The Accidental Project Manager: Surviving the Transition from Techie to Manager

by Patricia Ensworth

Why do so many software projects fail? The reality is that many of these projects are led by programmers or developers thrown into the role of project manager without the necessary skills or training to see a project through successfully. Patricia Ensworth has written a hands-on survival guide designed to rescue the "accidental project manager" and help them to quickly ramp up on all key areas involved in software project management. This book provides a no-nonsense, jargon-free approach to getting the job done. With the help of useful templates, checklists, and sample forms, as well as pointers to essential resources, Ensworth gives concise, easy-to-understand advice on everything needed to hit the ground running--including phases of project development, role assignment in the development team, the tools of the trade, and criteria for success.

Genres: Business

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2001

Reviews

[Timo Toivonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting entry level book on project management, text is fresh and ideas explained clearly. Author presents many forms as templates to be used, such as "usability review form", "change request form", and many others. I'm sure someone coming from development would be pleased to read this book to receive oversight of project management.

The only problem now is that the book is 14 years old and newer processes like scrum or lean (kanban) are not even mentioned. Author mentions XP, which is weird since it's not a PM process. But again, a fine book on project that deliver the basic oversight on running software projects.