One of the most important lines in the first couple of chapters in Making Things Happen is, “The trick is to learn as much as possible from other people’s failures.” Project management is the key to making projects organized and to make sure everything runs smoothly. When projects don’t, many forget to go back through the process to see where and what went wrong. Individuals can learn a lot from other people’s failures. They can learn what to do right to be successful, and what to avoid that can cause project problems.

Projects and project management activities differ in every situation. Some are large and require many people, others are smaller and require a couple people. Another thing mentioned about project management is that everything is always changing. Project managers need to be always changing and adapting their thoughts, feelings, and ideas about projects and the people working on their project teams. They also need to keep up with members of their team and make sure they are excited about the work that’s being done.

Scheduling is another big topic when you speak of projects and project management. According to the author, scheduling is done for three purposes, to make commitments, encourage everyone to see their work as a part of a whole, and to provide a tool to track progress. Just as we use the rule of thirds in design and photography, we should use the rule of thirds when scheduling. One part is design, the next for production, and the third for testing.It’s important to create a schedule that is factual and obtainable. Most schedules fail because they are created with unattainable goals. Since sometimes you do not know everything that will occur in a project, you need to a be good estimator.The better you can estimate, the more likely you will have a schedule that will work to your and the project’s advantage. It’s also important to keep track of your schedule and continue to estimate during a project in order to help adapt the project’s schedule.