The Project Management Advisor: 18 Major Project Screw-Ups, and How to Cut Them Off at the Pass

By Lonnie Pacelli

With so many project management books in print, why do projects still come in late and over budget? While other books tell you how to plan, they don't explain how to save projects in real life, when... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0131490478
• ISBN13: 9780131490475
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: FT Press
• Length: 167 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Worth $6000 to me!

This book is remarkably concise and meaty. It highlights trouble spots that occur again, and again, and again, in project management. Each chapter is about a 5- to 10-minute read, but impart years of wisdom. What's the $6K? That's the raise that I got because this book gave me the answers that I needed in a tight spot! Thank you, Mr. Pacelli!

For new *and* seasoned PMs

Regardless of whether you're managing your first project, or have the battle scars from many, this excellent book will be an invaluable resource. For the new PM the 18 "Screw-ups" cited will give you ample warning about the most common pitfalls encountered in any project. Note that this book is more slanted towards software development projects, but the 18 pitfalls apply to any project type. Seasoned project managers will recognize every one of the pitfalls cited. Even though this readership may have developed techniques to prevent them after years of experience, many will find the list to be an excellent review before initiating any project. One of the best uses of this book for seasoned (and even new) PMs is to share copies of this book with key project team members and all major stakeholders before the project is initiated. This will communicate awareness of the most likely things that can go wrong, as well as build a collaborative environment. I particularly like the format used to present each "screw-up" - "How it happens", "Warning signs", "Turning it around" and "Takeaways". This format casts each of the 18 "screw-ups" as a pattern of sorts, and presents each in a consistent manner. I also liked some of the artifacts depicted in the book, such as the example progress report. This (and additional material) can be downloaded from the site supporting the book (paste the ASIN - B00061GLJ2 - into the search box on this page, select All Products, and click the Go button). The wisdom contained in this excellent, easy-to-read compendium is invaluable. I personally love the book and highly recommend it.

Accenture and Microsoft project mgmt experience in one book

The Project Manager Advisor: 18 Major Project Screw-ups and How to Cut Them Off at the Pass is an excellent read for both new and experienced project managers alike. Pacelli shares his experiences gained from a combined 20+ years at two premier, project-oriented organizations; Accenture and Microsoft. Although geared more toward technology-oriented projects, Pacelli provides examples outside of technology including his own prepared food service business and the lessons learned from these experiences can be applied to almost any type or size of project. If you are about to initiate a project and are lucky enough to be the designated project lead or are just a team member the title alone entices you to find out what you can do to avoid the most common pitfalls. Alternatively, if you are currently knee-deep in a program curiosity begs you to check your own project for what Pacelli calls the "warning signs". He takes a potentially dry topic and makes it engaging and light to read. New project managers will find the Advisor easy to navigate making it easy to refer to again and again. The "screw-ups" profiled loosely follow the chronology of a typical project life-cycle from not "addressing the right problem" through not "reporting project progress" to "tripping at the finish line". Each of the 18 chapters highlights a different screw-up and gives the reader ways to identify the traps, how to read the warning signs and what to do to turn it around. The key takeaways are conveniently summarized at the end of each chapter. This organization makes it a great airplane read which is where I initially read the book. Most of the big failure traps are covered such as lack of sponsorship, scope creep, limited user involvement, project cost, poor communication and inadequate testing. Less attributed traps, but sometimes just as inevitable, are also covered including poor teaming, inadequate risk management, ineffective customer training and no contingency. Even the topic of "pulling the plug" on your project is addressed... one of hardest to actually execute. Many of these issues will be familiar to experienced project managers. But what's different about this guide from the generic, theoretical, "Project Management 101" handbooks is that Pacelli describes his real-world experiences of the subtle warning signs (or obvious ones as the in the case of the project sponsor that doesn't return phone calls) that are often overlooked when you are in the "heat of battle". He combines these warning signs with innovative, but practical, techniques for mitigating these issues. For example, to address the issue of "designing the wrong thing" he suggests clearly defining scope along multiple dimensions (functional, geographic and organizational) including defining exceptions to scope. I was intrigued with the description of getting the right Sponsorship where Pacelli suggests continuously clarifying expectations, right-sizing your time with the project sponsor

This is not your typical project management book...

I thoroughly loved the writing style and content of this book. The content is geared toward anyone managing a project and what pitfalls to avoid along the way--I saw many of my past mistakes in this book and then wished I had this earlier so I didn't have to learn the lessons the hard way. This book is a must have for anyone managing a project, large or small.

I thought this would be a dry read...

...boy was I surprised. I was the first reviewer of Lonnie's book and when he gave me chapters I planned to read a couple of chapters and give him some feedback. I kept reading right through to the end and so will you. Lonnie has a very engaging authoring style and a lot of real world experience that he shares in a meaningful way with many practical "take aways". This book will save you a lot of pain or at least remind you of some key things that are essential to getting the job done right. This is a valuable read if you're managing projects of any size. You'll love Lonnie's humanistic approach to sharing his knowledge too...this is not your typical project management book!