Managing IT Projects: How to Pragmatically Deliver Projects for External Customers

by Marcin Dąbrowski

Urgent deadlines, constant lack of time, permanent delays - these are the most faithful companions and, at the same time, the greatest enemies of the project manager. Even certified project managers, people with enormous knowledge and a lot of experience, find themselves in a situation where they need great mental resilience in order not to give up. The book is a complete manual for all critical situations a project manager might need to handle along the project’s lifecycle. Written by a project manager with many years of experience, each chapter contains real-life examples with analysis and guidelines. You’ll benefit from the down-to-earth knowledge that usually project managers learn over the course of years in critical and stressful situations with no preparation beforehand. It’s not about academic methodologies – it’s about pragmatic solutions that work in real-life. Far too often, the wise theory of IT project management has nothing to do with reality. Managing IT Projects is your special compendium of knowledge, featuring "project management black magic,” chock full of proven recipes for project managers and IT organization managers, as well as advice on how to act in critical situations. What You'll Learn Who This Book Is For Software developers, project managers, engineering managers and software development directors, sales reps, executive and founders "An extremely powerful book which describes well the highlights of critical project management well supported by real-life experience. […] A ready-made guide to succeed." Antonietta Mastroianni Chief Digital & IT Officer at Proximus, Telco Woman of the year 2022 "Straight to the point, well written and bold! […] One of the best books on project management!" Dr. Joerg Storm Global Head IT Infrastructure Mercedes-Benz Mobility "Absolutely recommended book for all professionals in the IT industry!" Francis Cepero IoT Business Unit Leader A1 Group, former VP Innovation & Technology at SAP "Managing IT Projects" by Marcin Dąbrowski is a reference work […] The best book I read this year." Holger Weichhaus Senior Director for Development Quality, AUDI AG "This is a very practical and insightful book that I wish I could have read when I started working in project management. […] I will definitely make it mandatory reading for all my project managers." Ricardo Campos CEO ITSCredit, former CEO at ActivoBank and Chief Digital Officer at Millennium Bank "The book really draws you in to how to successfully manage an IT-project both on a very practical note and also how to influence both internal and external stakeholders." Brian Stout Former CEO of BT One Phone, board member of T-Mobile The Netherlands and CEO of KPN Belgium "There are many books trying to explain to us how to design, sell and deliver transformative IT programs for demanding clients. “Managing IT projects” is more. […] Outstanding value for practitioners." Michael Brandenburg , GM 2Quadrate GmbH, Lead Coach at IESE Business School, former VP at Capgemini "It’s incredibly practical. It wins my trust." Ewa Maciaś , Director of Engineering at Nomagic, ex Director of Engineering at Google "Are you looking for a book that explains the journey behind an IT project and how one deals with the challenges that come along the way? Look no further - Marcin captures this brilliantly in his book Managing IT Projects." Gudny Helga Herbertsdottir CCO of VIS Insurances "Describing this book as the ultimate practical manual for effective IT project management, or as a fuss-free guide to dealing with the grievances of every project is falling short." Fabio de Souza Head of Solution Architecture at Amdocs "As a starting project manager in the year 2000, I wish I would have had this insight in my hands. I would have avoided a lot of bizarre and difficult meetings from the beginning." Jarno Kekäläinen CEO at Telia Inmics-Nebula "The book is full of hints and tips for how to succeed and avoid the many pitfalls that await the unwary." Mike Corrigall Former Vice President of T-Mobile International "Take the time to read this book, it will save you from many pitfalls along the way!" Patric Thate CFO UBM Development AG "The step-by-step approach to the lifecycle makes this an ideal support both to new project managers and for the more experienced." Oliver Matthews Vice-President & CMO, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management "I wish I wrote this book myself!" Rafał Gruszczyński Site Manager / Project Manager at Spyrosoft "I encourage you to read this book. It’s one of the best business books that I’ve had the pleasure to read." Rafał Markiewicz , Former CTO E-Plus Gruppe & KPN International, CTO BASE, CEO Nexus Telecom

244 pages, Paperback

Published March 10, 2023

Reviews

[Scott Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Business projects involving information technology require their own set of required skills. The product is electronic, not physical, but the implementation is very abstract and technical. Planning and monitoring the work itself pose their own set of risks. Further, because everyone uses software, many think that designing software does not require special expertise, so projects become improperly designed from the start. Project management education does not routinely cover this niche of practical problems, but in this book, Marcin Dąbrowski describes his wisdom gained from years of work experience in industry.

Project managers often face a difficult first few years in the field as they learn by trial and error what the classroom could not teach them. To supplement academic training, this book offers insights gained specifically from delivering projects to external clients.

Dąbrowski is keen to ensure that projects are designed right from the start. He spends several chapters criticizing how salespeople can sometimes overpromise and overcommit their project to make a sale. Instead, he advises consulting with subject matter experts before a contract is signed. Good software architecture and design play pivotal, even foundational, roles in his mind to successful project completion. He goes on to discuss other topics, including personnel management, bug fixes, delays, and recapturing momentum after failed projects.

This book has a few weaknesses, however. First, the sentences don’t always follow standard grammar, and adverbs like “firstly” are commonly used instead of the simple “first.” These errors are common enough to distract from the book’s overall message, sadly. Second, as the subtitle alludes to, the book is focused on the specific scenario of delivering work for external clients. While these skills are broadly helpful, internal projects for internal clients are not discussed at all. A more generalized approach of just delivering IT projects to any client would help. This book creates a niche where one is not needed.

This book’s audience consists of IT project managers and those invested in delivering successful products to external clients, whether direct to consumer (“B2C”) or to other businesses (“B2B”). It seeks to communicate non-technical “soft skills” that can make or break a project. Building software is both a science and an art, but applying final polish so that the user can adopt it – the work of project managers – represents its own challenge. Dąbrowski informs us about pragmatics to accomplish this task to build both a business and a successful project.