Are you looking for an informative book on IT project management written in a colloquial style? Scott Berkun’s Making Things Happen covers a range of issues that a project manager faces, including the truth about schedules, how to approach plans, obtaining quality requirements, focusing on the customer experience and many more. 

Berkun draws on his experience as a Microsoft project manager. He provides many practical suggestions, such as what questions to ask to get better estimates from programmers. The book is full of gems like “Good questions attract good ideas.” Also remarkable is his chapter on ”self-reliance” – a topic not usually covered in a book on project management but nevertheless of great importance.

Making Things Happen is not a step-by-step guide to managing a project but rather a collection of well-written and informative essays on relevant topics for the IT project manager. If you are looking for a concise overview of the steps involved in managing a project, we recommend Gary Herken’s book Project Management.