I read this book with great interest because of three reasons: 1. It had a wide variety of reviews form one star to five star, (mostly five stars); 2. It is continually in the top ten ranking for sales in project management books by Amazon; 3. I was intrigued by the title that claims to simplify a task as complex as project management to one page.

My bottom line is that this is a valuable book and I rate it as five stars.

However it is not for everyone. One reviewer writes on Amazon.com "I've worked for 2 Fortune 10 companies and this particular "one page" would have never been accepted at either company. My projects were too complex to fit the WBS/tasks onto one page." I agree whole heartedly with this statement. However, most people do not work for Fortune 10 companies or Fortune 100 companies for that matter.

One of the benefits I have earned by providing training for a variety of organizations is exposure to a variety of project management maturity levels and methodologies. Trust me when I say big does not mean mature and small does not mean immature. Maturity and methodologies vary widely.

Methodologies are a two edged sword and frankly the "complexity/bureaucratic" edge is sharper and more dangerous than the "simple/not enough structure" edge.

For smaller organizations and organizations that have little or no consistent project management structure this book provides a tool that is a sound basis for project management. I have recommended this book to several clients in this situation and they have had great success with the method. The feedback from their project managers and leadership has been good.

Project status should be done on one page!

There is no magic in The One Page Project Manager and we all know project management is more complex than one page. However, as I recommend in my own book (The Handbook of Program Management) and website article (http://sebasolutions.com/downloads/ProjectStatus-RevB.pdf), project status should be done on one page. The One Page Project Manager uses that philosophy as the basis of a methodology.

When I come across clients trying to establish a consistent methodology my advice is always the same. Start with a consistent status reporting system for all projects and herein lies the strength of The One Page Project Manager. Consistent status will expose problems that will logically lead you to the next step in the methodology maturation. Now if you work for a company with a mature methodology The One Page Project Manager still may work in your organization as a structure to handle small projects that shouldn't be subjected to "the methodology."

A one pound project doesn't need fifty pounds of methodology.

There is a template for The One Page Project Manager that you can download here (http://onepageprojectmanager.com/download/BasicTemplate.xls). In project management there are a variety of tools to choose from. It is not a one size fits all and you have to deploy the tools that best relate to your circumstance. Whether you are large or small there is no substitute for good judgment and discipline.

Project management is more than a one page activity but this book provides a sound basis to summarize those activities and assure the important aspects are covered.

Dr. James T. Brown PMP PE CSP
Author, The Handbook of Program Management

This is a good book on the communication aspect of project management. You will be disappointed if you think this is the book on project management...it only covers communication...actually the basics of communication...some of the ideas are neither the standard nor vry innovative, but inspirational....some of them even may be hard to implement...Overall it's a good book.

I have been looking for a long time for some kind of 'Format' & or Forms to simplify Interim Project Reporting. This 'Book' is exactly what I have been looking for in this regard.
I can highly recommend this 'Book' to anyone who have their hands full with 'Running a Project' to find time to keep all the 'Interested Parties'informed & up to speed.

This is very good and practical book. However don't expect it to cover the whole topic of project management. It's focussed on the communication aspect of project management, and does an excellent job on that. It's worth the price.

This is a solid book and an interesting concept. I think it would go far in my organization and would like to implement it.

One question - why does a book about stripping all the info down to one page have to be 160 pages long? ;)

Great book for new project managers. You will learn how to get done more in less time in the field of project management.

I guess I should have known better, but this book was pretty disappointing. Most of the "tips" were too superficial to be actionable or where so obvious that they were a waste of time. For people wanting some depth, try Wysocki's Effective Project Management.

I've worked for 2 Fortune 10 companies and this particular "one page" would have never been accepted at either company. My projects were too complex to fit the WBS/tasks onto one page. Most projects are. If they were simple enough to fit on one page, they wouldn't be assigned a PM. When communicating with execs and project sponsors, they DO want their updates on one page, but not in this format. It's too much detail for them. In the event that you think this particular one page concept will work in your organization, I would still recommend you SAVE YOUR MONEY. The author offers nothing new. He quotes other, more credible, PM authors so often it felt like I was reading a 10th grade research paper. Finally, let's all shed a tear for the trees that had to die in order to make the paper that created Chapter 5: "12 Steps to Constructing the One Pager." It was 45+ pages. The author could have taken his own advice and condensed chapter 5 into one page. But that's not how one sells books, right?

This book is essentially a 4-5 page instruction manual to go along with a reporting spreadsheet, which has been stretched out to a 129 page book using large font, small pages, lots of white space, and repetitive figures/screen shots. The tool itself makes some sense as a nice concise report format, but the book goes on and on puffing up its abilities and the author's creativity. Some 20 or so pages are filled up by showing the sheet with a section empty, and then full; empty, and then full, as if the user (having already been told where to put info and seen screen shots of the sections in question) can't figure out how to fill in the blanks.

I found disconcerting that the image on the cover is a "modified" version of the tool they're describing, undermining the claim that this tool is well-suited for any project. If that's the case, why wouldn't they feature the basic form on the cover, rather than a customized version?

It seems like the tool could be useful to improve communication and management of projects, but the communication discussed is primarily bottom-up. The book barely touches upon how it can be used for top-down communication or how to use this to work with areas that are falling behind or going over budget. So, it's not really so much a "manager" as a "status report".

If you're looking for a simple read and a simple tool for tracking your team's progress, check this out of a library. It's not worth the money to actually buy a copy. If you're hoping to actually learn some useful project management skills, look elsewhere.

This is your book.
It is a nutshell of project management in a page. It will complement your other tools and techniques that you use currently, for improving your role. Also, if you don't know how start effectively with the project management, this book offers you a path that fit the most important items for a successful management of project and programs.
A good investment in cost and time with this scope!

We never had a problem with managing projects within our group. The projects were small enough and our process was good enough for a team of very technical staff. Problems occurred when we had to report project status upward. Mr. Campbell has offered a tool, it's just that - a tool, to present the project plan/status to management.

That said, the OPPM (One Page Project Manager), is not just for sending status to upper management. If you really spend the time and follow Mr. Campbell's recommendations you will end up with a clear and concise description of what your project is about. There is a benefit to you as the project manager.

It's not just about sending spreadsheets up the chain it's about clarifying what the project is about, why you are doing it, who has to do what, etc... It's work that needs to be done but is often not. If you go through this with your staff everyone will know exactly why you are doing the project and what you want to get out of the project. Deciding on the measures of success early on is a huge win.

The OPPM will help you break large projects into smaller parts. I like Mr. Campbell's advice, if it doesn't fit on a single page, it's probably two projects.

Use the OPPM as a tool to help you clarify your goals, and to keep management up to date regarding project status. If you follow this as a guide your management will know exactly why you are doing the project and what problems you encounter, and what resources you need. If you encounter problems you'll know exactly what kind of help you'll need and where the bottlenecks are.

The book was longer than it needed to be and many pages of the OPPM table were unnecessary. I don't need to see the OPPM in every stage of development more than once. Mr. Campbell really worked to sell the idea in the first few pages and then a few times later in the text. I'll grant that some readers may need that. Overall, I think the book could have been shorter but how small is too small. Don't let any of these minor criticisms detract from the message of the book.

The book isn't perfect but the idea is pretty darn close.

If you aren't doing anything formal with project management you will find a huge benefit from using the OPPM. If you are using project management, chances are it is about managing downward. The OPPM will help with managing up.

For the purpose of reporting a high-level overview of a projects status, the One Page Project Manager is an excellent alternative to reporting from Microsoft Project. While the author states the One Page Project Manager is not intended to be a replacement for MS Project, I was able to whittle-down a number of smaller projects to fit comfortably into the One Page model.

The book is small, easy to read, and loaded with diagrams and samples to emphasize its points. The simple concept and effective delivery makes it one of my favorite tools in my PMP toolbox.

Finally, a simple way to run a project. I'm glad I don't have to get a doctorate! Thanks! Sales Blazers: 8 Goal-Shattering Strategies from the World's Top Sales Leaders

this book is a breath of fresh air. i use microsoft project software and that represents the other end of the spectrum. this process will get it done with all but the most intensive projects - at least in my world. well worth the price of admission. easy to learn, and easy to operate system.

Ok, I'll admit... I was pretty skeptical when I saw "one-page project manager". But, this book delivers. Especially for those who are new to project management or who are interested in a simple construct for organizing and communicating project information, this book is a solid read.

It's priced right, it's practical, and I think it provides great guidance for a large number of project managers. It's not everything for everyone... if you're managing extremely large or complex efforts I think it might short you a bit, but for the "every day" projects, I think it has a lot of good, practical advice!

Step by step instructions on creating your own One Page Project overview. A straight forward methodology that:
1. clearly highlights the weaknesses (if any) in your plan thus helping improves odds of success
2. a methodology to communicate clearly to senior management without glossing over important details/relationships.

A must read.

I have to reread this and setup the system described. Seems easy but will need things deleted for our way of doing things. I think they've hit upon the essence of project management which is concise generality. Managers need a certain concise description of the general projects underway. Whereas the project leader needs more precise information about each project they are managing. Very nice and helps focus us more on "what precisely do we need to communicate in our status reports".

I really like the concepts. I am still trying to figure out how to introduce this at my company. I like the concepts, just a huge paradigm shift for upper management in a company that is still not mature on project management philosophy.

This is an excellent book. The idea of the OPPM is so simple yet very powerful. I liked it very much and will put it into action very soon in managing the coming many projects.

If you work for a big company, and need to present reports to management, maybe you should look at this book.
It's based on an Excel spreadsheet with all the key indicators, high-level activites, quite detailed.
Not a must-have, but interesting to see what other are doing and how.

I purchased this book due to the overwhelmingly positive responses... While the actual concept and some of the underlying principles are pretty solid, there are a few things that detract from this book.

First of all, the font is about 14pt Times New Roman, which adds to the sense of this book being fluffed. Contributing to this feeling, is the fact that the author continually attempts to provide credibility to himself by mentioning O.C. Tanner, and the "various" projects he's worked on (for which he uses the same five examples ad nauseam). Essentially, he continues to justify why he's qualified to be telling you anything, while dropping the occasional "teaser" about the form you'll be using for the first FOUR CHAPTERS.

The absolutely most irritating aspect of this book, however, is that he's continually trying to sell it to you. In chapter one, he introduces an acronym for "The One Page Project Manager," viz. OPPM. He then proceeds to NEVER use it. Then, he mentions "The One Page Project Manager," so much that if I hear it again, I might end up incarcerated. On page 29, even with 14pt font, he manages to use "The One Page Project Manager" SEVEN times. I'm sure that my few mentions of that heinous term have already provoked certain ire. And by not using the acronym, he ensures that the term is too lengthy to conveniently skip while reading.

Chapter 5 comprises the bulk of the book (being some 100 pages in length - a shocking dichotomy from the previous 12-20 page chapters). Presumably where the "meat" is, it's filled with stuffing in the form of multiple OPPM's, with only the slightest difference between any of them.

To his credit, the concept is good, I think it will work (that's why I purchased the book). But Mr. Clark Campbell needs to realize that he doesn't have to sell his book during the first four chapters, as I already bought it.

2 stars for utility. -3 stars for absolute aggravation.

I was tapped to manage a complex team consisting of writers and developers for an integrated product. I couldn't keep the 14 and more people, assignments, timelines, and critical path on a page I devised. So, I googled 'one page project manager' and this amazon link popped up. I bought the book, got an online copy all on Friday night. By Monday, I had my entire project on the form and by Tuesday, I sent it to the management team. They loved it. The project finished on time and within budget thanks to the tool. A critical path tool may have helped but the project was small enough that by plotting the assignments, I could see the critical path. Great Excel tool!

This is one of those great books that delivers what it says it will. The OPPM tool will be useful to anyone who manages projects, and for executives who want to monitor performance without information overload.

I've been using the one-page format to record output from the executive team planning sessions I facilitate. It provides a straightforward summary with clear time-lines and accountability. It is very useful during the follow up sessions!

You can get a good idea of how the OPPM works by first visiting the resources page on the onepageprojectmanager.com website. Then buy the book to find out how to put your one-pager together.

Modest book size but the information is suffecient to gain a good understanding of the tool. The one page project manager is all about communicating with seniior management.

Easy to read, easy to understand, easy to start working with.
An extremely useful toolbox of concepts ready to be used immediately.
The book reads flawlessly.
It has helped us to design projects in a structured form and to follow them in a very simple way. We have saved time, but gained in precission.

I have been seeking to find an effective way to manage any project (i.e. big, small, simple and complicated) & to report project status from a helicopter view and one which senior management and project teams would understand. I call it Dashboard Project Management. Clark Campbell has shown an effective way to do this. A way to represent the triple constraint, together with quality and customer satisfaction.

I am implementing it in my organisation and in my consulting practice to communicate better to all stakeholders.

I have been seeking to find an effective way to manage any project (i.e. big, small, simple and complicated) & to report project status from a helicopter view and one which senior management and project teams would understand. I call it Dashboard Project Management. Clark Campbell has shown an effective way to do this. A way to represent the triple constraint, together with quality and customer satisfaction.

I am implementing it in my organisation and in my consulting practice to communicate better to all stakeholders.

If you've ever needed to manage several projects at once, you know the dilemma: there has to be a better way to track the projects quickly, concisely and reliably, but finding and learning that better way always seems too tedious, costly, or complicated. This book solves that problem.

We're rolling out the tool in my firm and we've been impressed with how easy it is to use and how much useful information it communicates, even for complex, lengthy projects. It's intuitive and there are no bells and whistles and no overkill. Highly recommended.

If you've ever needed to manage several projects at once, you know the dilemma: there has to be a better way to track the projects quickly, concisely and reliably, but finding and learning that better way always seems too tedious, costly, or complicated. This book solves that problem.

We're rolling out the tool in my firm and we've been impressed with how easy it is to use and how much useful information it communicates, even for complex, lengthy projects. It's intuitive and there are no bells and whistles and no overkill. Highly recommended.

This is the most productive method I've seen to capture the essence of project management. Not too complicated, not too simple. For those with experience this is certainly a method to adopt for rapid, vivid, and persistent communication. I wish I'd had this years ago, but am glad it came along now. It clearly save time for an organization's key resources.