Best Agile Books
There are tons of books available about agile project management. And choosing the right one can be challenging. For example, a business owner who wants to understand how agile can help their business would need a different book than the project manager who already experienced it.
Hopefully, this article will help you to find the best agile book for your needs.
For Beginners
If you've just heard or read about agile management, you probably want to have a well-written introduction without getting lost in the details.
These books will help you understand how agile methods can improve a new or existing startup or product.
The Lean Startup By Eric Ries
If this is the first time you are reading about agile, this one is for you. In this easy-to-read book, Eric Reis introduces the main concepts of the lean methodology he developed over his career.
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach adopted globally, changing how companies are built, and new products are launched.
The most important concept introduced in this book is the minimum viable product, most often referred to as MVP. Traditionally companies invested a tremendous amount of time and money in building a complete product nobody wants. MVP is the simplest version of the product that satisfies some basic customer need, and it allows companies to test their product idea before investing too much time and money in it.
The other important concept is validated learning, which allows startups to constantly evaluate their progress. For example, validated learning might consist of specifying a goal, defining a metric to represent that goal, doing something to achieve that goal, analyzing the action's impact, improving it, and trying again.
Another concept is the build-measure-learn feedback loop. It allows to creating value for customers and business owners by objectively testing various ideas.
The lean startup book has helped many new businesses to focus on constant learning and improvements instead of blindly pushing through ideas that don't excite customers.
Agile Project Management for Dummies By Mark C.Layton
The book covers the main elements of agile project management, a great starting point for anybody participating in an agile project.
Is your project facing complicated deliverables, unrealistic timelines, and budget constraints? No problem! This book is an ideal starting place to learn how to turn projects into rewarding, customer-focused experiences. Discover how to establish a clear vision, create product roadmaps, forecast schedules, and prepare for product releases. Get expert insight into developing a straightforward and practical approach to project management that turns ideas into finished products.
You should be familiar with generic project management concepts, even from a team member point of view, to benefit from this book.
The book uses captivating stories and practical examples to make it more useful for newbies.