Interested in project management? Elizabeth Harrin is the author of several top-selling, practical guides to how to manage projects published by PMI, APM, Kogan Page and the British Computer Society.
Drawing from her own experience and plenty of case studies, surveys and research, these books are the ‘mentor on the shelf’ you need to get ahead and learn what really works when it comes to juggling your workload.
Project management books reviewed and the top takeaways shared for you! Learn about the new trends in project management from the best authors.
This is a book review of the 2009 edition of the PRINCE2 manual. For more up-to-date content on PRINCE2, check out my guide to PRINCE2 which is fully updated for the 7th edition, 2023 version. The 2009 version of the PRINCE2® manual for project managers feels a lot clearer and structured. Managing Successful Projects with…
This book is long overdue: it’s a great idea to have a separate manual for those responsible for directing projects and sitting on the Project Board. Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2® has a clear structure – and it’s also clear what it does not include. There is nothing in here about the leadership skills required…
Rich Maltzman, PMP, and Dave Shirley, PMP, wrote a very timely book: Green Project Management: Planet, Projects, Profits, and People. It’s tapping into the trend for greening projects. In fact, Maltzman and Shirley coin a term to define how green a project is: they call it ‘greenality’, a mix of greenness and quality. We’ve chosen to…
Taming Change with Portfolio Management: Unify Your Organization, Sharpen Your Strategy and Create Measurable Value is a meaty book. I got the paperback advance reader’s copy. I’ve been lumping it around for a while now. The hardback formal print run is now complete and the book is (just) on the shelves. Pat Durbin and Terry…
What can you learn from just 6 words? According to Lonnie Pacelli, President of Leading on the Edge International quite a lot. He was inspired by this anecdote: “Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway was challenged by some friends to write a story in six words. Hemingway responded to the challenge with the following story: …
“Do not waste your time with this book unless you are ready to implement what it contains!” warns Rita Mulchay in chapter one of PM Crash Course: Premier Edition. “Make your decision now! Do you have the guts to be a better project manager?” This book is one long high five. You can imagine Mulcahy…
I’ve reviewed a lot of books this summer. Have I become better connected to my scattered team? Hardly. Have I become more lazy as a project manager. No (but I’m trying). Have I rethought my entire approach to work? Yes. Step forward Dr Suzanne Doyle-Morris. Beyond the Boys Club presents career strategies for women working…
Pull up a comfy chair, pour yourself a drink and wait for the project team to come to you. Welcome to the world of productive project management laziness, and Peter Taylor is the laziest of all. In a good way. Peter’s book, The lazy project manager: How to be twice as productive and still leave…
Recently I reviewed How to Manage in a Flat World: 10 Strategies to get connected to your team wherever they are by Susan Bloch and Philip Whiteley. I was really interested in the shift towards flat structure management and a more coherent approach to managing dispersed teams, so I spoke to the authors to find…
It’s an odd experience, reading a book about project management that uses none of the language of project management or business analysis. Phil Simon’s book, Why New Systems Fail: Theory and Practice Collide, is a study of IT project failure from a consultant’s perspective. Simon has plenty of experience of implementing large scale systems, and…
This article first appeared in 2009 – SharePoint has moved on a bit since this book was released! The book has been updated to the latest edition of SharePoint. You can’t run a project without a plan, and you can’t plan in SharePoint. That’s the major failing of this book. Microsoft SharePoint doesn’t integrate with Microsoft…
“Delivering value is the only real reason to undertake a project.” ‘The Principles of Project Management is part of the Sitepoint stable so, as you would expect, web projects feature heavily. However, it’s not about a web project management. I read it on a slow train to the Kent countryside (and back) and Meri Williams…