The Best Project Management Books for Real-World Results

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In today’s dynamic business world, the ability to manage projects effectively is an essential skill. Whether you’re an experienced project manager or just starting out, having the right resources is crucial. Among those valuable resources are project management books.

These books offer practical guidance, industry insights, and proven strategies to help you navigate the complexities of project execution. To help you discover excellent resources, here’s a selection of top-rated project management books that will equip you with the knowledge and tools to lead successful projects.

Along with these books, you can learn more from a high-quality expert course, “Keys to Successful Project Management” by José Ambe

 

Best Project Management Books

 

Learning project management also involves the use of books. These books listed here are intended to arm and guide every intending professional with the right knowledge. Below are the top books on how to learn project management.

 

Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager: A FranklinCovey Title

In today’s workplace, staffs are regularly expected to coordinate and manage projects.  Experts Kory Kogon, Suzette Blakemore, and James Wood understand the importance of leadership in project completion and explain that people are crucial in the formula for success. Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager offers practical, real-world insights for practical guides to learn project management through the essentials of the people and project management process.

Target Audience.

• Anyone struggling to keep projects organised
• Unofficial project managers

What You Will Learn

• Understand the importance and the fundamental principles of project management
• Understand both the art and science of project estimation
• Understand how to conduct walk-throughs, inspections and peer reviews and why they’re essential.

RATING: 4.8/5 (81 ratings)

“Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager gets to the HEART of a challenge so many now face in the workplace—the need to ORGANIZE Projects, on the fly, without training, to lead their companies to a new future. This is a GREAT book . . . you’ll take control fast with the knowledge in these pages.” —Julie Morgenstern, New York Times bestselling author of Time Management from The Inside Out

 

Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling

 

Project Management, or the “Project Management Bible” as it’s widely known, provides practical guidance on all aspects to learn project management. It features a streamlined approach to PM functions without stinting on detailed coverage of the tools and methods used at all stages of a project. It also reflects industry changes and features in-depth coverage of emerging topics, including global stakeholder management, causes of failure, agile project management, project governance failure, customer approval milestones, classifying project metrics, and more. Also, supplementary materials are available for students, professionals, and instructors.

Target Audience

• All professionals, students, and upcoming experts.

What You Will Learn

• Examine different methods used for planning, scheduling, QA, and more
• Learn how to control costs, manage risk, and analyse trade-offs
• Understand organisational structures and project management functions
• Work effectively with customers and stakeholders from around the globe

RATINGS: 3.9/5 (216 ratings)

“The book speaks to you as if you’re a PM professional with years of experience. This approach is not necessarily a bad thing. The book provides a concise definition of terms at the beginning of chapters. While reading the chapters, you realise those definitions were important. The books use an increased amount of project management terms, jargon, and acronyms. I used this book for a 300-level course. The book aligned with the course description and level.” – Joseph Banks

 

The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Fast Forward MBA Series)

The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management is the comprehensive guide to real-world project management methods, tools, and techniques. Practical, easy-to-use, and deeply thorough, this book gives you answers you need to master project management. You will find cutting-edge ideas and hard-won wisdom amongst the field’s leading experts, delivered in short, lively segments that address common management issues. This book shows you how to get it all together and get it done, with expert guidance every step of the way.

Target Audience

• Young Professionals and Student

What You Will Learn

• Keep your project on track, on time, and on budget
• Learn from case studies of today’s leading experts
• Navigate complex management issues effectively
• Master key concepts and real-world applications

RATINGS: 4.5/5 (164 ratings)

“I have had my PMP certification for years, the book gives tips (sample questions) on what to expect for the PMP exam, but it is not a resource to pass the exam.” – Pesuazo

 

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–Sixth Edition

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge reflects the latest good practices needed to excel in project management. New to the Sixth Edition, each knowledge area will contain a section entitled Approaches for Agile, Iterative and Adaptive Environments, describing how these practices integrate into project settings. It will also provide more emphasis on strategic and business knowledge—including discussion of project management business documents—and information on the PMI Talent Triangle™ and the essential skills for success in today’s market.

Target Audience

• Young Professionals and Student

What You Will Learn

• Brief descriptions of essential concepts.
• Compact case studies illustrate the most sought-after skills and the pitfalls you should note.
• Tips on real-world applications.

RATINGS: 4.2/5 (1723 ratings)

“Good informative book with good information for refreshing knowledge or learning about project management.” – Adams Bullock

 

HBR Guide to Project Management (HBR Guide Series)

Whether you are managing your first project or just tired of improvising, this guide will give you the tools and confidence you need to define smart goals, meet them, and capture lessons learned, so future projects go even more smoothly.

Target Audience

• Young Professionals and Student

What You Will Learn:

• Monitor progress toward your goals
• Manage stakeholders’ expectations
• Wrap up your project and gauge its success

RATINGS: 4.1/5 (38 ratings)

“I love this book. I have been in management before when I was younger 12-15 years ago, and it is nice to see the something in writing that fits the way a business manager, supervisor etc…. should run his/her ship! Fast, I mean fast on their shipment! Thanks, guys!” – Christophe R Kimball

 

Project Management For Dummies

The Project Management for Dummies offers everything needed to manage projects from start to finish successfully. This hands-on guide takes out the puzzle from being a successful PM to laying out all the steps necessary for organisational, planning, and execution skills. Whether it is managing distressed projects, embracing the use of social media to drive efficiency and improve socialisation, or resolving conflicts, the guidance inside will aid you to learn project management more prominently—and proudly.

Target Audience

• Young Professionals and Experts

What You Will Learn:

• Execute projects on time and with maximum efficiency
• Motivate any team to gain maximum productivity
• Prepare for the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam

RATINGS: 4/5 (4 ratings)

“Perfect”– Darren Waldron

 

Project Management: The Managerial Process (Mcgraw-hill Series Operations and Decision Sciences)

The Managerial Process is notable for its balanced treatment of both behavioural and technical issues in project management along with coverage of a broad range of industries to which project management principles can be applied. This book focuses on how project management is integral to the organisation as a whole. It not only delivers the tools and processes essential to successful project management but also the considerate effectiveness of these tools and methods. They are well shaped and determined by their prevailing culture and interpersonal dynamics of the people involved. As such, Larson/Gray presents a holistic view that focuses on methodology in addition to the human dimension and how they interact to determine the outcome to learn project management.

Target Audience

• Young Professionals and Student

What You Will Learn

• Build a robust and focused team
• Break significant objectives into manageable tasks
• Create a schedule that keeps all the moving parts under control

RATINGS: 4/5 (13 ratings)

“It was a brand-new book. The book is excellent, and case studies helped to understand the summary of each chapter.” – Swapna

 

Project Management Step by Step: How to Plan and Manage a Highly Successful Project (2nd Edition)

Almost every professional at some time finds they need to complete a task with sufficient complexity and importance that a standard ad-hoc approach would not be enough. In such scenarios, the Project Management Step by Step is all you need. Such a situation requires a project structure with a management approach, but only a few managers are formally trained in project management. Project Management Step by Step offers a plan that is confidently sufficient and robust enough to ensure success, but also simple enough to be implemented immediately to learn project management.

Target Audience

• Professionals looking to Expand

What You Will Learn?

• A practical and immediate way to become a competent project manager.
• Project Management Step by Step

RATINGS: 4.9/5 (17 ratings)

“very easy to understand and instructive.” – Diego Petrin

 

Brilliant Agile Project Management: A Practical Guide to Using Agile, Scrum and Kanban

If you desire a solid understanding of Agile Project Management works, then this book is essential to you. Brilliant Agile Project Management does more than talk you through the techniques and processes focus on the actual use of Agile in business settings; it also delivers practical advice and techniques on how to implement and work with Agile, so you always know exactly what to do and say to make your project a success.

Target Audience

• Professional and Practicing Experts

What You Will Learn?

• Assess whether your organisation or project is right for using APM
• Get up to speed with Agile Project Management
• Overcome common problems with APM
• Understand how to implement APM into any plan

RATINGS: 4.4/5 (20 ratings)

“A great read – taking a clear and practical approach to Agile, with lots of insightful real-life examples – ideal for anyone wanting to quickly get up to speed with Agile and start a project with confidence.” – Jay Priest

 

Conclusion

The books listed above offer just a sampling of the vast world of project management literature. By investing time in learning project management principles and best practices, you not only enhance your own professional development but also improve the probability of project success within your organization. Choose the books that align with your learning style and experience level, and embark on a journey of continuous improvement in your project leadership skills.

Further, you can refer to following blogs if you are looking for ideas for online courses:

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