The Principles of PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Reviewed by Robert Pritchett

Author: Meri Williams Sitepoint http://www.sitepoint.com/books/project1/ Released: March 2008 $40 USD, $40 CND ISDN: 978-0-9802858-6-4   Strengths: Focuses on what is really important on PMing any project.   Weaknesses: None found.

Introduction

You don’t need to sit through months of boring lectures, painstakingly work your way through 1,000 page plus monstrosities, or take an exam to become project manager. Learn only what really matters with The Principles of Project Management.

 

What I Learned

I learned the Meri Williams is incredibly readable and gets right to what really matters in running and successfully managing projects.

 

Her approach is a refreshing break from the "norm". And because I am managing a few websites and attempting to get them updated, her examples related to creating a website hit home. I think that is why her book is published by Sitepoint, since that publisher is focused on software developers and programmers.

 

There are 5 simple sweet chapters on the art and science of project management, picking (if you can) the right projects, figuring out who should be on the team, figuring out what has to be done and controlling projects and keeping things on track, how to deal with changes, improving communication and collaboration skills and wrapping up and handing off the final project to the client.

 

Take-aways

I think what stuck out for me was that Meri breaks the "Project Management Mold" by addressing the " too perfect" software that makes a quick gut-reaction and back-of-the napkin estimate look like a finished product and how that gets so many PMers into so much trouble with clients.

 

Rule of Thumb – don't let estimates look like finished products. If the estimate is handwritten, make it look like it was written by hand, instead of as a polished finished project management worksheet.

 

There is nothing wrong with offering information that looks like it was custom-made instead of looking like a computer did it. It always amazes me that we take something typed as having more weight than something written on a piece of paper. What is transferred from our minds is much more important than making Gantt charts look pretty.

 

I know, I've wasted untold hours messing with Microsoft Project software to get things just right and allowed the software to manage me, rather than letting me manage the projects.

 

And that is why I like this book. Meri Williams stepped outside the box and focused on what is really important.

 

Conclusion

If you are sick and tired of "project managing" by being shackled to specific PM software, get this book. It puts the focus back on what is important.