The Fast Forward MBA in Technology Management

This book delivered on that was promised. A good overview of the space, some tangible experiences from the street, a few good pointers, several things to ponder on, a few applicable lessons and a few aphorisms all wrapped into the context of an MBA that can be gained on a flight between US coasts and back. I would recommend it to anyone who simply wants to sharpen up their perspective and presentation in the executive conference room. It is certainly a pile of raw material that can be used to conjure consensus without authority. Hope this helps. -Richie Etwaru

This wonderful little book covers a wide range of topics in 240 pages. It is a series of short essays, interviews with industry movers and shakers, and articles by different authors.The central theme is the business value of technology and how business can harness technology to achieve strategic and tactical goals. Indeed, the first two chapters, The Value of Technology to Business and Managing Your Business with Technology, set the tone. These are followed by chapters that address slices of technology management.People and Technology, Chapter 3, is the least focused because of the array of topics that are addressed. It covers everything from business roles and responsibilities to the need for corporate policies for e-mail. Included are four case studies of "Stellar Performers" that give best practices. The authors manage to cram this all into 28 pages. They also manage to convey a lot of good information - no mean feat considering the range of topics covered and the page count allotted to each. Chapter 4, Role of Information Technology, is too short and the material would have been more effective had it been combined with the previous chapter. Things pick up starting with Chapter 5, which provides excellent advice and food for thought on vendor management. This chapter covers everything from vendor evaluation and selection to relationship management. Each topic is quickly covered, but there are a lot of valuable points made by the contributing authors.My favorite chapter, 6, covers best practices in technology management. I discovered something new or rediscovered something I knew but forgot in each article, essay and case study. The final chapter, Emerging Technologies: A Manager's Three Year Plan, is a quick breeze through technology and issues of which managers on the technology and business sides of a company need to be aware (and address). Some of the better articles address information security, data warehousing and java. While these are standard fare, this chapter also addresses subtle issues such as recruiting java developers.The appendix, titled Measuring Workplace Performance with IT, is a quick read that should have been expanded into a chapter. This was my second favorite part of the book and I hated to see it end. I obviously like the book and recommend it to business process owners and IT technical experts who aspire to management positions. I gave the book four stars instead of five because some of the material is dated. Specifically, many of the interviews with industry leaders reflect their view and opinions cica 1998 - things change too quickly and it shows in these areas. However, this book is filled with timeless, sound advice, which makes reading it a productive way to spend an evening or lazy weekend afternoon.