PMFORUM Breaking News
Breaking News in the Project Management World
Monday, April 14, 2008
New PM book by ex-Microsoft executive - Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun
O'Reilly Media has announced a new project management book by Scott Berkun entitled "Making Things Happen." (O'Reilly, US $39.99) According to the O’Reilly announcement, Berkun offers a lively, inspiring, and practical approach to managing projects that draws on his own lessons learned in more than a decade of work in the industry. The book is an updated edition of Berkun's bestseller, The Art of Project Management.
According to Mr. Berkun, when asked about his motivation for writing the book, "I'd yet to find a book on leading project teams that didn't bore me to tears. Every great engineered thing ever made, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Eiffel Tower to the Internet was made by teams of people, and I thought it was a crime against those triumphs if there wasn't a book about what really happens on project teams and how leaders handle it. I wanted to capture all the things I'd learned over a decade and increase the odds other people wouldn't have to make the same mistakes I did.
"How much of the software on the web that you use do you think is good?" Berkun asks. "If it's a small percentage, you can't blame the lack of amazing technology available to developers. The cause of poorly made things is something else--it's how projects are led and managed. My book is a handbook for people trying to make good things happen and who care about the intangible, human elements that software engineering and technology books typically overlook."
Making Things Happen doesn't cite specific methods, but focuses on philosophy and strategy. Topics in this new edition include:
The book includes a new forward from the author, a discussion guide for forming reading groups/teams, and in-depth exercises to help readers apply lessons from the book to their work. The book is based on Berkun’s experience fighting difficult battles on Microsoft's biggest projects and teaching project design and management for MSTE, Microsoft's internal best practices group.
Scott Berkun is the author of The Art of Project Management and The Myths of Innovation. He currently works as an independent consultant in project management and product design, and runs the pmclinic, a friendly discussion forum on project management issues at www.scottberkun.com.
Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun, ISBN: 9780596517717, 408 pages, $39.99 USD, £24.99 GBP. For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517717
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism. Visit www.oreilly.com.
According to Mr. Berkun, when asked about his motivation for writing the book, "I'd yet to find a book on leading project teams that didn't bore me to tears. Every great engineered thing ever made, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the Eiffel Tower to the Internet was made by teams of people, and I thought it was a crime against those triumphs if there wasn't a book about what really happens on project teams and how leaders handle it. I wanted to capture all the things I'd learned over a decade and increase the odds other people wouldn't have to make the same mistakes I did.
"How much of the software on the web that you use do you think is good?" Berkun asks. "If it's a small percentage, you can't blame the lack of amazing technology available to developers. The cause of poorly made things is something else--it's how projects are led and managed. My book is a handbook for people trying to make good things happen and who care about the intangible, human elements that software engineering and technology books typically overlook."
Making Things Happen doesn't cite specific methods, but focuses on philosophy and strategy. Topics in this new edition include:
- How to make things happen
- Making good decisions
- Specifications and requirements
- Ideas and what to do with them
- How not to annoy people
- Leadership and trust
- The truth about making dates
- What to do when things go wrong
The book includes a new forward from the author, a discussion guide for forming reading groups/teams, and in-depth exercises to help readers apply lessons from the book to their work. The book is based on Berkun’s experience fighting difficult battles on Microsoft's biggest projects and teaching project design and management for MSTE, Microsoft's internal best practices group.
Scott Berkun is the author of The Art of Project Management and The Myths of Innovation. He currently works as an independent consultant in project management and product design, and runs the pmclinic, a friendly discussion forum on project management issues at www.scottberkun.com.
Making Things Happen by Scott Berkun, ISBN: 9780596517717, 408 pages, $39.99 USD, £24.99 GBP. For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596517717
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism. Visit www.oreilly.com.
