Making It Happen - A Fable About Project Management

by Mackenzie Kyle

Making It A Non-Technical Guide to Project Management provides a fresh and clear approach to project management. Written in the form of a novel, it covers the basics of project management in a friendly, interesting, and memorable way. Will Campbell, a reasonably competent middle manager, is suddenly thrust into managing a high-profile project that could make or break his career. With no project management experience, and armed only with the guidance of his eccentric menror, Martha, Will learns the hard way. As Will navigates the rough seas of company politics, treacherous competition, and a project swirling out of control, he narrowly evades many pitfalls, and masters some indispensable project management tools along the way. Against the backdrop of this personal drama, a simple, rational approach to project management unfolds. Will's ability to grasp these principles is the key to his survival, and could be the key to yours. Making It Happen enables the reader to transform risky, real-life situations into success.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Leonardo Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly conveys project management in a narrative engaging way. If anyone is ever bored or stumped by the dryness and technical complexity of project management literature, reading this books brings a new colorful and dynamic way of thinking about that kind of content.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a light, nice introduction into project management..with a bit of humor along the way.

[Aarti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Might be misleading at the beginning - making you feel this is a book to be read casually - before bed or during transit. It makes you laugh, gets you thinking about the characters.. got a good dose of suspense - everything that makes a decent story and a story of this size makes a novel. Yes, this is a novel.

But this is a GREAT novel for budding project managers - willing to learn out of the textbook world. This book is for very serious PM's too - experienced ones who think academia works like a "one size fits all" mantra. How can someone with no PM experience at all implement a successful project? The author helps us solve this puzzle slowly, interestingly and rationally.

I agree that not everyone can have a mother in law like Martha but that's what makes it a fiction read.

I am not really a big fan of reading books (probably read like 5 novels in my lifetime) and I loved this book. Why? Because it is simple, relative, funny, interesting and very relevant to my profession.

[Barth Siemens · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'So you see, we’ll need a work breakdown structure almost immediately,' he said. 'I see,' I said. I didn’t." With these words, Mackenzie Kyle launches into this narrative where we are introduced to some stereotypical, but useful characters in Making it Happen. Will is the Information Systems professional, who has been thrown in the deep end of project management and cannot believe how quickly the sharks start to circle. Al, for example, is the know-it-all, experienced project manager whose primary interest seems to be scuttling the project. Perhaps Martha is willing to help. Martha is Will's sarcastic, pipe-smoking grandmother(-in-law). Enough said? It's a fun read. And it is a cohesive explanation of the salient points of Project Management.

[Kyla Squires · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a serious book about project management presented in the form of a novel. It was an easy read, and had many good ideas which I have begun implementing. Includes a very broad and flexible set of rules for project management which acknowledges that every project is so different, you can't approach them all the same way.

[Taz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a workshop for work...should be taught in schools!!

[Edgardo Barsallo Yi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to initiate in Project Management.

[Leeann]

As a person with a non technical background it was ok

[Scott Sjoblom · Rating 4 out of 5]

His prose isn't anything to get excited about. But the concepts for managing projects in here are solid. And, it is more interesting to read when presented as a novel than an instruction manual.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

best novelization of the project management process that I've ever read.