To become an extraordinary project manager, you need to learn excellent time-management, how to complete deadlines, work to a project plan, and coordinate different teams and contractors. Project management will occupy your mind with all of its many challenges.
Due to the complexity of this role, there are many available books on the subject to help you learn and accomplish your goals. This article created by our team at TMS focuses on ten books that will aid both the beginner and seasoned professionals.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
By Project Management Institute
The Project management Institute has produced this book containing all the necessary information and best practices in the field. This recent guide, distributed in September 2017, offers all the progressions and updates required for project management. PMP and other PMI affirmation test inquiries for the primary/second quarter of 2018 are found in this version.
Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management
By Scott Berkun
Scott Berkun’s book is excellent for those who are new to project management. Berkun has more than 10 years of experience as a PM for large tech organizations and draws on his broad experience to provide valuable counsel throughout this 410-page book. The guidance is succinct and easy to understand despite delving into complex ideas and contains a helpful section entitled “What To Do When Things Go Wrong.”
Project Management for Non-Project Managers
By Jack Ferraro
This incredible book focuses on assisting individuals in administrative positions who are required to take on project management roles and need to learn how to undertake these new executive ventures.
The Plugged-In Manager: Get in Tune with Your People, Technology, and Organization to Thrive
By Terri L. Griffith
Terri L. Griffith is a management professor and a tech expert, who teaches and demonstrates skilful project management, and proficiency in three fields of operation: people, tech, and organization.
Talking to ‘Crazy’: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life
By Mark Goulston
Mark Goulston is a well-known therapist and business advisor who has been assisting global ventures and worldwide associations for years. His expertise is very useful for individuals and executives who wish to advance their business and includes excellent advice on trouble-shooting and foreseeing challenges in project management.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change”
By Stephen R. Covey
This book proposes more radical methodical strategies and includes excellent advice on managing mental challenges associated with project and business management. Everyone who is striving to succeed can benefit from this book, and learn how to deal with and overcome challenging situations for themselves and those they work with.
Brilliant Project Management
By Stephen Barker
The author has more than 15 years of experience in his field and this is well demonstrated in this book. It offers guaranteed advice to help your projects and ventures succeed. You will learn how to effectively meet deadlines, stay within budget while keeping a sound mind.
Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide
By Greg Horine
Gregory Horine is a qualified IT PMP with more than 20 years of experience.
The book is aimed at new project managers who need to succeed. It covers the full procedure cycle, as well as concentrating on the arrangement, control, and execution of the venture. It also provides advice on the most proficient method to utilize the most recent MS Project programming along with numerous diagram outlines.
Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done
By Brett Harned and Greg Storey
This book removes the tedium from project management and conveys individual stories and useful pragmatic guidance to ensure the success of your venture. Strategies are discussed in detail as well as sound advice on how to cultivate empathy and skilled effective communication.
Project Pain Reliever: A Just-In-Time Handbook for Anyone Managing Projects
By Dave Garrett
More than 36 experienced project managers, including well-known creators Peter Taylor, Elizabeth Harrin, Cornelius Fichtner and Wrike CEO Andrew Filev, have compiled their solutions for normal project management challenges, along with amusing project management anecdotes.
Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling
By Harold Kerzner
This project management book offers lucid insights into the complex world of project management. Although lengthy, its usefulness is highly attested to as course reading for anyone wanting to become proficient in this role. It also contains 400 very practical conversation questions and different decision tests.
Risk Up Front: Managing Projects in a Complex World (Adam Josephs & Brad Rubenstein, 2018)
By Adam Josephs
The combination of Brad Rubenstein’s gifted writing and the wealth of expertise offered by Adam Josephs, an experienced project chief, is excellent value. They have merged to share their experience in project management as well as to communicate two unique perspectives on industry procedures.
It also offers many helpful hints on the most proficient methods to manage minor challenges and avoid them escalating into real problems.
The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management
By Eric Verzuh
Eric Verzuh is the leader of Versatile, a preparation and counseling project management organization that began in 1990. His experience is encapsulated in this excellent book, the latest version of which was released in 2015.
It is useful for beginners and experienced professionals as both a manual and a working reference book. It offers structures and spreadsheets, tips in utilizing MS Project, and covers new subjects, for example, anticipated IT releases and ingenious methods.
Decide: Work Smarter, Reduce Your Stress, and Lead by Example
By Steve McClatchy
Steve McClatchy explores effective leadership as a vital key of making profits. The book explores effective decision-making in both life and career to achieve outstanding performance. It focuses on time management so that you do not waste a moment and are able to achieve your goals.
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
By Jeff Sutherland
Jeff Sutherland is the co-creator and CEO of Scrum, Inc who has a unique methodology for project management. The rugby term “scrum” is used to illustrate business strategies for leadership and management processes. The book is riveting, engaging and so practical that it’s widely used as a productivity tool by multiple high-tech companies.
The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
By Peter F. Drucker
This book is a classic. It delves into all the issues of leadership and management. The author was a highly exalted and influential thinker whose ideas shaped corporate thinking for decades.
The Moonshot Effect: Disrupting Business as Usual
By Kate Purmal, Lisa Goldman, Anne Janzer
The three authors are all specialists in their field whose combined advice encapsulated in this excellent book will increase your knowledge and practical application in all aspects of project management. It will help you transform your team, promote excellent leadership and succeed in your career as a PM.
FAQs about project management books
1. What are some of the best project management books for beginners?
The Project Management Institute’s “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)” is a great starting point for newcomers.
The books “Project Management for Dummies” by Stanley E. Portny and “Project Management: Absolute Beginner’s Guide” by Greg Horine are two more that come highly recommended.
These publications offer a thorough introduction to the concepts and methods of project management.
2. Are there any project management books that focus specifically on agile methodologies?
Absolutely, there are various books on project management that are devoted solely to agile techniques. Mike Cohn’s “Agile Estimation and Planning,” Jeff Sutherland’s “Scrum: The Art of Completing Twice the Work in Half the Time,” and David J. Anderson’s “Kanban: Effective Evolutionary Transformation for Your Technology Company” are a few well-liked choices.
3. Which project management books are recommended for PMP certification exam preparation?
The Project Management Institute’s major reference guide for studying for the PMP certification exam is the PMBOK Handbook. In addition, Rita Mulcahy’s “PMP Test Prep” and Jennifer Greene’s “Head First PMP” are both highly recommended.
4. Can you recommend any project management books that cover risk management in depth?
A book that addresses risk management in-depth is “Project Risk Management: Processes, Methods, and Insights” by Chris Chapman and Stephen Ward.
Additional choices are Lance Wright’s “The Risk Management Handbook: A Practical Guide to Handling the Many Aspects of Risk” and David Hillson’s “Risk Management in Projects.”
5. What are some of the most popular project management books that cover leadership and team management?
A great book on leadership and team management in project management is “Leadership in Project Management: Guiding People and Projects to Success” by Drs. Russ J. Martinelli and James M. Waddell. The “One Minute Manager” by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson and “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni are two other well-known works.
6. Are there any project management books that offer practical advice for dealing with difficult stakeholders?
Certainly, there are a number of project management books that provide helpful guidance for interacting with challenging stakeholders.
Mario Henrique Trentim’s “Managing Stakeholders as Clients: Sponsorship, Partnership, Leadership, and Citizenship,” Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford’s “Influence without Authority,” and Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler’s “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High” are a few books that are recommended.
7. Can you recommend any project management books that focus on managing projects in the tech industry?
James Cadle and Donald Yeates’ “Project Management for Information Systems” is a highly regarded book that focuses on managing projects in the tech sector. Other well-liked choices are “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries and “Agile Project Management with Scrum” by Ken Schwaber.
8. What are some project management books that cover the basics of budgeting and cost management?
The essentials of budgeting and cost management are covered in the highly recommended book “Project Management: A Managerial Approach” by Jack R. Meredith and Samuel J. Mantel.
Other well-liked choices are “Project Budgeting and Financial Management” by Yuri Raydugin and “Cost and Value Management in Projects” by Ray R. Venkataraman and Jeffrey K. Pinto.
9. Can you recommend any project management books that focus on project scheduling and time management?
Harold Kerzner’s book “Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling” is a great resource for learning about project scheduling and time management.
Other well-liked choices are “Project Time Management” by James Lewis, “Dynamic Scheduling with Microsoft Project 2013,” and “Critical Chain” by Eliyahu Goldratt.
10. What are some project management books that offer case studies or real-world examples of successful projects?
Highly suggested reading includes Scott Berkun’s “The Art of Project Management,” which includes case studies and actual instances of successful projects.
Some popular selections include “Project Management Case Studies” by Harold Kerzner, “Leading Successful PMOs” by Peter Taylor, and “The Project Manager’s Book of Checklists” by Michael H. Zacharia.
Project managers can adopt best practices and steer clear of frequent hazards by consulting these books, which offer insightful analysis and lessons learned from real-world projects.
If you enjoyed reading this article on project management books, you should check out this one about project management frameworks.
We also wrote about a few related subjects like project management principles, project management goals, project management metrics, IT project manager, what is a war room, Kanban app, gap analysis, project management skills and project management methodologies.
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