review by
Roger Walker, May 2008

The authors of this PDF are also the authors of "Applied Software Project Management," another O'Reilly book. Without having read the book, I would have to guess that the PDF is a more succinct version, summary perhaps, of the book's contents.

I find that the PDF is a good summary of the title. It expands upon the following guidelines:

• Keep expectations and scope up to date
• Make an informed selection of a software process
• Track the progress of the project
• Make course corrections that don't compromise the quality of the software
• Keep a big-picture perspective throughout the course of your project

Those are the "whats" - the rest of the PDF expands with the "hows," including a few links for further information.

Is it complete? No. But there is certainly enough material here to get you started on managing upwards, so your effort is not otherwise wasted.