Episode 357: Managing Murphy (Free)

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This episode is sponsored by the PMP Exam Simulator:

Dr Jim Young, PMP, FNZIM

Today, I don’t have a full interview for you. I have something better. I have a free book on risk management for you:

The free risk management eBook you are going to get is “Managing Murphy -- Essentials of project risk management”. It’s written by Dr Jim Young, PMP, FNZIM (http://www.skillpower.co.nz/) and it is intended to be applicable regardless of your preferred methodology and framework – so you can use the concepts presented no matter if you follow PMBOK®, PRINCE2 or Agile approaches. The book includes exercises to do with your team so it's truly interactive. The exercise on risk responses in project managementis particularly helpful, in my view.

Click to view and download the PDF eBook now...

If you use a podcast app to download and listen to our interviews, then the book has very likely already been downloaded by the app for you. It is a PDF document and you should see it as a separate episode of your subscription of The PM Podcast. If not, then please click on the download button above.

Episode Transcript

Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.

Podcast Introduction

Cornelius Fichtner: Hello and welcome to this Premium Episode #357. This is The Project Management Podcast™ at www.pm-podcast.com and I am Cornelius Fichtner.

Today, I don’t have a full interview for you. I have something even better. I have a free book on project risk management for you. It is titled: "Managing Murphy" and was written by Jim Young.

If you are preparing for your PMP® exam then the best way to calm your butterflies in your stomach is to take a practice exam. Our PMP Exam Simulator™ offers you 9 such exams with a whopping 1,800 exam sample questions. To see how it works and take a free test drive, please visit www.freeexamsimulator.com

So as I said the free book you are going to get is "Managing Murphy: Essentials of Project Risk Management." It is written by Dr. Jim Young and it is intended to be applicable regardless of your preferred methodology and framework. So you can use the concepts presented no matter if you follow PMBOK®, Prince 2 or Agile approaches.

And if you use a podcast app to download and listen to our interview then the book has very likely already been downloaded by the app for you. It is a PDF document and you should see it as a separate episode of The Project Management Podcast. If not then please visit www.pm-podcast.com. Go to Episode #357 and click on the download link.

Here are some of the book's highlights in no particular order:

It is free and over 400 pages long. So it's not just a little ebook. This is a full featured textbook.

It is expertly researched written in an approachable way and it includes many illustrations that make things come alive. In fact, the book very early on has a chapter on language and principles for anyone who is new to project risk management or would like a refresher on the terminology.

So if you happen to be a junior project manager or preparing for your PMP® exam then both this chapter and the glossary at the end will help.

The discussion and description of the project risk management plan is one of the areas that stood out for me personally. There is a superb description of what the plan is and does. There is a 10-point checklist with risk management plan essentials and the plan is referenced again and again throughout the book highlighting the central importance.

The book even includes a risk management plan template.

As you would expect, the book takes you through everything you need to know about project risk management. The chapters are processes and planning, identifying risk, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, responding to risk, monitoring and controlling, reviewing and revising, and then also a summary.

At the back of the book, you will find 3 appendices. First, they are the exercises and quizzes. And second, we have already mentioned the glossary. And lastly, there are also the project management checklists.

In regards to the exercises, there are 2 team exercises that require participants to identify risks and determine suitable responses to them, as well as 3 risk management quizzes of various duration and length.

The project management checklist in the appendix is 4 pages long with the intention that you think about various aspects of your project and answer the questions with either yes or no. Whenever you have a 'no' you may just have revealed some risk in your endeavor.

That's it for a quick glimpse at the book. So who is the author? Dr. Jim Young is a Project Management Professional and Prince 2 trainer who holds an MBA in International Management and a Doctoral Degree in Business Administration. After attending Duntroon Military College in Australia, Jim served as a career officer in the New Zealand Army. He then managed a commercial transport organization after which he joined the New Zealand Institute of Management becoming their principal consultant before establishing his own consultancy, Skill Power Limited that specializes in project management.

Jim has managed a wide variety of projects ranging from the design and construction of a multi-fuel pipeline to the logistic support for the South Pacific Games and South Pacific Forum. He has written several papers and 3 textbooks, the latest of which is "Managing Murphy" about project risk management. He is at present writing a book "Managing Smaller Projects" has developed a number of project management handbooks and standards for organizations.

He is familiar with most project management methodologies including the PMI PMBOK and the UK's Prince 2 and keeps up to date with developments in his profession. Jim has delivered project management training for 30 years to many organizations locally and overseas.

Well and that's it! Please enjoy your free book and please visit Episode #357 at www.pm-podcast.com and let us know if you liked it.

Until next time.

Above are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete PDF transcript is available to Premium subscribers only.