Editorial Review
By Dr. James R. Brady for the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management
General Assessment of the Book: “I think Mr. Furman has done a first-rate job of preparing a readable reference which should be useful to PM newcomers, as well as many old-timers. It could serve as a general textbook, but the Q&A format also makes it a handy desk reference. Given his current job focus on preparing people to become certified by PMI, it is understandable that much of the content is linked to PMI’s PMBOK® references. However, he does avoid the narrower dogmatism of some other PMP trainers/prophets I have recently encountered in classes and meetings. In the chapter on “Project Management Basics,” Mr. Furman stresses that a project manager often has to deviate from the original plans and procedures to adjust to internal and external changes. As suggested in the book’s Q&A #20, the Project Manager thus needs to hang loose or be “agile.”
… I first focused on Chapter 9: “Ethical Considerations PMs face on the Job,” since this area is often omitted from PM books. I was also reflecting on my personal experiences in evaluating projects where questionable practices of project managers and/or contractors were often glossed over or ignored. I think some of the problems I encountered might have been avoided if the organizations had applied some of Mr. Furman’s suggestions for clarifying, formalizing, publicizing, and then enforcing ethical standards and guidelines…”