BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Advancing Organizational Project Management Maturity
Author: Tony Appleby, Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin, J. Kent Crawford, Frances Cruz, James S. Pennypacker, Jimmie L. West, Karen R.J. White
Publisher: Center for Business Practices
List Price: 19.95 USD
Format: Paperback, 96 pages
Publication Date: 2007
ISBN: 1-929576-23-4
Reviewer: Bryan McNeill, PMP
Review Date: Dec 2023
Introduction
Advancing Organizational Project Management Maturity is a discussion about how to identify Project Management maturity and how companies might want to go about improvement to implement Project Management methods and increase the maturity of their project operations. The idea is that with maturity, organizations will have a better way to operate with more project success and that the projects will be tied to the goals and strategy of the company so the company will realize benefits.
Overview of Book’s Structure
The book is written with support from the Center for Business Practices (www.cbponline.com) which is part of PM Solutions (www.pmsoultions.com).
It starts with their maturity model that combines the five maturity levels of the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Capability Maturity Model and the PMI’s knowledge areas.
There are five chapters to the book and 94 pages; it’s a comfortable read in a day or two.
The first chapter defines the maturity model and lists eight performance areas (Schedule, Budget, Customer satisfaction, Resource allocation optimization, Strategic alliance, Estimating quality, Employee satisfaction, Portfolio optimization) that they measured against with a study to show that maturity translates to better performance (performance improvements).
The next chapter talks about a maturity benchmark by looking at statistics from surveys from 2001 and 2006. It’s a snapshot in time from back then about where companies were with project management, and while the general trends are there, the information is dated.
The third chapter talks about organizations having a project office or what we think about as a PMO (Project Management Office). It stresses the importance of having a centralize Project Management organization that can specialize in the training and methods of project management rather than pull in functional workers and give them projects and having to train them on Project Management methodology. It also stresses that it should be a Strategic Project Office; meaning that it should be working with company strategy and goals to align the projects and output/results of the projects with the strategic initiatives and goals that the company wants accomplished. It mentions that the projects and programs in the portfolios need to be reviewed, selected, prioritized, and aligned to these strategy goals.
The next chapter talks about how to build Project Manager Competency and how to build the project management team and set up the organization that will drive the work/projects for the company. It places focus on the types of roles from team member to Project Manager to Project Office director or executive. The chapter also suggests how to define a career path for those in the Project Management organization and how to determine and measure the resources/people/employees that will work in these roles.
More…
To read entire Book Review, click here
McNeil, B. (2024). Advancing Organizational Project Management Maturity, book review, PM World Journal, Vol. XI, Issue II, February. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pmwj138-Feb2024-Justiniano-practically-project-management-book-review.pdf
About the Reviewer
Bryan McNeill
Sachse, TX, USA
Bryan McNeill has lived and worked in the Dallas, TX area for the last 28 years with technical experience in Engineering (BSEE) and Telecommunications. In 2002, I completed a business education with an MBA; he has been Project Management certified since 2009 (PMP). I work with projects related to Communications.
Email address: bryanmcneill@ieee.org
Editor’s note: This book review was the result of a partnership between the PM World Journal and the PMI Dallas Chapter. Authors and publishers provide books to the PM World Journal Editor; books are delivered to the PMI Dallas Chapter where they are offered free to PMI members who agree to provide a review within 45 days; book reviews are published in the PM World Journal and PM World Library. Reviewers can normally claim PDU’s for PMP recertification (or continuing education credits for other certifications) upon publication of their book reviews.
If you would like us to publish a book review or are an author or publisher of a project management-related book, and would like the book reviewed through this program, please contact editor@pmworldjournal.com.
