Book By: Terry Dean Schmidt
Reviewed By: Russell Parker
Strategic Project Management Made Simple
Publisher: Wiley
Pages: 224*
Edition: Second Edition
Authors Pages:
Cost/Purchase Price:
Amazon: Strategic Project Management Made Simple
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases)
Who Should Read?
Strategic Project Management Made Simple is a must-read for project managers, their project teams, and anyone who drives organizational change. Terry’s book is clear, concise, and educational, with a writing style that will keep the reader engaged (and take notes).
With the mix of his examples, tools, and step-by-step process, anyone from a new project manager to the most senior project management professional can easily take away something from this book.
If you manage projects and are searching for ways to link your projects to strategic-level problems – this is a must-have for your bookshelf.
What I Enjoyed About The Book:
The flow of Terry’s book was easy to follow as he emphasized the importance of ensuring alignment of the project objectives with their organizational goals across teams. His ability to explain the complex level of strategic thinking in project management in an easy-to-read and understand book was spot on.
The LogFrame
Early in the book, Terry provides his Logical Framework Approach – a structured approach to project planning, execution, and evaluation. He then builds upon this LogFrame throughout the book by asking four questions within the LogFrame:
What results are we trying to achieve, and why?
How do we measure success?
What other conditions must exist?
How do we get there?
These questions and the LogFrame process provide practicality – a huge takeaway for this book. Terry’s thoughts, ideas, and approach are not just theories but actionable items he employed and refined throughout his career.
The tools and techniques provided, like the Objective Tree for clarifying project objectives and the LogFrame for mapping project logic, were concepts I could immediately take away for my projects, both personally and professionally.
Terry’s thought process aligned directly with mine in that he focuses on collaboration and communication within his teams. The LogFrame does not take away from other project management concepts such as risk management, stakeholder management, resource allocation, performance measurement, etc. Still, it embraces them within the framework – bringing a structured approach to complete the project management plan.
This book hit a mark for me as I came out of the Marine Corps. In the Marine Corps, there is a concept called Commanders Intent – and in an operation order, you always know your boss’s commander’s intent, which aligns with their mission. This was critical because you know your mission and the commander’s intent provided a linkage into your higher echelon, providing unity towards singular, strategic goals.
The way that Terry describes his LogFrame is exactly how the Marine Corps manages the commander’s intent. Terry shows how tactical elements of project management can meet tactical goals that align with strategic success
What I Didn't Enjoy About The Book:
Although “Simple” is in the book’s title, the process is not simple.
This is not an off-the-shelf process and concept. People cannot just pick up this book and immediately understand and deploy the concepts. The LogFrame is lengthy for those new to project management/strategic planning, leading to a longer implementation time for fast-paced projects.
Given that this process takes time, I am sure that if applied in some companies, this would require some constructive arguments with the Agilist.
This is a more top-down, restrictive approach, building from the strategic picture down to the lower elements. Although Terry mentions the different lifecycles and how the tools within Agile (burn-down charts, backlogs, daily standups, etc.) can go into the LogFrame – he does not address how to apply LogFrame to these lifecycles.
Overall Rating:
About the Author
Terry Schmidt:
Terry Schmidt (from his website): “Terry brings 35 years of global global strategic experience as a trusted advisor to public and private sector organizations in 38 countries worldwide. A dynamic thought leader with deep expertise in transforming business through strategic project management, Terry has helped hundreds of organizations – government agencies, national research labs, and Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries – achieve their business goals with outstanding results. He works extensively with the U.S. national research laboratories.”
Other Books By Terry:
Strategic Project Management Made Simple (1st Edition)
PMI Contributions:
Link to Author Website:
Thank you for checking out this book review for: Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams.
I highly recommend you pick up this book, take notes, and apply some of its contents in your daily life and projects!
Comment below and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter!
The Risk Blog is read supported. All funds assist with the operating costs of the website and this blog.
