The Art of Project Management

by Scott Berkun

The Art of Project Management covers it all--from practical methods for making sure work gets done right and on time, to the mindset that can make you a great leader motivating your team to do their best. Reading this was like reading the blueprint for how the best projects are managed at Microsoft... I wish we always put these lessons into action!" --Joe Belfiore, General Manager, E-home Division, Microsoft Corporation

"Berkun has written a fast paced, jargon-free and witty guide to what he wisely refers to as the 'art' of project management. It's a great introduction to the discipline. Seasoned and new managers will benefit from Berkun's perspectives." --Joe Mirza, Director, CNET Networks (Cnet.com)

"Most books with the words 'project management' in the title are dry tomes. If that's what you are expecting to hear from Berkun's book, you will be pleasantly surprised. Sure, it's about project management. But it's also about creativity, situational problem-solving, and leadership. If you're a team member, project manager, or even a non-technical stakeholder, Scott offers dozens of practical tools and techniques you can use, and questions you can ask, to ensure your projects succeed." --Bill Bliss, Senior VP of product and customer experience, expedia.com

In The Art of Project Management, you'll learn from a veteran manager of software and web development how to plan, manage, and lead projects. This personal account of hard lessons learned over a decade of work in the industry distills complex concepts and challenges into practical nuggets of useful advice. Inspiring, funny, honest, and compelling, this is the book you and your team need to have within arms reach. It will serve you well with your current work, and on future projects to come.

Topics include:


How to make things happen
Making good decisions
Specifications and requirements
Ideas and what to do with them
How not to annoy people
Leadership and trust
The truth about making dates
What to do when things go wrong

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Reference, Leadership, Programming, Software

448 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Scott Berkun is the author of four popular books, Making Things Happen, The Myths of Innovation, Confessions of a Public Speaker and Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds. His work as a writer and speaker have appeared in the The Washington Post, the New York Times, Wired, the Economist, Fast Company, Forbes, CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, National Public Radio and other media. His many popular essays and entertaining lectures can be found for free on his blog at http://www.scottberkun.com, and he tweets at https://twitter.com/berkun.

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book to help get me up to speed when I unexpectedly became the interim project manager for several important products my company was developing. I began the book with no knowledge of how things were supposed to be done and ended feeling confident that I could take on what was asked of me. Although the book is written for developer-cum-project managers and I'm in marketing, there is a wealth valuable information presented in an engaging and pleasant-to-read manner that will teach you something, no matter what your background is.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read one book about managing (software) projects, this might be it. It doesn't touch on the various (software specific) methodologies that people deal with (and become obsessed with). But it touches on all of the other stuff besides those process-y things - people, politics, getting things done. If you've already been successful, maybe you don't have to read this. But you should, just in case, because you never know when you might be doing something that is secretly working against you.

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every project/product/program manager should read this book at lest once in 6 months.

[Christoph Kappel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The author has a good way of explaining things along with lots of warstories and funny anecdotes. He totally got me, when he used 2001: A space odyssey as a reference for good and bad communication.

Although I never had projects before, where I had to start from the vision it was still interesting to read. And especially the later chapters about leadership and the project phases included lots of useful ideas.

Overall a highly suggested read for new project managers and aspirants. Might also be good for people under a manager though.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of project management books that talk about the specific processes and practices you need to execute. This is the first book I've read that deals with the "softer skills" of management & leadership and I found it to be very enlightening.

If leadership doesn't come naturally to you, this book can help you understand the skills necessary to do more than plain project management. If leadership does come naturally, this book can give you insight as to the things you are doing that make you successful. (And as we all know, when you're conscious of something, it only helps you improve.)

I would recommend chapters 1, 8-11 & 14 for the best information. 12, 13, 15 & 16 are insightful. 2-7 are interesting if you don't have a lot of background in software development & methodologies.

[John McElhenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Berkun was there at the dawn of IE 3 - 4 - 5. What a task trying to manage the MS development teams as they tried to define the uber-browser and then build it. And then miss deadlines. And then remove features. And then miss more deadlines. And then ship. And then fix.

Not so much a project management book as a people skills and leadership book of wisdom.

The book was renamed recently by O'Rielly books in an attempt to make it more marketable.

Berkun is poetically clear. "Art" is in this book.

[Nathanael Coyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best book on project management if you actually want to know how to manage projects in the real world. Fun and easy to read, a great source of inspiration - I find myself flipping through it every couple of days to help ensure I've properly thought through everything when putting together my work plans.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book presented a lot of extremely practical suggestions for managing projects. It's geared towards software development, but most of the ideas seem applicable to other areas.

[Mingmei Tsui · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Art of Project Management" is a solid read for anyone dealing with projects. Scott Berkun really knows his stuff and lays it all out in a way that's easy to understand. It's not just about schedules and budgets, but also about working with people, making decisions, and handling curveballs. Some parts might be a bit technical for newbies, but even then, it's got a lot of good takeaways. It's like a masterclass in getting things done, wrapped up in a book. Whether you're a seasoned PM or just getting started, this book's got something for you.

While "The Art of Project Management" offers a lot of insights, it may come across as too broad for some readers. The wide range of topics, while covering the subject comprehensively, can make the material seem less focused. Furthermore, the book occasionally delves into theory that, while informative, might not be directly applicable to day-to-day project management tasks. Some readers may also find the real-world examples too tech-industry specific, limiting relatability for those outside this sector. Lastly, beginners might find the language a bit technical and overwhelming at times.

[Gompis Purba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manajemen proyek adalah seni memimpin orang untuk mencapai hasil bersama, bukan sekadar mengelola tugas. Seorang manajer proyek yang efektif memahami bahwa empati, komunikasi, dan kejelasan tujuan sama pentingnya dengan jadwal, anggaran, dan alat manajemen.

Secara keseluruhan, buku ini mengajarkan bahwa manajemen proyek bukan hanya tentang mengelola tugas dan jadwal, melainkan tentang mengelola orang, ide, dan dinamika tim. Scott Berkun mengajak pembaca untuk memahami seni di balik proses manajerial yaitu bagaimana menciptakan keseimbangan antara struktur dan kreativitas untuk mencapai hasil terbaik

[Owen O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is largely based on problem-solving, creativity, and leadership, which I believe are true qualities of becoming a manager. In case you work as a project manager or a non-technical stakeholder, this book will offer you knowledge of pretty helpful tools and techniques that will lead you to success. It excludes the methodologies and provides you to the point information on people, politics, and how to get things done as a manager. On the minus side, there are too many IT-based examples which may be difficult for everyone to connect with.

[Wojtekwalczak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains so many obvious questions/remarks that it's too hard to always take all of them into account. Thus one should browse this book from time to time to pick at least one and reconsider. Some random picks: "How to know you are in a difficult situation" (p. 209), "Trust is lost through inconsistent behavior" (p. 236), "Know the critical path" (p. 261), "Who else is competing for the same resources?" (p. 334) and many many more.

[Samir Majhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was meant for the waterfall age.
Not very useful now.

[Duchess_Nimue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid reference book about life of project management. Directed towards projects inside the company, not so much to the client-based projects. There were some insights worth learning.

[Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project management is much more than sum of project manager activities; it involves all the actions performed by team members in project planning, managing or closing phases. It is fair to say that it takes more than successful project manager to have successful project, that everyone in project team contribute to its success.

"The Art of Project Management" written by Scott Berkun is a book every project manager should read, presenting all important project aspects and not focusing on any specific project management methodology. It is packed with author's personal project management experience providing insight into all the aspects which make project management the art. For someone as me who have more than 10 years in PM, it was great to read book about this topic that is not tiresome like most on the market.

Divided into three parts (Plans, Skill and Management), the book's organization provides a logical flow although the chapters can be randomly accessed which is also author's recommendation. In book's first part, "Plans", author started with short history of project management and discussion about projects' common elements in order to help avoiding common errors from the past. Afterwards planning, project requirements and creation of project vision are discussed. Author presented three planning perspectives - the business perspective, the technology perspective and the customer perspective. Lot of space is dedicated for discussions about creativity, for author examination of all ideas, good or bad, is essential to creativity. It is great, though uncommon to see such amount of design-related topics in a project management book.

In the second part, "Skills", author provided many practical topics, even for experienced PM as I like to think about myself. The advices can be found about writing proper project specifications, ways of decision making and even about efficient e-mail communication.

The final part of the book, "Management" is more about some general issues of project management. Author manages to touch the softer side of project management, speaking about importance of trust and ever-present political games in many projects.

What sets this book different from all other project management books is personal tone which is in other books often replaced by fully technical and impersonal theory. As it can be expected for book about project management it it's thick, nearly 500 pages long, book but due to writing style it can be read very quickly.

The book great add-on is the excellent annotated bibliography providing reader an additional source for other helpful project management titles.

Scott Berkun's "The Art of Project Management" is different book about project management. This comprehensive guide, written with heart and lot of experience, succeeded in presentation of all aspects of this interesting profession, picturing best practices as well as those that should be avoided. It is recommended read for project managers but also to those who are trying to become or understand one.

[Ruthmgon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thick, funny,lots of stuff here. ...good recommendation from Barbara's sister Kathleen. This is a dense topic, but I am really enjoying his humor and thoroughness. He is definitely coming from a web project manager background, and this has like 500 pages. So I am hovering at page 250...a section about decision making.

This is a really good chapter for me to absorb, because he talks about how sometimes you have to make a quick decisions and while you have to make good decisions, often you don't have a long time to make them. The time to make careful decisions is at the start of a big project when you have time to consider all angles. It will save time later and if a decision does not make a big impact, don't sweat over it.

Will be finishing this one for sure. Hope to get back to it soon.

[Glenn Burnside · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a bad book. If your job is to wrangle project through to delivery, this is probably a good book to have read through at least once. Unfortunately, it suffers from the fact that Scott Berkun's total project management experience is from inside Microsoft. So, everything in this book assumes that you're a PM on a GIANT project, working with hundreds of people and multiple internal organizations. If you're the project manager at a small company, with four developers and an analyst, for example, then most of this book's advice is going to be overkill. I also found that, in the edition I had, the print was too small, and made it hard to read for more than fifteen minutes at a time. That's not Scott's fault, but it was definitely a detractor from my reading experience.

[Michael Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Scott Berkum was a Project Manager at Microsoft, bringing new products and operating systems to market, he came to work each day with the mantra "Make Good Things Happen." For that reason, if for no other, this book deserves to be read by every software PM.

After a few years in the industry, software PMs tend to come to work with unspoken mantras like, "Avoid being shafted," "Identify a scapegoat," "What's our exit strategy?" "Distance myself from that decision," "Die rather than tell the truth," "Where's the power in this organisation?" ... It is not a job for bunnies.

But Scott managed to succeed, and thrive, and daily tried to "Make Good Things Happen." Now there is a guy that I can learn from.

[Ben Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott does a good job of applying his experience managing the development Microsoft's Internet Explorer to the process of managing (tech projects) more generally. His key points are directed towards customer driven design, milestones, planning documentation, group communication, and whiteboards (which he loves). If you think you should read this book, you are right, if you think you should not read it, right again.

[Marce Scarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on project management I have ever read. The author does a great job of combining theory and reality, in a way that is much easier to understand than the PMBOK. I really enjoyed this book. The chapter on office politics in particular was good and should be expanded into a book of its own.

My only suggestion would be to expand this book to make it more general and less software industry specific.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great process-driven procedural textbook - I recommend this to anyone entering into a project management role, far above anything I've seen from the PMI. Good, basic skills and perspectives to guide your actions - lots of good responses to real-life common failure modes.

[Salim Hayran]

It is one of the grate process-driven procedural textbook - I recommend this to anyone who is working as the project manager role, far above anything I've seen from the PMI. Good, basic skills and perspectives to guide your actions - lots of good responses to real-life common failure modes.

[Tyler Gooch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty good informal look at project management. A little heavy on the IT project management (could have used more non-IT examples), but I would recommend for anyone interested in project management but not actively involved.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though a lot of it was familiar, I really enjoyed this book. It's one of those that I think I would have benefited from when I was younger, and I think newer managers would find it a great resource!

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned quite a few things from this book. The usual information about the importance of schedules, specifications and requirements, and communications are in there. Part 3, Management, added more value to me than other project management books--this is where things "get squishy".

[Jonathan El-Bizri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book on software project management that focuses on the things that will actually help one do ones job, rather than the things that just assure your boss that you are overworked and miserable.

[Michael Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very engaging for the subject matter. It is primarily about project management in terms of software development, but even non-project managers can benefit from the topics of organization, critical path planning, stakeholder awareness, and what it takes to make a project successful.

[Hugh Griffiths]

I kinda thought the best bits in this were when *not* to use different project management techniques, that you only use them as long as they're working. And I love his attitude that management isn't there to make people work harder, that actually people pretty much do that themselves.

[Lee Gingras · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on project management at a philosophical level, but very little nuts and bolts. That can be fine, though - there's a lot of nuts and bolts books out there. More importantly, it has great references and citations!

[jeb4t · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great PM book with hands on experience insights.