Customer Reviews

The Principles of Project Management (SitePoint: Project Management)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book to review by the author, Meri Williams, who I met at SXSW 2006.

I really appreciated the checklists, examples, and warning notes; I've littered the book with post-it notes reminding me of things to do, or try, or at least ask questions about. For those managing actual teams, the advice on work styles and issue tracking seems quite useful.

I will quibble with the stand-up meeting suggestion, though. Stand-up meetings are harder than they sound, and require the same kind of focused facilitation as any other meeting.

One minor annoyance: at least two or three of the project phases are described as "most important" in the opening paragraphs of the related chapters. The writing also has a feel to it which I assume is either British or South African -- there isn't anything incomprehensible, but it does give an American a bit of a pause in places.

The section in Closing on handling a "total disconnect" was brief but encouraging, and as someone who's experienced a few, gave me some thoughts about how to handle future situations. The appendices have plenty of useful resources, including recaps of some of the tools mentioned in the main text.

Overall, I think it's a great introductory text, particularly for people who are moving from doing to managing, or who are working on larger projects by themselves. The tone is friendly, professional, and constantly encouraging, making for a slim volume of helpfulness.

Do you find yourself responsible for executing projects and need some guidance on how to get the job done? If you do, then this book is for you! Author Meri Williams, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows you how to get projects completed and delivered on time.

Williams, begins by explaining why Project Management is a difficult thing to do effectively. Then, the author explains why leading teams, managing schedules and implementing ideas, takes a lot of focus and hard work. Next, she gives advice on work styles and issue tracking. The author also discusses why stand-up meetings are very difficult to prepare for. She continues by showing you why closing on handling is a total disconnect. Finally, the author discusses how to measure operational success, ongoing support and maintenance.

This most excellent book aims to lay out defined steps to get projects done right and on time. But, more importantly, the author designed this book for people who are working on larger projects by themselves.

I don't usually work as a project manager, but I've been in enough projects to recognize most of the pitfalls described in this book.

The book provides a good, common sense approach to project management. Some of it may be overkill for smaller projects, and some of it may not quite cut it for really huge projects, but for anything inbetween it's a worthwhile resource.

I enjoyed Meri's relaxed style of writing (although she uses more exclamation point than one usually expects from a fully sane person :)). The way she shares her personal experience makes her advice all the more credible.

After reading the book, I felt like taking over a project I'm involved with at work, just to put it back on track again.

This book is about the aspects of project management, i.e. an overview of the issues, responsibilities, and challenges that fall in the area of project management. It does not dive into the science and art of project management, i.e. someone should not expect to become a better project manager after reading this book on a project.

The book is lively and engaging, and will be helpful to non-PM stakeholder on a small project. For someone who is interested in an intro to the software project management concepts, I'd recommend "Head First Software Development", and if you are up to the challenge of becoming a project manager on a larger project, read "Head First PMP".

'The Principles of Project Management' is one of those books that does nearly everything right in my eyes. A small footprint (204 pages = don't say more than you need to), fantastic design, and good writing and content. It's no secret that sitepoint is one of my favorite technical publishers out in the field today and nearly every one of their books gets 5 stars from this reviewer.

This book is no different.

Project Management is a difficult thing to do and do effectively. Managing schedules, leading teams, getting ideas to fruition all takes a lot of hard work and focus. To be a good project manager you have to wear all sort of different hats and it's a daunting task. Like salespeople, if you are a great project manager you can have a lot of success and a lot of times it's the kind of skills that can't be taught, but are ingrained inside you.

But you can make those skills stronger no matter what level project manager you are.

From Gantt charts to tables to delegation, estimates, and becoming an amateur psychologist working with your team, this book is one of the best inros to becoming an effective project manager. You will learn all the necessary skills to be successful and have fun while learning.

If you are an experienced PM you owe it to yourself to read this quick book and if you are newbie this should be required reading. Great content and ideas + a great design make for an outstanding effort and book!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This is a short book, but it's packed with useful information about project management. It neatly avoids getting bogged down with PM jargon, instead cutting to the core concepts. It's not designed to get you through a project management qualification (though it might help!), but will certainly help you to become more efficient at managing projects, which at the end of the day is what *really* matters. Aimed at people who want to get projects done, even if they're not officially 'project managers' within their organisation.

The book is broken into five sections - what project management is (and just as importantly, what it isn't), getting started with projects (covering the who, what, where, why and when of project initiation), getting the project done (tools, best practice, project control), the essentials of good project communication, and finally following through - closing off the project.

Rounded off with appendices covering essential project tools, templates, and links to useful software apps, this is a great book for people starting out in project management. And whilst not strictly aimed at experienced project managers, I'm sure that everyone will find something useful to take away.

Great stuff.

Very hands on guide for project management. Very direct and practical for the day to day use. I liked it a lot...

Project managers new to the business receive an excellent primer on running projects on time and on budget, using a step-by-step project management primer from manager Meri Williams. From learning how to manage a diverse range of projects and mastering special needs to keeping control of them and identifying project warning signals which can derail time frames and purpose, The Principles of Project Management is a fine basic introduction recommended for any business collection catering to project managers.

This is a great book for anyone interested in project management, or has been given the PM role without any prior training. It's also good for those of us who already think we know it all - I'm sure there'll be gems in it for everyone.

Project management can be tricky - what with all the necessary qualifications and all that before you get to call yourself a project manager with pride. What about all those poor project managers who have been grinding along on common sense?

This book serves as a common sense platform on what to look out for - no tricks, no gimmicks, no certification. Only what works, how it works, easily swallowed, easily understood. This way, you get to understand good project management without all the bells and whistles which makes project management such a misunderstood practice.

Make no mistake - if you are a full-time project manager, you may find this too simplistic for you, especially if you are PMI-certified. But for poor souls like us software developers who manage projects all the time without the pay increase and without the proper training, this is the book to get.