April 15, 2010, 7:37 AM — by Ty Kiisel - In a previous tip, I suggested that social media provided a wealth of project management knowledge that is freely shared with anyone willing to ask. Because I am a big advocate of this type of knowledge sharing, I thought I would make a list of the blogs I read, the Twitter feeds I follow, and maybe a book or two that I have found interesting and helpful.
[ Use social media to build project management knowledge ]
This list is by no means all-inclusive, so if there is an important resource I've missed, please feel free to share your favorites.
Web sites and blogs
In alphabetical order:
Change Through Action: Deanne Earle is a project management consultant who specializes in organizational change and IT projects.
Gantthead: This is a great website focused on IT articles and blogs. They offer a great newsletter, white papers, articles and videos. They also offer an online community where you can interact with other project managers. Definitely a site I would recommend.
Papercut PM: I really like Geoff Crane's blog. He doesn't take himself too seriously and is always trying to stir the project management pot. He's an active participant in the project management community on Twitter and is a genuinely nice fellow.
PM Student: Josh Nankivel's blog site is dedicated to helping project managers achieve their career goals through various publications and training courses. Josh offers several posts on a variety of project management topics and not only welcomes he encourages interaction.
Programme and Project Management Community: This site boasts a list of the top 100 PPM blogs. It's a great place to introduce yourself to the project management blogging community—and even vote for your favorite blog.
ProjectSmart: This site out of the UK offers a broad range of topics for beginning project managers to the more experienced. The information is very accessible and although they don't offer a blog, they have great articles, whitepapers, and forums that foster a sense of community.
The Critical Path: Derek Huether's blog is thoughtful and approaches the project management process from a commonsense point of view. Another project management expert who is active on Twitter, this is definitely a blog that I recommend.
I also follow the Herding Cats blog, the How to Manage a Camel site, the PM for Girls blog, and the Back from Red blog. This list is in no way all-inclusive, and I'm sure I've just offended a bunch of my fellow bloggers by forgetting to mention them. As I said earlier, the Programme and Project Management Community is a great place to get a taste of the smorgasbord of project management blogs.
The Twitter feeds I follow regularly are:
#pmot -- Project Managers on Twitter is a great feed, with lots of professionals willing to share their experiences and insight. If you follow just one Twitter feed on project management, this is the one I recommend.
#ftpm -- First Time Project Managers is a great feed for those just getting started or who are accidental project managers trying to get their feet wet.
There are also other Twitter feeds including #pm, #pmo, #prodmgmt, and #cio that are worth looking at. There is some overlap, but there are people who tweet on one feed that don't on the others. I suggest you check them all out to see where you are the most comfortable.
Project Management Books
I'll finish up this reading list with just a few of the books on project management I have really enjoyed:
Project Portfolio Management: A Practical Guide to Selecting Projects, Managing Portfolios, and Maximizing Benefits, by Harvey Levine
Harvey's writing style is very accessible. The book also includes chapters written by a dozen or so other project management experts talking about everything from earned value management to capacity planning.
Project Decisions: The Art and Science, by Lev Virine and Michael Trumper
A great book that addresses the psychological concepts that motivate behavior and decision-making.
The Lazy PM: How to be Twice as Productive and Still Leave the Office Early, by Peter Taylor
I really like his insights into successful project communication.
Finally, at the risk of being a little self-serving, we have a number of very excellent blogs at @task that address best practices, social project management, and even how to make the most out of a customer service department.
I'm always on the lookout for another great read so I'd love to hear about some of your favorite project management Web sites, blogs, and books.
Ty Kiisel writes about project management issues and best practices for @task Project Management Software.
For more project management advice, see:
Project management: Scrapping a doomed project
Four things project managers can learn from base coaches
Prioritizing IT projects
