project management review

PROJECT MANAGEMENT-A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO PLANNING, SCHEDULING, AND CONTROLLING (HARDCOVER)

BY HAROLD KERZNER

Book Review:

Project Management is a vast subject and it requires both practical and conceptual study. It covers the basic principles of management like planning, allocation of resources, scheduling, directing, monitoring, assessing, remedying any snags, and finally closing up.

The above book is a comprehensive narrative of the intricacies involved in the above functions of project management. It starts with describing the meaning of project management, giving definitions of the various terms involved in it, difference between product and project management, the various tools used for successful execution of projects. It also looks as the evolution of project management right from the year 1960 to the present day. At the end of each chapter are tips for preparing for the PMP certification exam.

It also looks into the attributes of a good project manager and talks about the other project participants. It emphasizes the importance of the project manager as a catalyst in the successful completion of a project within budgeted cost and time. There is a chapter devoted to managing mission critical projects. Also included is a chapter on time management and stress management during the currency of a project.

This is the tenth edition of this book on the subject and has the following extra features:
§ New sections on scope changes leading to changes in contract documents and the related cost enhancements
§ Ways in which the various parties to the project can exit from the project and avoid the liabilities conferred on them by virtue of the contract document.
§ Management of virtual teams in the project.
§ Twenty-five case studies applying the concepts elaborated in the book.
§ A new case covering the Iridium project covering all the important aspects of project management.

To cap all the above there are:
§ Four hundred discussion questions, which test your knowledge and grasp of the subject.
§ It has more than 125 multiple-choice questions, which test the knowledge gained from the book.

It is an improvement on the ninth edition of the book. This edition was more for the graduate student just out of school and was more academic in style, which was used, more to clarify concepts. The ninth edition had a more PowerPoint style of presentation. This is done away with in this edition of the book.

All in all this is one of the better books on project management available in the market and written by an equally knowledgeable author.