Customer Reviews

Bare Bones Project Management: What you can't not do

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With many larger books, if you want to take away anything at all, you need to make a set of notes because the gems of the book are scattered across so many pages. Well this book comes as condensed notes - it's 52 pages not counting the introduction. If that's not condensed enough, there are brief summaries at the end of each of the seven chapters.

As the author mentions, this book is not for project managers leading major projects. This book is geared for people who need to do project management as part of their job, so they can get back to the rest of their job. It goes on to discuss the minimum one needs to do to increase the likelihood of success for the project. It includes areas from planning and managing the project to politics and staffing.

For those not familiar with the author, Bob Lewis is one of the most colorful technology writers around. His style is that of a casual conversation, with plenty of humor thrown in for good measure. As an example of the humor, from a couple of footnotes:
"Best" is defined as "makes the situation most convenient for the project manager."
"Worst" is defined as what always happens unless you take active steps to avoid it.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone involved with IT projects who cares to see them succeed.

Bob Lewis has a remarkable gift for encapsulating the core truths about many IT (and general business) situations and for expressing them briefly and memorably. You won't find a better or more concise guide to what it really takes to make a project work. Very highly recommended.

Where was this book when I first needed it. This book is indispensible for a first time project manager or even for project team members. This book is a great combination, short enough to quickly digest, readable so its points are easy to understand, detailed and relatable to be put immediately into action, and comprehensive enough to cover all the major issues. Project management training is the most useful training I have received, and frankly, this book does a better job of distilling the finer points of good project management than my two week intensive courses, and was a lot more enjoyable to experience.

I must say that as I was going into leading a hot potato project lately, I knew things were going wrong. I did not have the time to sit down and study a couple of hundred pages of a book on project management to make sure I was going to get the basics correct. One of my friends pointed me to this book, and it was perfect for what I needed. It was directly to the point and helped me get my hands around what I needed to do. Thank you Bob for sharing your knowledge.

Let's start on the downsides: the only downside I find to this book is to try and pick the highlights as it is simply all a highlight.

As a previous reviewer mentioned the takeaway aspect contained in this book would normally be found in a much larger one (I would take this further to say "trilogy"). Which is great for busy PMs as it is a really easy to read (as usual with Bob's style) AND short+concise.

I think it should be read by all project managers - I have been in this field now for 15 years and there was still stuff in there that I could learn from. Sometimes stuff you know, but you had forgotten or put into a context that changes how you use it / think about it - or simply new.

I just wish PMI made its books as easy to read / interesting. ;-)

Eric Kassan(1st reviewer), has it right. So many books these days are word stuffed by the publishers to give them more apparent value. I'm guessing editor's jobs these days are to add "breadth" to books.
Bob doesn't do that. To describe the book in one word would be SUCCINT.
I never felt like he was spinning his wheels.

I don't want him to blush now, but, with all that I've read and studied in IT, outside of some of the original IBM manuals for VM and CMS, his book gives the most bang for the buck. He's not pedantic. Rather than codifying some new method, the Lewis Method, he gives advice wisdom. He's trying to let people know what its really going to be like to run a project. The way he starts out with Sponsorship and Governance in unusual and a critical point. I've seen many projects fail because they get orphaned, either by a sponsor leaving the company or deciding there is bigger fish to fry and this project isn't going to shine up his finish as much as some new thing. Also hadn't considered many things in the way he puts them, such as the only three ways a business can improve. I've run many, varied project but can still learn. I loved the Dilbertian sentence, "The usual root cause is that the project is good for the company without being good for any of its executives." So true. I've seen it so many times. Once the execs complete their analysis, and realize they have nothing personal to gain, the 180 degree turn is quick and startling. Don't completely agree with everything in the book, but I'd say 99.5% of it I do agree with. He pointed up a number of my owns, which I always need work on. The people management advice is excellent and much ignored by other writers. An unhappy team member starts to build a gravity that can pull the whole project down with it.

I'm a pathetically slow reader, my comprehension is great, but I read and think. I finished in two days in just two sessions. The end of chapter "steps" summary is incredibly helpful as a memory tool.

I'll be rereading the book and keeping it close at hand for the rest of my career. Its an excellent addition to anyone's toolkit and reference shelf. Great job Bob. Thank You.

There are very few reference materials that I will carry with me on any business trip but this book is one of them. Mr. Lewis is so well versed in his subject that his distillation is refreshingly concise and complete. It's an excellent "airport read" on your way to your project's kick-off meeting. Get this book before you need this book!

Most project management books explain a methodology in detail. When managers read those books, they think they need to cover every section, create all possible documents. Bob Lewis' Bare Bones book isn't about a methodology of project management; it is about how to manage projects to get them done. At every step of the way, the _reason_ for creating the documentation or making the decision is first and foremost. If it doesn't help the project, don't do it. He still covers all the aspects of a project so you don't accidentally miss an important step but he helps the reader maintain focus on the managing of the project, not on the methodology of managing the project.
Buy it for your boss or for people on committees in charge of overseeing projects. Things may improve.
The book is definitely worth the money. It's a good read chockful of pithy information.

I've been reading Bob Lewis' weekly newsletter for a long time and it is one of the few items I don't delete when I'm clearing my mailbox unless I have read it. Just as I started studying for the PMP Exam his book came out so I bought it. I learned more about project management in those 52 pages than in the whole of my PMP Text book. It is practical and precise and full of humor making it a very easy read. The advice in this little book has stayed with me since and made me a better project manager. This is true for both small and large projects. I know handing a customer a ream of paper describing your project and all the steps looks impressive but I have found my customers just want to "get er done" right. I say buy it and you won't be disappointed.

I read this entire book in just a very short time. It was full of very good tips and hints. The author is fantastic; don't let this be the only book you read by him.