What You Need to Know about Project Management

by Fergus O'Connell, Colin Mace (Narrator)

What You Need to Know About Project ManagementProject Management is all about getting things done without spending too much or taking too long. But when you start hearing things like man-days, PSOs and stakeholders, it just makes it difficult to understand.

So what do you "really" need to know about project management?

Find out: Why setting clear goals mattersHow to estimate absolutely everything.How to get things back on track after they've gone wrongHow to track big projectsWhy work/life balance matters when you're running a big project

This clear and simple approach will mean you'll never panic when faced with a big project again.

Read More in the Want You Need to Know Series and Get to Speed on the Essentials... Fast.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Management

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

My mum read Treasure Island to me when I was four and I think that was when I decided to become a writer.

I used to think I’d like to spend all my time writing, but spending all day alone in a room with your imaginary friends isn’t necessarily the healthiest way to pass the time. (It’s easy to see why so many great writers’ best friend has been the whisky bottle!) So I also write books and teach and speak on project management. I’ve written sixteen non-fiction books and had seven novels published. My most recent, The Paradise Ghetto is now in development based on my own screenplay.

I’ve been shortlisted for prizes – the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Prize for my first novel, Call The Swallow; in non-fiction, for my book on common sense, Simply Brilliant which was runner-up in the W H Smith Book Awards. My books have been translated into twenty-five languages.

So far, all my novels have been set during wartime but I don’t think of myself as a war novelist. I write about people caught up in great events and how they try to find love in the most difficult of circumstances.

I’m widowed, have two grown-up children and have lived in lots of places. Currently I’m living in England but that could be about to change.

Reviews

[Bob Wallner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad introduction, but it is only an introduction. I think the author is a bit overly ambitious by saying that after reading this you can successfully run a project. It does a great job at cracking the door, but more learning is definitely required.

[Margot Note]

Read during a subway ride from the Bronx to Brooklyn to the Bronx again to attend a wedding on a shuffleboard court.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro é bem básico porém pode ajudar bastante quem está iniciando agora na gestão de projetos.

[Booklist54321 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very short book outlining various subtopics in project management. Items such as planning, scheduling, negotiating, resources, contingencies, progress monitoring, and more are given brief explanations with advice. Although this isn't a comphrehensive solution to learning about project management, the definitions provided are a great start or review for anyone involved in any sort of formal projects. One of the things I liked was that the descriptions are viable for any type of project management, rather than only one standard or style. This was great, because the project standards I am used to are for software engineering, but this did give me a conception of how projects are managed elsewhere.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very light read for a potentially technical subject. I wanted to read this book because of several projects in my life, and I found this guide very helpful. The audio version reminded me of the sense of humor from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy without becoming trite or irrelevant. Come to think, Hitchhiker's author Douglas Adams is quoted in the chapter starts. So . . . I highly recommend this book if you want to read about the project management profession.

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about PM. It manages to successfully touch all the important PM concepts, such as planning, stakeholders, contingency, risks and so on, without becoming as boring as the PMBOK :)

Also, it discusses about how to say no gracefully and the importance of having a life.

And on top of all, you'll find a lot of jokes. Also, you'll find all the shitty situations you've ever been in as a project manager AND how to avoid getting there again.

Do read it! Enjoy ;)

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent refresher or even starting book for someone looking to get into Project Management.

I will definitely be reading it again as there were a lot of tips, tricks and advice I will surely need.

Not only is it informative but entertaining as well. There are especially good sections on communication, stakeholders and avoiding burnout.

[Lastoadri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basic refresher for general project management ideas.
I do not really recommend it, unless you have sometime you want to waste in something slightly informative, but not really complicated - or mind exhausting.

[Adrian Thompkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Project Management for dummies.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with a good overview on project management. The author includes recommended books on each topic discussed and useful links...nice!

[Rebekah Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun listening to this on Audible. A dry subject is explained with humor and wit

[Alex Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, and surprisingly helpful for anyone who works for themselves and wants to do it better. Highly recommended.

[Thomas Umstattd Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently went on a project management audiobook listening binge. This was the most useful book of the whole lot. And I read half a dozen books.

[Declan Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having run more than a few projects and IT projects in my past I found this an interesting summary of the best ways of approaching projects from planning, to 'saying no, politely', to ensuring that you avoid impossible projects (and don't give them out either).

A simple overview, but well laid out easy to follow and easy to refer back to for your next project (whether work or in life in general).

[Jhenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the book, it did a good job of laying out what you needed to know and made references to previous material introduced from the start. I do think that it is best to look up some of the sites mentioned and books as well. So if you are listening as an audible book, having a book at hand to take note of certain references would be a bonus.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

When rating this book one has to understand that this is not a PRINCE2 or APM PMQ study guide, thus it does not provide a detailed in-depth description of the profession.
This book gives the very dry basics, references and examples. It's a nice book to have nearby to flip a few pages to refresh the ideas or for the follow-up studies.
This is why I rate this book 5 stars.

[Dennis Chow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a project manager for many years, and having read many books on project management. I really enjoyed this book, had a good laugh throughout the book. A good reminder of how simple Project management is (can be).

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing start to finish guide for Project Management providing general information which can be applied to any project.

[Daniel Hollands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and to the point, I plan on getting a physical copy for future reference.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for info and helpness
3 stars for my attention span

Great book on the subject

[Sajjad Alkhabbaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good as an introduction

[Loraine Araneta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a gem!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some straight forward advice.

[Lars Corneliussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

How a project cannot be successful if you don't know what success means for ALL its stakeholders.

And taking on a project with fixed scope and budget, but no clue what it actually should achieve as an outcome is pretty insane.

It has an interesting five-minute assessment on figuring out the health of a project with just a few simple questions. Very useful.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

About as good as one can get in explaining the basics of project management, either as an introduction to the topic or a refresher. I've studied the subject before but sometimes one has to go back and see the forest from the trees and not get bogged down in the smaller details. O'Connell explains every step and them some as laymen as possible, citing real life examples that can be related to as well as repeat steps in a compressed form you can refer to later. He also provides a number of sources on what to read next if you want to delve further into the 'magical' world of project management, but the PMBOK is definitely the priority if one wants to be formally qualified.... even if it is a struggle to read. O'Connell's book is a quick read which is a clever thing to do to try and engage interest with readers who know little to nothing on the subject.

[Sean Paul Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes on how to plan, set goals, solve problems and see a project through to completion and more. It delves into basic smart goal setting; forecasting, supply and demand for business and workers, managing risk, managing expectations, keeping workers and stakeholders satisfied, time management and managing multiple projects at a time plus how to maintain a life outside of work.

I will experiment with the method this book teaches and would suggest it to anyone who wishes to be productive in their work and more efficient with their time.

[نزار شهاب الدين · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowledge, and fun, in every line. Concise, right to the point and very well structured. Quite an enjoyable and fruitful read.

[Wes Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ended up ordering the printed version after listening to the audio version. I'd like to go back through and do some of the worksheets.

Great insight and overview of Project Management.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I used it to supplement another, theory based presentation. It was an entertaining read that was true to its title in just providing "what you need to know".