Book Description

"The authors technical skill and work-environment experience are abundantly apparent in the real-world methodology they bring to the study and understanding of the importance of project management to the success of any organization."–From the Foreword by Norman R. Augustine. Chairman of the Executive Committee, Lockheed-Martin Corporation

Effective project management is an essential skill in virtually every professional and technical setting and, like any skill, it is best mastered through the right combination of in-depth, expert training and hands-on experience.

Visualizing Project Management, Second Edition is todays best resource for both. Delivered by a trio of authors whose combined project management experience is unequaled in the field–a team that has been an integral part of the development of project management from the 1950s to the present–the processes and techniques in this landmark book have been confirmed through the experiences of over 30,000 working project managers and over 100 corporations.

Profound in its simplicity yet unique in its completeness, the integrated approach presented in Visualizing Project Management focuses on the four essential elements of project management:

1. Common Vocabulary: Terms and jargon are defined as they are introduced, minimizing the vocabulary problems that can lead to conflict and undermine otherwise successful teamwork.

2. Teamwork: Each of the fundamentals of real teamwork–from common conduct to shared rewards–is discussed, along with strategies to strengthen this vital component.

3. The Sequential Project Cycle: Valuable lessons are provided to enable you to develop a template for project-unique tactics as well as achieve project-to-project continuity.

4. Management Elements: The authors provide all the techniques and tools you need to guide a project to its successful conclusion–the achievement of stated objectives, within budget and time constraints.

Visualizing Project Management shows you how to breathe life into each of these inanimate project elements. The result is a working guidebook for total project management success–and a tangible model for moving your organization and career forward into the exciting new millennium.

An Integrated Approach to Results-Oriented Project Management

Better . . . Faster . . . Cheaper . . .

Todays take-no-prisoners competitive environment has made this the project management mantra for 2000 and beyond. Enlightened project managers know: Unless you can identify accurately the correct benchmark and correctly isolate how to surpass it, your organization will succeed only in producing a better, faster, cheaper failure.

The bestselling Visualizing Project Management first set the standard for effective project management in 1996, and introduced models that have been adopted by over 100 leading government and private organizations. In this Second Edition, the authors have revised the tools and techniques that changed the foundations of project management in order to help you better understand, compete, and win in todays lightning-fast global business arena.

A few short years ago, the insights and ideas in Visualizing Project Management invented the wheel. Now, its pioneering authors refine your understanding of the project management wheel, as they simplify and clarify the complexities of project management and system engineering.

Also includes a dynamic CD-ROM–Visual Project Management (Visual PM)–providing an interactive software version of the books revolutionary process model, a guided tour of a commercial project cycle, vocabulary definitions, sample document templates, and more. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Weighty in its Simplicity
Rarely do I read a book that is weighty in its simplicity while being exhaustive in its subject treatment. Visualizing Project Management succeeds where many have failed.

The book focuses on the five common elements of every successful project: a common vocabulary, teamwork, a plan, leadership and management.

Starting with the project requirements, it details the correct way to plan, schedule and control projects. These elements do not naturally occur, particularly in complex technical projects. The techniques and tools presented are applicable throughout the project lifecycle.

The book is full of illustrations, which clarify the techniques being discussed. The best idea I found book was the Cards on the Wall technique, which calls for each team member to attach each WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) to a wall and interconnect the dependencies with yarn. The resulting interaction, I found, encourages group thinking and project buy-in, while anticipating the unanticipated.

There is also a great section on Earned Value, a powerful and effective tool for the early detection of slippages and cost overruns. As the authors correctly note, "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it."

Aspiring project managers and executives responsible for supervising it in their organizations should read this book. It will help them successfully understand and apply the project management process in their pursuit of "better, faster, and cheaper."

Comments by Max Wideman
Visualizing Project Management: A Model for Business and Technical Success" by Kevin Forsberg, Hal Mooz and Howard Cotterman, second edition, has much added material since the first edition. It is still my recommended first choice for those seeking a better insight into the role of project management, and I have read quite a few books on project management since that first edition. The book introduces many new concepts to the discipline, including an "orthogonal" model of the project management life cycle and its related processes which provides a conceptual basis for the book. It draws distinctions between the technical, business and budget aspects of project management work, one often confused for another by many would-be practitioners, yet it emphasizes the need for close alignment of these three aspects. The author's "Vee" model nicely bridges the gap between those whose primary focus is on the decomposition of the project for definition and control purposes during the project's planning period, and those whose focus must be on the integration of the various components during the production period of the project. But perhaps Chapter 4 warmed my heart the most - dedicated, as it is, to "Project Vocabulary" and the need to communicate clearly! I find the book easy to read, well illustrated, and very sensible. It is a valuable resource for students and practitioners alike.

A practical guide, full of insights
I found this to be an excellent book, particularly for those of us trying to make sense out of the wide range of project management approaches. It is a valuable compliment to the Project Management Institute's PMBOK, which is functionally based and organized as categories of required knowledge. Visualizing Project Management is behavior based and provides a project manager and the project team a roadmap for success and a resource for solving problems. Since project management often encounters the intersection of one or more processes, three-dimensional models are used to clarify these often confusing relationships. Many of these relationships include the technical development or systems engineering aspects and they are plainly conveyed so that the non-technical person can benefit. The section on project control is refreshing. Most books represent project control as only a reactive process to bad news. These authors emphasize proactive project control, establishing the proper control systems, yet are appropriately reactive with corrective action when things go wrong. Overall, an enlightening approach to complexity and technical project management.

Call to Arms
In his foreward to Visualizing Project Management (second edition), Norman Augustine, retired Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, reminds us of the unfortunate high incidence of failures in IT projects. Mr. Augustine then notes the key role of the project manager in producing success or failure. This book was published in 2000, and I maintain that the failure rate is still too high. In fact, I'll use the book's concepts to very briefly analyze a failed NASA project later in this review. First though, why and how can this book help?
What's unique about this book is that it contains, all at once, a call to arms, weapons handbooks, and mechanisms for producing a battle plan for YOUR project.
The call to arms is conveyed successfully through the many high-level diagrams, and of course the message behind the diagrams. For example, the orchestra metaphor (each musician is a team member and the project manager is the conductor) is one of the most powerful images. The "common vocabulary" (score) keeps everybody on track. Further, the key system engineering concept of the project manager pulling diverse specialties (strings, percussion, etc.) together is illustrated. Chapter I has an explicit call to arms (Why is Project Management a Critical Issue?); the rest of Part I and two chapters of Part II set up the rest of the framework needed to use the weapon handbooks and create the battle plan.
Weapons in the arsenal of the project manager are the Project Cycle and the (ten) Project Management Elements in Part II. This handbook-type information should be reformatted to be more usable. The current very basic numbering scheme, and the interspersed exercises make reference difficult. A separate workbook could be published with the exercises. While much of this information is familiar, there are some real zingers that show more depth of experience than many other project management books. For example, the emphasis on project control (one of the elements) is indeed different from "most project management texts (which) describe project control as comparing actuals to plan (status)." You actually need corrective action! The authors (and I) "were flabbergasted to find that the word "requirements" did not even appear"...."in a well-respected reference from the project management field".
And the battle plan? That is the "orthogonal" project model - with an axis made up of nine elements as the spokes of a wheel (project leadership being the tenth, on the rim) and the project cycle on the axle. You'll have to get the book to appreciate the applicability of the model. But that is the only the first "generic" battle plan. It has to be worked and applied in YOUR organization. No more "we used to have a project management plan, somewhere".
The authors' preface mentions that Chapter 9 (Applying the Process) has been added to address the Internet time goal of "better, cheaper, faster". The book has numerous case descriptions. I've applied some of the book's concepts to the WIRE case study. NASA's Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) mission failed soon after launch on March 4, 1999 when the telescope/cryostat ejected prematurely. NASA has published some very valuable lessons learned (by the way, the book highlights the need for "lessons learned to get into the hands (and minds) of those who would benefit most")... One of NASA's lessons can be related to the orchestra metaphor: "WIRE failed because people could not or would not communicate well with each other. ...These folks feared oversight and criticism and hid behind organizational boundaries". Another lesson concerns the risks in shortcutting the project cycle: the "belief that we pushed the faster, better, cheaper paradigm too hard, such that key corners were cut too closely." So heed the call to arms, master the weapons, and create your own battle plan. We'll win more battles if we really apply the lessons of this book.

Horrible - A Waste of Time and Paper!
I recently started with new company and needed some reference materials on project management. This book was intriguing because I thought it would allow me to use a right-brained approach to understand the topic (ie visualization). Instead, I got dissertation from the school of MBA managerial double-speak. Nothing in this book is clearly written. You will spend hours trying to figure out what these clowns are trying to say. An example from page 119:

"At each level, the DA&R process is driven by higher level requirements, constaints of approved baselines such as the utilities provided to the structure and the influences of users and stakeholders at the system level and at every level of decomposition to the level under construction."

No, I am not making this up, this is what these authors pass off as writing.

In my opinion, these two authors, and some of the reviewers that gave this book high marks, are in a profession that needs to build its reputation by making what they do seem complex and scientific. Absolute bunk! ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Give yourself a raise--courtesy of the government!
I have to admit, I was not aware of the great opportunities available courtesy of the U.S. Government untill I read this great book by C.W.Allen et all. This book is outstanding and one of the best books that I have ever read on corporations.

I also recommend Inc. Yourself by Judith McQuown, Own Your Own Corporation via the Rich Dad Advisor series and Form Your Own Corporation and Launch a Business in Any State by J.W.Dicks.

Let the government give you a tax free raise and protect your business.

An easy read. Easy to apply
As someone who is just starting out in business, I appreciated the easy to understand and easy to apply advice in this book. I also recommend The Rich Dad advisor series book by Garret Sutton as well as the exellent books by J.W.Dicks.

After talking with dozens of other successful business people and pouring over a hundred "How to incorporate" books, these are the best.

Wow- I had NO idea!
I have seen this book recommended by others, so my roomate bought it and I read it (he's not as motivated I guess!).
Ididn't expect this book to be too interesting; I thought it would be totally referential. And after reading "Own your own Corporation" which was amazingly DULL, I expected this to be equally dull.
INC and GROW RICH is a MUCH better book to read for this topic, and told in plain, simple english. If you are building a business, at some point, you need to decide on a business structure. I firmy believe that INC and GROW RICH will help you.

Reduce taxes by 70% and protect your assets
Two of the biggest predators to business owners is taxes and lawsuits. What I learned from Inc. and Grow Rich was how to significantly reduce taxes (70% and more) and protect my assets.

Taxes are one of the biggest deterrents to wealth. The more you make, the more they (the government) wants to take. By use of the strategies in this book, you are armed with the right information tolegally reduce your taxes down to the absolute
minimum.

Once you establish yourself as a business, you immediately become a target. The information in Inc and Grow Rich will show you how to protect yourself.

Important points covered in the book

* Slash your taxes by 70%

* Tax deductible cars

* Tax deductible educational expences

* Tax deductible life, health and automobile insurance

* Tax deductible trips

* Tax Deductible food

* Tax deductible housing

* Protect your personal and business assets

* Don't pay probate costs

* Don't pay inheritance taxes

* Structure your financial affairs for wealth, not poverty

There is an interesting quote in the book that I would like to share:

"You simply need to learn how the rich get rich & do the same thing! What works for the rich will work for you too."

The book covers in detail the eight legal business structures:

I The Sole Proprietorship
II The General Partnership
III Limited PArtnerships
IV The Corporation
V "C" vs "S" Corporations
VI The Professional Corporation
VII Nonprofit or Not-for-profit corporations
VIII The Limited Liability Corporation

In the chapter called 'Building your Wealth" by C. W. Allen, we learn the four founding principles of getting and staying rich which are:

1) Get into business for yourself and incorporate your business
2) Spend first - tax later (by operating as a corporation)
3) Own nothing - control everything (All your assets protected)
4) Use the magic of compound interest (rule of 72)

The authors bring a varied and professional background and are uniquely qualified to present this information. C.W. Allen is a financial strategist and one of the nations foremost experts on the benefits of incorporating. Cheri S. Hill specializes in the practical, how to side of incorporating and is an established expert in incorporating. Diane Kennedy is a CPA as well as an owner, investor and real estate developer. She practices the advice she gives and shares her secrets, in particular how to reduce taxes. Ms. Kennedy is noted for "performing miracles" taking corporate taxes from the red and put them in the black. She has helped clients save 70% on taxes by proper use of the tax code. She also has information on how to pick a CPA that is right for you. Garrett Sutton is an attorney and an expert at asset protection. "Why work hard to accumulate assets when by doing so you become a target for frivolous litigation?" says Sutton and he addresses this question and others related to preserving family wealth and your hard earned assets.

Overall Inc and Grow Rich is a excellent book for all business people. Also recommend Own Your Own Corporation by Garrett Sutton, Retire Young Retire Rich by Kennedy and Robert Kiyosaki, The Traders Tax Survival Guide by Ted Tesser and Form a Corporation and Launch a Business in Any State by J.W.Dicks.

Easy to Read & Understand
As someone just starting out in business, I found the information easy to read and understand. It's a must for anyone thinking about going into business for themselves! ... Read more

Book Description

Create a customized accounting system for your small business with QuickBooks 2005 and this official guide to maximizing the software’s capabilities. Learn to use all of the new and updated features of the latest release of this powerful financial management tool. Track funds, manage payroll, process invoices, monitor inventory, create budgets, develop fiscal reports, and much more. Run your business easily and efficiently--even if you have no accounting experience--using the essential advice in the only Intuit-authorized guide to QuickBooks 2005. ... Read more

Book Description

Pearls from The LITTLE BOOK OF BUSINESS WISDOM

"The man who starts out simply with the idea of getting rich won't succeed; you must have a larger ambition."-JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER

"Think about the customer, not the competition: Competitors represent your industry's past, as, over the years, collective habits become ingrained. Customers are your future, representing new opportunities, ideas, and avenues for growth."-MICHAEL S. DELL

"You've got to be out in front of crowds, repeating yourself over and over again, never changing your message no matter how much it bores you." -JACK WELCH

"Always break orders to save owners. There never was a great character who did not sometimes smash the routine regulations and make new ones for himself." -ANDREW CARNEGIE

"Don't speak up at a meeting until you have something meaningful to contribute. Talking to attract attention may call attention to your blank spots." -JO FOXWORTH

"Make 'em feel guilty when they do nothing. One thing I can't stand is people who don't act on a situation. I'd rather that people make mistakes than sit around and not do something."-DAVE THOMAS ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A good read and very thought provoking
I gave this book 4 stars because, while it was refreshing to read and I definitely learned quite a bit, it wasn't a paradigm-shifting book, which is what I am increasingly moving towards for my 5 star books.

I personally love the art of business. Yeah, you read that right........business is an art...

The Little Book of Business Wisdom has tons of useful information (over 50 different short stories/essays) that you could apply to your business or to understand what differentiates average companies from great companies. I underlined more than average when reading this book. I read this book hoping to learn some insightful comments and business practices to apply to my business once I get it up and running. I am trying to plan for the future and all of these business leaders have experienced phenomenal success and growth or trained those business leaders. This book is definitely worth picking up and is a KEEPER! If you are interested in a comparable book worth picking up you may want to look at Every Mistake in the Book by F.J. Lennon as I found this book to be a very straight book from a guy that ran his own company.

Another "Classic" Resource from Krass
I really admire the talents of Peter Krass who has brilliantly edited a number of "Wisdom" books, this being the most recent. Once again, he has assembled a collection of more than 50 essays written by what are correctly referred to as "business legends." Here is how the material is organized:

Part I: Management Principles (eg Lee Iacocca and John Erik Jonsson)

Part II: Leadership Secrets (eg John F. Welch, Jr. and Robert Townsend)

Part III: Qualities for Personal Management (eg David Ogilvy and Andrew S. Grove)

Part IV: Wall Street Wizards (eg Sir John M. Templeton and Peter Lynch)

Part V: Gunslingers and the Entrepreneurial Drive (eg P.T. Barnum and Lillian Vernon)

Part VI: The Gurus (eg Warren Bennis and Peter F. Drucker)

Part VII: Builders of Culture (eg Howard M. Schultz and Mary Kay Ash)

Part VIII: Maxims for Life (eg Carley Fiorina and Benjamin Franklin)

You get the idea. I should add that some of the specific titles are probably not readily available anywhere else. For example, J.C. Penney's "Six Principles for Winning", Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield's "Our Aspirations", and Al Neuharth's "An S.O.B.'s Ten Secrets to Success." This would make a terrific holiday gift for your business associates, customers, etc. but also (especially) for recent or imminent graduates who are committed to a career in business.

Please do not ignore Krass's Introduction. As always, he offers excellent insights of his own as well as remarks which help to create an appropriate context for the essays which follow. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Excellent tools for structuring creative thinking
For problem-solving requiring creativity, this is an excellent approach. I am currently using the CoRT package for teaching thinking, and while it is simplistic (after all, thinking is straightforward for most of us, owing to long practice), it is effective.

The purpose of the hats and colors, as well as the apparent simplicity, is to guide the mind along the appropriate paths. Read De Bono's "Mechanism of Mind" for a detailed explanation of what is going on.

This book goes beyond CoRT, in that it provides a more flexible approach than TEC-PISCO, but CoRT does provide the creativity tools for actual work under the green hat. CoRT also has specific tools for under the other hats, too, but is a lengthier process. CoRT is nearly 30 years old now, and has influenced a lot of later writers and their methods.

There are other approaches to this. But you don't need brainstorming and all that stuff, to do creative problem-solving. You can work through things by being in calm control of your mind, and by yourself (rather than in a brainstorming group). The techniques work if you use them: if you don't actually use them, don't expect a benefit.

Compact, terse and readable. Also, very implementable, with good results if you get into it. If you treat it like you already know all about it, you will not see any benefit.

Improved Parallel-Thinking Process for Evaluating Issues
Seldom do I find a legitimate improvement on existing thinking processes, but there certainly is one in Six Thinking Hats. De Bono reports that this process reduces time spent in meetings by 20 to 90 percent, based on experiences reported to him since the book was first published. It also seems that many people feel that the evaluations that emerge are more useful ones, as well.

De Bono himself makes this statement: "The Six Thinking Hats method may well be the most important change in human thinking for the past twenty-three hundred years." You'll have to decide for yourself, if the book lives up to that claim.

De Bono diagnoses the fundamental problem of decision-making as being muddled thinking. Groups are simply not well equipped to deal with a wide range of data and perspectives simultaneously. The meeting often bogs down into conflicts of personalities and over focus on inimportant points. By creating a simpler way to think about issues, de Bono claims to eliminate many of these problems.

The process is not one that I have used, but it makes sense to me as an improvement over less structured evaluation methods. It can be used by an individual or a group working together. The amount of structure you use can be high, or you can be more ad hoc.

People learn best when they are playing, and the six hat approach clearly encourages a spirit of play. By giving each person a role (and each person eventually playing all of the roles), the method reduces the amount of personality-based conflict, encourages more participation, and gives validation to many different ways to present the question at hand. This should make each person feel more affirmed and invested in the process. Also, since the route is focused on getting lots out on the table, it also suspends judgment longer so that more ideas can emerge. As such, it is closer to the Japanese method of making evaluations than the American one (as de Bono points out).

Here is the color scheme. Blue is the process coordinator (like the conductor of an orchestra) and starts and leads off the meeting (plus helps keep it on process) -- except sometimes it is better to have red finish just after blue summarizes at the end.

Red goes second, and represents emotions and feelings to present both positive and negative emotional reactions, as well as more subtle things like intuition.

It seems to be more free form from there. Let's go to yellow next, which is speculative and positive -- the optimistic side of the case. This view is to open up the possibilities.

Naturally, that has to be balanced by looking at the downside, which is black (cautious and careful). This hat is normally worn the most in evaluations, and can easily be overdone. The idea is not to be negative, but to search out the risks.

White plays an important, but neutral, role -- pointing out the facts that are known or are likely to be true. Care in characterizing what is known is important.

Green is the wild card -- finding alternatives. This color connects very well with de Bono's original claim to fame, as someone who has good ideas for stimulating individual creativity. By giving each person a role in being creative in a meeting, he extends that focus in a useful way

De Bono makes two interesting comments about how all this leads to decisions: "In the end, all decisions are really red hat." But we should assume that it is a more informed set of emotions and feelings than would exist otherwise. "Decisions seem to make themselves." Knowing how painful decisions are in many circumstances, if that were the only benefit, that would be enough to make this book essential.

My suggestion is that you give this process a trial run with something unimportant before unleashing it on a big issue. Otherwise, you might be stalled by lack of understanding about how the process works. Keep practicing until you are satisfied that it is working well.

Good luck with overcoming your stalled thinking about making decisions and the issues that face you and your organization!

Donald Mitchell

Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise (available in August 2000) and The 2,000 Percent Solution

(donmitch@fastforward400.com)

Brilliant Research
Edward De Bono's book is an invaluable, practical guide to increasing mental agility. His research is detailed and the results appear as clear, unadorned prose. Each chapter is a cogent unity in itself, yet each builds upon the other to create a synaptic skyscraper. De Bono certainly knows his subject, as the final sentence of his 'Preface' demonstrates: 'Wear your 6 Hats of Intelligence as often as you can, providing it's not windy and preferably not at the same time because you'll look ridiculous. And above all, have them blocked regularly.' With De Bono leading humankind into The Forest of Fulfilment, the rest of us had better carry a Compass of Concern and a carton of bread crumbs.

Just one perspective
In De Bono's preface to this book, he states: "The Six Thinking Hats method may well be the most important change in human thinking for the past twenty-three hundred years." Yuk! Narcisism personified.

Frankly, I believe Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self by Rosalene Glickman Ph.D. is superior to this book. Optimal Thinking enables the realist to make the most of any situation.

I also prefer Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman, Ph.D. to explain the advantages and disadvantages of optimism and pessimism.

This is an excellent method
Good thinking is simple. The goal of effective thinking is to make complexity managable. The Six Thinking Hats Method is by design a KISS system that is not intended to emphasize how clever any individuals in a group are, but to make actionable decisions--in most cases to achieve business results (as de Bono wryly notes elsewhere, most academics aren't interested in effective thinking).

The reason I'm writing this review is to correct an inaccuracy in the previous review. Having each person in a group adopt a different hat is exactly the OPPOSITE of what is intended with the Parallel Thinking method (a virtual synonym for the Six Hat method). The idea is that everyone in a group focusses on a specific element (Hat) at the same time, not individually. Doing it this way reduces argument and the role of ego in the conversation.

As de Bono notes, an important element in his work is also to demystify creativity, and help people understand you don't need lava lamps and candles to "do" creativity effectively. You don't have to be goofy. Ordinary business people working on engines and vaccines--and, as far as that goes, Accounts Payable, Sales, and Project Management--need creativity to be effective and competitive in a 24 hour global marketplace.

I teach this course... ... Read more

Book Description

Provides a rare look at the situational framework used in building a project management toolbox.
* Includes real-world examples of toolboxes used in a variety of project situations.
* Bridges the gap between theoretical and applied project management. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

"Project Management Toolbox" Helps Win Projects!
I don't share many of my consulting "know-how" secrets, but in this case I will, because I think the field of PM will benefit from the ideas presented in this book. After working 20 years in the consulting and project management field, I felt I was as knowledgeable as one could be about managing projects. Then one day, I came across Dragan's PM ToolBox. WOW! Every page is an eye opener. And this book really is a toolbox because its filled with detailed examples, report layouts, checklists, and figures which I have personally incorporated into my projects management and documentation. And those work examples have helped me win additional PM business many times over.

If you think this is just another "Here are the PM process steps" book, then click on by. But if you do, you will miss out on the chance to reach a higher level of excellence in the field of project management that will set you apart from the rest.

Thanks Dragan for a job well done!!

Put This Book on Your Desk, Not on Your Bookshelf!
Prof. Milosevic's Project Management Toolbox is to the practitioner of Project Management what the Physicians' Desk Reference is to practitioners of medicine. As the name appropriately implies, this book contains just about every tool and technique one can imagine to be used to manage, and assess projects effectively. But not one or two tools for every phase of a project, but several -- or to quote a cliche -- "a tool for every occasion".

Sound project management techniques are clearly described, substantiated by research, and presented in an easy to understand format. But Milosevic goes even further -- he details how to use each tool, when to use each tool, and when the use of a particular tool may not be appropriate. He even goes so far to present comparisons (pros and cons) of comparable tools (complete with sample form templates that can be put to immediate use), so that the project manager reading the book can select the most appropriate tool or technique to use for his/her particular project and/or organizational environment.

The book is organized logically, and in such a way that after you read the first chapter (which explains the theory & structure of the book), it isn't really necessary to read the book sequentially to put the concepts to practical use.

Whether you're a seasoned project manager, or a manager without much practical experience managing projects, you'll find this book useful and informative. Not merely from an academic point of view, but from a practical one as well.

That's why I recommend that you don't put the book on your bookshelf. Put it on your desk and you'll use it constantly to resolve immediate project management issues, as well as serving as an indispensable project management desk reference. ... Read more

Book Description

When Guerrilla Marketing was first published in 1983, Jay Levinson revolutionalized marketing strategies for the small-business owner with his take-no-prisoners approach to finding clients. Filled with hundreds of solid ideas that really work, Levinson's philosophy has given birth to a new way of learning about market share and how to gain it. In this completely revised and expanded third edition, Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-business success in the next century. Filled with strategies for marketing on the Internet (explaining when and precisely how to use it), tips for putting other new technologies to work, programs for targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referral business, and management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employees, this book will be the entrepreneur's marketing bible in the twenty-first century. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

A Top Reference for Any Business Owner
This book is a great reference for any business owner seeking to really make the most out of their marketing budget. I used the data in this book and actually made miracles happen with it. The average industry expectations on marketing dollars is 5X the return invested. By applying the principles, strategies and bright ideas I learned in this book I managed to make a 12X return for every dollar invested, and that means a whole lot when you are a small business with not an unlimited budget! This book is very basic and useful, and the data Levinson provides is incredible. I learned so much about the actual nuts and bolts of the marketing industry with this text. It's brilliant, creative and imaginative. Expect to keep a pen and paper handy when you start to have all those bright ideas go off like church bells as you read. If you take this information and apply it to your business or activity, you can save yourself a great deal of experimentation and start out with the rocketing results first off.

A must for Small Business owners and marketers.
With thousands of books written on marketing and its implementation for all business sizes, this book has created a unique brand name for itself with a series of books all aimed at a particular type of marketing - Guerrilla Marketing. As its name implies, these books are aimed at achieving significant results through non-traditional marketing avenues that have now become fairly established and are probably not Guerrilla tactics anymore (in the strictest sense of the word).

This book though originally written in the 1980s has been updated in late 1990s and the update has been driven by the feedback received over 15 years. If you are a small business owner or someone responsible for the marketing division of a small business, you may not have that much money available to run your marketing campaigns professionally and using more traditional channels. Therein lies the appeal to this book that assumes that your only resources are time, energy, and imagination.

The book is split into 5 sections - the first section is an introduction to the whole Guerrilla Marketing process all the way from its definition to the thirteen most important marketing secrets and how to develop a Guerrilla Marketing plan.

The second section focuses on mini-media marketing which is nothing but the various marketing approaches you can use - canvassing, personal letters, telemarketing (don't be discouraged as the author explains how to do this right and not annoy people), brochures, etc.

The third section is about maxi-media marketing which means all the marketing techniques that cost money. But the author has a compelling argument that it is worthwhile if you can benefit from it financially. Newspapers, magazine advertising, radio, television, etc. are addressed one after the other with detailed explanations of what to do and what not to do.

The fourth section is nonmedia marketing - free seminars, trade shows, etc. and follows a similar approach of what to do and what to avoid. The author also recommends combining these three types of marketing in a fashion that works for your particular situation.

The final section is on actually launching your Guerrilla Marketing attack and how to win!

Even large organizations have listened to the author and have started experimenting and successfully implementing Guerrilla Marketing strategies.

A marvelous book that convinced me to get a few of the other books in the series with interesting titles like 'Guerrilla P.R. WIRED' that addresses online Guerrilla marketing along with the offline approach. I have several types of marketing books and this set comprises the biggest chunk. I have been experimenting and understanding the various techniques over several months now. Being a small business owner, I like this approach better than most of the others. Bottom line - if you are responsible for marketing your small business goods or services, I recommend at least looking through this book. Good luck!

This is the real thing.
I read this in 1984 and again in 2004
Levinson is the guy. The real thing. The man. Stay away from Michael Levine - he is a copy cat.

So So Book: For Beginners Only
If you've got formal training in marketing, avoid this book. It lays down some basic tenets of marketing you probably already understand. What I was looking for in it was some practical advice for small businesses and some innovative ideas. Most of what I found I had already discerned through common sense. There's nothing terribly creative or innovative in his ideas.

Here's the summary: learn the basic principles of marketing, use common sense, be persistent and frugal, and work hard.

If you haven't had any formal marketing training this might be a place to start, but even then, I'd recommend a basic marketing text first. Learn the "3 C's" and "4 P's" of marketing before you spend your money on Guerilla Marketing.

Most of What You Need Is Between Your Ears
I read this book when it was first published in 1984 and recently read the Third Edition, curious to know how relevant Levinson's ideas have remained during the almost 20 years years since then. He has revised and updated the book to accommodate the emergence of the Internet, e-business, and globalization initiatives. To his credit, his Guerrilla principles remain valid and, if anything, are even more relevant and more valuable now than ever before. It is important to keep in mind that, as he explains in Guerrilla Creativity, creative marketing is not something that you do. "Instead, it's something that your prospects get." Guerrilla principles guide and inform initiatives by which to produce desired results, whatever those may be. Perhaps to create or increase demand for what one offers. (I use the word "offers" rather than "sells" because the same principles can also be invaluable, for example, to those seeking charitable contributions to a non-profit organization.) Perhaps to inform a prospect or reassure a client; in terms of a competitor, perhaps to create confusion, discomfort, and even despair.

Although the book's subtitle suggests that the "secrets" provided will help to make big profits from a small business, Levinson's principles can (as I have indicated) help to achieve a variety of other desired results which may include but are not limited to profits; moreover, his principles can be as helpful to a multinational corporation as they can to a local family-owned business.

The material is carefully organized within five sections: The Guerrilla Approach to Marketing -- Updated, Mini-Media Marketing, Maxi-Media Marketing, Nonmedia Marketing, and finally, Launching Your Guerrilla Marketing Attack. Levinson also provides an especially useful concluding section, "Information Arsenal for Guerrillas" (pages 363-372) which directs the reader to hundreds of resources such as a bibliography as well as information about relevant newsletters, periodicals, audiotapes, and videotapes.

I especially appreciate the fact Levinson includes marginal notes throughout his narrative. They make it so much easier to review key points which may not have been highlighted or underlined. Also, his Index is much more extensive than what authors of business books usually provide. This is in all respects a user-friendly volume whose material, if understood and then applied both effectively and (yes) appropriately, can be of substantial value to any decision-maker who seeks to create or increase demand for whatever her or his organization offers.

What sets Levinson's various "Guerrilla" books apart from most others is his consistent point of view. It has no doubt been influenced by Sun Tzu and especially by several of Sun Tzu's strategies such as when far away, seem near...or vice versa; when small, seem large...or vice versa; when exhausted, seem vigorous...or vice versa, etc. It was Sun Tzu who explained the importance of thorough preparation by asserting that every battle is won or lost before it is fought. Although we usually think of such strategies as being used only by "Davids," the same strategies (albeit with modifications) can also be used very effectively by "Goliaths."

In the first chapter, Levinson identifies 12 differences between Guerrilla marketing and traditional marketing. They are essentially differences of judgment, values, and priorities rather than of resources. I agree with Jason Jennings who suggests that it's not the large that eat the small...it's the fast that eat the slow. Size and speed are not mutually exclusive. Many successful organizations have both. However, Levinson is quite correct when stressing the importance (and benefits) of having an underdog mentality. Differing somewhat with Andrew Grove, I presume to suggest that not all survivors are paranoid...but most are. The Guerrilla mentality takes no one and nothing for granted. Ever.

For me, one of Levinson's most interesting ideas involves the Guerrilla's relationship with competition. He goes one step further than the Biblical David who wisely avoided physical contact with Goliath: "Guerrilla marketing asks you to forget about competition temporarily and to scout opportunities to cooperate with other businesses and support each other in a mutual quest for profits." That is to say, rather than facing Goliath in combat, Levinson's David would to go into partnership with those vendors who provide a variety of products and services to the Philistines. Goliath would be hired to handle accounts receivable. Eventually David would buy out his partners, then retain them on an outsource basis to continue servicing the Philistine account while he seeks new business opportunities elsewhere within and beyond the Middle East. Perhaps sell franchises in military provisions while remaining owner/CEO of a parent company which provides various services to its franchisees through subsidiaries such as Rent-a-Camel, Caravan Leasing, Goliath Security Services, Galleys Unlimited, etc.

Presumably Levinson agrees with me that it would be a mistake, indeed highly un-Guerrilla-like, to adopt all or even most of the strategies and tactics he offers in this book. First, do a rigorous analysis of your organization's needs and interests, of course, but also or its strengths and especially its weaknesses. (You can be sure your toughest competitors already know where you are most vulnerable. Do you?) Next, set the priorities for action (NOT discussion) and develop a cohesive and comprehensive plan to achieve the most important objectives. Then cherry-pick whichever of Levinson's proffered strategies and tactics will be most helpful to those efforts. There are more of them in this book than you can possibly use at any one time, anyway. However, priorities can change...often because of a competitor's initiatives. (If you did not see them coming, that's your fault. A Guerrilla always sleeps with one eye open.) When circumstances change, different strategies and tactics may be needed. Re-read Levinson's book. You'll probably find whatever you need.

Final point: A Guerrilla never trusts only one book for advice on marketing. Nor should you. Check out Levinson's bibliography. There are no glaring omissions other than Sun Tzu's The Art of War (Griffith translation) and Reis and Trout's Positioning. Among the dozens he cites, my own preferences are Beckwith's Selling the Invisible, Cohen's The Marketing Plan, Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, McKenna's Real Time, Reichheld and Teal's The Loyalty Effect, and Schmitt and Simonson's Marketing Aesthetics as well as Schmitt's subsequent Experiential Marketing. ... Read more

Book Description

This book deals with all facets of construction project management from the contractors point of view.It examines the duties that are handled by the project manager, construction superintendent, and construction engineer throughout the progress of a job, from the configurations of a project team through project closeout.A hallmark of this book is its dedicated focus on the activities of jobsite personnel that includes helpful techniques and procedures for effectively managing a project from start to finish.The clear, concise language in which it is written makes this book an essential introduction to the real world of effective management techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

How to Select, Focus, and Dominate
The message of this important book is that "no company can succeed today by trying to be all things to all people. It must instead find the unique value that it alone can deliver to a chosen market. Why and how this is done are the two key questions the book addresses." The authors focus with rigor and precision on three different "disciplines": operational excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy. It remains for any company (for any organization, for that matter) to determine which of the three should be its primary discipline but all are obviously important...indeed interdependent. Nonetheless, one discipline should be pre-eminent. The authors examine dozens of companies which have concentrated primarily on one of the three "disciplines" so that they can select their customers and then narrow their focus inorder to gain and sustain dominance within their respective marketplaces. I think this book will be of substantial value to executives in any organization but of greatest value to those in organizations which are small-to-midsize. Unless they have dysfunctional management and/or defective products, their mastery of that discipline will enable them to compete more effectively against larger organizations which (obviously) have greater resources available. My own view is that as B2B and B2B2C continue to increase at exponentially greater velocity, leadership of ANY market will require mastery of customer intimacy and at least one (but preferably both) of the other two disciplines. In that event, the insights which Treacy and Wiersema share will be even more valuable.

Common sense marketing perspective
Winning firms focus on one of three customer value disciplines: product leadership, customer intimacy, or operational excellence. Trying to be all things to everybody is tantamount to being nothing for anyone. If your firm can't get its act together, you'll find this an inspiring book that makes a compelling case that success is only possible by having the courage to focus on specific tasks & disciplines. This seems very elementary, but I've observed many firms that refused to choose what they wanted to be, ensuring that they became nothing. This book is helpful in positioning exercises.

I have two concerns about the book. 1, it doesn't need to be this long in order to get the central idea across. 2, I'm becoming increasingly convinced that this model is counterproductive in a Geoff Moore tornado period. If you're in a high-tech tornado, wait until Main Street before applying discipline.

Aside from these caveats, I still find the simple model presented in this book as being useful in analyzing market approaches. You have to understand the model in order to know when it isn't appropriate. Product Managers, sales, marketing and product development staff need to be aware of this book and its ideas.

Not just for the sales and marketing folks!
This business book should be in EVERY marketing and sales professional's library. In one reading of less than four hours you can understand the distinct value disciplines that define your company. And, just as important, you can recognize the value disciplines of your customers and competition. But, you don't have to be strictly a sales person. I'm my company's Chief Technology Officer and I felt the book was very valuable - after my CEO made me read it!
The message of The Discipline Of Market Leaders is that no company can succeed today by trying to be all things to all people. It must instead find the unique value that it alone can deliver to a chosen market. Why and how this is done are the two key questions the book addresses,
Three concepts are introduced that every business finds essential:
1. the value proposition - implicit promise to deliver a particular combination of values - price, quality, performance, etc.
2. value-driven operating model - combination of operating processes, manage-ment systems, business structure, and culture that allows a company to deliver on its value proposition.
3. value disciplines - three desirable ways in which a company combines operating models and value propositions to be the best in their markets. THIS is the key take away from this book.
Three distinct value disciplines:
1. operational excellence - provide middle-of-the-market products at the best price with the least inconvenience - value proposition is low price and hassle-free service.
2. product leadership - offering products that push performance boundaries - value proposition is offering the best product, period.
3. customer intimacy - delivering NOT what the market wants but what specific customers want - value proposition the best solution for the customer with all the support needed to get the maximum value from our products.
The selection of a value discipline is a central act that shapes every subsequent plan and decision a company makes, coloring the entire organization, from its competencies to its culture.
If a company is going to achieve and sustain dominance, it must decide where it will stake its claim in the marketplace and what kind of value it will offer to its customers.
markets, the only established way to improve value to customers is to cut process. If you haven't started thinking about cutting your way to leanness, it's going to cost you later.
High quality is the cost of admission to the market. Without it, you're not even in the ballpark.
Four new premises underlie successful business practice today:
1. companies can no longer raise process in lockstep with higher costs
2. companies can no longer aim for less than hassle-free service
3. companies can no longer assume that good basic service is enough
4. companies can no longer compromise on quality and product capabilities
These four points are critical to the book and to how you must think about value. It is true - we can no longer charge for high quality - it IS expected. By delivering superior value, companies change their customers' expectations. In effect, these companies became market leaders NOT by fulfilling old-fashioned ideas of value, but by getting their business to master one band in the value spectrum. They believed in three important truths that characterize the new world of competition:
1. Different customers buy different kinds of value. You can't hope to be the best in all dimensions, so you choose your customers and narrow your value focus.
2. As value standards rise, so do customer expectations; so you can stay ahead only by moving ahead.
3. Producing an unmatched level of a particular value requires a superior operating model - "a machine" - dedicated to just that kind of value.
Four rules that govern market leaders' actions:
1. Provide the best offering in the marketplace by excelling in a specific value disci-pline.
2. Maintain threshold standards on other dimensions of value.
3. Dominate your market by improving value year after year,
4. Build a well-tuned operating model dedicated to delivering unmatched value.
The operating model is the market leader's ultimate weapon in its quest for market domination. Value comes from choosing customers and narrowing the operations focus to best serve those customers. Customer satisfaction and loyalty are simply the by-product of delivering on a compelling value proposition - not the drivers behind it. When a company selects and pursues one of the value disciplines, it ceases to resemble its competitors.
Customer-intimate companies demonstrate superior aptitude in advisory services and relationship management. This is an incredibly difficult concept for sales and marketing professionals to grasp. They want the largest market possible. If you are customer-intimate, your market is one company at a time. This calls for hard work. Customer-intimate companies don't deliver what the market wants, but what a spe-cific customer wants. The customer-intimate company makes a business of knowing the people it sells to and the products and services they need. It continually tailors its products and services, and does so at reasonable prices. The customer-intimate company's greatest asset is, not surprisingly, its customers' loyalty.
Customer-intimate companies don't pursue transactions; they cultivate relationships.
They tailor their mix of services or customize the products, even if it means acting as a broker to obtain these services and products from third parties or co-providers.
Where to begin? Start with the last chapter and take a close look at Figure 11. From that point I realized my company's value discipline. The rest fell neatly into place.

A Must for Every business owner
In Business studies, we were taught that to succeed with our business we should be able to provide best product/service, best prices and superb customer service. The results are mainly unsatisfactory because while we try to master all three aspects, we fail in all of them.

This book will teach you for the first time how to succeed with "imperfection" along with customers blessings.

You dont have to provide your customer with the best product AND best price AND best service, just choose one of those values (depending on your target market and long term objectives) and focus all your resources on developing this value. The book is backed with real life stories from some of the leading firms and the values they have chosen to focus on.

This book is a must for every business owner.

Highly Recommended!
Authors Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema make it clear that market leading companies all concentrate on creating value for their customers. Then they focus on specific cases from Nike to Johnson & Johnson. No company, including yours, can succeed by trying to be all things to all people. Companies must ascertain the unique value - be it price, quality or problem solving - they can deliver to a specific market. The book proves that comparisons are not odious if they are interesting, and the comparisons it offers are intriguing indeed. Anecdotes and case histories cover companies that are market leaders today - AT&T, Intel, Airborne Express - and companies that used to be market leaders. The authors offer you three choices: lead with low costs, great products or outstanding ability to solve customers' problems. But if you are going to lead, you have to pick a direction and implement a management strategy that supports it, a lesson eased along by the clarity of the writing. We from getAbstract recommend this book to executives who are seeking advice on trumping their markets. ... Read more

Book Description

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)– 2000 Edition is your basic reference and the world’s de facto standard for the project management profession. It was designated an American National Standard (ANSI/PMI 99-001-2000) by the American National Standards Institute in March 2001.

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) is an inclusive term that describes the sum of knowledge within the profession of project management. The PMBOK® Guide identifies and describes the subset of principles and practices within the PMBOK® that are generally accepted and applicable to most projects most of the time. The guide also provides a common lexicon for talking about project management. Project management is a relatively young profession, and while there is substantial commonality around what is done, there is relatively little commonality in the terms used. An extensive glossary further aids in standardizing definitions of the most important concepts, terms, and phrases.

The Project Management Institute (PMI®) uses the PMBOK® Guide as one of the references for the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification Examination. Major revisions and expansions of this edition include:

• Aligned newly added processes, tools, and techniques with the five project processes and nine knowledge areas. For example, reserve time, variance analysis, and activity attributes were added to Chapter 6 (Project Time Management); estimating publications and earned value were added to Chapter 7 (Project Cost Management); and project reports, project presentations, and project closure were added to Chapter 10 (Project Communications Management).

• Added a section in Chapter 2 to acknowledge the role of the Project Office; expanded the treatment of earned value management in Chapter 4 and Chapter 10; and added a brief discussion of the Theory of Constraints in Chapter 6.

• Expanded Chapter 11 (Project Risk Management) to include six processes instead of the previous four: Risk Management Planning, Risk Identification, Risk Assessment, RiskQuantification, Risk Response Planning, and Risk Monitoring and Control.

• Strengthened the linkage between organizational strategy and project management throughout.

The PMBOK® Guide is one of those indispensable tools that you will want at your fingertips, both at work and in your home office. Selected as a suggested resource for CAPM®, CAQ® Automotive Product Development, CAQ Capital Projects, CAQ Information Technology Systems, CAQ Information Technology Networking, and CAQ Project Management Office exam preparation.

Look for official translations in 8 languages:
• Chinese
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean ... Read more

Reviews (22)

A Requirement for PMP exam, but not everything.
I'm a a certified PMP and purchased this book because PMI says it is the basis for the exam. The problem is that it's incredibly boring and does not include all the information on the test! Although all the project management processes are detailed and the terms are defined, it does not really teach you on how to apply and understand project management. There are also no practice questions included in the PMBOK and this is an absolute requirement before you sit for the test. You must also purchase an independant study guide book. I recommend PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy. It is well written, an enjoyable read, and includes many topics that appear on the exam that are not included in the PMBOK (i.e. Professional Responsibility etc.).

_The_ Project Management Standard
The PMI has put together a book that is the definitive project management standard. Within the concise 200 or so pages, expect to get an overview of all the general areas of project management.

This book describes a generic project management model, suitable across many disciplines. It is written to be a standard. While it is authoritative and something you should definitely read, it is tough reading for beginners. The book does not proceed in the same sequence as project phases. It makes the book difficult to read as a textbook.

If you are a beginner I suggest that you purchase a copy of this book immediately but do not attempt to read it yet. Buy yourself a basic book on project management. Participate and lead projects. As you face issues within your project, refer to this book. You will find your study will be richly rewarded.

Anyone appearing for the PMP exam must know this material like the back of their hands. Spend a lot of time here. Keep in mind however that this book is not a repository of knowledge, it is a roadmap.

In summary, not a trivial read, but a rewarding one.

Essential reference fo PMP
This book is a good reference and should be used as a reference book. You need to know the content of this book to pass the PMP. However, don't use thie book at the only source of study. Get a copy of Andy Crowe's "The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try" and "The Ultimate PMP Study Aid" (from ebay).

By the way, when your join the PMI memnbership, they will send a CDROM verson of the book free.

Good reference, but you will fail PMP if you rely only on it
This reference is good for a base of terminology for Project Management. Unfortunately, because the difference between an IT project and a Construction project is so great, the BOK can only address high-level concepts. The golden nugget is that what the BOK does address are time-tested standards that help all project managers.

Why do you make a Charter? What goes in it? What do you get out of it? The BOK answers all these questions. By following the framework, your projects will have a fighting chance and not get caught up in a tangle of disorganization.

As for the PMP-applicability of this reference, it does not address contracts, team-building, or ethics, which are all required for passing the test. When I studied for the test, I spent about 5% of my time studying the PMBOK and 95% on other reference materials. I earned my PMP after 5 weeks of studying, without memorizing anything from the BOK.

Essential Classic
This book is certainly a must have for the management of BIG projects. It is extremely rich in a wide area of relevant details. It is extremely good as a reference. It is good, if your specific area has not an established project methodology.

On the other hand I do not like the book for reading and learning. It feels like reading a book on income taxes regulations, though a good one. ... Read more

Book Description

The classic book that captures the essence of leadership like none other--expanded and updated for tomorrow's leaders, with a new introduction by the author.

Warren Bennis's formative years, in the 1930s and '40s, were characterized by severe economic hardship and a world war that showcased the extreme depths and heights to which leaders could drive their followers. Today's environment is similarly chaotic, turbulent, and uncertain. On Becoming a Leader has served for nearly fifteen years as a beacon of insight, delving into the qualities that define leadership, the people who exemplify it, and the strategies that anyone can apply to become an effective leader. This new edition features a provocative introduction on the challenges and opportunities facing leaders today, with additional updates and current references throughout. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Both find meaning and understand how to lead
Great book not just for managers, but also for those being managed. It clearly articulates how to improve yourself, through a variety of motivational stories and excellent advice. Make sure to read the last chapter, though! The one ding I had while reading the book was that a lot of the advice wasn't actionable -- until I reached the last chapter, which closed off the book with a clear path forward for the reader.

Well Thought and Easy to Read
On Becoming a Leader is a well-organized and thought out book on leadership. Since it?s the only leadership book I?ve read, it?s hard for me to compare it to anything else, but I can see why they consider it a ?standard?. The book pointed out many ?truths of life? that I agreed with but never put in words before, like ?most of us are shaped more by negative experiences than by positive ones? from page 108. The author suggests doing something positive to start each morning in order to deflect the impact of our negative experiences. Definitely something I?ll put to use. Bennis uses examples of real people to make give his point impact. This and other writing techniques add to his easy style of writing, making this novel a breeze to read. I wish the book had more ways the reader could practice the skills he or she was reading about. In the end, I would recommend this book to anyone who needed to lead something or just be a more influential and listened to person in general.

The Human Touch of Leadership
While I don't agree with all of Bennis' role models, he makes some very valid points about achievement, leadership, and human relationships. Like John Maxwell and others who have paid their dues, he mentions the importance of learning from failure. One of the many useful quotes Bennis provides is "it is not enough for a leader to do things right, he must do the right thing." Also like other writers in this genre, he says one of the fundamentals of leadership is to have a guiding vision. As a communicator, Bennis encourages potential leaders to codify their thoughts through writing. Writing eliminates ambiguity and helps one to focus. Leadership is viewed as a process in the sense that goal-accomplishment involves several incremental phases. He writes "the goal isn't worth arriving at unless you enjoy the journey." A process of self-reflection is outlined and discussed in the middle section of the book. This is followed by some advice on how to investigate the world at large. Travel, reading, and involvement are three keys to learning the environment in which one is to contribute. Bennis has some ideas worthy of followup. His book is worth reading. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Get the information elsewhere
The authors attempt to apply lean manufacturing principles and techniques to software development. Despite repeatedly warning the reader that manufacturing is different than software development, most of the examples are not from software development. Some examples were mildly interesting, but they just didn't apply. This had the weird effect of casting doubt on the whole concept they were trying to exemplify. The effort seemed forced, and the focus on manufacturing detracted from providing a clear and practical guide to software development.

The authors present some relevant tools (delaying decisions, eliminating waste, etc.) but these are not new and are presented in a more accessible format in other books. Some of the tools just did not register. Value Stream Mapping, for instance, showed delays were usually instigated by the customer, and we all serve at the pleasure of the customer. Queueing Theory is a long-winded and confusing way of saying what we already know from other agile exponents - that small batches are better. Despite the slimness (under 200 pages), it seemed like a lot of reading for very little information.

Still, I have to give at least two stars for any book that is aligned with agile practices.

Not just for Agile Development
Although this book is from the Agile-series, the approach and advice extends to any methodology from the heavy (and still used) waterfall SDLC, to XP and agile methods.

Key steps in this book will show you how to streamline your development methodology in accordance with lean thinking:
- Eliminate waste by cutting the fat out of processes, reducing rework, viewing your SDLC as a value stream.
- Amplify learning, with an emphasis on iterative planning, feedback loops and team communications.
- Decide as late as possible, which is enabled by concurrent activities, depth-first versus breadth-first problem solving, and other effective tools and techniques.
- Deliver as fast as possible, based on analogies between manufacturing pull systems and scheduling, and how to accomplish the same in development.
- Empower the team, which is a fundamental element of lean thinking. The tools and techniques presented in this section of the book are a mixture of common sense, leadership and management.
- Build integrity in. If ever there were a direct connection between the lean thinking approach to manufacturing and software development, it is here. Tools and techniques given include model-driven development, refactoring and testing techniques.
- See the whole, which emphasizes system thinking, metrics, optimization, and the supporting tools and techniques.

Any or all of the above can be effectively applied to any SDLC or methodology and produce results. Lean thinking was developed by Toyota as a manufacturing paradigm, which has been extended through that company and is applied to business processes outside of the manufacturing domain. That this team of authors has applied it to software development is not as unnatural as it may seem at first glance given how vastly different software is to create versus cars, for example. But, the paradigm has been proven outside of manufacturing before this book was written, and the basic philosophy and principles can be applied - which this book evidences.

If you want to look at development from an entirely unique perspective purge the words agile, XP and any other methodology from your mind while reading this book. I can almost guarantee that you'll find something in every chapter that you can put to immediate use in your own organization. As an aside, a book on software testing that is consistent with lean thinking in many ways, and closely aligned to the content of this book is "Software Testing Fundamentals: Methods and Metrics" ISBN 047143020X.

Awesome book!
I had pretty much the same feeling reading this book and Lean Thinking, as I did when I first started reading up on agile methods. It all felt like common sense and that's a comment I hear from a lot of people new to lean/agile. However, I feel, and have experienced, that there is a huge gap between viewing or perceiving something as common sense and actually applying that common sense to the work you are doing. Also, both this book and Lean Thinking put these principles and practices into a different perspective by showing how they have worked in the manufacturing business. Seeing the parallels between the work done in manufacturing a bicycle and crafting a software program is pretty powerful.

Mary and Tom do a great job in the book of presenting specific tools for applying all this "common sense". They start by introducing the seven principles of lean thinking when applied to software development:

1. Eliminate waste
2. Amplify learning
3. Decide as late as possible
4. Deliver as fast as possible
5. Empower the team
6. Build integrity in
7. See the whole

The rest of the book presents the 22 thinking tools that are all tied to the seven principles. Mary and Tom use a lot of real world examples of the usage of these tools and they do a very good job of explaining how each of them could fit into an agile ecosystem.

The book is pretty compact and the authors have clearly eliminated all waste from it because I was never bored.

I can't recommend it enough!

Agile is good, provided there are proper safeguards
There is no doubt in my mind that keeping your options open as long as possible is always the best approach to solving any problem. That in essence, is what agile (lean) software development is. When it is possible and done right, agile methods can lead to a dramatic improvement in the quality of the software you create and the amount of profit that it generates.
The authors make a convincing case for agile methods, citing many cases where the techniques have been successfully used, and not all are in software development. One example is Nucor, which operates a collection of profitable steel mills in the United States, at a time when the majority of steel companies are in severe financial straits. Another example is Xerox, and how their repair technicians were able to share their expertise.
The primary example used outside the software industry is from the auto industry. In the early days, all auto production was via the assembly line, where the goal was to have nearly all workers engage in mindless routine. Rather than be critical of the assembly line, the emphasis here is on the fact that it was a necessary strategy for the times. In 1915, shortly after the assembly line was introduced, there were 7,000 workers at the Highland Park, Michigan plant, speaking fifty different languages. Most of the workers were immigrants who understood little or no English, so the cost of training them for complex tasks would have been prohibitive. The only solution was to train each worker to do one task, one that could be demonstrated several times until they understood. If necessary, a translator could also be present during the training for questions and comments, but given the simplicity of the task, a worker could be completely trained in a matter of minutes. Furthermore, since the product was new, the consuming public was not as demanding in terms of style options as it is now.
However, the times have changed, and now people want cars to be custom made as much as possible, and segments of the auto industry have responded. However, this requires that two fundamental changes be made in the production process. The first is that where there are options, each of the possibilities is always available, and no choice significantly alters the flow of development. The second is that there be dynamic lines of communication always open, so the request accurately arrives at the production site as soon as possible.
These two changes are the fundamentals of lean software development. Rather than create the complete blueprint for the software and then stamp out each part in succession, where one must be connected before the next, a general outline is used. Options for construction are developed and there is near-constant communication between the software developers and all the stakeholders. The best situation is a "How's this?" format, where the developers perform a build and ask everyone with a stake what they think about it.
However, there are two primary problems to avoid, and both are fundamental to human nature. While delaying decisions until the last possible moment is an important feature of lean software development, the problem lies in determining when the last possible moment has arrived. In situations where delay is considered good, it is all too easy to go too far. While the authors' do a good job in emphasizing how decisions should be delayed, a bit more time could have been spent on knowing when it is time to move. I was reminded of the wise saying from legendary basketball coach John Wooden. He was constantly telling his players, "Be quick, but don't hurry." In other words, examine your options as long as you can, and then act as quickly as possible.
The second is avoiding the "looking over their shoulders" situation. If you talk to mechanics, they will tell you that the signs that say "Due to insurance reasons, customers are not allowed in the work area" are there for more than customer safety. They also allow the mechanic to do the work without the customer interfering in any way. Therefore, for any structure that allows for continuous customer input to work, there must be a mechanism whereby the customer (including management), can be told to, "Go wait in the lobby."
The information in this book is excellent, there are many good ideas that can help nearly all software development teams improve their performance. However, options always introduce additional complexity and managing some of that additional complexity is not thoroughly examined.

Ignore particular methodologies; think about efficiency!
The word 'Agile' is in the title of the book, guaranteeing a place on the most important shelves and conferences. However, the contributions are much wider than just a buzzword of the day, and some of the chapters that aren't directly about Agile are applicable even in pre-Agile methodologies. Coverage of the Lean manufacturing principles and how they relate to software methodologies gives a good enough introduction to the field to get a nice feeling for how it all works and an intuition for why this style of development works better than ones that don't use feedback, continuous improvement, and the other techniques presented.

Unfortunately, the section on contracts was weak and pretty under-motivated. One of the 'case studies' in it was even completely fa