Browse > Home / The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, Second Edition

The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, Second Edition 


The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, Second Edition

Until the early '90s, was definitely located somewhere near the unsexy end of the business spectrum. But now, with the rise of downsizing and outsourcing, it has become one of the hot disciplines. Professional membership of the U.S.-based Institute has quadrupled in the last decade, and Microsoft claimed recently to have over 2 million users worldwide of its -management software. The reasons for this growth are simple. is about managing "projects," that is, unique pieces of work (as opposed to ongoing operations). Downsizing, outsourcing, and the accelerating pace of change have meant that, increasingly, work is carried out on an ad-hoc, one-off basis. The Fast Forward MBA in is designed as an advanced textbook for businesspeople with a grasp of the basics and insufficient time (or inclination) to go back to school to learn more. Written by Eric Verzuh, president of the Versatile Company, a leading -management consultancy, this is not a heavy academic text. Like the rest of the Fast Forward series, this book is designed to let the reader extract maximum information in minimum time. There is a strong use of graphics with tables, charts cross-heads, and bullet points. Important passages are flagged in bold and/or emblazoned with the words key concept. When you read it, you realize that there is nothing magical about , just the application of careful common sense. The book covers all the basic stuff like planning, time-tabling, quantity and price estimation, resource allocation, and scheduling. But it also acknowledges that there is inevitably a political dimension to every , no matter how small. So it has important sections on how to ensure that all the stakeholders in the are kept "on board" and the importance of . As Verzuh states in his introduction, "Every participant from part-time team member to executive , becomes more effective once he or she understands the basics of ." Really, this is a book about management that every manager should read, whether he or she has a or not. --Alex Benady

Related Posts