Effective Project Management

International Journal of Project Management 20 (2002) 633–637 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijproman

Book reviews

Effective Project Management Wysocki, R.K., Beck, R., and Crane, D.B., John Wiley, 2000, L 32.5, ISBN 0471 360287, 359 pp., with CD Rom. This is the second edition of ‘Effective Project Management’, the first edition was published in 1995. The new edition is not merely a ‘facelift model’, but has been substantially rewritten to come into line with the Project Management Institute’s body of knowledge. To this end, new topics and chapters have been added. Although the authors of ‘Effective Project Management’ believe that seasoned project managers will find value in the book, it is obvious that the book is more suited to those with no or little experience in the management of projects. Indeed, ‘Effective Project Management’ reads as a text book for undergraduates. Each chapter begins with a list of ‘‘learning objectives’’ such as ‘‘After reading, this chapter you will be able to explain the purpose of the project proposal etc’’. Although more mature students such as MBA members, without doubt, would benefit from reading this book they are likely to find the style to be at a lesser academic level than they would be accustomed. For example, throughout the book, there are gratuitous statements such as ‘‘if you want to grow up to be a world-class project manager you need a plan’’, p.15 and ‘‘What do you want to be when you grow up’’, p.50 (the answer given is you need a goal). Other friendly statements include ‘‘I’m glad you finally made it to this section’’, and the disarming ‘‘We’ve made a lot of mistakes. Follow our advice and you will not repeat history’’. On page 233 the authors earnestly advise would be project managers to ‘‘use the language of business’’ — it is a shame that they haven’t heeded their own advice! The CD Rom is user-friendly and successfully reinforces material covered chapter by chapter with exercises and

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answers. The authors request is ‘‘don’t peek until you have tried your hand at the exercises’’. All the usual project management topics are included and as per the author’s aim, the book is aligned to the Project Management Institutes body of knowledge. However, it could not be said that the book adds to the body of knowledge. One area where there is a lack of coverage is the importance of stakeholders. The need to establish who the stakeholders for a project are and what their concerns might be is not mentioned. Recognised British authors in project management, such as Rodney Turner and Eddy Obeng, observe that often projects have stakeholders who actually oppose a project. They caution that it is a wise move to identify such people and to find out what their concerns are. Ideally, a project manager will want the support of all stakeholders. If, however, some cannot be won over, it is important to know who they are and what resulting problems might occur. Identification of stakeholders, and their needs, and indeed the general politics surrounding project management are an important aspect of project management. ‘Effective Project Management’ only mentions politics in passing (in relationship to team selection and matrix structures) and ignores the broader and more telling aspects of politics. Wysocki et al. conclude their book with a useful sixpage list of publications, however this list relates mainly to American authors and publications. Overall, ‘‘Effective Project Management’’ is recommended as a sound, but not challenging text for people new to project management or for first-year undergraduate students. J. Nevan Wright Auckland University of Technology Auckland New Zealand