Evan's Book Reviews - Business Processes Edition

i read a lot - not all of it related to agile or business management, but enough. below are some of the important books that have shaped my thinking (and writing). not all of them are great (as you can see from my ranking), but they all contain some interesting ideas. this group of reviews will focus on those books that relate to supporting business practices.

itil and the software lifecycle: practical strategy and design principles (it management topics) by brian johnson, and john higgins - 2/5

a novel take on itil; applying it to the sdlc. well written, although mostly theoretical, i would suggest this book is mostly relevant to organizations with heavy itil service management divisions.

the black swan, second edition: the impact of the highly improbable by nassim nicholas taleb - 5/5

this is, by far, the best book on risk and risk management out there. informative, enlightening and entertaining; this book takes a profound look at the impact of the unexpected, and unexpectable (if such a word exists), in the world we live in. on the downside, taleb often over-extends his metaphors and comes across as overly antagonistic on traditional thinking and thinkers.

waltzing with bears: managing risk on software projects by tom demarco - 4/5

one of the best books on risk management i’ve ever read. too many organizations do not understand how to identify, treat, and mitigate risks. and those that do often overcompensate. waltzing with bears takes readers on a journey of risk and risk management in a very entertaining and enlightening way. my only criticism of the book is that in many places demarco doesn’t support his statements with sufficient evidence. much of the evidence that is put forward is anecdotal, qualitative, or statistically insignificant. that being said, i would recommend this book to any new software or project manager.

the management and control of quality by james r. evans and william m. lindsay - 4/5

practical in its approach yet comprehensive in its breadth. the management and control of quality is a great examination of quality management. i loved the case studies and the accessible style of writing.

bonus non-agile review: 50 top it project management challenges by premanand doraiswamy - 3/5

a useful resource for beginner project managers. it clearly outlines many common issues and puts forward practical resolutions. however, for any experienced project manager, this book is probably too basic. i’d give it a pass if you’ve got more than 2-3 years experience as a pm, but if you’re starting out this is a good resource.