The Principles of Project Management

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.

Any project one can undertake is not necessarily going to be like all the others. "The Principles of Project Management: Run Projects on Time and To Budget Using This Simple Step-by-Step Guide" is an informed and informative handbook for managers in charge of making their projects the best they can be with proper planning, strategy, and beginnings. With advice on warning signals to help people stay on the right track, "The Principles of Project Management: Run Projects on Time and To Budget Using This Simple Step-by-Step Guide" is a top pick for community library business collections and any would be project leader.

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.

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.

'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