hot books

We know how busy you are - deadlines, changes of requirements are probably driving you CRAZY!!! So rather than a long list of books and articles that we feel you should read, we have decided to suggest a couple of killer books. These will give you some strength to keep going - it can get better.

We will give each book a Reading in a Train/plane index on a scale of 1 - 10. An index of 10 means easy and enjoyable reading that will stop you from watching a rerun of The X-files. An index of 1 means only for people who miss going to sleep at university lectures

Radical Project Management
Rob Thomsett
Rob's new book "Radical Project Management" was recently published by Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle Creek, New Jersey. It contains all our tools and philosphies that have been adopted by leading organizations.

Project Management Success Stories: Lessons of Project Leaders. 
Alexander Laufer and Edward J. Hoffman. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2000.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a series of short pieces by a number of project managers. In these pieces they share many lessons ( I agree with most). It is priceless and really enjoyable to read. It is my favourite Project Management book at present. Reading on a train/plane index 10.

Getting Ready to Negotiate - The Getting To Yes Book.
Roger Fisher and Danny Ertel.
This is a new book from Fisher and the team at the Harvard Negotiation Project. Don’t let the fact that they are associated with a university put you off. This book is a small [good news] and very practical workbook for negotiating [even better news]. For project managers, it and any other book by Roger Fisher is a mandatory read. New York, Penguin Books, 1995. I have a very brief summary of the key negotiation tips from Fisher and other sources. Reading on a bus/plane index 10.

The Project Workout.
Robert Buttrick
At last we are seeing some project management books that we are prepared to recommend. Buttrick’s approach to project management reflects our Third Wave model in that it discusses stakeholders well and breaks the "iron triangle" of requirements, deadlines and budget into a more realistic discussion on quality and, wait for it, benefits. A very good and highly-recommended text. London, Financial Times Management, 1997.
Reading on a bus/train index 8. 

Software Runaways
Robert L Glass
Like Ed Yourdon's Death March book, Bob Glass' new book examines a number of "famous" software project failures such as the I.R.S. Systems Modernisation, Denver Airport's Baggage Handling System, Westpac's CS 90 and many others. These projects cost billions of dollars in total and the lessons from them are well discussed in this awesome read. DON'T READ IT IF YOU ARE WEAK AT HEART. You may see your own project's behaviour in these discussions. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1997. Reading in a train/plane index :10

Software Project Survival Guide
Steve McConnell
We like Steve’s work. His Rapid Development book is brilliant. This is designed for novice project managers and team leaders and it very easy to read yet contains great, practical techniques. It is the introduction book of preference – though we still like ours which is available on this site. Redmond, Wa., Microsoft Press, 1997.
Reading in a train/plane index :9

Why Things Bite Back
Edward Tenner
Nature Magazine declared that this book is "required reading" - we agree. Tenner examines the unintended and paradoxical effects of complex systems such as the new technology and processes that we project managers are busy deploying. While much of what Tenner is saying was said many years ago by some of our favourite 60’s and 70’s gurus such as Stafford Beer and Ray Gaul, their books are difficult to obtain. So, Tenner is a great start for those of us who have not learnt or really thought about the behaviour of large and complex systems. It is also very easy and entertaining reading. London, Fourth Estate, 1996. Reading in a train/plane index : 10

The Responsible Software Engineer
Colin Myers, Tracy Hall and Dave Pitt [Eds]
This is one interesting and challenging book. It follows on from the article that we put in last update on Crossing the Line. It looks at ethics and professionalism and is a series of articles that confront many issues rarely covered in computing media, Tom DeMarco's Foreward is a blast [worth the price of the book]. Other articles I liked included John Madsen's "Revenge of the Methodology Anarchist" and Simon Rogerson's "Software Project Management Ethics". All the articles are worth reading and thinking about. London, Springer, 1997. Reading in a train/plane index 8

The New Organisational Wealth
Karl Erik Sveiby
The topic of Intellectual Capital has become hot. There are three books all called Intellectual Capital being published in the US over the past 3 months. I really liked Sveiby's approach to treating software and other IT people as "added value". He also has some great ideas on how to measure Intellectual Capital. Any project person who reads this book would feel good about what they add for their organisation and how to go someway to proving their value. San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler, 1997. Reading in a train/plane index : 9

Management of the Absurd
Richard Farson
This is a really frustrating book. As Michael Crighton [you know the Jurrasic Park person] says in his Forward to the book, Farson's messages make people squirm. By stating the obvious or as Farson calls it " the invisible obvious", he really forces you to think about some long-held beliefs about organisations, leadership, change and heaps more. I haven't had to have as many "big thinks" as a result of reading such a little [172 pages] book in ages. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1996
Reading in a train/plane index : 10

The Leader of the Future
Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith & Richard Beckhard
This is a terrific book. It is a series of papers on leadership and the emerging models of leadership required to lead organisations into the 21st Century. The authors/consultants are some of our favourites and what a stellar cast! Charles Handy, William Bridges, Peter Senge, Edgar Schein, George Weber, Stephen Covey ... if you don't know these people...you should. I especially like the David Noir's concept of leadership as glue and James Kouzes and Barry Posner's concept of everyone leading. An invaluable book with tons of ideas for project managers - who are indeed the leaders of the future. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1996. Reading in a train/plane index : 7 [for some heavy ideas]

Why Does Software Cost So Much?
Tom Demarco
Tom is back and he is baaaad! Few people write as well, as entertainingly and as perceptively as Tom. This is a series of essays and various conference talks that take on many serious issues such as metrics, software engineering [or, as Tom points out, management-aided software engineering], downsizing and many others. Everyone should read this book!!! New York, Dorset House, 1995. Reading in a train/plane index : 10

Dynamics of Software Development
Jim McCarthy
What a wonderful book - Rob saw Jim talk at the Software Development Conference in Washington last year. Jim is a Microsoft guru and he writes really well [reminds us of Tom DeMarco's style] and this book on teams, practical ideas on people and project management and the description of Microsoft's daily build approach to systems development are invaluable. Redmond, Wash., Microsoft Press, 1995. Reading in a train/plane index : 10

The Mythical Man Month [Anniversary Edition]
Fred Brooks
The original edition of this book in 1975 really influenced us. This version published 20 years after the original version includes new chapters written by Fred with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight. Fred anticipated prototyping and teams 20 years ago. It is fabulous. The Epilogue is worth the price alone. Reading, Mass., Addison-Wesley, 1995. Reading in a train/plane index : 9

Rapid Development
Steve McConnell
What an amazing book. First you should be warned - it is over 600 pages. Steve should be known to you as the author of Code Complete and, in this large but easily accessed book, presents a great integration of project management, team leadership and system development approaches designed to build systems quicker. It looks a bit like the Dummy books with little icons and such but it sure ain't for dummies. Redmond, Wash., Microsoft Press, 1996. Reading in a train/plane index : 8 [cause of the size]

Third Wave Project Management
Rob Thomsett
This was first published in 1989. It overviews our approaches to project management and also includes some very pragmatic techniques. Lots of people have told me they like it. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1989.
Reading on train/plain index: 9

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