Customer Reviews

Making It Happen: A Non-Technical Guide to Project Management

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
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I could win awards for being a slow reader. Putting a book down is easy for me. By contrast, I was captivated by this one such that I had difficulty making myself stop reading to eat. While participating in the three-day Priority Project Management Breakthroughs training, our first night's homework assignment was to read the first 30 pages. Long before page 30 I was hooked. Mr. Kyle took an otherwise dull topic and brought it to life with such wit and wisdom that not only did I complete the book before the class ended (a personal record), but I understood Project Management so well that I felt like an expert upon its conclusion. This book makes the complicated art of project management a simple and humorous study in common sense and logic. It is so well written that I tend to think Mr. Kyle ought to quit his day-job and become a full-time author.

I enjoyed reading this book, because of the humor within the story. The author creatively embedded informational facts about project management within the story line. I was pleased to have a class textbook so enjoyable and factual at the same time. I looked forward to reading the book and was disappointed when I finished, because I felt like I knew MacKenzie and his characters.

This book offers a quick and entertaining overview of the process of project management without the mire of tools and procedures. A great book for the thousands of people who have suffered through project management because they forgot about keeping it simple and using common sense.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It has managed to make the dull and often linear undertaking of Project Management into a highly dynamic, thoughtful process to follow when managing projects.Ostensibly this book deals with the business environment, but its lessons can easily be applied to other contexts that require a systematic but flexible way to deliver the goods.

The book uses a case-study approach through a well-written story that illustrates what a "typical" non-typical project can look like. We gain insight into the topic as the main character goes through the process and learns how to do it at the same time. An excellent book!

I learned of MacKenzie Kyle's excellent book while reading "Love is the Killer App" by Tim Sanders and immediately went online to purchase it. As a graphic design manager for a courseware development firm, I was looking for a cut-through-the-clutter explanation of project management. This book, which teaches project management principles under the guise of a novel, was just the ticket.

Making It Happen is a super book. Delivered in a narrative style, it easily brings the reader through the essentials of project management, with numerous practical examples. MacKenzie Kyle has made a potentially dry subject come alive.

I finshed reading it yesterday, but started it 3 days back! Normally tough for me to hold on to finish an entire book. I think the main features of this book are : 1) interesting case study approach, 2) easy language, 3) points out main problems in real life projects in a story format, 4) easy to grasp, 5) builds on concepts gradually without getting boring at any stage

Atleast, I found this better than those dull drab PM books.

Making it Happen is a great book for people who have not performed much project management and a good read for those who have. The story takes a subject that is not very interesting and makes it an enjoyable read. I would not suggest this book as a complete guide to project management but it covers a lot of the hidden issues that can destroy a perfectly good project.

100% agree with the other post. I would recommend this book to anyone who has the responsibility of managing projects. It is very easy and enjoyable reading. It's a great investment and reference book to keep around. Go ahead and buy it, you won't be sorry

James W.

Mackenzie Kyle's book "Making it Happen - A Non-Technical Guide to Project Management" is a good basic educational tool which provides an interesting approach to project management.

I have been involved with technical projects in some capacity or other since I graduated from college and took my first engineering position. I have been involved with a wide array of technical projects from modifying and testing the reactor plant fresh water supply system on the aircraft carrier Nimitz; to design, installation, testing, and turnover of a distributive control system for a mixed waste incinerator; to installation of asphalt and seal coating of surfaces and roads at my work area. I realize that this may make me sound a little arrogant and somewhat like Al (primary antagonist in the book. I feel that I have learned a little more each time about the mechanics and phases of project execution. At this point in my career, I feel that I have reached a high level of proficiency and I believe that I fully understand the mechanics for the project portion or project management (again, I sound a little like Al). Unlike Al, the methodologies I have learned and use are closely along the lines presented in the book. For that reason, I found the book reaffirming of my knowledge and skills.

I also recognize that I still have much to learn from the management portion of project management and that the human factor is much different in every case than the textbook example. I found real value in the methodology presented in the book for development of the Objective Statement. The eight questions provided as the basis for development of the Objective Statement are generic enough to be used for any size project yet can be answered specifically enough to clearly define the project.

The book re-affirmed to me that one can not use a production line approach to project management and that one must take more of a custom shop approach. I plan on recommending this book as an excellent introduction into project management presented in a context that is entertaining and enjoyable (as opposed to dry like most project management textbooks). I am going to recommend it to several of my peers and a few of my subordinates!