books about project management

10 best books about project management in 2022

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Project management is a very broad subject, so it is no wonder that the market abounds with a lot of books focusing on managing projects, selecting methodologies, forming teams, or getting project management certificates. Some of these books surprise and delight, while others add information about the best practices for managerial positions to the subject. As a result, we decided to select ten publications that are worth reading. Below we present our list.

10 best books about project management in 2022

Our list is not limited by any strict rules. It includes copious handbooks, very scientific, as well as a few softer books, oftentimes written with some humor, but equally valuable and worth the attention of every project manager.

The order of the listed books does not matter.

1. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Braden Kowitz, Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky

This is one of the best books about project management there is. This is so as it is written in a simple and smooth language in the first place. The publication is more of a corporate story than a handbook, even though it contains a lot of knowledge. The “sprint” mentioned in the title refers to managing projects and testing new products in five days. It is an MVP building handbook to some extent; it fits all projects and all business branches.

2. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers

Timothy Ferriss

This is another publication that stands out from other scientific books about project management. Ferriss became popular thanks to his book entitled The 4-Hour Workweek, but it is the Tools of Titans that have become one of the books that, even though not focusing on project management at all times, help run and manage them. For over two years, the author held over 200 interviews with actors, celebrities, managers, and people from business and show business. From there, he took interesting stories and examples, which form an out-of-line handbook for learning how to think in project-related terms.

3. The Lean Product Playbook: Using Minimum Viable Products and Rapid Customer Feedback to Innovate

Dan Olsen

Dan Olsen is one of the most recognizable product managers in the business. His book about project management is a collection of great examples. First and foremost, it focuses on the Lean methodology. It also shows examples from real life supported by analytical data and indicators, which help in the process of product optimization. Although the examples described by the author focus mostly on IT and devices such as hardware, mobile devices, and the like, the knowledge can be easily translated into other business branches. It results from the fact that the hints included in the book refer to a wide range of business contexts, including B2C and B2B.

4. Design a Better Business: New Tools, Skills, and Mindset for Strategy and Innovation

collective work

This is quite an extraordinary book about project management, not only due to its structure. For instance, it contains “passes”, that is, pages resembling flight tickets. They present the thrust of a given idea. This data is provided in a nutshell and does not require a deeper analysis of a chapter, but it is recommended to do so to fully understand a given problem. What is important, though, is that Design a Better Business includes 8 chapters, 48 case studies, 20 tools, 7 basic skills, 29 projects, 36 tricks, and 150 graphics. All this injects us with the knowledge necessary to manage projects.

5. The Startup Owner’s Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company

Steve Blank and Bod Dorf

Although the book about project management has “startup” in its title, it should be read by every manager and boss of small and large businesses alike. Over 600 pages contain knowledge gathered from many years of work by both authors. It has over 100 charts, nearly 80 checklists, and a lot of other content that will allow us to avoid the 9 project-killing sins, teach us how to release products in cooperation with clients, and show various types of management. What is more, the book does it comprehensively, clearly, and, most importantly, with a lot of content.

6. Getting Things Done

David Allen

This is yet another book about project management; to be more exact, it focuses on productivity and the completion of tasks, even the smallest ones. Getting Things Done shows how to organize tasks with simple lists and structures. It is important to have a well-organized structure to be able to introduce ideas without delay and trust the individual units in which the structure is built. A lot of experienced managers state that, thanks to Allen’s methodology, it is much easier for them to implement new tasks and that everything flows without unnecessary disturbances.

7. Brilliant Project Management: What the most effective project managers know, do, and say

Stephen Barker

Thanks to an engaging approach, the book about project management not only describes processes and tasks but also gives practical advice and methods borrowed from experienced people who had to overcome a lot of problems themselves. Therefore, after we read the book, we will know what solutions we can use, how to conduct deployment, and what to do for our project to be a success. Brilliant Project Management underlines the areas where our decisions and behaviors will affect whether we fail, achieve a mediocre result, or succeed tremendously.

8. The sixth edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

PMI is the total of PMI’s efforts.

PMI, or Project Management Institute, is a non-profit organization that has been operating in the international market since 1969. Its mission is to standardize project management procedures. The book about project management is an encyclopedia containing knowledge for all those who want to attain one of the certificates offered by PMI. It is nearly 800 pages of pure knowledge on processes, projects, procedures, etc. The publication reflects the current condition of the profession of PM. It is intended virtually for all readers and people involved in the practice of project management. It will be good reading for students in their academic quests, for teachers and coaches in their teaching practice, for certificate applicants to obtain the certification, and for professionals to obtain the latest news on how to best implement projects in various enterprises and businesses branches and on various scales.

9. Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide

Gregory Horine

Gregory Horine is a professional with over twenty years of experience in IT project management. The book is intended for fresh project managers who need to start working but do not have full knowledge of project management. It covers the entire project lifecycle but concentrates on planning, control, and task completion in the first place.

10. Effective Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Richard Rumelt

Rumelt shows what the kernel of a good management strategy is. It consists of three elements: diagnostics, leading policy, and coherent action. Leading policy specifies the approach to overcoming obstacles identified during diagnostics. It is like a signpost determining the direction of work. Coherent action includes feasible and coordinated moves and decisions concerning the resources of an enterprise that aim to implement the leading policy.

The kernel is not a magical formula. This is a guide through the hard work to be done to create a strategy. As Rumelt notes in his book about project management, a lot of things can be misinterpreted as strategies. Plans, slogans, and goals may seem real until you analyze them with a tool such as a kernel methodology.

This is where we end our subjective list. These are 10 books concerning project management that are genuinely worth reading; they provide knowledge, teach, and even entertain at times. Some of the authors of the 10 best books about project management let go of the rigid academic language in favor of smoother communication with the readers, have a good read!

 

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