Product Description

In a fast-paced environment filled with uncertainty, successfully completing projects on time can feel like running an obstacle course. An emphasis on speed often forces project teams to make decisions without crucial data, leading to frequent changes of direction once more information becomes known. If people aren't light on their feet, complicated projects can easily get tripped up.

Agile Project Management gives readers the strategies they need to take charge of urgent projects that involve unique resources and elements of uncertainty. The book offers an improvement upon classical project management processes by tying project processes more directly to the ever-changing requirements of business objectives -- achieving improved flexibility and response time. Filled with examples showing how to implement agile PM into all project situations, the book demonstrates how to develop an appropriate and supportive infrastructure and environment, and reviews the roles of the project manager, general management, and the project team. Agile Project Management is the ultimate method for achieving superior results in an accelerated and changing environment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #811313 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

About the Author
Gary Chin (Portland, OR) is the founder of XO Consulting Partners, which helps organizations attune project management practices to their corporate culture. He has more than 18 years experience in high-tech program management and business process analysis.

Customer Reviews

Worth a read.
I found this to be a very empowering book as it really bridges the gap between project management theory (as described in numerous other books) and what actually happens in the real world. By wrapping the human, organizational, and business context around common PM concepts, Chin has helped clarified how to apply these concepts for effective results in fast paced projects.

This is an easy read with a writing style that is more like a novel than a text book. The descriptions and examples resonate well with my own experiences, which may be why I found it so valuable.

I've come away with at least a half dozen new PM ideas that I can apply immediately (probably more). I'd recommend this book for project managers, as well as, project sponsors and other executives interested in PM.

Agile Project Management
There's some good information here, probably the best of which is the unique perspective it offers on how "classical" PM needs to be adjusted to work in agile environments. There are also useful templates for those who want to get an accelerated jump start. That said the presentation is laborious to get through. As but one example, there are repeated useless graphical representations of classical versus agile comparisons each showing a single point that would best be aggregated into a few tables.

Some good hidden in the fluff
Agile project management is a subject needing the explanation this book promises. And, indeed, the author does a fair job of providing project managers with templates and guidance for managing projects the agile way.

However, the author keeps referring to the "uncertainty in the agile environment" as if it were the agile approach that creates uncertainty. This is an unfortunate implication that the author certainly did not intend to make. The agile approach does not create the uncertainty, it was created in order to accept uncertainty that is inherent in many projects. For a wonderful treatment of this concept, be sure to read Chet Richards concise yet groundbreaking, Certain to Win.

Overall, this is a fair treatment of a topic needing insights. And it is indeed worth some attention. But a quick skimming rather than a thorough read will likely yield the bulk of what you need from this book. Take the helpful templates and bullet points and skim over the fluff.