A book about collaboration involves a lot of collaboration, and I have been very grateful to have input from many individuals. Id like to specifically mention Simon Hird, Brett Harned, Liz Pearce and Tatyana Sussex, Lindsay Scott, Dave Shirley, Dave Garrett, Dave Bryde, and Christina Unterhitzenberger. Many companies generously gave up their time to talk to me about their use of social media and collaboration tools for getting work done, some of which did not make it into the book, but were incredibly valuable conversations.
Im also grateful to the publishing division of the Project Management Institute, especially Barbara Walsh for her support throughout this process and Kim Shinners for her expert attention to detail. The book has been extensively proofread and reviewed, so any errors or omissions in it are strictly my own.
Finally, Id like to thank my family for their support along the way: My parents, Pauline and Alan, especially Mum for her help with proofreading and editing again.
And for Jon, Jack, and Oliver. Of course.
Appendix
Project Management Resources Online
This is a list of my favorite, current project management social media resources. The web is a fluid place, and blogs, podcasts, and other sites come and go. The blogrolls and links on your favorite bloggers sites are a good place to start if you are looking for more or new sites.
A Girls Guide to Project Management
This is my blog, which has been around since 2006. It covers project communication, stakeholder engagement, expert interviews, project management book reviews, and more. Im the Girl, and its my Guide to project management.
http://www.girlsguidetopm.com
Project Management Tips
This is a long-standing, multi-author blog covering a range of project management topics and often touching on online tools.
http://pmtips.net
Better Projects
A blog under the helm of agile expert, Craig Brown. It offers a strong focus on agile and business analysis.
http://www.betterprojects.net
ProjectManagement.com
An active, online community covering a featured topic every month. The discussion groups are particularly good, as are the onsite blogs. I write a blog called The Money Files on this site, covering all aspects of project finances. This site is owned and managed by PMI, but you do not have to be a member to join.
http://www.projectmanagement.com
PM Student
This is a blog by Margaret Meloni, which focuses on helping aspiring project managers learn new skills.
http://pmstudent.com
The Practicing IT Project Manager
This blog is written by Dave Gordon, who manages large-scale technology implementations. This includes a weekly roundup of whats new online, which is a great place to start if you are looking for the latest articles and commentators.
http://blog.practicingitpm.com
Project Management Podcast
This is an established podcast hosted by Cornelius Fichtner. There are both free and paid-for versions, which can help you achieve your PDU requirements for your PMI credentials, or just help you learn some interesting stuff. He usually includes an expert interview in most episodes.
http://www.project-management-podcast.com
PM for the Masses
This is a blog and podcast from author Cesar Abeid. It is aimed at demystifying project management topics and sharing lessons from experienced project managers.
http://www.pmforthemasses.com
Guia de Proyecto
A project management blog in Spanish is written by Danny Reyes.
http://guiadeproyecto.com
EarthPM
This blog is at the intersection of green and project management and is run by Cleland-award winning authors, Rich Maltzman and David Shirley.
http://www.earthpm.com
Stepping into Project Management
Still one of my favorite project management blogs, Soma Bhattacharya has been blogging since 2008 and manages to blend project management and lifestyle blogging into an easy-to-read website which also has community elements and free resources.
http://www.steppingintopm.com
Praise for Collaboration Tools for Project Managers
The book provides an excellent overview for managers at all levels in an organization of how collaboration tools can be utilized in project environments. This is a very hot topic. Talking to different companies about the challenges they face in managing their projects effectively and efficiently, it is clear to me that a key piece of the jigsaw is the utilization of the types of collaboration tools that Elizabeth refers to.
Professor David Bryde, Liverpool Business School,
Liverpool John Moores University
The right project management software can make a huge difference to the success of project teams by helping the team collaborate and thrive. Yet we know companies find it hard to break away from their historical tool sets and embrace online and collaborative tools. This book makes it easy. Its a step by step guide to choosing a product thats going to work for you and your team, with advice on setting it up, increasing adoption and making decisions that support collaborative working across teams. Whether youre deciding on an online tool for the first time or want to move to a new one, this book will ensure that you boost productivity and get the most from any new social tools.
Liz Pearce, CEO LiquidPlanner
As project managers, we can no longer just manage our project details: schedule, budget, quality, scope. Yes, they do need to be managed, but it is becoming much more than that. One must, as Elizabeth says 'create collaborative environments where people can do their best work. That environment will not only make the project manager more effective, but will make the project more successful, something we all strive for. In her book,