Hollywood Secrets of Project Management Success (PRO-best Practices) (Best Practices (Microsoft)) | 
 enlarge | Author: James R. Persse
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $13.95
You Save: $16.04 (53%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 408131
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 7.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0735625697
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.1068
EAN: 9780735625693
ASIN: 0735625697
Publication Date: June 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Learn best practices for managing software development projects from an unexpected but surprisingly relevant source: the producers of major motion pictures.
What can Hollywood s hundred years of filmmaking experience teach the software industry? Like movies, software projects can be complex, creative, and high risk. But Hollywood has a better track record for delivering projects to plan. Now you can apply the project-management best practices used by motion-picture producers and production managers to your own work and get better results.
The author an expert in software engineering and process improvement shares what he s learned from film-industry project managers to delivering software projects on time and on budget. You ll gain practical insights and effective techniques you can apply right away for estimation and planning; controlling costs, schedules, and changes; coordinating multiple teams; tracking progress; reporting status; managing logistics; management reviews; and more.
Key Book Benefits:
Applies the project management techniques developed in one complex, creative, high-risk environment to another with surprising relevance and results Describes best practices to improve the way you estimate, plan, budget, manage, and report software projects leading to better, on-target results Features case studies based on numerous interviews with noted Hollywood producers and production managers with insights immediately useful to project managers working in the software industry
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| Customer Reviews:
Hollywood September 12, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I saw this book, I was excited. I'm a Business Analyst and in my spare time I work on writing, producing and directing low-budget short films. Most of my friends also work in the industry in various capacities. I have always maintained that there were many things that `Hollywood' did better than IT.
However, much to my disappointment this book misses the point entirely. Mr. Persse makes a couple of good observations in some of his chapters but fails to develop his themes. He also becomes obsessed with the idea that the Producer is somehow entirely responsible for bringing a movie in on time and on budget, which is nonsense. Yes, they are huge contributors but in the end it does come down to the Director. The Director, along with the AD and various department heads, must drive the shoot through to a wrap. The Producer can do little once things go into production, except be supportive and take drastic action if things are seriously out of control. Unfortunately Mr. Persse glosses over the key role of the Director entirely (probably because there is no analogy to this role in IT).
Finally, because Mr. Persse is talking from a purely theoretical knowledge (visiting a film set for a few hours and interviewing people does not an expert make), he fails to realize how the practical side of filmmaking influences a shoot. For example, the reason that a shoot is completed in 30 - 45 days is that the average working day on a set is 12-14 hours per day, six days a week. Crew members do not wander off to pick up their kids from school or leave to have some work/life balance. Everyone stays. For the entire time.
With my feet in both worlds, I know that the primary differences between IT and `Hollywood' are the people and the attitude. If I want to feel like I did something worthwhile, work hard with talented and amazing people and get a project in on time and on budget, I go and put together a short film. If I want to feel incredibly frustrated (while being paid for it), I go work in IT.
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