Game Essay Final

11/17/07

The Project Management Life Cycle
By Jason Westland (A book review by R. Max Wideman) Introduction Editor's Note: We liked so much of this book that we asked for the author's permission to quote extensively from the whole of Jason Westland's Chapter 1. This is because it succinctly describes what follows in detail in the remainder of the book. However, in pursuing our regular book review structure, we placed his text under corresponding headings. Since the quotations are so extensive, we have not followed our normal practice of indenting quoted paragraphs. However, the references are identified in the footnotes. As Jason says: "Welcome to The Project Management Life Cycle. This book describes the Methodl23® Project Management Methodology (MPMM)1 and provides a practical approach to managing projects. Every phase, activity and task in the project life cycle is described here in detail to help you manage staff, customers and suppliers efficiently. By reading this book, you will gain the knowledge and confidence required to properly initiate a project, create detailed project plans, build high quality deliverables, monitor and control delivery and close projects effectively. "Not only will you learn how to successfully complete projects from end to end, but you will also be armed with a suite of tools and templates to allow you to create project deliverables quickly and easily. More than 150 charts, tables and diagrams are included in this book to help explain the steps needed to undertake a project. Each table is full of real life examples to provide you with the knowledge needed to complete project activities faster than before."2 Book Structure The book structure is very simple, yet it covers a lot of ground in only 237 pages. Jason explains it as follows. "The project life cycle "The project life cycle consists of four phases as shown in Figure 1. "As there are four phases within the project life cycle, there are four main chapters in this book. Each...