12 Best Project Management Books of 2024

Project Management for The Unofficial Project Manager shows you the steps a project needs to execute. It follows the same structure as PMBOK- Initiate, Plan, Execute, Monitor and Control, Close. To make the learning process easier writers include real-life use-cases, examples, lists, and diagrams. There includes a short review at the end of each chapter for a quick recap.

This book is known as an actionable guide for leaders without titles. However, unlike other project management books, it uses simple language to illustrate things. So people from any background get a great boost to work inside a project. Also, you'll learn how to coordinate and organize elements that make a project successful.

You'll get ideas to:

• Become an effective “unofficial” project manager
• Engage the team to the fullest
• Real-world insights
• Keep your projects organized
• Run projects without the help of an organized team

As the title suggests, this book is particularly designed for beginners. Greg describes here the fundamental theory of project management and the core responsibilities of project managers. New managers and apprentices can read this book to learn about common obstacles that first-time project managers usually face. You can use it as a guideline to overcome these problems and handle project tasks using most of the technology.

The Beginner's Guide contains charts and diagrams to illustrate the major attributes of a project execution process. The writer explains here various complex mechanisms in a simple approach. This book will help you develop your capabilities not only to manage projects but also to lead them.

You'll get ideas to:

• Program management
• Work breakdown structure
• Agile approaches
• Risk management
• Advanced reporting techniques
• Enterprise resource management

Scott Berkun has worked for more than 9 years as a program manager in Internet Explorer, and lead program manager in Windows and MSN. He wrote this book considering both technical and non-technical readers. It gives you a clear indicator to handle a large software or web development project. On top of that, every chapter ends with highly relatable exercises to focus on the topic dealt with and put readers into practice.

This book does not offer any specific methods but enriches your knowledge with actionable philosophy and strategy. In his writing, the writer focuses on the daily challenges of project managers and includes effective suggestions to overcome them. In the last edition, he emphasizes more on leadership qualities for managers of diverse project types.

You'll get ideas to:

• Schedule your project activities
• Plan and research with effective ideas
• Write efficient vision statement
• Make effective decisions
• Establish interpersonal relationships

Harold arranges this book in a different way. He covers more than 100 case studies from renowned companies to describe different approaches to project management. You will get the experience of Professional Training from this book. As it is full of great examples including real-life problems and solutions.

You can explore various challenges that a project manager can face in his job and possible ways to overcome them. All the things are explained like stories so you can easily understand the context and compare the available solutions. There are 21 chapters in total and there is a question section at the end of each chapter. It gives you an idea about project methodologies, implementation plans, organizational structure & culture, salary administrations, and others.

In the latest edition, you'll find some interesting case studies about Disney, the Olympics, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and Airbus 380. Also, it includes case studies focusing on agile and scrum methodologies.

You'll get ideas to:

• Estimate project cost
• Negotiate for resources
• Project risk management
• Project management lawsuite
• Enroll Project Management Professional Certification Exam

The Fast Forward MBA teaches simple methods and techniques to track projects. It also helps readers to lead and build strong teams. By getting ideas about the foundation principles of project management, it becomes easier to organize a project upfront from beginning to end. Besides, advanced case studies empower their readers to take quick initiatives.

This book is full of cutting-edge PM ideas and hard-won insight of sector leaders. It is a synopsis of simple management issues like performance, teamwork, pressure, structure, timekeeping, support, etc. Eric introduced an interesting technique called Holy Grail Solution in chapter 18. This helps you to get control over your projects, programs, and portfolio as a whole. The stellar performer case study on Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation makes it easy to understand.

You'll get ideas to:

• Work Breakdown Structure
• Risk management framework
• Budget projections
• Realistic scheduling
• Agile and waterfall framework

This Scrum book elaborates on agile methodology and how to break it up into several phases. Ken collects all the elements from his years of experience mentoring Scrum teams and teaching Certified ScrumMaster courses around the world. The book teaches a good lesson on problem-solving. It suggests the readers feel the problem to solve it from the root.

The best thing about the book is its simple expression, case studies, and success-failure stories. Ken also shares his failed project history with the readers to prevent them from same mistakes. After reading them, you can use Scrum to solve complex problems and drive better results. This also enables you to deliver more valuable software faster.

You'll get ideas to:

• Scrum theory
• ScrumMaster responsibilities
• Customer & team collaboration
• Sprint planning meeting
• Project reporting

This book introduced a systematic approach to high productivity. David names it “Getting Things Done”. The GTD workflow includes five stages: capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage. He divides the book into three parts where the initial is full of workflow and planning. The second part focuses on different aspects and obstacles to practical productivity. The book involves the process, tools requirements, collecting essentials, organizing them, and taking a grip on the project. The final part that comes in the updated version focuses on science-based approaches to GTD mastery.

The author tries to convey his years of experience in this field and shares his recommendation. It is helpful to others in their need in GTD. If you are new to GTD, it is good to read it in sequence. But people familiar with this technique can start from where they like.

You'll get ideas to:

• Improve team productivity
• Focus on the right things
• Task management
• Schedule & work review
• Leads to stress, overwhelm, and uncertainty

Brilliant Project Management is all about sharing the diverse experiences of two veteran Project Managers. Here you'll learn effective ways to meet the deadline within the budget. From the development of a project plan to its execution, this book encompasses the entire process. It also talks about risk management, quality issues, resource planning, training, meet-ups, etc.

This book shows you how to get the best output from a mistake. You'll also find the practical benefits of using additional resources. Writers make the lessons interesting with funny drawings and humorous discussions. Read the book from cover to cover to dip into the topics that amazed you most.

You'll get ideas to:

• Dealing with risk and issues
• Resource planning & management
• Facilitation techniques
• Effective leadership
• Running productive meetings

This Book Covers:

The Essential Drucker is all about the business philosophy and analysis of socio-economics. It contains a pack of experience of sixty years. This book helps you to learn management practices and theories that reflect on performance from a single to a larger unit of people. In simple words, it is a compilation of the experience of the industry legends.

This book illustrates a systemic approach to showing various challenges of management. You can find many cases which tell about problems and their solutions. The Essential Drucker says how professionals deal with challenges to meet the socio-economic future demand. It is a base text of modern management that influence people to reshape their mind logically to get better outcomes.

You'll get ideas to:

• The practice of management
• The frontiers of management
• Future demands & tools
• Available opportunities & possibilities
• Basic principles & concerns of management

Human management is a difficult task. IT guys are even worse in it. IT companies lack a structured system to do good here. Available texts and guides are only explaining how to do well in IT work. At this point, the Manager’s Path is an excellent piece that tells how to run staff, secure their career and ensure company growth.

The book is full of actionable advice and methods to overcome the obstacles of IT management. This book contains ideas to supervise a multilevel team that creates a team grooming culture. It also tells about how to mentor people in their problems. You will also learn how to control yourself in challenges that many leaders face difficulty. All these events are presented practically in this book.

You'll get ideas to:

• Be a good manager
• One-on-one meetings
• Workplace guidance
• Training & career growth
• Agile software management