Project Management for Dummies

by Stanley E. Portny

More than two thirds of American companies use teams to execute their most important projects, making project management a highly valuable skill for advancing your career. Project Management For Dummies, Second Edition introduces you to the principles of successful project management and shows you how to motivate any team to gain maximum productivity. You'll find out how to:
Define your project and what you intend to accomplish Identify project stakeholders and their expectations Develop a project plan Establish project schedules and timetables Determine which skill sets and resources the project requires Choose team members and define their roles Launch you project and track its progress Encourage peak performance Conclude your project successfully Complete with helpful tips on delegating, shortening schedules, and optimizing your own performance Project Management for Dummies, help you get your project, and your career, off the ground in no time.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management, Reference, Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development

366 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2001

Reviews

[Bohdan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Хорошая систематизация для чайников, самоваров и аэропрессов

[Peter Krol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my kind of book! It wasn't super-engaging, but I really enjoyed all of the practical details on project management. The skills learned here are invaluable in my work, as I continue to take on more responsibility in DiscipleMakers.

In addition, Erin and I were able to use the material to develop a "project plan" for our current adoption process! There were so many things to remember, that we were just losing track of them until we get them down on paper. Once we did, it helped the process to flow very smoothly, and we could just focus on trusting the Lord through it (rather than frantically wondering if we remembered to do everything we needed to do).

[Ntombezinhle Nzama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recieved this book about 3 years ago from a friend because I had been speaking about how I wanted to do a project management course. This book is really great for me as a beginner. Its simple, understandable and gives a holistic understanding of project management. It doesnt, however, delve deeper into the different aspects of project management which are highlighted in the book. I learnt a lot and really want to apply what I learnt in my work

[Guido · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book, and found it extremely helpful. It's not a book that only speaks about prioritizing stuff and time management, blah, blah, blah. The book actually explains to you how to build a road map, but probably most importantly a formula so you can delegate stuff and accomplish projects faster.

[Gianfranco Gentile · Rating 3 out of 5]

The project manager in charge of the publication of this book must have skipped the quality control stage. This edition is replete with typos, repetitions and omissions, which is rather irritating. I hope the next edition will be proofread.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference. Will likely come back to it in future endeavor.

[Norman Wanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly useful

If you're looking to manage a team of people to achieve a shared objective, this book is a bible to achieve just that.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for class.

[Steven Kopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, it's hard to make a book about Project Management interesting, so I won't fault this book for being generally dull. However, I had hoped it would align more with the Project Management Book of Knowledge (which the description said it did), which it didn't, at least not very well.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information, but the overuse of headings, subheadings and boldface made it hard to organize in my mind.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My accomplished colleagues who are 50+ could read this and discover that they are talented project managers. The book will give you the jargon. Have at it.

[Tabs Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good graphics, great exersices. Good information overall.

[Djoumessi Clémence · Rating 4 out of 5]

La gestion de projet pour les nuls is not what you called an easy book to read. I've learn a lot of information, maybe too much actually.
At some point I really taught that I was reading a book for my school. It was maybe too much to handle.
Doing some small resume everyday really helped to keep track of the book.

I learned more that I enjoyed but I can say that if you really suck at handling a project, at the end of the book you will feel special like at least you've learned something.
It's a big book, so if you're lazy I recommend you to separate the book in part so you won't feel like it never end.

I still feel like I've learned things that i will use, but you can't remember everything, I suggest to people to take this book as their bible for their project, that's what I will do.

A good point was the multiple examples in the book, cause whenever I felt like I was missing something they expose it with a real life example and situation that I could be a part of one day. It was a way for me to get out of the school zone that they settle.

To Conclude,

Good Book but way too big and to much information to handle

[Mingmei Tsui · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Project Management For Dummies" is a good starting point if you're new to project management. It breaks down big concepts into easy-to-understand language and covers the basics really well. The real-world examples and practical tips make it super helpful. But on the downside, if you're an experienced project manager, this might feel a bit too basic for you. Also, while it's great for understanding the general idea of project management, it doesn't dive too deep into any specific methodologies. It's like a broad overview rather than a deep-dive. But for beginners, it's a solid choice to get your feet wet.

[Shauntelle James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Project Management for Dummies

This book is a good clarification of principle business process and operations. I learned how projects are designed, why it is important to organize team members and stakeholders, and the active role of management during projects. It offers a lot of examples of scheduling and work task assignments. I would recommend this book as an intermediate intro for all marketing, sales, and team management members.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Managing Projects and Projecting Management

This is a great book on the realm of project management.

I got a lot out of it, and would very much recommend it.

Especially an important read if you are a programmer/analyst or a business analyst.

4.1/5

[Alicia Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is extremely helpful and I only read pieces that applied to my situation for family. I rate it a four star because I don’t plan to reread or reuse the material again and has a desire to shop for the next like book with more detail.

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. Got some new concepts but nothing ground breaking.

[Sandesh Kalantre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful guide for quantitative details about project management techniques.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listening to this book was not a perfect fit for me. Should have found a physical copy. Abosrbed maybe 5% of what Portny was talking about.

[Bader Al-Shafei · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got the UK edition. Prefer US. Thats y i didnt read the whole thing. Just flipped through.

[Jeremiah Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are decent workmanlike book.

Gems near the end include “degrees of delegation“, and some ideas about how to hold people accountable within your organization that do not fall within your authority.

[Heshe Parent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to understand and appendix gives u a very good summ8

[Kamil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for beginning of journey in product management. A lot of inspirations and examples that can be used in daily work tasks.

[Aerilaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an okay book. Wish the content was more, okay starting point for a quick few minute read.

[Boostamonte Halvorsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

yep, fun stuff...

[-Bh · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s become a bit dated but alright for read for basic concepts.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t walk under that latter

No book can be the end all be all on a subject, especially a subject like Project Management. If you’re a fair idea of what project management is and want a fair overview then this book can work for you. Even if you are in the field and just want a different perspective to chew on then this book can still work. It is full of the obvious so most of the time you will say that is obvious; however, once in a while, there is an obvious that you did not think of. Sometimes looking at a book on a subject a different way you can obtain new insights. Remember there are worlds outside the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge.)

If you thought that the PM was the Prime Minister. Then this book even though it says for dummies can get overwhelming in detail. On the other hand, the examples (especially charts) were derived from some secret formula that was not revealed in the book. If you live and breathe projects then this book may be too fundamental and disjointed. If you are going for your PMP (Project Management Professional) credentials then again this is not the book for you because that is not the purpose of the book. Knowing the subject well you may find the statements too simple and a little degrading.

The bottom line is this is a good book for those that need it. However, the is room for Improvement.

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It wasn't bad. I was looking for something a bit more in depth but I guess that's my fault for buying "for dummies". On the plus side, I got this online used at Amazon and it was 25 cents plus three bucks for shipping so I didn't exactly get ripped off.

There are some useful formulas in here that I could use to help evaluate ongoing projects in order to get a different perspective than what I already had but generally I feel like this was written for someone with little to no supervisory experience or training who is suddenly thrust into a project management role and is severely out of the depth. If you're already semi comfortable or more so as a project manager then I would suggest skipping over this book and finding something else more detailed and challenging.