Project Management Lite: Just Enough to Get the Job Done...Nothing More

by Juana Clark Craig

Get your projects done without having a Master’s Degree in Project Management There is no shortage of books on project management, yet most of those guides are weighed down with tiresome project management-speak and heavy process. This easy-to-use, step-by-step, plain English guide to project management shows readers how to hit ground running and nail the completion of projects. For beginners who find themselves in charge of a project but have no clue where to start or those who are struggling or feel overwhelmed, Project Management Lite focuses less on the theory and more on the action with simple worksheets and checklists. Author Juana Clark Craig, PMP, draws on over twenty-five years of project management experience gained while working in Fortune 500 companies to deliver a minimalistic approach to managing your projects without the mumbo-jumbo of traditional project management techniques.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management, Self Help, Buisness, Ebooks, Reference

138 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2012

About the author

As a project management professional, Juana Clark Craig has over twenty-five years of project management experience working for Fortune 500 corporations. She has personally managed projects ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to ones with multi-million dollar budgets. She has extensive experience in helping organizations boost their success rate through training, mentoring, and coaching both new and experienced project managers.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00AH0Y8PG

Reviews

[Kaora · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I read this for work.

I did take courses in college about project management, and had the chance to put them into practice, so this isn't new to me.

I didn't feel like I learned anything new from this book, but it was easy to understand and straightforward. I feel like a lot of the tips were helpful if you are new to project management and it will cover details that you may not have thought of.

For me it was a good refresher.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly appreciated this short guide to the fundamentals of project management. I do not have any background in this area, but I will soon be managing a project as part of my Masters degree and was assigned this book in my project planning course.

I have been experiencing a lot of free-floating anxiety about managing a project, and this book soothed a lot of those anxious feelings. It is simple, quick, and provides step-by-step instructions and templates* for each step of the project management process. I am excited to put these skills to good use and feel much more confident about the upcoming semesters.

I think anyone managing a project would benefit from reading this book. And I’d go one step further and say that I think it’s a good read even if you’re NOT planning a project, since I think a lot of the ideas and processes provide a useful framework for approaching situations in a methodical and practical way.

* - A link to the templates included in the book can be found in the ‘Resources’ section of the book.

[Wisconsinwriter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short enough to keep you focused on the basics. Definitely worth reading if you find yourself on a project and your mind goes in many different directions because of it. ;)

[MR ROBIN COGHLAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what i was looking.

I wanted a credible and brief overview of PM. I read this book in a day during my commute. It's an overview with enough detail which is the structure I was looking for. The rest I'll figure out in the doing.

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summary

Author has presented a good and easy to follow explanation of the project management process. She provides a system outline that almost anyone could follow to manage a "lite" project. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Clint Heitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little quick rundown, but a bit too "lite" for my liking as a newbie.

[Brian W · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took less than 30 minutes to review. The book does not provide many tools and techniques but a straightforward 9-step process for project managers.

[Saoirse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about as basic as it gets! If you want a no-frills guide to project management, this is it. Or you could just use common sense! There are some very useful forms, or perhaps I should say ideas for forms. The ones in the book are just samples - you couldn't even just photocopy them for your own use. I could not imagine having to keep track of all the paperwork this book does seem to suggest for use in managing a project. That alone - never mind all the time to fill them out and update them - would add ages to the project. I'd recommend borrowing this one from your local library rather than paying for it, even though it is relatively inexpensive.

[Yavrukedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest I did not learn anything new at all from this book. But if I had to give a complete beginner an advice, I'd choose this over more textbook-like books. All other books, guides, methods will make a lot more sense after you go through this one. Most of the book reads like just common sense, but some of the most basic terms are gently introduced. Also, the book includes simple spreadsheets and checklists for beginners.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't a book to prepare you for PMP certification or even an overview of the focus areas and processes of project management. It is as the title indicates - a basic book on project management. It is for someone (a beginner) who is doing a project alone or leading a small team and need a reference book with checklists.

[Jiwan Rai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and concise. It delivers on it's promise of giving the reader enough to get stuff done.
It's a clear, non-overwhelming introduction for new project managers, and a good refresher if you've been doing it for a while.
Get it on Kindle if you can, probably not enough content to justify a printed book. You can download all the templates on-line if you need them anyway.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's ok to plan small

The best thing I got out of this book is that I don't need a dedicated PM program to manage my projects. It's written just for schmucks like me who have the occasional small project. I'm fine just using to-do lists. So glad to have that permission.

[Aydin Kintziger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although it offers some good basic tips to starting PMs, in my opinion it contains too many dull quotes and too many references to Google. I recommend (myself) to read tougher-looking books, even to start with.

[Ameen Magdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little bit boring. The information provided is in very high level and abstract. I don't consider the information as new, its all part of PMP knowledge. I dunno why there are many spaces and empty lines in the book additional to empty tables that could have been set in an attachment.

[Sherylbalbaligo · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good PM reference. An easy read for those who likes to know the basics

[Michael Laniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick primer on managing projects

I really like the templates and checklists that will definitely come in handy at work. To me it was concise and strategic.

[Brandon Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful templates for starting and a quick read

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

very basic and concise introduction to project management.

not much insight but sets out a framework to follow, which should keep you out of trouble in your first project

[Gary Boland · Rating 2 out of 5]

too light weight. 1 star for the templates and another for the tone.