Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide 4th Edition – A Book

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Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide, 4th Edition is the latest edition of a popular introductory book. As part of the Absolute Beginner’s Guide series, the text is one of the quickest ways for readers to familiarize themselves to project management. It is a comprehensive guide, covering the basics such as overview, definitions, and roles, through to the 5 phases or process groups as defined in the PMBOK. It is organized for the new PM professional, and is updated with information and insights about Agile approaches, security and privacy issues, remote and virtual teams, and many more.

Book Details

This paperback is about 7 in. wide, 1.4 in. thick, and 9 in. long, weighing about 2.4 pounds. It has 448 pages, divided into 26 chapters. Aside from paperback, it is also available in Kindle format. It was published by Que Publishing in February 2017 in English. ISBN-10: 0789756757; ISBN-13: 978-0789756756

Price

$22.64 for the paperback version and $15.39 for the Kindle version

Target Audience

Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide is focused on the first-time practitioner who has to manage a project in the real-world for the first time. The intended audience of readers are individuals new to project management, probably coming from other disciplines such as technologists, knowledge workers, students, and functional managers. The book is also valuable to professionals taking their first project management assignment as team leader, project coordinator, project admin or project support. It is for experienced project professionals as well, those needing a refresher course, those who did not go through formal PM education, and any other reader not satisfied with other introductory PM books.

What Customers Say

Reader RMF (Amazon) described it as a very good book, one that covers a great amount of details. The reader recommends it to be read slowly, maybe 2 or 3 times, to remember the important points. It is a great reference, a bit overwhelming, but lacking in real-world examples to help the reader bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Gail H (Amazon) stated that Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide 4th Edition is easy to follow, even for a first-time user like her. She recommends it even for those not employed as project manager. She believes that a housewife, mother, or entrepreneur has a PM role, and this book is helpful.

Amazon reader CKZ found the book to address all basic principles of project management in logical order. The reader described it as having a nice flow, not too technical, neither too long nor too short. The tips and notes are helpful and accurate, especially in the field of entertainment where the reader works.

Content, Approach, Style

Content: Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide has 26 chapters divided into 5 parts. The first part is titled Project Management Jumpstart, and includes chapters about project management overview, roles, definitions and elements of a successful project. Part 2 is about project planning, while part 3 is about project control. Part 4 discusses project execution, while the last part deals with additional tips, tools and techniques, such as using Microsoft Project, what-if scenarios, agile approaches, and PMP exam tips.

Approach/Tone: The author uses a teaching approach, a mentoring, coaching style that is fun, easy to read, and practical. It assumes the reader does not have previous hands-on experience, and teaches the material as if an instructor is physically present.

Style: The book is logically organized. Every chapter starts with an overview, while the end provides a list of key points with a summary map. It has special icons at the sidebar to announce notes or specific learning points, tips for techniques and recommendations, and caution for specific warnings that the reader should be aware of.

Why Buy the Book

Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide is a comprehensive book ideal for people put in charge or participating in a project for the first time without having any kind of PM training. Since more organizations today are going project-based, it is important for the inexperienced, uninitiated or accidental project leader/team member to be equipped with information, knowledge and skills related to project management.

Author

Gregory M. Horine is an IT project manager, business technologist, and consulting professional for over 27 years. Greg is PMP certified since 2001, and a published author of several project management books. He is the Principal at Ho-Ryne Professional Services, based in Indiana. He has served as analyst, consultant, and manager in various firms, and has specialized in project management, leadership, complete project lifecycle experience, complex application development, and enterprise solution development, among others. Greg has worked in various industries including life sciences, automotive transmission, government, and insurance. He received his bachelor’s degree in both marketing and computer science from Anderson University, and a Master’s degree in computer science from Ball State University.

$22.64 for the paperback version and $15.39 for the Kindle version

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