Projects in Less Time: : A Synopsis of Critical Chain

By Mark Woeppel

Book Overview

Everyone who has managed a project (or been involved in one) knows how difficult it is to finish on time. If you've managed many projects, your frustration is even greater; you not only have to finish... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419620533
• ISBN13: 9781419620539
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Booksurge Publishing
• Length: 134 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Cut to the chase of Critical Chain by Dr. Goldratt

I found this book a great supplement and synopsis of Dr. Goldratt's book Critical Chain. It isn't that Goldratt's book is a tough read, in fact it is entertaining and straighforward. But Mark Woepple's book is a great addition to the novel. He adds detailed analyses, concise examples, and opens up another layer to the novel that can make for a richer experience. It is not like a cheat sheet to the book, although could be for beginners, but it also adds more depth and another perspective that I found valuable as a leaders, an instructor, and a coach for TOC/CCPM in the professional world. Thank you Mark for this read.

Great Improvement to Goldratt's Tale

Mark does an excellent job relating the important parts of Goldratt's story to the actions needed to begin to reduce much of the chaos that attends projects in most organizations. Mark's writing is clear and concise, and illustrations are simple and effective. He sharpens the focus of Goldratt's work and translates the key ideas into usable information. Success with critical chain continues in many organizations large and small, and on many types and sizes of projects. A valuable addition to any project manager's library.

A fast way to get the essence of Critical Chain

If you are in a hurry and want to understand the essence of Critical Chain this is the book to read. There aren't many wasted words but the important TOC concepts are covered and even expanded upon in this synopsis of Goldratt's Critical Chain. It would be well worth any project manager's time to read this short (125 pages) book.

Great overview and more of Critical Chain

Mark Woeppel is a very experienced Theory of Constraints expert and widely respected in TOC circles. He's done a nice job here of explaining Goldratt's Critical Chain approach to managing projects. Mark has written a chapter by chapter synopsis of Goldratt's Critical Chain book, along with his own commentary and a case study. My first thought was that this was a cunning plan to write a book very quickly, but even though I've already read Critical Chain a half-dozen times, or more, and I've used the approach in reality, I am happy to say that I've learnt lots from Mark's additional commentary.

A Note From The Author

I used to have a description of the book here, but I see that it has been duplicated elsewhere. I wrote this because I found there were very few resources available to give someone the essence of critical chain. Eli Goldratt's book, Critical Chain, while very readable, is difficult to extract the main ideas of this way of managing projects. so - while it's not deep in terms of theory, it IS a short read on the main concepts of critical chain extracted from Eli's book. I have added my own experiences of implementing the concepts and what makes an implementation successful. One other point that a reviewer made about the case study not being a CCPM project, he obviously didn't read the case. The case study presented was in a volume production construction environment - and we did use CCPM. That's why it's in the book! If you want a airplane (or train) ride trip to understand what critical chain is all about, this the book for you. Enjoy!