BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Understanding Project Practices and Processes
Author: Mel Bost
Publisher: CRC Press
List Price: $45.99
Format: Soft cover, 232 pages
Publication Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781032973579
Reviewer: Anju Saksena, PMP
Review Date: June 2025
Introduction
Mel Bost’s Understand Project Practices and Processes describes in a thoughtful, and approachable way, the evolution and current state of the PMO as a best practice organizational structure. This book is a compilation of the author’s real life experiences, and the author takes the project community on a journey spanning 50 years, across continents and countries that include the UK, Panama, UAE and the USA and deep into the fields of EPMO, Program Management and Project Management with companies such as ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company), UNOCAL, ConocoPhillips, Exterran Corporation and others.
The book provides the reader with the author’s insights into Enterprise PMO formation and related processes. In its opening chapters the author quickly acquaints the reader with why large businesses have determined that an EPMO is required as a strategic organization capability to give business an edge and be competitive in the market.
Overview of Book’s Structure
The book is written in 12 chapters with sections for a Preface, About the Author, Author Acknowledgements and an Index.
Following are the Table of Contents on page ix:
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- Preface
- About the Author
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction is pages 1-4
- Chapter 2 PMO Formation, Structure, and Methodology pages 5-22
- Chapter 3 Project Leadership pages 23-75
- Chapter 4 PMO and Project Performance pages 76-128
- Chapter 5 Project Lessons Learned pages 129-150
- Chapter 6 Project Communication pages 151-160
- Chapter 7 Project Risk Management pages 161-170
- Chapter 8 Project Business Requirements pages 171-176
- Chapter 9 Resilience in Project Organizations pages 177-185
- Chapter 10 Knowledge Management pages 186-192
- Chapter 11 Project Best Practices and Benchmarking pages 193-202
- Chapter 12 Project Change Management pages 203-208
- Indexes Page 209
Highlights
The book is a practical guide for project managers and professionals seeking to refine their approach to project execution. With a wealth of experience in project management, the author takes the reader on a journey with this book that is both insightful and accessible, making it a valuable resource for project management professionals at any stage of their career
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How to cite this work: Saksena, A. (2025). Understanding Project Practices and Processes, book review, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue VIII, August. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/pmwj155-Jul2025-Saksena-Understanding-Project-Practices-book-review.pdf
About the Reviewer
Anju Saksena
Texas, USA
Anju Saksena is a certified PMP, ACP, Scrum Master and holds certifications from Scaled Agile, an M.S. in Computer Science from Montclair State University and B.A. Computer Science from New York University. She is also certified in Project and Program Management from UCSC-ext in Silicon Valley.
Her experience includes successful project planning, execution and delivery in the areas of Finance, Telecom, Internet of Things, Asset Management and Operations. She has been working with IT and Project Management for over 20 years. She has been actively involved with PMI and PMI Silicon Valley Chapter where she worked up through the volunteer ranks to VP-Operations. She currently is an active volunteer with PMI Dallas Chapter.
She can be contacted via LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/in/anju-saksena
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