PM BOOK REVIEWS

Simple Solutions – How “Enterprise Project Management” Supported Harvard Pilgrim Health Care’s Journey from Near Collapse to #1

Author: Lisa A. DiTullio
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
List Price: US$20.95
Publication Date: 2007
ISBN: 978-0-595-46110-3
Reviewer: Kathryn H. Phillips – MBA, SSGB, PMP®
Review Date: January 2009

Introduction to the Book

This book is a very detailed case study depicting how project management methodology was used in supporting Harvard Pilgrim Health Care’s remarkable journey from being placed in state receivership in 2000 to being named the “Number One Health Plan in America” in 2004, 2005 and 2006 (by US News & World Report and the National Committee for Quality Assurance). Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC) experienced financial and operational turmoil attributable to merger activity and economic pressures which threatened continued successful realization of its corporate mission which was built on three Cornerstones – service, quality and innovation which was collapsing.

The author demonstrates with use of simple clear instructions how to institutionalize and reliably apply the same project management elements into one’s organization that reversed the plight of HPHC from abject failure to the pinnacle of success. Real world business problems are presented with successful applications and resolve. These solutions were neither complex nor capital intensive. In fact, keeping it simple allowed HPHC to develop project management competencies that over time became part of its organizational culture.

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About the Author Kathryn Phillips Kathryn Phillips services the new AT&T as Area Manager of Project Management. Kathryn is PMI PMP® certified. Kathryn was recently certified as a Six Sigma Green Belt. She earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration – Economics from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Illinois; a Graduate Certificate in Project Management and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas – Richardson Texas. Kathryn can be reached at kp0090@att.com.

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