BOOK REVIEW:

Book Title:  Managing Projects In Trouble: Achieving Turnaround and Success
Author:  Ralph L. Kliem, PMP
Publisher: CRC Press
List Price:  US$69.95
Publication Date: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4398-5246-0
Reviewer: David B. Olutusin, MBA, PMP, CPG, CGeol, P.Geol, FGAC
Review Date:  December 2011

 

 

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Introduction to the Book

The book begins with an attempt at elucidating the various reasons why projects fail, or are in trouble and bound to fail irrevocably, except something is done. It focuses on the role of a project manager assigned to save a troubled project. The book introduces the framework or steps of what a project manager would need to do to turn a troubled project around. These includes recognizing symptoms, making necessary changes, revisiting the projects’ vision, options to turning the project around, choosing appropriate options and executing the revised vision. 

Overview of Book’s Structure

The book is organized into seven chapters that cover the introduction, five key actions, with final thoughts as conclusion. Project managers would find it a systematic approach to engaging with projects in trouble, saving it and implementing a turning around with success.

Furthermore, the book uses non-technical language with wordings that are common place in everyday life and business, with more emphasis on workplace language common to virtually every profession and business. There are no terminologies that could complicate or mis-represent applications.

Highlights: What I liked!

The book focuses on the role and person of the project manager. It seeks to encourage and promote the need for project managers to develop practical as well as thorough competencies, all-be-it Leadership skills, relevant to the challenging discipline and nature of managing troubled projects without compromising the effectiveness that is required as well as bringing project risks and uncertainties to the barest minimum if not eradicated.

A most impressive perspective of the book is the utilization of five key actions: Energize, Envision, Explore, Evaluate, and Execute. The details and explanation represents a thorough, as well as rigorous approach to turning around a troubled project towards success. In addition, it highlights the need for project managers to develop or acquire competencies in the “Art” of project management without ignoring the “science”.

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About the Reviewer: David Olutusin   David Olutusin, MBA, PMP, CPG, CGeol, P.Geol, FGAC is a Consultant Petroleum Geologist based out of Calgary, Canada.  His current job is as a Wellsite Geologist, consulting for oil and gas companies operating in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. He oversees geological operations during oil and gas drilling, as the Geologist on location. Mr. Olutusin has experience in Clastics, Carbonates, Vertical, Horizontal, and Deviated wells. Others include Conventional oil, Heavy oil, Tight Gas, Shallow and Deep wells.  Previous experience includes Groundwater development, Water borehole construction, Engineering geology, and Geophysical investigations. He is a Project Management Professional, PMP; Certified Petroleum Geologist, CPG-AAPG; Chartered Geologist, CGEOL; and licensed to practice in Alberta, P.Geol, and Saskatchewan, P.Geo; and a Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada, FGAC. Mr. Olutusin holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA, 2009) as well as a Graduate Certificate (2008) in Project Management; both from the University of Texas At Dallas and B.Sc. with honors in Geology (1993) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.  Email: daveolutusin@gmail.com   Editor’s note:  Book reviews are the result of cooperation between PM World Today and the graduate programs in project management at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Maryland in the United States.  Authors and publishers provide books to PM World Today, a copy of each book is delivered to the universities who give them to graduate students or alumni for review.  The reviewer provides a book review in our standard format; the reviews are then published in PM World Today.  Since the reviewers are generally mid-career professionals, they normally represent the intended audience for most PM books.  If you are an author or publisher of a project management-related book, and would like the book reviewed through this program, please contact editor@pmworldtoday.org.