Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1635659 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

very dry and academic
I got this book for a course I took on Project Management. It definitely covers all of the technical aspects of project management, although in a very dry and uninteresting manner.

There is no coverage for specific types of projects, only the principles of project management that cover most projects most of the time and the PMI says as much in the book.

The book also doesn't cover anything about handling difficult people or manageing different personality types on a project, that's too much of a soft area for this book.

I would recomment this only as a text book for a course on PM. In that roll, it fits very nicely and makes sure that nothing gets missed, while the teacher can fill in the softer material that is absolutely necessary.

If you're looking for a book that will tell you interesting anecdotes and statistics on projects done well versus those done poorly and general pertinent guidlines for people on a software/construction/human resources project, this isn't what you want.

Still valid even with the 2000 edition available
Why purchase the 1996 edition when the 2000 edition is out? Two reasons: (1) according to the Project Management Institute the PMP examinations conducted in 2001 will use the 1996 edition as one of the principal references, and (2) the 1996 edition is an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standard, designated as Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge IEEE 1490-1998.

This book is nearly identical to the 2000 edition with the following exceptions:

Chapter 2 (2000 edition) adds a brief piece on the role of project offices. Chapter 3 (2000 edition) appears to have taken a few ideas from the British PM standard, PRINCE 2 (PRojects IN a Controlled Environment) because more attention appears to be given to phases and interactions among phases. The 2000 edition also briefly addresses iterative development. Chapters 4 and 11 (2000 edition) more fully address earned value with a lot more material on this topic. Chapter 6 (2000 edition) briefly covers theory of constraints.

I have compared the 1996 and 2000 editions and cannot find any substantial differences between the two other than what I've cited above. However, since the PMI has stated that the 1996 edition is a resource for the 2001 examinations you need to go over this book carefully if you are a PMP candidate in 2001.

A must for future PMPs...
If you are studying for the PMP exam, this book is a must read. Although some feel that if they have several years of project management experience they shouldn't have to read the book - I disagree. PMI has the goal to provide consistency in project management methodology and terminology. It is very important to read the book and understand PMI's philosophy and terminology for project management.

This book provide a good overview of the PMI project management methodology - for each knowledge area the book provides the various steps along with the inputs, tools and outputs. For people studying for the PMP...this is only one source for studying. The exam requires you to interpret the PMBOK and have a broader knowledge of various PM philosophies.