Effective Project Management- Traditional, Agile, Extreme

Robert K. Wysocki, PhD, has over 40 years of experience as a project management consultant and trainer, information systems manager, systems and management consultant, author, training developer, and provider. He is the founder of Enterprise Information Insights, Inc., a project management consulting and training practice. Wysocki has written 15 books on project management and information systems management.

I used Wysocki's 4th edition to teach my MBA courses. But the newest edition 5 is so well-written that I have expanded my use to include both undergraduate and MBA project management courses. The new edition has updated material, more useful examples and cases, plus a series of slides for the instructor. The book takes a complicated subject and breaks in down into so much detail that anyone can absorb the concepts. Nice work on the latest edition Bob!

1 Comment | 

I just completed my Project Management class in college, and it is the first time they have used the expanded version of the book (so far as I know). Robert Wysocki knows how to explain concepts deeply and thoroughly...not only will this help you prepare for your eventual PMP exam (you need 3 years Project Management experience to take that exam), but it will help you avoid the common pitfalls related to not choosing the correct management approach.

Right after our finals, I spoke to a student who took this course earlier (with the older version of the book), and he was lucky enough to actually listen to Robert as visiting lecturer for one class. The man is nothing short of brilliant!

This book is fantastic -- one of the true gems of my collge experience. I do have 2 minor quibbles, however:

1) Robert sometimes goes into an explanation that's far too wordy. He does not confuse, but at times he tends to repeat himself -- over and over, for several pages. Not the whole book, just now and then.

2) There are no review questions of any kind. (Not even a quibble for me, but it may be for you.) At the end of each chapter are scenarios to discuss as a group, if you are so inclined. If you are using this for self-study for certification, this will very likely be a real pitfall. However, you could supplement the vast wealth of Mr. Wysocki's real-world experience with one of the exam study/cram books out there.

This is not the book to "cram" for an exam. It discusses terminology and concepts, but goes into great detail about the hows/whys pros/cons of various project management approaches and processes. You must actually read! This book is in no way designed to skim or cram, and you will not be able to do that with this book (unless you already read *this* book and are just reviewing it).

However, if you want to become a good project manager, or improve your practice, this is the best book!