BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Impact on Project Management of Allied Disciplines: Trends and Future of Project Management Practices and Research
Authors: Young Hoon Kwak and Frank T. Anbari
Publisher: Project Management Institute
List Price: $40 – 60.00
Format: softcover, 200 pages
Publication Date: 2018
ISBN: 978-1-9338890-45-6
Reviewer: Chijioke B. Oleru, MS, PMP, PSM
Review Date: April 2023
Introduction
This Book’s title seemed to suggest what the book was set out to present – the impact of Allied Disciplines on Project Management, including the trends and future of Project Management practices and research.
Overview of Book’s Structure
Chapter one. In chapter one, the Book showed what the ‘customer’ Project Management Institute (PMI) wanted. PMI stated the questions it wanted addressed. The Book also stated the eight allied disciplines it was to find the trends in them.
Project Management Institute (PMI) posed these questions for the Book to investigate:
- What future trends in the allied disciplines might significantly impact project management?
- How would the allied disciplines’ trends change project management?
- How would project managers have to change their mindset because of the allied disciplines’ trends impact?
- How do we behave proactively to meet challenges of allied disciplines’ trends?
Chapter one ended with a summary of the goal of the research. “The goal of this research is to identify the impact on project management of allied disciplines and explore innovative project management theories, new trends and challenges to manage projects effectively.”
So far, so good. The discrepancy between what the customer (PMI) wanted and what the Book was set out to present, began.
It was this difference in objectives that the book showed throughout. It was all contradiction to what the customer wanted.
Chapter two. In chapter 2, the Book stated that ‘the goal of this research is to better understand project management from the management world’ and ‘argues that project management is a legitimate academic discipline …’.
To justify its argument of project management as a legitimate academic discipline, the Book predicted, from its analysis of more than ‘500 journal articles from 18 journals … from the 1950s to the summer of 2007, the future of project management as an academic discipline…’.
In the section about “Technology Management, Entrepreneurship and IT/IS”, the Book referenced Reisman [1994] and said that ‘he emphasized the importance of bringing practical real-world problems into both classroom settings and research.’.
Chapter two concluded that “it is important to note that that project management is no longer merely a practice to plan, schedule, and execute projects effectively, but it is an academic field …’.
More…
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How to cite this book review: Oleru, C. B. (2023). Impact on Project Management of Allied Disciplines: Trends and Future of Project Management Practices and Research, book review, PM World Journal, Vol. XII, Issue VI, June. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/pmwj130-Jun2023-Oleru-impact-on-project-management-of-allied-disciplines-book-review.pdf
About the Reviewer
Chijioke Basil Oleru
Dallas, Texas, USA
My career is focused on Data Management. The primary tool I have used in managing Enterprise data is Project Management. The phrase ‘show me the data’ makes sense to me, as well as ‘how does the data impact my business’. Big data, small data, when managed effectively, can help a business stay focused on customer needs and provide agility no economic trends. I love learning and thrive in dynamic work environments where I learn from short or long project assignments and new subject matter. Then I use my learning to provide solutions and achieve bigger results.
I like sports – professional sports like Soccer, Football, Basketball, Swimming, and Baseball. I learned from watching these sports that the game is never over until the last whistle is blown. A come back from behind is always possible. Yes, winning is the goal, but how you played the game – putting in your best effort and learning from your mistakes, matters.
Email: basil.oleru66@gmail.com
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; 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. After publication, reviewers can claim PDUs for PMP recertification, or continuing education units from other professional bodies.
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