Product Description

Fast forward to professional project management, with this ultimate short-cut. It summarises over 250 years of expertise from experienced project managers and offers hints and tips on all aspects of project management including how to manage budgets, manage teams and manage yourself. These are backed up with theory and references alongside case studies from the UK, USA, France, Holland and Australia. 'Good common sense stuff' - "Health Informatics Now".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #302386 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 228 pages

Review
[The author] tries to focus on the use of standards within project management not for their own sake but for the betterment of the project and its delivery. Good comment sense stuff. - Health Informatics Now --Health Informatics Now

About the Author
Elizabeth Harrin has spent her career to date working on projects of one type or another. She currently works for the global financial services company AXA as a senior project manager and was previously with American Express. Elizabeth is a PRINCE2 Practitioner and is trained in the Six Sigma process improvement methodology as a Black Belt. An alumnus of the universities of York and Roehampton, she is a member of BCS and the BCS Project Management Specialist Group. Elizabeth also writes A Girl's Guide to Project Management, a irreverent project management blog. She currently lives and works in Paris, where small courtyards make it difficult to pursue her hobby of growing vegetables.

Customer Reviews

Good overview - useful reminders
A good overview of project management in the real world. The examples are okay and up to date. Not exactly the best book to get to grips with project management as a first timer but useful to read once in post for some time. Nothing new here for experienced project managers. If you've completed a few projects and are perhaps unsure on your next assignment (large or more complex) then this book is probably for you to help you bring more rigour to your project management.

An interesting read on project management
Elizabeth Harrin has outlined what project management means by highlighting the terms of budgetary constraints, project ownership, project scope, change management, version control, post-project reviews, risk identification, requirements analysis, understanding team culture, stakeholder analysis, motivating the team to keep performance levels high and identifying the project's critical path.

I found the requirements analysis chapter interesting. The Mental Model Mismatch has been included whereby the understanding of what the user requires should be perfectly aligned with the designer's and architect's perceptions provided communication is effective between these three individuals User --Interface--> Designer --Interface--> Architect. The chapter on risk identification is also interesting with a risk impact matrix shown as part of risk assessment. The chapter on stakeholder analysis highlights the importance of mapping each stakeholder interest and influence from where it is currently standing to where it should be taken i.e. Averse-->Uncooperative-->Indifferent-->Supportive-->Enthusiastic.

Harrin has portrayed a well-organised list of important points on what project management is really about. In addition, Harrin discusses certain PRINCE2 processes as well as making those important points more informative by bringing in examples from experience. However, a big part of the various project management methodologies the book addresses appeals to IT professionals from all over the world.