The Accidental Project Manager

by Patricia Ensworth

This site provides resources and tools to help a novice software project manager get the job done—and explore how colleagues at other organizations cope with similar issues that arise during the development process.

The Resources section lists Web sites for organizations, conferences, vendors, and publications where you'll find more information on many of the topics discussed in the book.

The Tools section contains templates you can use for project planning, tracking, and documentation. The files are Microsoft Word documents that you can download and customize to fit your project's needs.

The Author page has the usual background data, in case you'd like to know more about the real-life experiences upon which the advice in the book is based.

As you begin your career in software project management, remember that you don't need brilliant developers, obsessive testers, state-of-the-art tools, or lavish budgets to succeed. What counts most are your standards and procedures. Combine these with good judgment, a commitment to quality, and a sense of humor, and you'll soon be building software that makes your users glad to turn on their computers.