Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme

Perhaps because of this, project management books seem to be generally grouped into one of two buckets: strong in either traditional project management or in agile project management. Additionally, many of the traditional project management books are narrowly directed towards content needed for preparation for the PMP® professional certification exam. But what about readers who are seeking a good practical overview of the practice of project management, including how the different approaches relate to each other and how a practitioner might choose one over the other in particular circumstances? This is where Dr. Wysocki’s book shines. Note: my review is based on the most recent seventh edition of the book.

I came across this book while making a selection for project management texts for a graduate business course I was going to teach. I wanted a text that captured the current dynamic thinking in project management by providing a foundation in the traditional processes while explaining the emerging tools beyond the traditional methodologies. The subtitle of this book says it all: “Traditional, Agile, Extreme.”

I actually selected this text to use in my course before this seventh edition was even published. Having reviewed the sixth edition, I correctly assumed that the seventh addition would reflect even more contemporary thinking. I was not disappointed.

The book has 18 chapters organized into five parts:

Part I: Understanding the Project Management Landscape (context for the remainder of the book);
Part II: Traditional Project Management (the scope, plan, launch, monitor and control, and close process groups);
Part III: Complex Project Management (agile, extreme, as well as iterative and adaptive approaches);
Part IV: Managing the Realities of Projects (reducing risk, organizing teams, process improvement, and other topics); and
Part V: End State – Maturing to an Enterprise-Level Project Management Model (enterprise level issues).

Although there is some redundancy between chapters, the book does an excellent job of showing the range of methodologies and processes available in the project management toolkit. Examples are provided on how to use various analysis, tracking and reporting tools and related worksheets. The author spends time looking at the enterprise level of project management too – managing project portfolios, continuous improvement of processes across organizations, and the capture and transfer of learning. If you are considering this book for an academic classroom or for workshops or seminars, the author is extremely accessible and he provides supplemental materials on the book’s website.

The strength of this book is in providing a practical project management overview on how the traditional, agile and extreme methodologies both overlap and differ at the same time. I would not recommend this book as a primary study aid for PMP certification; it does not focus on the cut and dry terminology used in PMI’s Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) for example (it does follow the same process groups, however). Simply, that is not the purpose of this book.

Wysocki’s Effective Project Management (7th ed) does an excellent job of introducing the wide scope of considerations, techniques and choices that are deployed in the continuously changing world of project management today while doing what few other project management books offer – explaining that project management is not about deploying a static, one-size-fits-all approach or process; it is about choosing what techniques best fit the demands of the specific project to make it successful.

My recommendation: buy this book if you are interested in an excellent overview of project management in its most contemporary forms.