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Rating: 4.5 – The PMO Magic Megabook is authored by Ken Martin, who has over a decade of publishing history and a strong reputation in the community. He has authored numerous titles under the OnePage Magic framework, demonstrating significant influence and engagement.
The book offers a unique format with 58 tables of checklists covering key PMO/PPM topics. Each topic is summarized on a single page, followed by a table of key questions. Notably, these large tables span the entire vertical page, requiring the reader to rotate the book 180 degrees to read the small text, which is further challenging in the Kindle version where rotation isn’t possible.
The topics in checklists are briefly summarized without explanatory text, assuming prior knowledge. This format may serve as a useful tool for PMO managers or project leaders addressing organizational maturity or as a memory prompt for experienced professionals. However, its lack of detailed content could leave readers with additional questions rather than answers. The points for consideration appear to be based on the author’s experience, but there is no evaluative commentary or cited references to convince the reader of their validity. With minimal explanatory text, its usefulness is limited for less experienced managers since there is no discussion, guidance, or advice on implementation.
The content is presented as ‘best practice,’ but no sources are identified. The value of this book lies in consolidating these checklists in one place; however, it does not present any new developments in the field. The tables and readability in both the hard copy and Kindle formats could be improved, as they currently make the book difficult to read. Consequently, the book scores low on standardized scales, although it may be useful for experienced managers with some pre-existing background knowledge as a reference for benchmarking, prompting further thinking, or checking completeness.
The book is printed in a straightforward DIN A4 format, reminiscent of a school textbook. The book layout provides a one-page summary of each of the 58 topics, followed by a table of key questions. The layout and red and black color scheme of the book, particularly in the tables, are notable. There is a large table per topic that covers the whole vertical page—you have to move the book by 180 degrees to read, and the text is relatively small. In the Kindle version, readability is further eroded as it is 206 pages, and Kindle does not provide functionality to rotate the view. The cover design is satisfactory, but it could be enhanced to better convey the book’s content and attract the target audience.
This book is a collection of 58 checklists covering PMO and PPM. Aside from a very short summary, there is no explanatory text, so the book assumes background knowledge or understanding. It may be useful for the accidental PMO Manager or Project Manager who is looking to address maturity issues of business practices that are not being addressed within an organization, or as a memory prompt for the experienced manager. However, the book does not address any of the content of the checklists in more detail, which might result in the reader having additional questions rather than finding answers.
The text is clear and understandable throughout, although there are instances where the flow of ideas could be improved for better readability.
The checklists are based on keywords, and the tables can be used as a roadmap to cover the major aspects per topic. Due to the fact that the tables contain keywords again, the overall book content seems to be a large collection of keywords, structured by keywords. Unfortunately, the book gives no evaluation or reference on how to implement these best practices.
The author refers to the content as ‘best practice,’ and a knowledgeable reader would acknowledge the content as applicable. However, a reader on the other end of the scale may be left asking, ‘What is this best practice? How do I implement it?’ The author does not discuss the topics, bring fresh insights, or provide any citations for further investigation.
The layout of the book is unique and interesting. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to use and read. Regarding content originality, the author provides various checklists but does not explain why these bullet points within the tables are important. Therefore, the author does not provide the reader with information about the completeness or validity of the content—it is based on the author’s experience without further proof points offered.
There are no case studies.
Ken Martin has a publishing history spanning over a decade, with numerous books to his credit, and enjoys a strong reputation within the community. The author is active on LinkedIn and has published a number of titles under the OnePage Magic framework. He is well-regarded and is highly engaged with the community, widely recognized and visible, demonstrating significant impact and influence.
This book will be valuable if you are seeking inspiration for advancing the maturity of organizational PMO & PPM and wish to benchmark points for consideration. Twenty of the keywords are relevant to PMO, and the other thirty-eight are about project management and agile topics. While the content addresses significant educational topics, it lacks extensive coverage or depth, thus limiting its ability to offer a comprehensive learning experience or guidance for personal development.
There is no evident researched content—all content appears to be based on the author’s individual experience and/or sources that can be widely found via internet sources. The value lies in the comprehensive structure presented in a single book.
The book’s quality is hampered by inadequate publishing and editing practices and scores poorly in terms of data visualization. The content is organized into large A4 tables that are only readable in horizontal format, which detracts from its accessibility and usability, particularly in the Kindle version.