In such a rapidly developing industry as digital marketing and web design it is hugely important to stay on top of all the latest technologies and techniques, not only for managing projects, but also to ensure that the right ideas make it out of client meetings and on to the design brief.
97 Things Every Project Manager should know is a collection of tips and tricks from some of the world’s top project managers and software developers. These tips are aimed at both IT and non-IT professionals and I can see how many of them could relate to almost any project.
The book is essentially a collection of short articles and extracts that show real life and theoretical examples based on project manager experience with the aim of imparting some of this “real” knowledge onto the reader. If you are looking for advice on a particular aspect of project management there is an index to point you towards information on the following topics; Agile Methods, Software Development, Managing People and Teams, International Issues or Distributed Teams, Managing Projects, Communications, Managing Stakeholders, Project Processes, Project Requirements, End-Users, Purchasing Issues, Self-Management and Web Development.
I found the book to be exactly how it described itself, full of “collective wisdom from the experts”. It is a fairly short book (about 200 pages) but is easy to dip in and out of when looking for information on a particular subject. It would serve as an excellent companion to someone who was coming into IT project management from a traditional project management background, particularly when the experts talk about some of the planning required before beginning a project, which can be very different to that of more traditional activities. I also enjoyed reading how the experts dealt with distributed teams, or situations where there were multiple and disparate stakeholders with conflicting views and opinions and found these sections particularly useful.
On the whole, 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know is a great little book, well worth a place on your shelf.
97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know, Edited by Barbee Davis. Published by O’Reilly 2009 ISBN: 978-0-596-80416-9
