IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish, Third Edition
A new manager assigned to a project is told by his predecessor that three envelopes have been placed in his top desk drawer and labeled One, Two, and Three. His predecessor then explains that the first time he gets into trouble he should open and follow the instructions in the first envelope; on the second time, the second envelope; the third envelope is for his third serious problem. The project quickly runs into serious trouble. The manager opens the first envelope and reads, “Blame the previous manager.” He does, is forgiven, and allowed to continue as manager. The second serious problem occurs. The manager opens the second envelope, and reads, “Blame yourself.” He does, and again is forgiven. The third time the project gets into trouble the manager opens the last envelope and reads “Prepare three envelopes . . .”
It is a truism to state that a significant percentage of IT projects fail, and that those held most responsible will be the project manager. That raises an interesting question: Where do project managers get their training? Well, now prospective IT project managers can go to school. IT Project Management is intended for use as a textbook for the CompTIA Project+ project management certificate. This softcover book comes complete with a CD (compatible only with Microsoft) containing video training, templates, a practice exam, and a complete e-book.
What are an IT manager’s responsibilities? A principle role of IT program management is planning, budgeting, and scheduling; there is also the aspect of leadership: the ability to not just manage but drive a project from start to end. The book begins with the project management lifecycle and goes on to pointing out the value in identifying the project’s stakeholders. The principal document of project management is the project charter, which is similar to a proposal or feasibility study and contains the project purpose, the business case, goals, schedule, as well as identifying resources, constraints, assumptions, and risks.
The author, Joseph Philips, has an extensive pedigree as a teacher, trainer, author, and project manager, and his experience shines in the selection, organization, and presentation of this material. This book raises pertinent topics and questions for discussion (except for one) whose answers will likely separate a project that succeeds from one that doesn’t. There are sections on eliciting requirements, planning, management and structure, working with upper management, dealing with difficult personalities, budgeting and cost planning, risk planning, and procurement planning. There are sections on scheduling, Gantt and Pert charts, network dependency diagrams, interviewing stakeholders, work-breakdown structures, status updating and reporting, holding meetings, making presentations, and measuring quality. There are sections on make-buy trade-studies, outsourcing, estimating work hours, managing teams, delegating, and encouraging and disciplining team-members.
There are sections on change control, revising project plans, watching out for “scope creep,” and managing issues. Notably the psychology of managing projects is touched upon repeatedly in multiple chapters and in a section that includes Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and Theories X, Y and Z. The IT project management lifecycle concludes with material on completing the project, including critical path identification, management reserve, and gaining client approval and signoff.
The book is encyclopedic in scope but written in a breezy style and so is not a burden to read. As it focuses on breadth rather than depth, if used in class it will provide ample room for an instructor to prioritize material and add war-stories from his or her own experiences. But if used apart from classroom instruction, as a self-study text, a student may become overwhelmed. Each chapter concludes with extensive endnotes, including interviews with a real project manager, information pertaining to the CompTIA exam, and a chapter quiz complete with answers. Each chapter also provides an in-depth exercise. The text ends with several appendices including a glossary, but disappointingly, no references.
There were only few missing topics worthy of mention. There is no section on contract and subcontract management. This is a valid concern as more work is now distributed geographically; whether in a multi-national firm, outsourced, or off-shored, work will be increasingly managed through the language of contracts. Another topic absent is a discussion of transitioning into an ongoing project where much of the structure has been already cast in concrete. Also missing is a realistic discussion of projects that are on track to failure. The book surprisingly states that the right thing to do is to continue blindly if one finds oneself on this track (the claim made is that trying to make things better may only make them worse). As program managers have freedom of action when projects are successful, it becomes disingenuous to deny this freedom as projects fail. It would be of greater utility to identify tactics that might bring off-track projects on track, or at least address in some manner coping strategies when rigidly leading a Yourdon’s Death March type of project.
From a philosophical perspective, there is text and then there is subtext: that one nagging unasked question, What is software, and how is it made? That anyone has the hubris to manage something without knowing what it is just might be the prime cause of management (not just IT project) failure. This systemic avoidance of knowledge in depth has a parallel path in the MBA. Failure in managing without knowing is expressed through the ineffective identification of tasks, the ineffective selection of order of precedence and priorities, and the ineffective triage and selection of alternatives as things go from bad to worse. Alas, the IT project management certificate appears to be the degree of choice for Dilbert’s pointy haired boss, the one who knows that checking the checkbox is the only real accomplishment.
Reviewer Robert Schaefer is a Research Engineer at MIT Haystack Observatory.