Project Management Books

Author: David Cleden
Publisher: Gower

This is Cleden’s second book after Managing Project Uncertainty, and he clearly draws upon his 25 years of working in public sector IT to provide this must read guide to conducting successful commercial bids. The book begins with an excellent preface, which helps to set the tone and the style of writing, as well as the author’s own recommendations on how to get the most from the text.

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Author: Deborah H. Herting
Publisher: Infinity Pub

The Power of Interpersonal Skills in Project Management is a well-researched book that attempts to cover what is a very important and relevant topic for the project leader.

Author: David Hulett
Publisher: Gower

In 'Integrated Cost-Schedule Risk Analysis', Hulett has provided much more than a mere repetition of the ideas from his previous book, re-directed at cost; he has provided an approach that considers the interactions and coupling between cost uncertainty and schedule uncertainty in a complex project environment.

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Author: Sara Cullen
Publisher: Gower

It is not often that I can sum a book up in five words – this book makes business sense! How often have contracts for outsourced services been created, because they ‘had to be’, and then just left on the shelf to gather dust?

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Author: David Shirley
Publisher: CRC Press

On first impressions this book looks like something which was published in the '70s with its orange, brown and yellow ochre cover; not to mention the photograph of an old fashioned PC keyboard. Despite the less than enticing start I entered the realms of a book claiming to explore the discipline of Project Management in the healthcare environment. The intrigue began

Author: Penny Pullen & Ruth Murray-Webster
Publisher: Gower

If you need to make sound decisions in important but risky situations; work with groups to identify, prioritise and respond to risks, deliver value and, along the way, ensure the credibility of the process and the resilience of your organisation, "A Short Guide to Facilitating Risk Management" is for you.

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Author: Martin Hopkinson
Publisher: Gower

My initial expectation was that the model would focus on the maturity of the project risk approach, but it quickly became clear that it addresses the more fundamental issue of the risk to an organisation arising from the way in which projects are executed and embedded in the broader management processes.

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Author: Patrick Lencioni
Publisher: Jossey Bass

Succinct yet sympathetic, this guide will be a boon for those struggling with the inherent difficulties of leading a group. Overall, Five Dysfunctions is an entertaining read and from a management perspective there should definitely be a few nuggets that can be taken away and applied to specific work environments.

Author: Rich Maltzman, David Shirley
Publisher: CRC Press

But they even start to think beyond the challenges provided within your own enterprise. They question the greenality of suppliers and implement this into the decision making pro or con for each project.

Author: Emmanuel Camillieri
Publisher: Gower

What makes a project successful? Emanuel Camilleri in the book Project Success: Critical Factors and Behaviours has tried to answer that question. This book from Gower is the bible on getting it right, covering everything from the history of project management to managing information flow and organisational diagnostics.

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Author: Robert G. DelCampo, Lauren A. Haggerty, Meredith Jane Haney and Lauren Ashley Knippel
Publisher: Gower

The book is very US focused and aims to address the different generations and how these work together in business today.

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Author: Elizabeth Harrin
Publisher: PMI

A book aimed at Project Managers who want to explore social media as a project management communication and collaboration tool for their own projects.

Author: Thomas Stoehr
Publisher: Springer

In an e-business climate, this book aims to help develop those crucial soft skills so essential to delivering e-business projects on time, on budget and within scope.

Author: Thomas Juli
Publisher: CRC Press

"It's misleading to define project success in static terms, focusing only on the final delivery," writes Thomas Juli in his book, Leadership Principles for Project Success. In this book, he sets out a broader definition of success, although you have to wait until page 84 to get to it.

Author: Dennis Lock
Publisher: Gower

Dennis Lock's now-Ninth edition guidebook of the principles and practice of project management has been a staple in PM for four decades. It was one of very few early books to treat project management holistically, and holds up today as the standard in guidebooks to the medium.

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Author: APM (Assocation for Project Management)
Publisher: APM Knowledge

The Competence Framework was developed by the Association for Project Management and covers three domains of project management - technical, behavourial and contextual. Within the domains, 47 individual competences such as scheduling, estimating, resource management etc are covered.

The Framework is a great book for any project professional looking to understand their own skill levels, perform their own skills gap analysis and complete the included self-assessment.

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: OGC
Publisher: Stationery Office

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

Author: Harold Kerzner Ph.D.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

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

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: J.A. Flinn
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
 

Aimed at those who manage, sponsor, own or deliver IT projects, "The Success Healthcheck for IT Projects" should help managers identify and address those projects which consume resources and yet don't produce results for the business.

Author: Peter Taylor
Publisher: Infinite Ideas

Peter has been able to enrich the content by using his stories and analogies to make a number of points, all of them common sense. Do the job, but do the job in the most intelligent way you can, so that you can be lazy when you can. That is my kind of project management. Peter’s book made this entertaining, yet useful for me.

Arras Book of the Month - October 2009

Author: John P. Kotter
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press

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.

Authors: H. James Harrington, Daryl L. Conner, Nicolas S. Horney
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Inc.

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.)

Authors: Fiona Czerniawska, Paul May
Publisher: Kogan Page

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.

Authors: James A. Bent, Kenneth Humphries
Publisher: CRC Press

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.

Author: Richard Newton
Publisher: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall

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.

Author: Harold Kerzner
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

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

Author: David Cleden
Publisher: Gower

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.

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Arras Book of the Month - June 2009

Author: Robert Mittelstaedt
Publisher: Wharton School

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.

Authors: David Nickson, Suzy Siddons
Publisher: Kogan Page

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.

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

Authors: Andrew Leigh, Michael Maynard
Publisher: Random House Business Books

"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!.

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: Elizabeth Harrin
Publisher: British Computer Society

A short cut to project management experience: it summarises 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.

Author: J. Rodney Turner
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional

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.

Authors: Kim Baker, Sunny Baker
Publisher: Unknown

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

Author: Kim Heldman
Publisher: Jossey Bass

Recommended by an Arras People website visitor

If you′re a typical project manager, you′re probably aware of the importance of risk management but may not have the time or expertise to develop a full–blown plan. This book is a quick and practical guide to applying the disciplines of proven risk management practices without the rigor of complex processes.

Author: Aaron J. Shenhar, Dov Dvir
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press

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

Author: Nick Graham
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

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.

Author: Mike Applegarth
Publisher: Management Pocketbooks

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.

Author: Eddie Obeng
Publisher: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall

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.

Author: Peter W.G. Morris
Publisher: Thomas Telford Ltd.

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

Author: Scott Berkun
Publisher: O'Reilly Media

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.

Authors: Sebastian Nokes, Ian Major, Alan Greenwood, Mark Goodman
Publisher: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall

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.

Authors: Jack J. Phillips, Ph. D; Timothy W. Bothell, Ph.D, G. Lynne Snead
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann

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.

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: Alan D. Orr
Publisher: Kogan Page

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.

Author: Francis Thomas Hartman
Publisher: Project Management Institute

Presents a set of principles for project management and details their theory and application, balancing tricks of the trade with research and case studies. Themes include communication with sponsors and clients, managing expectations of stakeholders, and flexibility. Material is written in an informal style, punctuated by success stories

Recommended by a reader

Author: Ralf Muller
Publisher: Gower

Like much in project management, communication is the key for effective governance at each level of the organisation and Muller's book goes a long way to showing how to utilise effective communication to achieve a integrated governance model.

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Arras Book of the Month - July 2009

Author: Method 123
Publisher: Method 123 (.PDF)

Free e-book from Method 123 - a good generic overview of Project Management.

Author: Jason Westland
Publisher: Kogan Page

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.

Author: Karayan
Publisher: J Ross

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

Authors: Peter Nathan, Gerald Everett Jones
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

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.

Author: Jeffrey K. Pinto
Publisher: Jossey Bass

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.

Author: OGC
Publisher: Stationery Office Books

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.

Author: OGC
Publisher: The Stationery Office

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.

Authors: D van Well-Stam, F Lindenaar, S van Kinderen, B P van den Bunt
Publisher: Kogan Page

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.

Author: Mike Watson
Publisher: Project Manager Today

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.

Author: David Wirick
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

I think this book adds value to the PRINCE2 public sector project manager as it not only gets back to the basics of project management (the what and how of project management) and then applies them directly to the public sector environment.

Arras Book of the Month: November 2009

Author. Sean Brennan
Publisher: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd

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.

Author: Larry Richman
Publisher: Amacom

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.

Author: Teresa Stover
Publisher: Microsoft Press

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.

Author: PMP and Timothy Johnson, MCP Carl Chatfield
Publisher: Microsoft Press

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.

Authors: Kim Heldman, William Heldman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

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.

Authors: Randall L. Englund, Alphonso Bucero
Publisher: Jossey Bass

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.

Author: Karl A. Smith, P.K. Imbrie
Publisher: McGraw-Hill

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.

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.

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Arras Book of the Month: June 2010