The focus of this book is the author’s Ten Step Method for software project management. The book is written with energy and excitement, and it contains a number of ideas that, although not new, are rephrased into a commonsense prescription for project leadership. The real power of this volume is in its explanation and forceful presentation of the critical importance of procedures we often forget or ignore.

The first half of the book develops the Ten Step Method “to guarantee success” if followed religiously. The first two steps present the value of early planning, and the third explains the need for a single, strong leader. Step 4 asserts that no job can be successful unless actual people are assigned to each task early in the planning process. Step 5 shows the need to have a margin of error in the predictions, to have a fallback position, and to be prepared for the unexpected. Steps 6 and 7 discuss the need for an appropriate leadership style and the need for the leader to keep informed on the progress of the project and on the tasks associated with the whole. Step 8 states that everyone--the team, management, and the customer--needs to know what is going on. Steps 9 and 10 provide for iteration of the first eight steps.

All of this ground has been covered before, in many different ways, in a number of books and articles. The author does provide a Probability of Success Indicator (PSI), a formula to help the project manager determine how well things are progressing. However, this is basically only a weighted numerical listing of the progress of the Ten Steps. What makes this book valuable and unique is its discussion of the importance of each of the steps and of the need to perform them in the order prescribed. Furthermore, the logic and presentation are superb.

In the middle portion of the book, the author changes direction and discusses a number of diverse issues related to management--stress; how to prepare for meetings; negotiations; hiring; and delegation. This material is interesting but digresses from the book’s primary goal.

The final third is a set of appendices that are, in themselves, well worth the price of the book. They cover structured project management and PRINCE; details on the PSI; a number of useful forms for project managers; an excellent introduction to Microsoft Project; and a good discussion of Timeline.

The book was easy and enjoyable to read and is an addition to the literature. It was somewhat disturbing to read that the method presented is the “best” (p. 229) and that if the method is followed, the author will “guarantee success” (preface, p. xx). Furthermore, O’Connell says that “the Ten Step Method is the solution to the software industry’s biggest problem--that of software projects not coming in on time, within budget or delivering what was required” (p. xix). Some readers might consider this a bit overstated, but others will sense the author’s excitement and be more generous. The author clearly believes in his method and knows it has been successful for him. Anyone, even if they cannot use everything here, will find much of value and will be better software practitioners for having read it.