The Art of Project Management

Who should read this book

Your best bet in seeing if this book is for you involves flipping back to the Table of Contents, picking a topic you're interested in, and skimming through what I have to say about it. I generally don't trust prefaces much, and I recommend you don't either; they rarely have the same style or voice as the rest of the book. But here goes anyway.

The book will be most valuable for people who fit themselves into one or more of the following categories:

• Experienced team leaders and managers. This book is well suited for anyone playing a leadership role, formally or informally, on any kind of project. The examples are from software development, but many concepts apply easily to other kinds of work. You might be the official team leader, or simply one of the more experienced people on the team. While some of the topics of the book may be very familiar to you, the direct and practical approach the book takes will help you to clarify and refine your opinions. Even if you disagree with points I make, you will have a clear foundation to work against in refining and improving your own point of view.

• New team leaders and managers. If you look at the topics listed in the Table of Contents, you'll find a solid overview of everything leaders and managers on projects actually do. Each chapter provides coverage of the common failures and mistakes even experienced people make, with explanations as to why it happens and what tactics can be used to avoid or recover from them. ...