Book Review of the Month

Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products Jim Highsmith

	Jim Highsmith has managed to write quite a piece of work. "Agile Project Management" contains a valuable catalog of simple practices that combine to support Highsmith's vision of an agile project's phases: Envision, Speculate, Explore, Adapt, and Close. Furthermore, as the book's title suggests, these practices can readily be applied to practically any agile project, be it software, electronics, or airplanes. The book follows the "APM Framework" through each of the phases, illustrating what the phase is all about and enumerates through the practices in the APM toolbox. Also, the beginning of each chapter carries a nice little conversation between two fictional characters which asks the tough questions just when you are about to ask them and gives you a rough answer to guide your thoughts to the right direction -- with the chapters themselves discussing the topic in detail. This is one of those must-read titles for someone who's serious about improving on his craft. I have to confess that Highsmith's award-winning "Adaptive Software Development" has been waiting on my bookshelf untouched for a long time. Having read APM -- and thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it -- I can't help but pick it up soon. (Lasse Koskela - Bartender, July 2004)
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