The One-Page Project Manager for IT Projects: Communicate and Manage Any Project with a Single Sheet of Paper

This book was a quick read and very easy to comprehend. Mr. Campbell is an experienced project manager that does not try to over glamorize the sometimes boring task of project management. He has developed a sensible process to distill the many components of project management into a one page format simple enough for executive management to understand. I plan to use his techniques at my next job.

The OPPM for IT projects is excellent for IT projects, however, it's real value comes in the form of a "Project Office" (PO) approach. In 25 years of Program and Project management, I have never seen the holistic PO described so simply. It not only gives an excellent outline, but provides a tool for handling everything from a few small projects to several major efforts. In my opinion, coompanies which are not using a PO approach MUST find a way to incorporate the ideas found in OPPM for IT projects.

I discovered this book yesterday and read it today. It's a quick read and well worth the time to study. I can say with confidence that it has added a signifcant new tool to my project management arsenal that will help me communicate all the important facets of a project at a glance on a single sheet of paper. If you haven't read his first book, "The One-Page Project Manager," then the first chapter brings you up to date on the gist of that book. The second chapter is targeted to CIOs to capture their interest. The remainder then discusses the OPPM approach in a variety of customizations for various IT types of projects as well as managing the use of consultants in projects. While each project should not customize the template (which would make reading many formats confusing), the author encourages companies to tweak the format when needed since the OPPM exists to serve the project and not the other way around. Stakeholders in addition to those at upper management levels will benefit from the simplicity of the OPPM format and the status at a glance. Templates and completed samples of the spreadsheets are available for free download from www.onepageprojectmanager.com. Check it out.

The One Page Project Manager for IT Projects is an excellent addition to the concepts and in-depth examples discussed in Mr. Campbell's first book, the One Page Project Manager. However, this new book not only stands on its own, but contains a very understandable, and abbreviated version of all of the concepts discussed in the first book as well as all of the 12 steps needed to construct and use the One Page Project Manager template to organize your IT project and use it as your tool to communicate project status to project team members and upper management. The real value of the One Page Project Manager template lies in the fact that it is so comprehensive, addressing all of the five essential components of a project (Tasks, Timeline, Cost (both budget and actual), Objectives and Ownership) as well as simple to read, understand, and use as your primary communication tool. There is no doubt that a responsible project manager would compile all of the data contained in the One Page Project Manager, but, if they are anything like me, they would have a thick folder in which it is all stored; definitely not the easiest way to lay your hands on any requested information quickly and gracefully. Using this tool provides two major benefits. One, in its construction, the project manager and team members must think through and organize the project, providing them with an in-depth understanding of the project's objectives, tasks, ownership, etc. and two, it allows upper management to follow the status of even a large project at a glance. As Clark Campbell mentions, in order for this tool to become the definitive tool for communicating project status within your organization, project managers and top level managers and executives really must buy into its use. Mr. Campbell is quickly becoming a sought after speaker on the subject of The One Page Project Manager. Having participated in one of his workshops recently, I am happy to say that he was informative and entertaining. He provided, in a half day workshop, the opportunity for the attendees to actually work through the creation of a One Page Project Manager, learn how to create and populate each section of the One Page Project Manager, understand how it is used it in an extensive project (one that was successfully completed in his company), to handle complexities that may arise in a complex project within the existing structure, with some variances. To position yourself to speed along the learning curve of this essential tool and to get widespread buy-in of the One Page Project Manager within your organization, I highly recommend both the book and attendance at one of Mr. Campbell's excellent speaking engagements.

I have the first One-Page Project Manager book written by Clark Campbell, and as a Producer in the Video Game Industry I knew I needed to order the second book specifically written for IT Project Managers. These books gave me insight on project organization that I never learned in Business school or after 10-years in the industry. Great hands-on concepts that will simplify your life as a Project Manager.