Reviewed by Frank Patrick
fpatrick@focusedperformance.com
http://www.focusedperformance.com
For those interested in the Critical
Chain approach to project management but who complain that Eli Goldratt's book
CRITICAL CHAIN is too conceptual and not enough "how-to," there is PROJECT
MANAGEMENT IN THE FAST LANE, by Robert Newbold.
Like Goldratt, Newbold starts
the book discussing the current reality of many projects and project
environments; setting up the reasons for the existence of project managers
and project management; the desire to get something done with certainty in a
very uncertain environment. Introducing some basic Theory of Constraints
concepts and common throughout the book raises questions in the mind of the
reader about why we think what we usually do to solve project problems will
work and why they very often do not.
Newbold introduces four
"miracles" that must be achieved for implementing
successful project management
practices. They are:
1. We have an approach to
scheduling and logistics that protects us from the effects of Murphy's law.
2. People are focused on global
(system-wide) improvements rather than local ones.
3. Everyone understands and
accepts the policies, procedures, and measurements that apply to them.
4. We believe we can make
dramatic improvements.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE FAST
LANE proceeds to show how these "miracles" can be put into place. It is the
first "technical, how-to" book on Critical Chain Scheduling and Buffer
Management, but it rolls out the steps with careful nods to the underlying
concepts, addressing what problems need to be solved, why a particular
concept is the right direction for that problem, how the specific step
addresses the problem, and why that step is expected to work. The coherent
TOC approach to problem-solving, clearly applied to project management
throughout this book, is a big part of why this book works.
Whether discussing the building
of project task networks, task estimates, buffer sizing, or the interactions
of multiple projects calling upon shared resources, this methodical
approach, supplemented by progressively interesting examples, makes what
could turn out to be a text book a rather readable effort.
I especially appreciate the
later chapters on "Weak Links" and "Implementation Checklist." The former
recognizes that no single solution is ever complete, and is always subject
to ongoing improvement. The latter points out the the implementation of any
serious project management methodology, including Critical Chain, requires
far more than a simple understanding of the technical aspects of scheduling
and tracking performance. System-wide improvement requires system-wide
understanding and top-down leadership.
Unfortunately, once someone
publishes a book, the contents usually stay static while the world around it
changes. As the adolescent TOC view of projects rolls out in the real world,
new learnings shift thinking in certain areas. Since the publication of
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE FAST LANE, the most significant evolution has
occurred in the solution for the multiple project environment. What Newbold
discusses in his book is close, but doesn't quite match some of the new
thoughts on the topic. This doesn't make it unusable; far from it,
application of even early thinking on the topic is an improvement on most
common practice. But as more and more organizations roll out any new
approach, there are bound to be improvements along the way.
In any event, while the boss is
reading CRITICAL CHAIN for the concepts, the project manager should be
reading PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE FAST LANE for the solution and the issues
surrounding it.
