Book Description
The Artech House bestseller, Critical Chain Project Management, now builds on its success in a second edition packed with fresh, field-tested insights on how to plan, lead, and complete projects in "half the time, all the time." It provides you with expanded coverage on critical chain planning, multiple project selection and management, critical change project networks, OPM3, new Agile and Lean techniques related to critical chain project management (CCPM), and effective strategies for bringing about the organizational change required to succeed with this breakthrough method.
This cutting-edge work gives you full understanding of the CCPM techniques, tools, and theory you need to develop critical chain solutions and apply them to all types of projects. You get clear instructions on how to build single-project critical chain plans and how to stagger projects in a multiple-project environment. You also learn buffer management techniques for avoiding the pitfalls of committing too much or too little to any specific project, and for meeting project time and cost commitments every time. Moreover, the book integrates key features of PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) with critical chain to help you master key project management skills not covered in other critical chain books, such as scope control and risk management.
This easy-to-follow guide offers you the power to shorten project delivery time, eliminate cost and scheduling over-runs, manage project resources more efficiently, reduce stress on your project team, and finish projects that meet or exceed expectations. Over 100 illustrations help clarify this innovative method that has produced well-documented results in a growing variety of project environments.
Download Description
Plan and manage projects that yield successful results all the time in half the time you?re used to with this new guide. Providing the theory, tools and techniques you need to implement critical chain project management in your organization, you learn how to reduce stress on a project team, eliminate cost and scheduling over-runs, effectively manage project resources, and finish projects that meet or exceed expectations. This book provides a breakthrough project planning and control method proven to succeed in project management. You get clear, concise guidelines that help you implement critical chain in your organization and adapt it to existing projects, and you understand how to measure critical chain project success.
Customer Reviews:
Must Have.......2007-02-01
I used this book as my primary reference to learn CCPM and guide me in leading a full implementation of Critical Chain PM across a complete portfolio of Pharmaceutical development projects. The author has taken his extensive experience in PM, TQ, TOC, and PMBOK to first show the reader how these methodologies weave together and then presents a clear and easy to follow walk through of the application of CCPM at the project and portfolio levels. If you are serious about leading edge PM, this is a must have reference.
BLR, PMP
A long read on an interesting topic.......2007-01-17
I have always been interested in Critical Chain from a PM perspective and, more generally, the concept of Theory of Constraints. I thought this book would be a great way to extend my knowledge of ToC and to learn about how to move away from critical path.
The real meat of this book doesn't even kick in until about Chapter 4. Prior, there are lots of thoughts about the many sins of "critical path" and how we're all doomed to failure if we don't change our ways. Then, the book starts to get into how to actually use the technique. It's a long discussion... without a lot of "knowledge checks" to make sure you understand what is going on. There are technical diagrams, lots of them, many of them without a whole lot of explanation. I found myself occasionally having to re-read sections two or three times to really understand what the author was driving at.
I'm sure this is a practical book if used as a "complete reference" but in my opinion it's not a good guide for someone who wants to understand the basics quickly and then gain extensive knowledge of the topic over time.
Good follow-on reading after Goldratt about CCPM.......2006-03-17
While not a devotee of critical chain project management (CCPM), I embrace several features of the approach.
Overall, this is a fine book despite some typos and minor organization flaws.
Mr. Leach has been promoting, teaching, and consulting in this area for years. It appears that the book is intended to complement his training and consulting---and that's okay. Anecdotes are frequently from questions arising at training or during client implementations. His experience shows.
Leach works to integrate concepts from theory of constraints (Goldratt), Project Management Institute's "PMBOK® Guide," lean manufacturing, and Six Sigma. He does this reasonably well, building upon and extending the foundation laid by Goldratt.
Some standout features of the book include a) implmentation barriers and issues; b) table of project model (logic) checks; and c) extensive notes and a chapter on implmentation.
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The first reading about CCPM should always be "Critical Chain" (1997) by E. Goldratt. This is an easy, insightful reading, by the guy that popularized (invented?) CCPM.
Then, before attempting implementation, I suggest studying Larry Leach's (this)book. Another credible guide is "Project Management in the Fast Lane: Applying the Theory of Constraints" (1998) by Robert Newbold
7 pages of errata - RIDICULOUS.......2005-12-17
There are 7 PAGES of errata for this title. http://www.artechhouse.com/GetBLOB.asp?Name=leach%20errata.pdf
Many of the critical figures are simply broken. Figure 3.2 for example is supposed to contrast a critical chain project chart with a critical path project chart, but the figures are identical.
This severely degrades the utility of this book. I just called Artech House (publisher) and they stated that as of Dec 16, 2005 there is NOT a printing of the book out that corrects these egregious errors. This is ridiculous given the severity of the errors and the fact that it was printed in February 2005.
Aside from that, the content of the book is good.
New Edition Provides and Excellent Overview.......2005-03-18
If not the actual father of CCPM, Mr. Leach is at least the midwife who has championed its cause, written the book, given the talks and done more to bring it to life than anyone else. In this new book, the second edition, updates and expands on the first edition based on new research and on feedback from readers.
Often resistance to a new concept comes from the "we've always done it this way" crowd. If you are new to CCPM, you might consider it an extension to CPM where additional factors like resource and task logic constraints are also taken into account.
The first four chapters of this book present an excellent overview of how it works. The first three chapters primarily discuss CPM and point out areas of potential trouble. The fourth chapter presents a complete single-project solution that compares CPM with CCPM and clearly illustrates the advantages.
Average customer rating:
- Innovative
- If you like learning from novels
- 5 star concepts in a 3 star novel
- A must for every potential project manager
- if you manage projects for a living...
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Critical Chain : A Business Novel
Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Manufacturer: North River Press
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It's Not Luck
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ASIN: 0884271536 |
Book Description
Powerful yet simple techniques to solve project management's toughest problems. This book teaches companies to drastically cut project development times resulting in early completion within budget and without compromising quality or specifications.
Customer Reviews:
Innovative.......2007-01-03
An interesting concept presented in an innovative novel. Easy to read and follow. Just like a novel once you start, it is a page turner and hard to put down.
I highly recommend this along with Goldratt's first novel, The Goal.
If you like learning from novels.......2006-10-24
A "made-for-TV" novel with a lesson about a new method of project scheduling. Goldratt invented the "Theory of Constraints," a general problem analyis and planning method which he then applies to various areas. Each application presented in story format.
"Critical Chain" = "Critical Path" x "Theory of Constraints".
Read this book if you want an easy read and a fun introduction to the subject. But if you actually want to apply the Critical Chain method, you'll probably need a textbook format. Or make the effort to abstract the method from the dialogue of the story.
5 star concepts in a 3 star novel.......2006-10-04
Eli Goldratt is one of the most respected experts in the field of Project Management. His work on the Theory of Constraints provides project managers with some very useful tools for keeping projects focused, on budget, and on target. I have definitely benefitted from Goldratt's insights into these topics.
Unfortunately, this work of fiction, with three largely separate story lines, makes for an awkward read. The 246 page novel has about half of its page count spent on two stories that add little to the main message of the book. The ongoing storylines about fixing the business school's executive MBA program and the main character's relationship with his wife Judith have nothing to do with project management. Fortunately, these two superfluous stories are at the end or beginning of each chapter and it is easy to skip over them and get to the useful subject material in the main story line, the running of projects and their problems. Skipping over about 100 pages of the book makes me question the value of paying for a book that could have easily been less than half as long. I might be OK with that if the stories were interesting or well written, but they are not.
Using the book as a reference would be challenging. It has no Table of Contents, no Index, nor a Glossary. The Chapters do not even have titles, or a summary of the key concepts at the end in most cases. I would struggle to find an important concept if I went back to the book more than a week or so after reading it.
A much slimmer, edited version of this book, with just the TOC and project management material, laid out end to end would be an instant must have, and a valuable learning tool.
A must for every potential project manager.......2006-08-11
I've been introduced to CCPM (critical chain project management) years ago in school, but thought it was boring. Reading Goldratt's novel opened my mind to it in a much deeper way, and I'm now using it at my work with great success. I also recommend his other business novels.
if you manage projects for a living..........2006-06-27
Face it, everything that happens in a business is either a process or a project. Even companies that manage projects for a living (e.g. construction, software development) often are lousy at managing internal projects (working ON the business). If you have anything to do with projects, you need to read this book. It will change how you look at projects forever. This guy is brilliant.
Book Description
Lean Project Management takes you through all of the steps to plan and execute projects using the exciting new Lean and Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) methods. Larry Leach is uniquely qualified to integrate CCPM and Lean practices in a practical way that works for all kinds of projects, large and small. This book is a second edition of Eight Secrets to Supercharge Your Projects with CCPM, which has received outstanding reader reviews.
Customer Reviews:
Review - Steven Vornea.......2006-12-11
In project management, as in other fields that rely heavily not only on hard work, but on strategy, it is important to understand and apply the principles that underlie the success of the endeavor. Mr. Leach has written an informative primer with some very helpful strategies that I intend to integrate into my business.
Steven Harry Vornea
Be a wise man (or woman).......2006-11-06
Larry has produced an easily affordable primer on Project Management. Much better edited than his Artech House textbook. This one is very suitable for handing out to every member of the Project Management Team for their use in understanding the road ahead. Along the way, Larry throws in the benefit of his and other's experience to help avoid making the same mistakes. As Eli Goldratt just said "the difference between a smart man and a wise man, is that the smart man learns from his mistakes, the wise man learns from the smart man's mistakes". You can be wise by buying this book.
Great little book with big content.......2006-10-28
Larry Leach weaves his practical experience with the PMBOK, Lean, TOC and Critical Chain to present useful and useable project management methods. If you are not familiar with these, this book is a good introduction them all. The book is short, readable and cheap. Leach's strength is in synthesizing the best of each of these methods into a whole that progresses through Eight Principles. It has many examples from his experience. I recommend it to anyone interested in bringing projects in on time, cost and scope.
TOC and Lean: The Dynamic Duo.......2006-10-03
Lean is an excelent framework for reducing/eliminating waste ("muda", in Japanese). But where do we start? Of course both TOC and Lean offers focusing techniques, but we can compare them to a telescopic scope (Lean) and a laser sight (TOC). Thus, they complement each other very well.
Larry did a great job at bringing this insight with practical applications on Project Management. I've used TOC and Lean concepts for a while, but Larry's book brings both in synch, in a very useful way.
Practitioners of CMMI, PMBOK and ISO will also benefit very much from those 8 Principles.
If you've read "Critical Chain Project Management" (also from Larry), this book is the next step.
Book Description
Everyone who has managed a project (or been involved in one) knows how difficult it is to finish on time. If you've managed many projects, your frustration is even greater; you not only have to finish on time, but in less time. Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) has been hailed as the biggest innovation in project management in 40 years. Projects in Less Time; A Synopsis of Critical Chain by Mark J. Woeppel explains the main ideas behind this breakthrough concept. Woeppel builds on a short, easy to understand synopsis of Eliyahu M. Goldratt's pioneering book, Critical Chain, by deftly augmenting it with commentary, case studies and implementation advice. Readers not only gain a meaningful appreciation for the ideas behind CCPM, they clearly see significant implications for real projects.
Customer Reviews:
A good and useful synposis ..........2007-08-08
For those who have read Critical Chain (the book by Dr. Goldratt), Mark's book is a quick and useful refresher. For those who have been practicing Critical Chain (the method), it is a good "back to basics" reminder.
Oops, I'm sorry I bought it.......2006-08-27
I was sorry I purchased "Projects in Less Time" and felt a little cheated. Maybe I read the title and description wrong. About 15 minutes after I received it I realized the title and summary of what the book "promised" to tell me didn't match the contents that much. Being the book is relatively inexpensive it was not worth the time and trouble to send it back. I see this book has gotten a lot of high ratings ("5") here at Amazon. That doesn't seem right to me because the book is about "Projects" yet lacks usefulness and content from a Project Management (PM) point of view. The final let-down in this book for me was that the main case study/example toward the end of the book was about a production constraint example--not a CCPM example. Here's where I'm coming from: I am both an experienced practicing project manager and a project management instructor. I recently "discovered" books on Theory of Constrains (TOC) and Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) over the last year. I have also purchased and learned several CCPM scheduling software packages. I am not saying "don't buy this book". If you are looking for a "brief" on Theory Of Constraints (TOC) using Goldratt's production examples and don't want to read Goldratt's books, which some folks don't like because they are long novels, then this book might be great for you. For someone looking to learn more about CCPM--it may not be for you. If you are like me, I would start with The Goal, the read some other Goldratt books. Then for more technical how-to in order to implement CCPM I'd look to Lawrence Leach's books. I spent an hour writing this to help prevent others from wasting their time and money if they got it wrong--like me. I hope my comments can be helpful to some, either way.
Great Improvement to Goldratt's Tale.......2006-07-14
Mark does an excellent job relating the important parts of Goldratt's story to the actions needed to begin to reduce much of the chaos that attends projects in most organizations. Mark's writing is clear and concise, and illustrations are simple and effective. He sharpens the focus of Goldratt's work and translates the key ideas into usable information. Success with critical chain continues in many organizations large and small, and on many types and sizes of projects. A valuable addition to any project manager's library.
A fast way to get the essence of Critical Chain.......2006-02-28
If you are in a hurry and want to understand the essence of Critical Chain this is the book to read. There aren't many wasted words but the important TOC concepts are covered and even expanded upon in this synopsis of Goldratt's Critical Chain. It would be well worth any project manager's time to read this short (125 pages) book.
A great way to deliver all your projects in less time!.......2006-02-27
If you want a quick read that at the same time says it all about Critical Chain, then I highly recommend Mark Woeppel's "Projects in Less Time"! I found it to be a very clear explanation of what Critical Chain is all about. If you have read Goldratt's Critical Chain, this book will reinforce what is important. If you have never read Goldratt's book, then "Less Time" will deliver the goods in truly less time! It's all there, and it makes sense. We all work on projects, and who doesn't want to complete them in less time? Now you will understand how!
Book Description
Why have so many "e-commerce" companies failed in the last few years? In many cases, it's the failure to figure out how to extend the supply chain directly to customers that keeps a company from succeeding. Using cutting-edge delivery practices and technology-based order processing, companies can minimize costs, customize their products, provide increased service and convenience, and increase customer loyalty-all leading to a more robust bottom line.Extending the Supply Chain examines in-depth some of the most high-profile practitioners of telephone and Internet-based order processing and fulfillment. The authors bring you detailed looks at:Amazon, Dell, and FreshDirect, which use the decoupled extended supply chain model to take custom-assembled or custom-packaged orders from an assembly plant or distribution center to the delivery destination using third-party delivery specialists like FedEx and UPS. The semi-extended supply chain model used at companies like Lowes Foods and Best Buy involves processing orders over the Internet or phone and packing the customer's order at their chosen local retail outlet for pick-up at the customer's convenience. This strategy is often the most economical for brick-and-mortar retailers, since it primarily involves the use of existing physical assets and personnel.The fully extended supply chain is more cost-intensive, but may be the most customer-centric option. Orders are picked and packaged not at central locations, but at local stores, then delivered to the customer's home, improving on the old-fashioned "delivery boy" that local grocers employed a century ago. Online retailers such as Albertson's and Tesco have developed a base of customers who will pay for the convenience and level of service that are the hallmarks of the fully extended model.The centralized extended supply chain employs regional distribution centers instead of local stores, but is still able to provide more personalized delivery service (including pre-specified delivery times) than the decoupled model. An in-depth study of Office Depot, the third-largest online retailer (which has stores but does most fulfillment of Internet orders through its regional DCs) shows just how effective this model can be when customers require elements of speed, service, and cost control.Extending the Supply Chain features dozens of clear examples, charts and graphs, and practical tools to help you establish and maintain a dynamic, customer-focused fulfillment operation, and offers proactive strategies for seamlessly integrating marketing and technology initiatives into your supply chain strategy. Examine the four models, and the authors' recommendations for adapting and implementing each one, to determine which one will help your supply chain stretch all the way to its only acceptable destination -- the home of a happy and loyal customer.
Customer Reviews:
The Other End of Supply Chain Analysis.......2006-01-25
While most books on logistics and Supply Chain focus on the manufacturing and suppliers' side of the chain, this one takes you to the complete opposite, where the real value is, the CUSTOMER.
The book provides a thorough analysis of the 4 different models of delivery used by online retailers. The greatness of this book resides in the fact that it describes both the most successful online retailers' practices (Amazon, Freshdirect...) AND the biggest failures (Webvan) so we can learn from their mistakes.
Concise and thorough .......2005-05-24
Extending the Supply Chain is an excellent resource for the individual interested in establishing or perfecting a business that involves home delivery. The authors clearly identify the challenges relate to each type of customer. The research is thorough and comprehensive. The book is well laid out and easy to read. It is a great reference book!
The new age for supply chains.......2004-10-05
This book provides great insight from "industry leaders" on how to promise and deliver product sold through the Internet. Many of the early adopters of Internet based sales systems failed to consider the difficulties of integrating a new system into their existing strategy. Extending the Supply Chain provides great examples of both failures and successes in industry, as well as, outline a framework that will help companies better position themselves to use the Internet as a competitve advantage. This book is a must read for all individuals that wish to take the last mile and use the Intenet to build a strong, viable sales channel.
Hurdling The Last Mile.......2004-08-10
Excellent! For any company delivering goods directly to consumers' homes, this book is a must read! Of particular interest to me were the following quotes: ..."The second major change that must be facilitated to make last mile supply chains truly soar is greater efficiency and standardization of home delivery." ..."The primary challenge is delivering to a customer who is not home." ..."Most, if not all, of the major third-party delivery companies are testing methods for unattended deliveries involving some type of controlled access smartbox." ..."It is our belief that some type of larger, access-controlled box that is available to a wide variety of home delivery companies is an important hurdle for growing last mile deliveries."
Average customer rating:
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Critical Chain : La Chaîne critique
Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Manufacturer: Association Française de Normalisation - AFNOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 2124656139 |
Product Description
9 paperbacks, Very Good to Near Fine, 5 lbs
Book Description
Global markets, Japanese competition, the service economy, the sophisticated consumer--American business today faces challenges undreamed of just a few decades ago, and traditional approaches to corporate problems are becoming increasingly less effective. And yet, as the authors of The
Unbounded Mind point out, MBA programs still preach--and thousands of American firms hold sacred--an antiquated system of business thinking that is wholly inadequate to the problems they face.
In this groundbreaking work, two pioneering thinkers in business studies, Ian I. Mitroff and Harold A. Linstone, pinpoint the profound changes that must occur in the way business executives think, make decisions, and solve problems, if America is to remain competitive. They put forth a radically
new approach--"new thinking"--and show executives exactly how to employ these special critical and creative tools to clear the hurdles businesses now face. Logic and rationality, they explain, are useful but limited. And traditional simplification often inhibits the ability to ask the right
questions and recognize the true problem. But varying perspectives, multiple realities, and openness to multiple solutions are the secrets of contemporary problem-solving, and lead us to the cutting edge of innovation. Clearly and compellingly, Mitroff and Linstone weave together insights gleaned
from philosophy, psychology, management science, economics, and decision science, and quote thinkers from Descartes to Robert Bly, from Alvin Toffler to Chief Seattle. In illustrating how "new thinking" differs from the usual ways in which American firms have handled problems, they analyze a wealth
of examples including the decline of the American auto industry and the consequences of this country's blind exporting of technology. They also revisit and interpret some of the most grave crises corporate America has faced: the Bhopal disaster, the Tylenol scare, and the accident at Three Mile
Island.
Hard-hitting and insightful, The Unbounded Mind is a clarion call for American business. It argues that if we are to produce products and services that can compete in the information age, we must challenge the very foundations of our thinking, and learn how to approach decisionmaking in a truly
creative way.
Customer Reviews:
A memorable schema for how people approach decisions.......2001-07-30
I enjoyed reading this a year ago, and recently bought a copy as a gift. I remembered it as a "light" read, but it's really fairly long. The authors give you a memorable perspective on how there are completely different ways of viewing decisions - appeal to consensus; appeal to facts; appeal to authority, etc. You may take that for grant, but the book really brings this perspective alive and points out that modern-world decision making requires more complex approaches that ever before.
Wicked problems are difficult to structure.......2001-07-27
This book examines the difficult task of formulating the structure of particularly complex, or wicked, problems. Wicked problems often do not have "right" or "wrong" solutions, and progress on one aspect of such a problem often leads to new problems on another aspect. By defining the multiple perspectives of stakeholders in these problem "messes", Mitroff and Linstone illustrate how one can begin to approach "solving" them in a reasonable fashion.
Understanding the limitations on our thought processes.......2000-07-22
While this is not a book to be read for entertainment, it will certainly surprise and excite those who wish to better understand our every day decision making processes. I highly recommend it for those who need to think quickly and efficiently in business, or even for anyone who just wants to better understand their own decision making patterns for better or for worse. You'll need at least a couple of weeks to get through this one, and I would recommend reading it with a friend so you can discuss each chapter as you progress throuh the book.
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Critical Chain : A Business Novel
Project Management in the Fast Lane: Applying the Theory of Constraints (St. Lucie Press/Apics Series on Constraints Management)
Lean Project Management: Eight Principles For Success
Projects in Less Time:: A Synopsis of Critical Chain
