Yesterday on our webinar, an attendee asked what to do when you are on a project that you realize should not continue. I immediately was reminded of a great book that was published a few years ago: Death March: The complete software developer's guide to surviving "mission impossible" projects by Ed Yourdon.

Yourdon has seen lots of projects during his career and provides a project assessment  to determine if a project is a diaster waiting to happen. I bought this book a few years ago when I was the project manager for such a project. I was very frustrated because the management of the IT group didn't want to allow my team to follow best practices. The book did a couple of great things for me: 1) confirmed that the problems that I saw with the project were truly serious issues, and 2) gave some concrete suggestions about how I might survive the project or make a decision to leave it. Although the book's subtitle positions it for developers, anyone on the project team will benefit because the book contains chapters on polictics, negotiations, people and requirements management.

If you feel that you are on a Death March project, I would highly recommend this book to help you regain your sanity and help you survive!