Top 10 project management books
Project management is a demanding role that requires you to learn multiple skills and adapt to different people and situations. The learning never stops for a project manager who needs a combination of soft and hard skills to get the best out of a project.
With the rise of services businesses, everybody is a project manager. Whether your team is developing software, doing marketing, managing finances, or managing data, you are managing a project.
Most business owners and managers are not formally trained in project management. They learn the ropes by doing or reading books on the subject. So we came up with a list of top 10 project management books, keeping in mind the different types of project managers who use HiveDesk.
Each of these books has lessons you can apply to your daily work today.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) — Sixth Edition
Author: Project Management Institute
The PMBOK Guide, originally published in 1996, set a standard for project managers by providing an in-depth understanding of nine knowledge areas and 37 processes. Published by the Project Management Institute, this guide is like a bible for large organizations and people managing complex projects.
The guide helps in standardizing organizational projects and creating value across all departments. It helps readers understand effective ways of carrying out a project and design their own path depending on what's best for the success of their project.
The sixth edition focuses more on project managers and their competencies. It also covers Agile and its applicability and integration into industry projects. A new concept of "Manage project knowledge" ensures best practices are applied across all ongoing projects of an organization.
Project Management for The Unofficial Project Manager
Author: James Wood, Kory Kogon, and Suzette Blakemore
This book teaches the essential skill sets and mindset necessary to deliver high-quality outcomes from projects. Nowadays, employees at all levels are given roles and responsibilities on projects, even if they aren't trained in project management. This book is a great starting point for such people.
The book familiarizes readers with concepts like setting expectations, project accountability, stakeholder mapping, people, and processes. The real-life examples help readers keep their projects organized and give inexperienced project managers tips to deal with hurdles efficiently.
Project Management Metrics, KPIs, and Dashboards
Author: Harold Kerzner
Most businesses today make decisions based on metrics and KPIs. The quality of these decisions depends on the metrics and KPIs they take into consideration.
With constant advances in technology and the rise of complex projects with multiple stakeholders, new and effective metrics development is also evolving. This book gives managers a deep understanding of the basics of metrics and KPI development and management. Functional managers can learn best practices in dashboard building, designing, and applying them to their project's needs. The concepts are well explained with screenshots and illustrations of real-life successful projects, making it handy for managers just getting started with project management.
An Introduction to Project Management, Sixth Edition
Author: Kathy Schwalbe
This book goes hand in hand with the latest edition of the PMBOK Guide, highlighting concepts of the PMI talent triangle and the agile approach.
The book includes illustrations, the latest research, statistics, anecdotes of real-world examples, and screenshots of software tools. The author has curated the book with plenty of real case studies and examples, making it an enjoyable read. The book keeps readers engaged with quizzes, summaries, discussion questions, and exercises to work on individually.
Doing Agile Right: Transformation without Chaos
Author: Darrell K. Rigby, Sarah Elk, and Steve Berez
In day-to-day business activities and projects, innovation in companies often takes a back seat and remains in the ideation stage. Larger organizations face this challenge even more as it takes longer to make decisions and execute plans.
The agile project management technique is a way to revive projects and get them back on track. Bain & Company thought leader and HBR author Darrell Rigby and his colleagues Sarah Elk and Steve Berez wrote this book to show readers how to do agile right.
They go beyond just the popularity of the concept and get to the ground reality. The book busts the myth that Agile magically revives projects — it's the best practices in Agile that lead to success. They give realistic examples and illustrate how Agile can accelerate a company's innovation-based projects. The concepts apply equally well to large companies, smaller organizations, and individual projects.
The book identifies pitfalls to avoid, backed by data and methodologies. It touches upon topics like how Agile really works, planning, budgeting, people, processes, technology, and crisis management with Agile.
The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management
Author: Eric Verzuh
This well-written guide explains the various aspects of project management. Individuals with experience in managing projects will find this guide handy, relatable, and straightforward without any jargon.
The latest fifth edition brings fresh case studies, Agile concepts, change management, and stakeholder management — all topics that are extremely relevant today. This book complements the PMBOK Guide. Its introductory chapters familiarize readers with project management and innovation. It then progresses to explain how to plan and control ongoing projects systematically.
Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management
Author: Scott Berkun
Making Things Happen is a critically acclaimed bestseller based on the experience of Scott Berkun, program manager for Internet Explorer. Berkun was also the lead manager for Windows and MSN.
Through his book, he simplifies complex topics by giving practical and useful advice through essays. This is a must-read even for experienced project managers. The book covers topics like making things happen, making good decisions, leadership, and what to do when things go wrong. It encompasses all the best practices followed by Microsoft and their various project design experiences.
Design Thinking for Program and Project Management
Author: George Anderson
Design thinking in project management is a very different approach to problem-solving that the author has tried to explain through this book.
Design thinking principles are entirely based on a human-centered approach at every step of problem-solving. It shifts focus to desirability, feasibility, and viability. Complex problem-solving can be done with a collaboration of individuals who are problem solvers and support from those with expertise in leadership and management.
Anderson explores several techniques and has applied the Five Step Design Thinking model in his approach. He uses strategies like empathy maps, silent design methods, edge case thinking, scaling techniques, and reverse brainstorming. The concepts explained in the book can be applied to almost any business domain.
Measure What Matters
Author: John Doerr
This is an exceptionally well-written book that gives a deep dive into how John Doerr brought Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to Google. According to Doerr, the OKR concept is based on four pillar concepts: focus, align, track, and stretch. Each of these concepts is well explained in different chapters, with lots of case studies supporting them.
OKR has proved to be a revolutionary approach for setting goals and making choices for the business. Doerr has introduced the concept of OKR to over fifty companies and helped them surpass their expectations. The book inspires readers to focus on the key areas that actually matter.
Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling
Author: Harold Kerzner
As businesses and projects become global in scope, the complexities associated with them have grown. Most projects today, even in small companies, have people from multiple cities and even countries. This requires a new approach to managing complexities arising from people working across different time zones and languages.
The 12th edition of this book focuses more on topics like stakeholder management, causes of failure, Agile project management, and project governance. Readers learn about organizational structures and project management techniques, cost control, risk management, planning and scheduling, and quality assurance. They learn how to work effectively with stakeholders around the globe. This book is handy at all levels of a project and is considered by many as the project management bible.
