The One-Page Project Manager: Communicate and Manage Any Project With a Single Sheet of Paper [Paperback]

Clark A. Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2006

The One-Page Project Manager shows you how to boil down any project into a simple, one-page document that can be used to communicate all essential details to upper management, other departments, suppliers, and audiences. This practical guide will save time and effort, helping you identify the vital parts of a project and communicate those parts and duties to other team members.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

MANAGE ANY PROJECT—ON A SINGLE SHEET OF PAPER!

This uncommonly practical guide shows you how to reduce any project—no matter how big or complicated—into a simple, one-page document perfect for expressing essential details, communicating those details to upper management, and tracking progress. Plus, it's adaptable to virtually any process in your organization, including ISO and SAP. The One-Page Project Manager is the ultimate tool for beleaguered project managers who understand the value of simplicity.

"As you read through Clark Campbell's book, you will say to yourself, 'so simple, yet intuitive and useful; I can put this to work today!'"
—Todd Thompson, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, JetBlue Airways

"Provides a proven process for project management that significantly improves the chances that the project will be completed on time, on budget, and on target."
—Steven C. Wheelwright, PhD, Baker Foundation Professor, Senior Associate Dean, and Director of Publications Activities, Harvard Business School

"Campbell reveals a wonderful tool for keeping projects on task. It's the perfect organizational solution for the executive needing relevant project information."
—Taylor Randall, PhD, Professor, David Eccles School of Business University of Utah

"This tool really works! It makes the complex look simpler, facilitates accurate and honest assessments, and all on just one page—which can, and will, be read by even the busiest executive."
—David C. Berg, former chief information officer, OC Tanner

"This book should be required reading for every manager who wants to improve project performance, accurately tell their story, and do it efficiently."
—Jonathan H. Du, PhD, CEO and Chairman, WiseChina Training Co. Ltd. Beijing, China

About the Author

CLARK A. CAMPBELL is a Senior Vice President at OC Tanner, where he has served in a number of executive positions and managed numerous large projects.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470052376
• ISBN-13: 978-0470052372
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Project Management

More About the Author

Clark A. Campbell is a Senior Vice President at OC Tanner, where he has served in a number of executive positions and managed numerous large projects.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simplicity at its finest, October 25, 2006

By 

Joseph Dager "Joe" (Fort Wayne, IN United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The One-Page Project Manager: Communicate and Manage Any Project With a Single Sheet of Paper (Paperback)

Developed my own 1 page project manager and have been using it for the last several years but it never felt complete. Kept searching and even tried to get the publisher and Campbell to release a book to me earlier with no success. I received and read the book on Monday, defaced it on Tuesday and was using the form by Tuesday afternoon. Re-read the book Tuesday night. The book is an easy read, does not try to re-teach me project management but explains the use of the form. The 1 page project manager is right on target. It is better than mine! The simplicity makes it easy for non-professional and begining project managers to use but when used by seasoned veterans for its reporting aspect it will be truly appreciated.

Recommend it to anyone, but beware like all plans it is in the implementation of them that makes them succesful, not in the form itself. That is why the simplicity of a single page works.

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simplicity at its long-winded extreme, June 24, 2008

By 

J. Beebe (Wisconsin, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The One-Page Project Manager: Communicate and Manage Any Project With a Single Sheet of Paper (Paperback)

This book is essentially a 4-5 page instruction manual to go along with a reporting spreadsheet, which has been stretched out to a 129 page book using large font, small pages, lots of white space, and repetitive figures/screen shots. The tool itself makes some sense as a nice concise report format, but the book goes on and on puffing up its abilities and the author's creativity. Some 20 or so pages are filled up by showing the sheet with a section empty, and then full; empty, and then full, as if the user (having already been told where to put info and seen screen shots of the sections in question) can't figure out how to fill in the blanks.

I found disconcerting that the image on the cover is a "modified" version of the tool they're describing, undermining the claim that this tool is well-suited for any project. If that's the case, why wouldn't they feature the basic form on the cover, rather than a customized version?

It seems like the tool could be useful to improve communication and management of projects, but the communication discussed is primarily bottom-up. The book barely touches upon how it can be used for top-down communication or how to use this to work with areas that are falling behind or going over budget. So, it's not really so much a "manager" as a "status report".

If you're looking for a simple read and a simple tool for tracking your team's progress, check this out of a library. It's not worth the money to actually buy a copy. If you're hoping to actually learn some useful project management skills, look elsewhere.

159 of 180 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Undermines his own credibility, October 4, 2007

By 

Nathan Carpenter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The One-Page Project Manager: Communicate and Manage Any Project With a Single Sheet of Paper (Paperback)

I purchased this book due to the overwhelmingly positive responses... While the actual concept and some of the underlying principles are pretty solid, there are a few things that detract from this book.

First of all, the font is about 14pt Times New Roman, which adds to the sense of this book being fluffed. Contributing to this feeling, is the fact that the author continually attempts to provide credibility to himself by mentioning O.C. Tanner, and the "various" projects he's worked on (for which he uses the same five examples ad nauseam). Essentially, he continues to justify why he's qualified to be telling you anything, while dropping the occasional "teaser" about the form you'll be using for the first FOUR CHAPTERS.

The absolutely most irritating aspect of this book, however, is that he's continually trying to sell it to you. In chapter one, he introduces an acronym for "The One Page Project Manager," viz. OPPM. He then proceeds to NEVER use it. Then, he mentions "The One Page Project Manager," so much that if I hear it again, I might end up incarcerated. On page 29, even with 14pt font, he manages to use "The One Page Project Manager" SEVEN times. I'm sure that my few mentions of that heinous term have already provoked certain ire. And by not using the acronym, he ensures that the term is too lengthy to conveniently skip while reading.

Chapter 5 comprises the bulk of the book (being some 100 pages in length - a shocking dichotomy from the previous 12-20 page chapters). Presumably where the "meat" is, it's filled with stuffing in the form of multiple OPPM's, with only the slightest difference between any of them.

To his credit, the concept is good, I think it will work (that's why I purchased the book). But Mr. Clark Campbell needs to realize that he doesn't have to sell his book during the first four chapters, as I already bought it.

2 stars for utility. -3 stars for absolute aggravation.