BOOK REVIEW:

Book Title:  Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing and Recovering from Project Failure
Author:  Todd C. Williams, PMP
Publisher:  AMACOM
List Price:  $32.95 USD
Format:  Hardcover
Publication Date:   March 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8144-1682-2
Reviewer: Donald R. Tedlock, Jr., PMP
Review Date: June 2011

IIntroduction to the Book

As a veteran project manager, I have seen my fair share of problem projects.  The issues that can occur with budgets, communications, scheduling, resources, politics, etc. can be disastrous to project success.  It is rare to find a project that does not have some issue along the way.  This book provides a practical approach for guiding project managers that find themselves with a problem project.  The author presents a simple identify, plan and execute approach to solving these problems.

Overview of Book’s Structure

The book is divided into six parts.  The first part helps the reader establish an understanding of terms and helps define the scope and value for project recovery.  Part 2 describes how to understand why the issue occurred.  The next part in the book instructs the reader on how to audit the project in order to help management make a decision to either stop or recover the project.  If the decision is to recover the project, part four covers how to plan the recovery.  With the plan created, part five executes the plan.  A final part in the book is to establish practices in order to eliminate the need for project recovery.

Highlights: What I liked!

In chapter 1, there is a figure that provides a clear definition of how various levels of a project interpret success and failure.  This is an important concept as it shows that different stakeholders can see a project as both a failure and success, depending on their perspective of the project’s delivery against their objectives.

I love the takeaway section at the end of each chapter.  I like this better than having the chapter objectives at the beginning.  By having them at the end, the reader is able to confirm the material they just read and can reread the chapter if they missed a point.

More…

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About the Reviewer: Donald R. Tedlock, Jr. Don Tedlock is currently a Vice President and Sr. Technical Project Manager for Bank of America.  Don started his career in 1984 as a developer for InterFirst Bank.  Since then, he has performed the roles of test engineer, systems analyst, data analyst, architect, technical lead and functional manager with companies such as EDS, IBM, Sabre, Sprint, Southwest Airlines, Mary Kay and Countrywide.  Since 2001, he has performed the role of project manager; earning his PMP certification in July of 2004.  Don is currently working on his EMBA through the University of Texas at Dallas.