read "The Art of Project Management"

Well I got to the end of the book and my overwhelming feeling is that it’s far to thick! It does cover all the bases but I don’t really feel I’ve gained a lot from the experience.

It was interesting enough to hear about how things got done at Microsoft but none of the stories were particularly entertaining and although they were helpful in supporting points being made, the points being made were nothing new.

I imagine that if I had read this book 15 years ago I would have learned a lot, but then again I’m not sure you can shortcut the project management journey by reading a book.

Seems a comfortable read so far. I’ve actually already joined Scott Berkuns PMClinic mailing list at scottberkun.com and am enjoying getting involved in discussion and debate about project management scenarios that are set each week.

...just got to find the time and brain bandwidth to read it,

Scott Berkun’s The Art of Project Management is an essential book for those who manage projects. You can read it straight through and it serves as a comprehensive course in how to make things happen, keep them going and deal with people and political situations in almost any organization. You can also just keep the book next to you desk and dip into it from time to time for some solid advice on what to do in almost any situation that will come up. Written with a sense of humour and drawing on years of experience, it doesn’t provide an overarching philosophy or elaborate system, but practical and honest guidelines for getting your project completed and learning lessons from your team and the processes that you follow. I loved it and will probably use it every day.

One of the biggest challenges in any project is figuring out how to do things and manage the whole process. Whether it is making a film or renovating a house or developing software, if it involves more than one person, you’ve got to do some managing of the project. Scott Berkun has been writing some of the best essays and giving out lots of advice on how to manage projects and people. Through his essays and the great collected wisdom of the crowd of PM Clinic I often find useful advice that helps me a better teacher and project manager.
Now he’s got a new book, The Art of Project Management and I can’t wait to read it. It’s great to have a perspective and common sense for making things happen and keeping things going. If only more people would follow the advice, as it would be a calmer, more productive world.