The book is critical chain novel
What are the distinctions between critical path and critical chain? What are some of the key principles of Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)?
What are some of the issues project managers face while dealing with scheduling based on the critical path method that might be resolved with critical chain methodology?
Can you relate to any of the issues the characters in the book face in their jobs? Provide an example of a situation you have faced in your own experience where critical chain's concepts may have been beneficial to consider.
How could you apply the Theory of Constraint concept to your personal life? How would you take this theory of project management and extrapolate it into evaluating your personal life to discover ways you could apply this concept in a seemingly unrelated realm of personal goals and decisions?
An important piece of critical chain thinking is to measure what is important--developing the right metrics to measure to true health of a company. Give me an example of a metric a business, preferably one you work(ed) for, uses to measure its business processes that may be misleading by making it look like the company is performing well when financially the company is not achieving what it should to create long-term sustainability.
"Critical Chain: A Business Novel" offers a broader viewpoint for project managers to use when thinking about project planning; however, it doesn't really go into the actual implementation of critical chain and Theory of Constraint concepts within companies. Identify and discuss another resource you find that would help you take the critical chain theory further and how it would help you implement the theory in an organization.
Describe the recipe the author shares in the book for process improvement (ie: identify constraint, exploit it, subordinate all other processes to it and elevate the constraint) and explain how critical chain concept takes that a step further by resolving resource constraints. Do you agree that this is an effective way to conduct process improvement? Why or why not?
Identify and discuss the three delays in projects that Goldratt emphasizes in the book. Have you ever been personally affected by any of these types of delays in projects you have worked on?
How does Parkinson's Law "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion" relate to the concepts of critical path and critical chain?
Discuss the tradeoffs between cost of a project and shorter lead times. Do you recognize any potential issues with the negotiations with the coatings subcontractor? How could you make those negotiations even more effective?
These are just a few suggestions you can consider addressing in your book review, but please feel free to share your own reactions and thoughts to the book. Please make sure your critique of "Critical Chain: A Business Novel" is not just a summary of the book. That is only a small portion of the grading requirement of the book review writing process.