You only have so many hours in the day, and precious few of them are your free time. So while you want to learn more about project management — either to pick up new skills or sharpen the ones you’ve already developed — you don’t have unlimited hours to read every book on the subject. Which project management books are best for your experience level? Which are actually relevant to the work you do every day? And most importantly, will they put you to sleep mid-sentence?
While we posted some of our team’s must-read project management books in this article, we’ve since expanded our library with a few new favorites. From project management software professional services to team leadership, take a look and pick up a few to add to your work bookshelf.
23 Project Management Books for All Levels
Beginners & Accidental Project Managers
1. The Project Management Answer Book - Jeff Furman, PMP This quick reference guide is in question-and-answer format, so you can easily look up solutions to common problems and find the full answers you need right when you need them. This book is also useful as a supplement to formal PMP exam prep.
2. Project Management for Non-Project Managers - Jack Ferraro This book decodes project management terminology and techniques to make the topic accessible to complete beginners — useful even to experienced managers who simply don’t have formal training in project management and need an intro to the language and theory.
3. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management - Eric Verzuh Project management is a broad field with many different approaches and applications. If you're looking for a thorough yet high-level overview of the discipline, pick up a copy of "The Fast Foward MBA in Project Management."It's used in many graduate-level courses and within larger corporations to train project managers internally.
4. Project Management Absolute Beginner's Guide (3rd Edition) - Greg Horine Covers every aspect of project management, from the responsibilities of project managers to planning and executing the project itself. You'll learn about Work Breakdown Structures, defining a project schedule and budget, controlling deliverables, managing issues and risks, leadership and communication skills, working with stakeholders, and more.
5. Project Management JumpStart - Kim Heldman For beginners just getting their feet wet (or getting thrown straight into the deep end) this book explains core project management principles in the context of typical issues and real-world scenarios. It also contains an overview of PMBOK, the bible of project management.
You'll start by asking four questions: What are we trying to accomplish and why? How will we measure success? What other conditions must exist? How do we get there?
2. Neal Whitten's No-Nonsense Advice For Successful Projects - Neal Whitten Packed with useful insights, tips, and best practices, Whitten encourages readers to take ownership of their projects in order to distinguish themselves as capable and reliable project managers. Take advantage of Whitten's 30 years of experience to set yourself apart and accelerate your career.
3.The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management - Tom DeMarco Learn about project management and enjoy a fun read with this fast-paced novel. Follow the story of Tompkins, a project manager who’s kidnapped and presented with an impossible deadline. His solution is unconventional: with a huge staff of software developers at his disposal, he splits them into eighteen teams. Each team uses a different method, testing different project management assumptions and approaches. Pick up tips to effectively manage your projects while enjoying an entertaining page-turner.
4. The Lazy Project Manager: How to be Twice as Productive and Still Leave the Office Early - Peter Taylor Laziness is a virtue? Peter Taylor shows how laziness can translate into greater efficiency, increased focus, and better project outcomes. Apply the Pareto principle to find out which 20% of your workday really matters, and learn how to work smarter to achieve sustainable work/life balance and optimum productivity.
5. Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure - Todd C. Williams, PMP At some point in your career, you’ll find yourself managing a project that’s floundering. Whether or not you’re able to pull it out of a tailspin is one thing, but learning from what went wrong — and learning from others’ mistakes — is the key to continuous improvement and future success. When you’re in crisis mode, reach for this book to assess the core problems and create an action plan.
6.Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Reviews - Norman L. Kerth The best project managers make constant improvement a top priority, conducting retrospectives at the end of each project to identify lessons learned. Follow the roadmap Kerth outlines to identify what went well and what you can improve to make your processes and teams even stronger.
7. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (11th Edition) - Harold R. Kerzner At 1,200 pages, this is not a book you’ll read in one sitting or casually peruse during a quick work break. But it is recognized as an in-depth, go-to reference for all things project management, from measuring project ROI, establishing business justification, managing project sponsorship, and more. 25 case studies in a variety of industries illustrate the principles in real-world situations. When you’re in the middle of a project and a problem arises, reach for this book to find a diagnosis and possible solution.
8. Death March (2nd Edition) - Edward Yourdon At some point in your career, you’ll be tasked with a “Death March” project: an initiative that's sorely understaffed and underfunded, with unrealistic deadlines. While you won’t be able to completely avoid these types of projects, this book will help you survive them with your sanity intact. By understanding the underlying factors, you can find ways to address the root issues, manage expectations, and alleviate pressure on your team. Although it’s written with IT projects in mind, the principles are invaluable for anyone involved in a “Mission Impossible" project.
Managing IT & Software Development Projects
1.Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules - Steve McConnell Don't be fooled by the title: this book isn't about churningout more lines of code each day. It's about finding best practices for your project to achieve faster results. You'll learn how to avoid common mistakes, wrangle project schedules to make them predictable, and achieve greater control over projects. The last section of the book outlines best practices, along with the risks and benefits of each one, so you can pick and choose which are best suited for your specific situation.
2. The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition) - Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. Author Frederick Brooks Jr. draws from his experience as a project manager at IBM to offer wisdom for leading huge projects and large teams. Although first written in 1975, this newer, expanded version is still considered a classic must-read for anyone managing large projects, especially in IT and software. While the technology Brooks references is outdated, the underlying insights into the common pitfalls of software development and project management remain as relevant as ever.
3.Waltzing With Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects - Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister Not all risks are bad! Sometimes bigger risks mean greater rewards, and playing it too conservatively means you could be left behind by bolder competitors. On the other hand, being reckless or ignoring possible consequences can mean failure for your project — and your business. This book shows how to identify and take advantage of worthwhile opportunities, recognize common risks, and determine your acceptable level of risk.
4. Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams - Mickey W. Mantle & Ron Lichty Software developers have a reputation as a quirky bunch, and Mantle and Lichty explain which management strategies will work with developers and why. They'll teach you their tested techniques for managing high-performance and distributed software teams at some of the largest companies in the nation and share what workedand what didn't.
Leadership & Management Techniques
1. Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams (3rd Edition) - Tom DeMarco & Tim Lister With a perceptive look into the how and why behind personal motivation, DeMarco and Lister share tips for assembling a great team and making the most of their time and talents. Rather than defining managers as overseers, DeMarco and Lister stress that a successful manager's main job is removing barriers to productivity so their teams can excel.
2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - Patrick Lencioni Telling the story of a newly-appointed startup CEO and her troubled executive team, this book outlines 5 common disruptive team dynamics: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, and Inattention to Results. You’ll probably recognize bits of yourself and your team in the story, and you’ll find steps and strategies for improving your teamwork.
3. The Essential Drucker: In One Volume the Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management - Peter F. Drucker Nearly ten years after his passing, Peter Drucker is still famous as a leading management expert. This title collects what the man himself considered his essential teachings. Get Drucker’s take on making good management decisions, the difference between efficiency and effectiveness, focusing on contributions over results, and more classic leadership advice.
4. Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values - Lawrence A. Cunningham How do you become a great leader and establish a company culture where success is sustainable? This book looks at Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s $300 billion conglomerate, to show how managers can generate real economic worth from abstract values like frugality, integrity, drive, and independence.
5. Crystal Clear: A Human-Powered Methodology for Small Teams - Alistair Cockburn Author Alistair Cockburn understands that successful projects come primarily from people, not methodologies or tools. Although the book is on Crystal Clear, a lightweight software development methodology, this book also focuses on how to set up and support your team so they can do their best work. In addition to providing an Agile roadmap, this book will teach you how to free your projects from heavy processes that slow you down and ransack your budget.
What's on your bookshelf?
Share the titles you've found most valuable in your project management career in the comments!
Tip: If Amazon happens to be your bookseller of choice, try ordering your new books through Amazon Smile. Amazon will donate a portion of the price of your items to a charity of your choice.
Emily is a former Content Marketer of Wrike. She specializes in leadership, collaboration, and productivity. Her brain is stuffed with obscure grammar rules, an embarrassing amount of Star Wars trivia, and her grandmother’s pie recipes.
Top 10 Blogs for Project Management Innovators: Reader's Choice
The voting for your favorite blogs about project management, innovation and 2.0 is finally over. I received over 230 votes, and it took quite a while to summarize the results. Now that the top 10 list of blogs for project management innovators is ready, I’m happy to share it with you.
1. PMPodcast
2. PM Student
3. Project Shrink
4. Daniel H. Pink
5. Andrew McAfee’s Blog
6. Bertrand Duperrin's Notepad
7. TED
8. Voices on Project Management
9. A Girl’s Guide to Project Management
10. Portals and KM
Congratulations to all the top 10 bloggers! I also would love to thank all of you who commented on my posts about the best blogs, voted for your faves and suggested other valuable resources.
Project Management
5 min read
Project Management Terms: A Quickstart Glossary for Newbies (Part 2)
In our Quickstart Project Management Glossary for Newbies, Part 1, we revealed the secrets behind Gantt charts, the Critical Path Method, and more. And now your boss has walked in with more confusing jargon to muddle your brain: "Can you double-check our resources to make sure this project isn't in danger of scope creep?" Uh, what resources? And scope creep?
Relax, it gets easier with time. Here are a few more key project management terms to learn that will educate you and boost your confidence before you talk to the boss again.
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) — Your project portfolio is much like any other portfolio. It contains all of your best work as an easy reference tool so that you can properly manage your resources. It keeps all of the processes, methods, and technologies right at your hand. With the help of PPM you can mix-and-match your resources for optimal planning before a new project begins.
Resources — They're all you've got. Literally. Your project resources are anything and everything you need to complete your task. They may include people, tools, money, facilities, or other tangible necessities.
Scope — For project managers, scope is the information and work required to complete a project. Gather your "how-to"s before jumping in blind - How will we fund it? What are our milestones? How will we define success? Documenting your project scope should be a part of your planning process. Controlling it becomes the challenge once you have begun.
Scope Creep — Everything seems to be going fine, but then those little issues sneak up on you and suddenly everything is wrong. Maybe it's the uncontrolled growth of a project. Or the new feature you add to your project plan without updating the constraints. This is scope creep and it usually appears near the end of your project timeline. If it occurs, you risk overspending or missing deadlines. Update your budget, schedule, and resources with every project addition to eliminate scope creep before it can surprise you. Gold plating is another type of resource management issue. The difference between scope creep and gold plating is that gold plating is a problem arising internally.
Stakeholders — The people who have an interest in the completion of the project. Your team, your investors, your boss. Simple as that.
What-if Scenario Analysis (WISA) — The key to the WISA is to anticipate many different possible project outcomes and create solutions before they occur. Examples include a delayed deliverable, going over budget, or a change in available resources. By preparing for those "what-if" situations, you will be able to act quickly in any situation.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) — This is how you break down your work into smaller deliverables. It is a hierarchical tree structure that builds up to a final product. In Wrike you can build this hierarchy by creating sub-folders for your projects. Have you heard of small wins? Reducing projects into bite-sized pieces can help boost your team's productivity. Start with your overall project folder, and break it down further and further until you can effortlessly manage its every component.
With these words in your knowledge handbook, you are one step closer to successfully taking charge of your new project management role. Now, what did the boss ask for again? Gantt Charts? Critical path? No problem. Report back and confidently say: "Our critical path is on track. I checked the Gantt charts and we have a few days of free float for some tasks. Let me show you what I've found..."
Did we leave out any terms that still leave you puzzled? Let us know! There are more "Project Management Basics" coming soon, so check back later for more information you can't go a day without!
Project Management
3 min read
20 Questions for Project Governance Success (Infographic)
Whether you manage projects, programs, portfolios, project management offices (PMOs), or centers of excellence, you want to do all you can to ensure your projects are successful. You need not only good, but great project governance, which encompasses all of the processes, activities, and checks and balances necessary to ensure successful projects, programs, and portfolios.
Check out our webinar From Good Governance to Great: How To Turbo-Charge the Success of Your PMO here
Industry-leading global professional organizations, numerous research studies, and the stats of millions of failed projects every year point to an indisputable fact: governance is the #1 critical success factor for projects, programs, and portfolios. Avoiding project failure comes down to establishing effective project governance — but how can your team get there?
How to get to project governance success
Great project governance comes from asking the right questions to ensure best practices are followed. By asking these 20 questions, you will ensure you have the right foundational building blocks for project success.
Discover why teams across industries and the world choose Wrike as their preferred platform to ensure project success. Sign up for a free trial and get started today. And don't forget to take a look at our dedicated webinar, From Good Governance to Great: How To Turbo-Charge the Success of Your PMO, to discover why governance is critical to project and program success and the questions you should be asking about proper governance.
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