The Art Of Project Management

I picked this book because I was tempted by the use of the word `art' in the title. After nearly 20 years of working in projects (mostly within government bureaucracy) I was intrigued by anyone who had the courage to use that particular word. When I first read the book I was naturally a bit put off by the Microsoft emphasis but I enjoyed the read and put the book away. But then after a few months I picked the book up again and started reading beyond the Microsoft stuff and then I realised how much insight and experience Scott has managed to get into this one book. When I got fed up or frustrated I started to read the book to see if Scott had any insights or common experiences...and he frequently does. After a while the book got to be like an old friend. Scott seems to have experienced many if not all of the typical frustrations of PMs and it feels great to dip in and see what he did or how he felt. What Scott has included may not necessarily be new or provide all the answers but it does provide a friendly sounding board and a sympathetic ear and frequently leads me to remember something or some way I cracked a problem years back. In effect it helps you to recycle knowledge and I can relate closely to his experiences. The stuff on scheduling/planning and leadership is superb and I haven't seen it discussed better anywhere else. I don't know if it will help newcomers to projects but if you've been around a while and want to reflect on your experiences and maybe recalibrate your approach for a new project or job then this book is first class.

As someone relatively new to project management from the managing side, but having considerable experience of being managed, I picked up this book to see if I could pick up any tips. I'm glad I did. Scott has managed to distill a huge amount of information and guidance into a very readable work, avoiding the pitfall of so many other books where they end up being dry and dull.Scott's style is lively and witty, with a mix of the technical jargon, followed up with excellent advice and guidance. The book is split into three sections: Plans, skills and Management. Each section is further broken down in to the core skills and approaches needed to get your project up and running.I've put a lot of what I've read into practice, and have noticed immediate results - I can now back up my 'gut feel' for how to do stuff with concrete examples of 'why' that approach is best.It doesn't matter what size of team or organisation you manage, this book *will* help. Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy. If you're being managed rather than managing, buy a copy and give it to *your* manager, then sit back and enjoy the results.

Thank you

Good comprehensive preliminary book on this topic area.

Good perspective on the non-technical part of Project Management.

The author is clear and open-minded in his presentation. Most of his advice is common sense, but then again, most of life is common sense.The book would be very useful to beginning project managers who are looking for a place to start.Programmers would also benefit a lot. I have worked with too many fellow programmers who, in spite of their intelligence, were quite useless because of their unclear communication and lack of pragmatism.People who tend to make cynical remarks during team meetings would also be well-served by this book: maybe this way they will finally understand that, unless they have something practical to say, they would be most useful to the project if they just keep their cynicism to themselves and be quiet.The book isn't perfect and is at times too wordy, but the author doesn't claim to have created a masterpiece of writing. He shares his own experience of project management and resources/approaches he found useful, and the result is a useful little handbook.Personally, I'd quite enjoy being a programmer on Berkun's team.

I've read a lot of books on project management, and Scott's book really stands out. Scott really captures the "heart and soul" of project management. A good project manager will read this book and become a better project manager, and a novice will learn a great deal about how to run a good project. I especially like the "lessons learned" aspect of this book -- I really got the sense that he's seen his share of projects, and he shares the ups and downs from his past in a way that's really informative. I can't recommend this book highly enough.(Disclosure: I was a technical reviewer for this book.)