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Titanic Reviews
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by Tony Barr
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Date Added: Wednesday 04 July, 2008
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Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed your articles on project management and their applicability to history. I really liked the Titanic series of articles and admired the research that you put into the articles and how much can be learnt from history. The White Star project managers may not have been Prince/2 certified but I am sure they were competent people who had experience and knowledge of building ships but they took decisions that may have been sensible or pragmatic at the time but in hindsight turned out to be disastrous.
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by Anne-Marie McGloin, HP
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Date Added: Wednesday 04 June, 2008
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I just want to say that I am truly enjoying your writings. I have used your reference to the Titanic in many of my team discussions and the practicality of ensuring my projects are kicked off as accurately as possible by identifying any design faults within the SRR up front. I am not one to sit down and read books/novels but I must say, since purchasing Titanic Lessons for IT projects; I am having difficulty putting this down to actually do some project management work :)
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]
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by PM World Today (Chris Patrick)
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Date Added: Tuesday 20 May, 2008
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I think that just about anyone with a management background could benefit from this book. The book primarily targets those working in the IT field as a Manager; however, this book could benefit Senior Executives and Mid-Level Managers. This book does not contain a lot of technical jargon, so much of the content could be understood by anyone with a business background. The content of this book could benefit all organizations that see technology as a critical component to the success of their organization.
I found this book to be an easy read with interesting concepts and ideas. The author successfully captured my itnerest by incorporating the most notorious "failed project" in recent memory with the difficulties IT Project Managers face on a daily basis. I found the topics to be insightful and I could relate my own project experiences with the examples provided by the author. I feel anyone with a management background could benefit from this intriguing book.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]
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by John Matlock
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Date Added: Tuesday 08 April, 2008
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When I first saw the title of this book I had to smile at the thought of the big IT projects with which I have been associated that subsequently sank as though they had run into an iceberg.
An example though of how this book approaches comparing the Titanic with an IT project: One way to get an advance notice of an iceberg ahead is to pull up a bucket of sea water and get its temperature -- it's colder around the iceberg. A sailor was assigned to do this. He was observed filling the bucket with tap water, the rope he was given was too short to reach the sea. The IT meaning - set up tests, but be sure the tests are real and that the results of the test are based on real data not what is easy to obtain or pre-determined by other means.
This book is an easy reading - light hearted approach to illustrating some real truths about how projects (not only IT projects) really work. You'll pick up a few ideas about why the last project was so over time and over budget, and perhaps the next one will go better.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]
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by Reader Views (Regan Windsor)
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Date Added: Tuesday 08 April, 2008
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Any failed project can feel as catastrophic as the sinking of the Titanic, and we can all learn from the lessons of failed projects. "Titanic Lessons for IT Projects" brings both these premises together by taking a look at the lifespan of the building and sailing of the Titanic "project" and comparing the lessons learned to that of the IT Project life cycle.
"Titanic Lessons for IT Projects" analyzes all facets of the building, marketing, and sailing of the Titanic. Full of informative diagrams, details, and insight it provides interesting and informative information on project management from lessons learned in the sinking of the Titanic.
The Titanic, like many IT projects, faced many failures after the project was deemed complete and "in production." However, many of the failures can be attributed to processes and design compromises throughout the project. Non-functional items were cut back to make way for more functional requirements (such as reducing the height of the bulkheads to allow for a larger ballroom, thereby reducing the ships ability to contain flooding). Proper testing was not carried out at various phases of the project due to pressures of time constraints and overconfidence; again major pitfalls in IT projects.
Just as project management companies can gain valuable insight for future projects through the analysis of both successful and, more importantly, failed projects the project management world can benefit from an analysis of the failure of one of the world's most famous failed projects. Not only does "Titanic Lessons for IT Projects" highlight the importance of testing, design, and ensuring the project does not become blinded by external agendas, it does so by providing real life analysis from an intriguing and thorough analysis of a historical legend. Full of fascinating facts and analysis it is easy to forget you are learning the facets of project management!
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]
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by Anonymous
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Date Added: Monday 10 November, 2008
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Being a history buff, I was very intrigued in reading a book that would demystify the IT planning process by using the Titanic as an example. This book did not let me down. In a very thoughtful, pragmatic method Mark Kozak-Holland was able to explain the process of online projects and why they fail. It is not difficult to write a book on IT failures for there are many examples. However Mark Kozak-Holland shows you how to avoid the pitfalls of such things as the non-functional requirements. Each chapter uses the Titanic project as the reference point and therefore provides a common thread for the reader to follow. I would recommend this book for any NON-IT individual who is about to embark on a project that involves IT and their jargon. It will ensure you get the deliverables requested when requested and for the correct reasons. It will keep the IT department and your project focused on the real goals.
Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!]
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by PM World Today (Réné Le Bel)
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Date Added: Tuesday 20 May, 2008
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Avoiding Project Disaster parallels today's hubris of IT practices against the hubris surrounding the building, marketing and operation of the cruise liner named Titanic. The book is targeted at senior-level management needing a resource to understand key IT project issues. The author, Mark Kozak-Holland, a history buff and IT consultant in emerging technologies has written a user-friendly book with chapter objectives, conclusions and extensive appendices. While the publisher has targeted the book at senior-level IT management, readers with little IT experience gain insights into why IT projects get into trouble. It is an interesting and enjoyable read. Read full review.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]
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by Reader Views (Bette Daoust)
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Date Added: Tuesday 08 April, 2008
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I want to start with a statement that this book, although aimed at IT executives, contains valuable information for executives in any part of an organization. Project disaster can happen to anyone at anytime. All projects should be on-time and on-budget no matter where they exist. So where do you start? You start by having a copy of this book and read it from cover to cover, make notes, and review everything with your team.
You will begin with your strategy. What industry does not need to define a strategy? Anything from stating the problem, creating a solution, resource requirements, to return on investment, should come into play no matter what the project. IT executives tend to fall into this far more often than any other executive and this book addresses a number of the issues through example. What better teacher than projects that have not made the grade.
It has been said that Edison found thousands of ways that his inventions did not work and those so called failures were the teaching tools for the successes that followed. Any IT executive that has never reached the point of failure still has a lot to learn. Kozak-Holland presents project disasters where the reader may gain experience through learning what did not work, even though the procedures were put in place to prevent disasters. Following the book to the letter will not necessarily help to avoid disaster; it simply provides a road map to guide your judgment. For example, the author talked about avoiding percentages because peak periods are not taken into consideration. If percentages are used, then disasters are more than likely to occur. Good advice!
So what does this book provide for the reader? “Avoiding Project Disaster” is a plethora of information on how problems can interfere with a project and solutions for avoiding most of those problems. The key message is to monitor the project at all times and never let down your guard. The book will guide any IT executive through the project maze. If you are at all involved with managing projects, then this book is a necessary tool for your team. Do not start your next project without it.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]
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