Projects Books

This is a stellar resource for all project managers as well as for executives who need to understand how to configure the project management office within their organization. Russ Archibald is a leading light in the field, and this third edition is stronger than ever.

The rapid development of technologies that enable superior program and project management has been accompanied by quality research on the impact of both the technologies and project management itself. Russ Archibald has successfully integrated the results of this research into a coherent platform for progress. The third edition is loaded with fresh new insights that reflect both the progress that has already been made and the crystal clear thinking we have come to expect from Russ Archibald. It Is the most definitive formula available for success in high technology.

This is a great resource for all those interested in improving their project management skills. The author will guide you through entire process from organizing the project to closing it out. This book is a must for anyone involved in managing high-tech projects.

As a project manager, I am always looking for helpful resources to stay ahead of the game. This book focuses on dealing with the high-tech end of project management---a focus I've been having some problems grappling. This book is great go-to guide & provides a clear vision on how to manage more complex projects. I'm glad a colleague recommended it.

Archibald has done it again. This is not your normal "Xth Ed.". It is a significant rewrite of the prior edition and more importantly contains much new material delivered in Archbald's clear, concise, insightful style. This not a book with academic content or one written by a "consultant". It is writtten by a project manager whose been in the trenches with the work (read project) for over 40 years AND still is. The work contains much "true fact" and in addition several adds in areas that previously have not been addressed in ANY publication to my knowledge; an example is the addition of the material on "What an executive/manager can and should expect of his project managers. There are special notes on this subject throughtout the book. NET CONCLUSION: Grizzled or experienced, managing it or doing it or did it - you can't afford to be without it. What Archibald writes of will assuredly happen to you sooner or later; forewarned is forearmed - - - and he provides both!!

Carol Doak has done it again, another great book. I have always wanted to make a Mariners Compass Quilt and was afraid I couldn't. But with Carols patterns I have started collecting fabric and look forward to making it at last.

Carol's books are always excellent, and this one doesn't disappoint. These beautiful paper pieced blocks are easy to construct but look like they took you a long time and a lot of hard work. Carol's instructions are easy to follow so even if you haven't tried the techniques yet you will still be able to create them. There are templates to copy for each block but she also provides you with a CD in the back where you can print your own. You can even change the sizes to create either larger or smaller blocks. Definately an added benefit.

This is a great book for paper-piecing. I am fairly new at paper piecing and have done only one of the patterns in this book. It uses 8 triangle pieces instead of 4 small squares to do the block, I have found this to be easier. All the pieces went together well. The book is nicely illustrated and the directions are easy to comprehend. If you like star patterns as I do this is a must have book.

This book makes a mariner compass as easy as you will ever have it. With simple easy to follow instructions and, it's all paper piecing, you will be able to make the most out of this beautiful book. Please enjoy it as much as I do.

with carol doak--i will never be able to make all the quilts her books inspire.

this newest offering is wonderful. her stars appear complex, but are easy to make with paper piecing. there are 24 blocks (too few! too few!), each named after a country, and nine quilt designs ranging from 25" square to 63" square.

the book includes thorough instructions for paper piecing, so even the quilter who hasn't tried this technique will have no trouble. there are excellent photos of the process. the author includes a short explanation of her design process, which will help the quilters who want to create their own designs.

there is also a section on designing settings which could apply to any type quilting. the instructions for the finished quilts include detailed instuctions, diagrams, and cutting charts, and a feature i haven't seen before--circles with the pertinent fabric next to the yardage requirements. now, no more guessing which is the 'light green' and which 'the medium green' the pattern calls for. there is also what seems to be the compulsory very short, useless section on making a quilt, covering (more or less) in three pages topics entire books have been written about.

the blocks are shown straight and on point, very useful. the finished quilts have charts showing alternate color ways, also very useful.

an added feature is the wonderful machine quilting by Kathryn Blais, that shows very clearly in the photos. lots of inspiration for the 'quilt as desired' part of the process.

a cd of 'the foundation factory' is included. i have made only one quilt using print outs from the 'foundation factory' included in a previous book, and there was a serious discrepancy in length between two sections that were to fit together. i had not had this problem when i photocopied the patterns for yet another project, using the same photocopier. i haven't printed out any other patterns, so i can't say if this is an peculiar occurance or a basic problem.

the cd aside, this is definitely another winner from doak.

I purchased this book to help me on my job. It was in good condition and served its purpose.

A very good description of the MSF processes. Concise and essential; before reading this book I even didn't know of the existence of Microsoft Solutions Framework: at the end of the book I have confidence with the processes and the models.
The only thing that could be emproved is the description of Principles and Mindsets, that I found a little bit abstract.
Anyhow I strongly reccomand this book for all MSF neofites.

I got the book as a gift from a friend and found it helpful for my cross-country project. Although I have not done reading this book while writing this review, I found the approach in the book is very practical and would like to share my feedback. Team communication has always been a challenge to my US-Japan-China projects. Not only does everyone have different time-zone, experience, or priority/urgency, but some of us also cover multiple projects at the same time. The book shows an approach and I adopted to evaluate my solution delivery environment. After communicated the assessment and objectives to my team members what to expect and take pre-planning actions for cost control, quality assurance, scheduling, and risk control! Amazingly, the meeting was naturally turned into issue solving and team collaboration discussions. Most of us left for a clearer understanding of what we want to achieve in mind. It was something I was not expecting. It is a good tool to keep in mind!

This book explores version 4 of Microsoft's Solutions Framework, the high-level guidelines Microsoft follows for their software development lifecycle. MSF, and hence this book, is rather abstract. Therefore, it won't tell you step by step what you should do. But hopefully you are aware that there is no such thing as perfect SDLC process- each situation demands finding the best solution for the specific context involved.

This book has some great points - from the foundational principles such as "foster open communications" and "partner with customers" to the way project "phases" are renamed "tracks" to emphasize their overlap. And therein lies the strength of this book - it forces the reader to consider just about everything that should be considered from inception through delivery of a software project.

In terms of drawbacks, the biggest one is that the book focuses virtually exclusively on huge teams in huge projects. The paragraph or two talking about combining advocacies is entirely insufficient. Even when one person handles most of a project, all the aspects need to be considered and covered. One drawback the book avoided was focusing on Microsoft and/or Microsoft technologies. Aside from a couple of minor plugs for specific product, this book is technology and product agnostic.

Overall, this book is well-written and useful.

This is a mandatory reference to anyone who wants to use MSF in projects. In this book, Mike presents all the essential concepts and how to apply them.

This manual is extremely helpful for both the novice and the veteran user. The introductory section on project management is one of the best I have seen, and worth the price of the book by itself. Entertaining yet concise style. Book is well organized and information is easily found.
Highly recommended.

I used to have the Bible book for Microsoft Project as my reference for making the most out of this software for managing projects, until The Missing Manual came out. This title in now-popular Missing Manual series takes you through the basics and not-so-basics for Project Standard and Project Professional, allowing you to understand the when and the why behind its features and helping you better build and refine your project plans, track progress of your projects and succeed as a project manager.

Any who own Microsoft's Project 2007 needs Bonnie Bafore's MICROSOFT OFFICE PROJECT 2007: THE MISSING MANUAL guide, which should really be in the box alongside the program. It offers easy step-by-step instructions that cover both Project Standard and Project Professional, explaining how and why to use some features - an approach which goes far beyond the usual `how to' guide. From using Project in a variety of business applications and incorporating other programs such as Word and Outlook to practically guaranteeing project success, MICROSOFT PROJECT 2007: THE MISSING MANUAL should be on the shelves not only of any serious computer reference library, but any business library and any individual who owns Project 2007 and wants to get the most out of it.

Microsoft Project is an unmatched tool for managing all aspects of a project, and the power of its integration with other MS tools is awesome. But its potential is very complex and not for the faint of heart. Before you start blithely loading your milestones and allocating your resources, you really need to understand the concepts of defining your project and conceptualizing the plan. The software won't teach you that and it's the easiest thing in the world to wind up with a Gantt chart that looks like the head of Medusa in no time flat.

That's where this manual makes its mark. Yes, it's a good primer on the software; yes, it's a good reference manual as long as you can guess the term for what you want to do. "Unhide columns," for example: that's what I wanted to do this week, and two minutes with the index and a page reference got the job done for me. (Hint: it doesn't behave exactly like Excel.)

Since I tend to shun manuals, I had not picked up this book until now. I took a moment to flip, and was impressed, and wound up starting at the beginning and going all the way through, reading here and there, checking the book's organization and the points it made about project management. What a great resource! It's an introductory project management course that will get the user started on the right foot.

Despite its name, Microsoft Project 2007: The Missing Manual is much more than a manual. I recommend it for anyone who wants to brush up on the key points of project management, and especially for anyone using the software for the first time (or the first time in a while, which is my situation). It can't guarantee that your project will be a success, but it will greatly increase your understanding of what's going right and wrong. This book is going to make you look good!

Linda Bulger, 2008

I've always hated "How to" manuals written by people who know the application, but not the work. This book shows how to use MS Project from the perspective of a Project Manager.

It's alway been ironic when I've used other resources that the person who wrote the book explains all the buttons, but not when/why they are really used. "The Missing Manual" is the perfect marriage of function and purpose.

You don't have to have children of your own to buy and share this book. It stops you in your tracks because it's fresh and different. It's now my number one Christmas gift this year. Thank you Richard and Michele Steckel for bringing this important message into our homes and schools.

This book eloquently speaks of the naive and childish belief that tolerance of others can contribute to world peace. The beauty of this simple notion is the lasting contribution of this masterful work. I highly recommend it for those with children, those who have been children, and those who believe that this world can be a better place to live.
I bought one copy for myself, and have now purchased several more copies for my children, and their children.
The Steckels deserve much praise for their efforts in creating this lovely book.

This book is full of lovely quotes from children from all over the world as well as touching, insightful and wonderous photographs. The collection of authors, illustrators and child advocates assembled to contribute to this is as ecclectic and creative as this book and the contributions of Milestone moments will warm your heart! This is a MUST for school libraries as we strive together to teach children to see what is similiar and not what is different in one another. My favorite quote in the book is:
"I don't have a best friend, all of my friends are good." Yoni, age 10, Guatemala.
Use this in a classroom to teach tolerance and to enjoy seeing other faces from around the globe and more importantly perhaps, use this book at bedtime to teach yourself and your child to embrace your MILESTONE MOMENTS!

This book is beautiful! It presents children at all stages in their lives and shows that we are all ONE.No matter the country,no matter the race,religion,creed ,or whatever, we all share similar feelings,emotions.Children are our hope for the future and the Steckels show us that we do indeed have a future-as long as children are allowed to be children and emote in their inimitable and beautiful expressive ways.
Bless the Steckels for showing usw how simple life really is!

The Milestones Project is a beautiful and buoyant little book about the world of childhood filled with great pictures of children and discussions of favorite toys, lost teeth, scary haircuts, the first day of school and all those hallmarks of being little. Great for those who are small now and those who used to be. With it's intense focus on those little early joys, it'll take you back to being a kid.

The transfer patterns included are surpisingly detailed. They say that you can use them several times. It appears they could be used for embroidery, crewel work or needle punch. The instructions are only for iron transfer to cloth but not for the embroidery. You could look at the front and back cover for ideas but the actual book doesn't give any hints. I had ordered a punch needle "how to" book so I can use that to complete the little rugs.

This book is exactly what it says it is. It is full of iron on transfers for minature projects. So there is no surprise there.
It is full of transfers and is worth the money. If you are good with the computer you could enlarge these patterns and use them for larger doll houses. I have transfer pencils from hobbytex I can use to make these larger patterns into iron-on transfers.
If you are into making items for miniatures I recommend this book and if you do have a transfer pencil you can make even more than what is recommended by this book.

Miniature Iron-On Transfer Patterns for Dollhouses, Dolls and Small Projects is full of imaginative, playful designs for tiny rugs, curtains and bedspreads that will enhance any dollhouse. In addition, the patterns can be applied to many other projects: I have used the delicate baby animal motifs to embellish baby clothes and the many attractive decorative borders are ideal for embroidering collars, belts, bookmarks, and table linen. The transfers are easy to work with. The designs can be used by needleworkers of all skill levels.

I was really surprised with this book, it's loaded with all kinds of patterns to be used for making dollhouse items. I think this is a must have for any one making dollhouse items.

This is a wonderful, affordable book full of iron-on patterns for rugs, bedspreads, quilts, and other mini applications. If you use just ONE pattern, it is worth the price of this book!

I enjoyed looking at the quilt talked about in the Elm Creek Books. I love to quilt my try and make one from this book.

I just had to have the entire Elm Creek series and the coordinating books to make the quilts.

It is a verry good book with plassent story's about the ladies that are the quilsters of the paterns.

I love to sit and read the books while I am looking at the pattern books. It gives me a better visual of what I am reading. I love this series by Janet Chiaverini. I hope the adventure continues.

I really like the book. It gives you the patterns that you read about in the novel.

"My Hero" is an insightful, satisfying book - a pager-turner of thought and reflection. I had my favorite stories and I'd say there is something here for everyone. They run the gamut of human experience and are held together by the weaving of inspiration, deep wisdom and hope. We are an intelligent species. We do our greatest work when passionately creating and laboring over what we love best. But what makes us truly remarkable (and this is what "My Hero" reminds us over and over again) is when we never lose sight of those other human beings among us who are in need, and we do that angelic thing we do by acting on it.

Also available in an MP3 format (1400151988, $19.99), My Hero is an unabridged audiobook compilation of essays by genuine American heroes co-read by veteran narrators Alan Sklar and Ellen Archer. Sponsored by the nonprofit My Hero Project, whose mission is to inspire the hero in us all, My Hero includes the writings of celebrities, athletes, and public figures such as Michael J. Fox, Dana Reeve, Senator John McCain, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, astronaut John Glen, baseball great Yogi Berra, and many more. A singularly inspirational and motivational testimony to human greatness. 5 CDs, running time 5 1/2 hours.

This book is wonderful because it gives you courage. It speaks of Heros, and defines Heroic Acts. All of the People in this book have been committed to producing great services for people. MY favorites were Colonel Jack Jacobs,Senator John Glenn, Sue Bird,and Dr. Bernard Lown. Each talked about their successes and their disappointments. This book speaks from the heart. It promotes living a quality life full of meaning and discipline. All of the people in the book were extremely disciplined. It was the reason they were able to accomplish so much. I think this is a book that the whole family can enjoy. I could imagine a family sitting down to read this book together.
It simply inspires and shows how dreams do come true. I highly recommend this book.

The My Hero book is a spirit lifter that highlights the importance of
recognizing and commemorating those people who inspire us and who add
fuel to our creativity so that we may achieve great things. The intro by Karen Pritzker and forward by Magic Johnson provide a great back drop to this
collection of hero stories. I really enjoyed reading the essays written by Muhammad Ali,Frank O. Gehry , Rob Warden, Kathy Eldon,Erin Gruwell, Senator John Glenn, Senator John McCain and Elie Wiesel. We all learn from example, and people who accomplish amazing feats all have heroes or inspiring individuals whose ideas or actions made those accomplishments possible. This book enticed me to identify my heroes and as a result I came a way with a positively warm feeling of
thankfulness.

I highly recommend this book for a holiday gift to those you admire
and as a gift to some of the people you know that might be searching for
some inspiration of their own.

I have two books to recommend to readers if they are looking for books that focus on finding Inspiration. One is Michele Geraldi's Calling in the Night, and the other is Karen Pritzker's My Hero. These books show the importance of finding inspiration and applying it to your everyday life. My Hero is a vast collection of inspirational stories, written by some of the most influential people in the world, during some of the most controversial and trying times the world has ever seen. It does not try to be inspiring, so much as it focuses on the importance of a person finding something in his/her life to be inspired by. There is a big difference there. I found the stories uplifting, and I came from the book knowing that My Hero is a good read and a good tool that teaches a person to always keep his/her eyes open for the one little thing that might move the spirit to become better, and then hopefully, eventually move the spirit's of other people as well.

The book is full of short activities that answer some natural questions that youth often ask. The activities tell information with wonderful graphic sense. Good for scout leaders, teachers, home school parents, camp counselors and outdoors families. Preparation and materials may take ten minutes to gather. Reading the activity can use up five to ten minutes. Yet, with such a wide variety of activities, each tuned to a particular season of the year, there are lots of options to do or not do. Very pleased with the thoughtful and "hands on" aspects of these activities. A motivated reading student can do most of them with out supervision.

This is a book we use throughout the year. Every month we get it out and do several activities. I have had this book for several years and my children still do not tire if it. It is full of fun activities to do out of doors any time of the year. It also encourages children to protect nature. There are so many fun activities to do, that the book never tires. I like teaching children the science concepts to. I am going to look for more books by Ms. Potter.

My kids are always looking for something interesting to do, so when I saw this book on line. I decided to get it with the hopes that it would keep my kids out of trouble while teaching them! THIE BOOK SURPASSES all of my expectations. I have copied one activity per week and let them go outside and explore. They have learned so much!The one activity that they really liked was the sanil one. They studied the snail for hours! Then my youngest one was thrilled with being able to identify the sounds of different birds...that lead us on a further exploration of birds. I higghly recommend the book....and did so to our school. They now have three copies that are dog eared! The kids love the book!

I am a Home Educating mother of two. We have gone through literally dozens of Science books, some with sensational full color. However, this black and white back-to-basics book "Nature in a Nutshell for Kids" has been a knock-out with my kids! It's simple and the experiments/projects use things you already have in your home. The activities require that the kids get in touch with the world around them by getting outside and getting their hands dirty, so to speak. We checked it out at our local library, but now I'm purchasing one for our home library.

Jean has a nice touch of reality...she has triplets, so maybe that's why!!

I have been a project manager for over twenty years. Neal has put into words what I knew but couldn't adequately express. It is all here plus some. I highly recommend this book to everyone from no experience to senior level project managers.

If you get the opportunity, attend his seminar on this topic.
OJ

Neal Whitten discusses project management best practices in an easy-to-digest format. He bypasses theory and verbose explanations and delivers advice in 5-8 page sections. The first part of each section provides the meat, accompanied by sidebars summing up the page's contents, and then followed questions and answers related to the topic.

I have been reading Whitten in "PM Network" and hearing him at local PMI chapter presentations and this book is a compilation of that material plus additional. The content is perfect for a seasoned project manager who has actual experience to reflect on as they consider Whitten's advice.

A strength of this book is also a weakness, thus only four stars above. While the book is easy to read and maintains a sharp focus, there is also a lot of white space, with large margins, and the constant summarizing and re-summarizing with sidebars and related Q&A does lead to some skimming.

This is one of the few project management books I have ever read that would make a good audio book. With concise advice like "Are you too soft?", "Inspect what you expect", "Manage to your top three problems", and "Escalate is not a dirty word", his message is very effectively delivered, understood, and remembered.

One of the best project management books I have ever read.

Good points provided. He tells it like it is. Especially helpful for project managers, whether or not they have difficult teams or projects.

This is the best project management book I have read. It is easy to read. It has many answers on how and what to do in a real project. It has some keys to being a better project manager, how to have better projects and how to enhance your career.
Read it and even better attend Neal's Seminar where he covers many of the topics in the book.