Business Leadership for IT Projects outlines a coherent framework on how to successfully run an IT project from a business-centric standpoint. This book provides ideas and tools that are applicable to all sizes of IT projects, from small businesses to large corporations. It details the key areas in which business leadership can have a major influence over the success of an IT project. Furthermore, it offers helpful tools and methods that can be used to strengthen an existing project and jettison it in the right direction or to plan a future project from the start.
Book Details
This first edition book comes with both Kindle and hardcover editions. It contains 172 pages and was published on September 28, 2013. The front cover contains a blank white background, the author’s name in black ink, and the title in bold light blue. Below is a sketch of a thinking map containing vocabulary from different aspects of business. ISBN-10: 1409456900; ISBN-13: 978-1409456902
Price
$85.45 for the book edition and $71.96 for the Kindle edition
Target Audience
In the introduction, the author states that his book is intended to help business managers deliver value from IT projects. Professional projects managers will also find this book helpful as it explains ways to maximize return investment from business managers and project sponsors. Other people that will find Business Leadership for IT Projects useful include business representatives, business owners, functional line managers, or anyone who is a part of running an IT project.
What Customers Say
Federico from Amazon describes the methods put forth by the book as both “provocative and effective”. He appreciates the real life project lessons that were provided.
A user from goodreads.com wrote that the book is well-written, describing it as considerable body of written work that analyzes IT project failures and presents advice on how to better manage these projects, and avoid common causes of failure.
Content, Approach, Style
Business Leadership for IT Projects is comprised of eight chapters, each of which address a specific step or part of running an IT project. The book creates a practical guide on leading IT projects by combing both psychological research and successful practices. The part of the book that incorporates psychological research discusses the ways in which people respond to traumatic events and how this knowledge can be used to identify successes and failures in projects. The tools that the author provides throughout this book reveal ways in which an organization working on a project can solicit outside views from different perspectives and also decrease the amount of emotional involvement on the outcome of a project. It describes various tools that can be used at stages throughout a project’s cycle. Overall, the book is easy to read and offers engaging, thoughtful advice on how business leaders should run IT projects.
Why Buy the Book
Research has shown that only a third of IT projects manage to meet expectations on budget and on schedule. Furthermore the foremost cause of IT project failure is poor business leadership instead of difficult technology or poor IT leadership. IT people will generally receive substantial amounts of training on how to deliver successful projects. However, business leaders will often have little education or knowledge on how to deliver projects. This book attempts to redress this shortfall in the education of business management.
Books that Compliment
The Rules of Project Risk Management by Robert James Chapman is another good book from a leadership perspective. It focuses on risk management, which is an essential aspect for successful completion of a project.
Strategies for Project Sponsorship by Vicki James, Ron Rosenhead, and Peter Taylor is a great complementary book as it server the project managers and executives along with sponsors to get the most out of a project.
Author
Gary Lloyd has held various business roles throughout his over twenty year career, including programme and project management specialist, and advisor to CEO’s and COO’s. His work is geared towards helping clients lower their project risk and develop delivery capability through programs such as project assurance, mentoring, coaching, training, and consultancy. Lloyd has worked in a wide range of countries and cultures including, Hong Kong, Japan, India, the United States, and several European countries.
$85.45 for the book edition and $71.96 for the Kindle edition
