Gower Handbook of People in Project Management (Book Review)

Let me start by saying that this is BIG book. As it would take me a very long time to read the whole thing (and I doubt that the book is meant to be used that way) I will base my review on a selection of chapters that appeal to me rather than the whole thing.

Starting with Chapter 17 – The Project Office Environment, this is not as I was expecting about the business context of the Project Office, but all about the physical aspects of the office (lighting, desk layout, even carpet!) and how they can affect a project team’s performance. Most of this would apply to any office environment of course, but the chapter makes mention of special factors (such as the visibility of the project manager or director) that have special significance for projects. Some useful points are raised – for example the provision of a dedicated, lockable meeting room that can be used as a “War Room” for a particular large project or programme.

Chapter 6 – Project Management in the Private Sector outlines that projects in the private sector could be run according to a variety of methodologies (as opposed to PRINCE2® which is commonly used in the public sector), and in many cases also using the bare minimum of documentation required to get the project done quickly but in a robust manner – these documents are often made pre-requisites to obtain project funding. Private sector PMOs are also more streamlined than their public sector equivalents, and are often tightly focussed on budgets and delivery. Private sector PMOs will prioritise new projects based  on financial return, and the seniority of the sponsor (although these people will see project sponsorship as a relatively low priority). Project managers are likely to get caught up in organisational politics, and may find themselves the scapegoats for projects that have “gone wrong”.

Chapter 16 – People in Supporting Roles covers those roles that do not involve directly managing projects, and that may not be dedicated to a single project or programme – typically these roles find their home on the PMO. Amongst other things, the PMO is interested in: ensuring a consistent approach to the management of projects; development and provision of PM templates; development and maintenance of corporate PM methodology; training of PMs; demand / capacity management; estimation; planning; project control and administration. In a large PMO these functions may each be performed by one or more dedicated people, or in a smaller PMO each person may cover a wide range of roles. This chapter also covers some of the functions in the wider organisation that will support project activity.

This book has 63 chapters that average at about 13 pages per chapter. Each chapter has an introduction, some discussion and a conclusion, and is written by a current practitioner. I think that rather than being read from cover to cover, this book should be treated more like an encyclopaedia – it could be the first place you would go to in order to research a topic, to be followed up in more detail if need be. In this application, the book does a good job across a wide range of subjects. The £100 RRP is high enough to cause a sharp intake of breath, certainly, but it should be borne in mind that for this price you are getting at least 3 times the content of a more standard-sized book. This would be a good book to have on the shelves of a university, an organisational PMO, or a PM practitioner looking to develop their knowledge of the people aspects of PM.

Full title:Gower Handbook of People in Project Management
Author:Edited by Dennis Lock and Lindsay Scott
Publisher:Gower Publishing Ltd, Farnham, Surrey
ISBN:978-1409437857
Pages:908
RRP:£100 RRP (electronic review copy provided free of charge)
Rating:***

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Author: Ken Burrell

Ken Burrell is a Programme and Portfolio Office (PMO) Professional, who through his company Pragmatic PMO makes targeted improvements to PMO practices to add value to Projects, Programmes and Portfolios. He provides senior management with the analysis they need to make decisions, and gives project and programme managers the support they need to deliver solutions.

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