Downside
Almost of necessity, this book is written from the perspective of the author's own personal experience. A large part of this experience that he describes is about his relationship and interaction with the sponsor of the project in question. Particularly missing seems to be any mention of his chief assistant, the Manager of Product Development. Consequently, one is left with an impression that suggests there are really only two people of importance in the management of a large project, even though a "large project" by definition involves a very large number of people.
At the same time, one should express sympathy for the sponsor who has to deal with all of these situations as described, while doing whatever he or she has to do as a regular day-job responsibility. However, from the reader's perspective, the advice that the author offers is of considerable value to any project manager running a much smaller project, but where there are still more than half-a-dozen stakeholders.
As a separate issue, we found that the referencing in the book was rather unhelpful. It was difficult to find any specific reference that we wanted to recall. The chapter listings are rather cryptic and the index often unhelpful. To find a particular story we had in mind, we had to search for the particular header by thumbing through the whole book. It would be a big benefit if all of the chapter subheadings and sub-sub headings were to be listed with their respective page numbers. Further, if this list were to be grouped logically, the book would be a valuable reference to have at hand in time of crisis.
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