The Accidental Project Manager: Surviving the Transition from Techie to Manager [Paperback]

Patricia Ensworth (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047141011X | ISBN-13: 978-0471410119 | Publication Date: July 23, 2001 | Edition: 1

Why do so many software projects fail? The reality is that many of these projects are led by programmers or developers thrown into the role of project manager without the necessary skills or training to see a project through successfully. Patricia Ensworth has written a hands-on survival guide designed to rescue the "accidental project manager" and help them to quickly ramp up on all key areas involved in software project management. This book provides a no-nonsense, jargon-free approach to getting the job done. With the help of useful templates, checklists, and sample forms, as well as pointers to essential resources, Ensworth gives concise, easy-to-understand advice on everything needed to hit the ground running--including phases of project development, role assignment in the development team, the tools of the trade, and criteria for success.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Accidental Project Manager by Patricia Ensworth is a survival guide for the person who suddenly becomes a software project leader without preparation. -- Publishers Weekly

Review

Advance Praise for Accidental Project Manager "I found much to admire in The Accidental Project Manager, Patricia Enworth's book of useful and always gentle advice for the novice manager."--Tom DeMarco Author of Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency

"In an engaging style, Ensworth poses hundreds of thought-provoking questions that will help both new and seasoned project managers get a solid grip on the myriad aspects of a complex software project. The book includes a wealth of sound recommendations drawn from software development best practices, combined with the experience of a savvy manager who understands both the technical and the human aspects of success project leadership."--Karl WiegersProcess Impact

"Her book fills a gap between books like *Winning at Project Management* and other introductory management tomes that focus heavily on the technical aspects of generic project management and books like *Software Project Survival Guide* that focus on key practices and processes of software development projects. I commend her focus on team dynamics and intergroup politics--the hardest topics and the ones that get less ink than they deserve--along with the practical, from-the-trenches introduction to the software development experience from the project manager's point of view. While management styles will differ for seasoned pros, the overwhelmed new manager can use her book as a point of departure. More importantly, fresh managers can use Ms. Ensworth's advice to avoid finding themselves "Peter Principled" on their first projects. I wish I'd had this book when I started as a project manager 15 years ago, and I can think of some project managers on recent engagements that could have used this book to lessen the pain and, in one case, avoid some of the fatal pitfalls Ms. Ensworth describes well in her book."--Rex Black President and Principal Consultant,Rex Black Consulting ServicesAuthor, Managing the Testing Process

"An excellent buffet of practical and proven tools and techniques for newly appointed software project managers, and a compact refresher course for veterans. Patricia Ensworth cuts to the heart and gets you up the learning curve fast."--Doug DeCarlo Principal, The Doug DeCarlo Group

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (July 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047141011X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471410119
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,386,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book ever for a novice manager, August 28, 2001

By 

Tom Demarco "Reader/Author" (Camden, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Accidental Project Manager: Surviving the Transition from Techie to Manager (Paperback)

Years ago Jerry Weinberg told me that virtually all managers feel like imposters when they first begin managing. I certainly remember feeling that way in my first managerial assignment. Of course you can never reveal the feeling to those around you, that wouldn't be playing the game. While we're at it, you often can't ask your peer managers for much advice and guidance either. It's dumb, but for all the talk about "management teams," peer managers are more likely to be your competitors than your coaches. So where do you turn for sensible advice? I suggest Patricia Ensworth's thoughtful book for the first time manager. I suggest it for second and third time managers as well. She lays out the problems and has at least something sensible to propose for each one. I wish I'd had this book in hand the day I was promoted into management. It might have made the next five years a lot easier. Tom DeMarco

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lacking a great deal., July 28, 2002

By 

flifdk (København Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Accidental Project Manager: Surviving the Transition from Techie to Manager (Paperback)

The book aims at helping techies which becomes a manager for the first time---helping them though their first project as a manager. However, the book has a very narrow perception of what constitutes being a manager.

The focus includes defining the end-users, testing/Q&A, scope of the project, figuring out available and needed (non-people) resources, It provides you with a lot of forms to fill out; forms which have been made for the book, not real world examples.

However, it lacks almost everything when it comes to dealing with other people---which is most of what a manager do. The only stuff it has is the "have pizza in the conference room" and "get rid of the lonely cowboy".

So I'm left with a lot of unanswered questions:

How do I deal with the politics of management. How do I deal with my new manager (a step up in the hierarchy), which surely must be different from when I was a techie myself and had a half-techie manager. Which political games could I expect to be part of. How should I deal with them? How could I avoid dealing with them? In which areas can I expect to be allowed to behave differently?

And it lacks: How do I deal with my techies? How do I deal with the bright star which can turn out 5-10 times as much/better code as the other coders, but is a bit special? How do I deal with the "steady Eddie" programmer (the vast majority) which follows directions but lacks creativity, intuition. How do I deal with the clueless wannabe which takes more time than he gives back (what if management doesn't let me fire him? What if management won't accept the notion that he is less than non-productive?)

How do I get all those people, which are very different, to work together? How do I setup working conditions so each of those fit into their niche? How do I get them to understand (or at least accept) that they have to work with people which are very unlike themself (or unlikable)?

How do I evaluate how much they are actually working, besides at blocking websites, reading all cvs commit emails, basically reading "over the shoulder" all the time? How do I inspire them those who can be inspired, and how do I threat those who need to be so? How do I figure out if somebody is working too much, and be sent home so he doesn't burn out?

If all what you have are bright and self-manageable people, you are much better of reading "Peopleware" by Tom Demarco. For the less-than-bright coders, I still don't have any clue.

By ignoring the people-aspect, the book becomes a "how do I do a project without a manager and without anybody to help me" dummies book for a coder which have serious trouble working on his own, and can only do it by filling out forms.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Project Management at a glance, November 28, 2002

By 

Maxim Masiutin (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Accidental Project Manager: Surviving the Transition from Techie to Manager (Paperback)

The better title for this book would have been "The Accidental Project Manager: Project Management at a Glance".

The book briefly describes all aspects of the project management, immediately and without having to make a close study. But the drawback of the book is that it doesn't point to further reading, doesn't have bibliographic reference. After reading this book, the techies who accidentally become project manages are still at a loss. Taking literally all the recommendations given in this book, the newbie-manager may cause the first project to failure.

However, the information given in this book is easy-to-consume and is mostly truthful. The book exposes the points of convergence the techie might lack, and motivates further reading. I would recommend Steve McConnell's "Rapid Development" and Alistair Cockburn's "Agile Software Development", as well as "Peopleware" by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister. The three books above mentioned give lots of references, and are good roadmaps of the accidental project manager.
The better title for this book would have been "The Accidental Project Manager: Project Management at a Glance".

The book briefly describes all aspects of the project management, immediately and without having to make a close study. But the drawback of the book is that it doesn't point to further reading, doesn't have bibliographic reference. After reading this book, the techies who accidentally become project manages are still at a loss. Taking literally all the recommendations given in this book, the newbie-manager may cause the first project to failure.

However, the information given in this book is easy-to-consume and is mostly truthful. The book exposes the points of convergence the techie might lack, and motivates further reading. I would recommend Steve McConnell's "Rapid Development" and Alistair Cockburn's "Agile Software Development", as well as "Peopleware" by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister. The three books above mentioned give lots of references, and are good roadmaps of the accidental project manager.