How “Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager” Helped Me Level Up as a Web Developer
- Eduardo Lopez
- May 28
- 3 min read
Stepping Into a New Role
Recently, I was officially placed in a Web Developer role at work. While I already had the technical chops, the role brought something new: more independence, more responsibility, and—without being formally called out—more project management.
At first, the term “project management” felt like a giant, corporate buzzword. I knew how to break down a project into smaller tasks and keep things moving, but I never had formal training. The concept felt... vague. Huge. Like some giant umbrella that covered a lot of things I wasn’t quite sure I understood yet.
So, I picked up Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager to learn what I was missing.
Rough Start, But Worth It
I started the audiobook version, and I’ll be honest—it was rough going at first. The book jumps into foundational concepts right away. Listening to new terms and frameworks without seeing them made me a little anxious. I kept thinking: Should I have bought the physical copy? Am I even absorbing this?
That didn’t stop me, though. I hit rewind. A lot. I restarted chapters. A lot. And little by little, it started to click.
Accountability + Trust = Results
One of the key themes that really resonated with me was the book’s take on accountability and trust. It quotes Stephen M.R. Covey:
“People like having trust extended to them. When it is, people don't need to be managed or supervised; they manage themselves.”
That line hit hard. It gave me a new lens to reflect on myself—not as a busy bee worker, but as a contributor in a collaborative environment. I realized I perform well when expectations are clear. But I perform best when I’m given the space to figure things out on my own.
I call it the "figure it out" method. It's something my dad used to throw at me growing up. I hated it back then, but now I see the value. It’s not sink-or-swim—it’s trust-based growth.
Making Connections at Work
What’s cool is that reading this book didn’t just help me understand new project management concepts—it helped me recognize the ones we were already using at my agency.
For example, our team does “stand-up” meetings every week. The book calls these “accountability meetings.” Same idea. They’re fast check-ins that keep everyone aligned. When I read that, I felt like Steve Rogers in The Avengers:
“I understood that reference.”
Beyond the vocabulary, I started using the book’s meeting prep exercises to organize my updates more clearly. Instead of rambling, I now come in with structured notes: What I committed to, what I got done, what’s next, what’s blocking me.
Scope, Clarity, and Front-loading
I’m especially excited to try out some of the book’s tools around defining project scope, which aligns with other readings I’ve been digging into about the value of frontloading and protecting against scope creep.
I can already see how the language and frameworks from this book will help me have better conversations with clients and coworkers. Not just about what we're doing, but why we’re doing it and what the boundaries are.
Final Thoughts
Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager is a 10/10 recommend. So good I purchased a hard copy. (It's sitting on my desk right now.)
If you work on a team—whether you’re a manager, a creative, a junior dev, or somewhere in between—this book has something for you. You’ll either:
Recognize and sharpen your existing methods,
Or finally connect the dots on things you’ve been doing by instinct.
Either way, it’s worth the read. Or in my case… the multiple rewinds.
