Even though the examples and anecdotes in this book are from the software industry, this book is equally applicable to all fields, addressing the problems and issues faced by project managers every day. Berkun takes an approach that is similar to the one adopted by Brooks [1], talking more about management than about technology.

While the book mentions project management theories, it does not go into detail. If you are looking for a book that discusses theoretical aspects, then this book is not for you; in that case, I recommend you read the books by the Project Management Institute [2] and by Kerzner [3].

The book contains 16 chapters, a preface, references, an annotated bibliography, and an excellent index. In the preface, the author explains what is in the book, why he wrote it, his assumptions about the target audience, and his philosophy on project management. He also explains who should read the book, how readers (with different backgrounds and skill levels) are going to benefit from the book, and how one should use the book.

The first chapter gives an overview of the project management discipline, and explains why one should take this discipline seriously. It covers the history of project management, the role of project management and project managers, how the role has evolved over time, complexities in managing a project, and so on. This chapter sets the stage for the succeeding chapters. The remaining 15 chapters are divided into three sections, covering plans, skills, and management.

The first chapter (chapter 2) in the first section (“Plans”) is about schedules. The author explains the purposes and functions of schedules, why schedules fail, how to create efficient and effective schedules, and how to estimate effectively, and offers tips on making schedules that work. Chapter 3 discusses software planning, the different approaches to planning, how planning is done, and planning deliverables. This chapter also gives advice and guidelines on how to create plans that work and that are realistic, and how to avoid common planning pitfalls. The fourth chapter is about vision documents, including their need and importance, and offers expert guidance on creating effective, inspirational, and motivational vision documents. Chapter 5 examines how to generate the design ideas needed to convert requirements to specifications. It explains many excellent techniques for producing ideas for great designs. Chapter 6 is a practical guide to managing and organizing design ideas, and to choosing the best approach. This chapter discusses various methods for keeping the creative work (idea generation) on track, and managing it effectively.

The second section (“Skills”) contains five chapters. The first chapter in this section (chapter 7) explains how to write good specifications (specs), how to define and manage spec quality, how to use specs for improving communication, and how to manage open issues. Chapter 8 discusses decision making and meta-decision making (decisions about which decisions to invest time in). This chapter examines the different techniques for making effective decisions. The chapter also explores topics like why good decisions fail, the need to revise and improve on the decisions continuously, and the importance of reviewing past decisions and learning from them. Chapter 9 is about communication and relationships. It discusses a communication model, communication problems, relationships, roles, and role definitions. This chapter also explains how good relationships improve communication, how to get the best out of your team, and how to motivate people to help others. In chapter 10, the author explains how not to annoy the people in your team, and why it is important for the project manager to ensure the team is not frustrated or demoralized. Topics covered include why people get annoyed, techniques for not getting your team members annoyed, problems in managing a dissatisfied team, and how to use emails effectively. In chapter 11, the author explains what to do when things go wrong. This chapter discusses a step-by-step approach to handling difficult situations. It also covers issues like how to know when things are going wrong, how to be prepared for contingencies, and how to do damage control. Also discussed are topics like handling negotiations, resolving conflicts, and helping your team deal with different types of work pressures.

Section 3 of the book is about managing people. The first chapter in this section (chapter 12) explains the importance of trust in leadership. It covers various techniques for earning the trust of your team, and explains the things to avoid. This chapter also explains the importance of self-trust, self-discovery, and self-reliance among leaders. Chapter 13 is about making things happen. It discusses topics like setting priorities, managing priorities, saying “No,” different ways of saying “No,” how to keep the team aware of the project status, how to use the critical path effectively, and how to be both relentless and savvy to make things happen. In chapter 14, the author talks about the middle-game, and what to do to move the project during this phase. The middle-game strategies discussed include keeping track of progress, taking proactive corrective actions, staying ahead, and performing sanity checks. The author also discusses techniques like coding pipelines, milestone-based planning, and change management and control. Chapter 15 is about project-end activities and strategies to successfully complete a project. This chapter covers issues like dealing with milestones, establishing measurements to track the project’s progress, and implementing controls. The chapter also discusses how to complete the final tasks, how to handle project-end pressures, how to conduct project debriefing, and how to party after successful completion. The last chapter (chapter 16) is about politics and power. It covers topics like how to gain and handle power, how to influence powerful people, and how to effectively play the political game to get things done.

This book is a good read for all who are involved with projects of any kind. It is a must-read for experienced as well as novice project managers. The usefulness of the book will vary depending on the skill, experience, and expertise of the reader. The book is replete with anecdotes and stories, mainly from the author’s ten-year stint at Microsoft. The easy-to-read, jargon-free language, which is simple and engaging, makes the book very readable. The ample use of bulleted lists and tables, and the unique illustrations, go a long way toward making this book interesting.