Steven M. Brady, Dennis C. Nagle Jr.
Publisher: Management Concepts

Numerous statistics say that more than 50% of all projects are failing. But there is little to no survey on the art of saving a failing project. It would be necessary to give any advice how to save these projects.
 

Author: Christine B. Tayntor
Publisher: CRC Press

The strength of Christine Tayntor’s book lies in its understanding of the human dynamic in project management. She provides realistic examples of both the problems and the possibilities that arise because projects, at their foundation, are about people.

Author: Carl Pritchard
Publisher: Artech House

I decided to use it to find the best method of the project team communicating progress updates whilst I’d been away.

Author: Kerry Willis
Publisher: CRC Press

"...a mix of advice, management theory, methodology and checklists that summarize what you’ve read. Although there are 58 checklists in total (I counted), there’s a lot more in the book besides checklists."

Author: Kerry Willis
Publisher: CRC Press

Project management literature is awash with titles, papers and training courses that describe techniques such as risk management, planning and earned value. In conjunction with this there is an associated emphasis within the industry for methodologies such as PRINCE2 and other in house bespoke methods.

Arras Book of the Month: November 2010

Author: Duncan Bury, Jane Buick
Publisher: Management Books 2000 Ltd.

Project Managers who have been involved in organizational change initiatives may realize some of the deficiencies of the traditional approach to change in the fast pacing and evolving business environment of the 21_^st century. Changes are difficult, slow, uncertain, and often regress to the initial state or remain only on paper.

Author: Pat Durbin & Terry Doerscher
Publisher: Greenleaf

Reading the back cover (always good to do when reading a "textbook"), the bold claim is made: "While hundreds of books have been written about the various portions of this discipline, this is the first book to synthesize all the information into one definitive treatment of portfolio management".

Arras Book of the Month: October 2010

Author: Adryan Bell
Publisher: Gower

Re-imagining the Office is written in an easy to read format with the hope of driving home the benefits and reasoning behind a move in how we do things.

Arras Book of the Month - September 2010

BOOK AVAILABLE VIA GOWER-ARRAS PARTNER PAGE AT DISCOUNT

Author: Lawrence P. Leach
Publisher: Artech House

This book purports to be for the professional [project manager] but makes constant reference to basic, and at times very basic project management principles or methods. There is a constant battle of pro and con between the author and Goldratt, and others, with the author proposing his thinking as preferable.

Arras Book of the Month: August 2010

Author: Michael Hatfield
Publisher: PMI

Michael Hatfield has written an easy to read, easy to digest book outlining the problem areas when implementing a PMO and ultimately what makes PMOs fail.

Author: Kathrin Köster
Publisher: Sage

The book covers a wide range of topics, but also purposefully leaves out many areas (this is understandable as one book cannot cover everything), and it is stated that other books cover these areas (alluding to wider reading).

Arras Book of the Month: July 2010

Author: Kaye Remington, Julien Pollack
Publisher: Gower

I think the authors have done a good job in both introducing the principles of ‘complex adaptive systems’ and then going on to answer the ‘so what’ questions, such as what tools and techniques can be applied to maximise the probability of success.

AVAILABLE AT DISCOUNT TO ARRAS CUSTOMERS THROUGH GOWER

Arras Book of the Month: June 2010

Author: Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Publisher: Vermilion

Just Another Self-Help Book? A big resounding No! A brilliant book that aims to "Change the Way You Work Forever" by imparting cute sound bites, words of wisdom and short advice pieces from the Basecamp creators (the project management software company).

Arras Book of the Month: June 2010

Author: Geoff Reiss
Publisher: Taylor & Francis

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.

Arras Book of the Month: May 2010

Author: Michael C. Thomsett
Publisher: AMACOM

Michael C. Thomsett's third edition in his nearly two decade revisions of The Little Black Book of Project Management may cause 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.

Arras Book of the Month: April 2010

Author: Elle Bereaux
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Co

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.

Arras Book of the Month - March 2010

Editors: David Cleland, Bopaya Bidanda
Publisher: PMI

The immediate effect of Circa 2025's structure - 29 articles - together with the absence of a chapter attempting to bring all those articles together, is that the reader will have to draw their own conclusion as to what will be the overall shape of things to come for the project management profession.

Arras Book of the Month - February 2010

Author: David T. Hulett
Publisher: Gower

In the preface, Dr David Hillson describes Hulett's book as "how to actually apply the statistical techniques of Monte Carlo analysis in a way that combines intellectual rigour with practical realism". This book is all that, and more. It provides a structured development of ideas for modelling all random and systematic effects on the schedule.

AVAILABLE AT DISCOUNT TO ARRAS CUSTOMERS THROUGH GOWER

Arras Book of the Month - January 2010