The best 19 Scrum & Agile books

The Lean Startup (2011) helps start-ups and tech companies develop sustainable business models. It advocates continuous rapid prototyping and focusing on customer-feedback data.

The method is based on the concepts of lean manufacturing and agile development, and its efficacy is backed up by case studies from the last few decades.

Learn all about Scrum, the project management system that has revolutionized the technology industry. This is a uniquely adaptive, flexible system that allows teams to plan realistically and adjust their goals through constant feedback. By using Scrum, your team can improve their productivity (and the final result) without creating needless stress or working longer hours.

Rework (2010) throws out the traditional notions of what it takes to run a business and offers a collection of unorthodox advice, ranging from productivity to communication and product development.

These lessons are based on the authors’ own experiences in building, running and growing their company to a point where it generates millions of dollars in profits annually.

Learning Agile (2015) is a no-nonsense guide to an often misunderstood concept – agile. The reason for that misunderstanding is simple: all too often, agile is bandied about as a one-size-fits-all solution to every conceivable organizational difficulty. Longtime agile practitioners Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene don’t see it that way. For them, agile is a great tool, but you have to know how – and when and why – to use it. And that starts with getting a grasp on agile’s underlying principles. 

The Agile Leader (2018) explores how leaders can steer traditional organizations in the fast-paced digital world. These blinks show that agile working can help corporate teams to compete with start-ups, and to keep up with ever-changing customer expectations.

The Scrum Fieldbook (2019) is a practical, hands-on guide to the scrum organizational framework within the Agile mindset. This concise manual recaps how scrum works to increase work velocity and to ensure any team delivers the right impact for the business. It also explains how to implement Scrum in any organization across all industries from software to home renovation and even to the military.

Subscribed (2018) looks at a business model that’s currently enjoying unprecedented success around the globe: subscriptions. Whether it’s Netflix, Spotify or Uber, companies have realized that more and more people are interested in services rather than ownership – they want the ride rather than the car. It’s an insight that’s literally worth billions. But more than that, it’s the future. If you want to make it in today’s crowded marketplace, it pays to take a closer look at the phenomenon.

The Elements of Scrum (2011) explains how outmoded software development processes are holding companies back in an ever-changing market. Today’s successful teams need to be agile and flexible; and the best companies do this by adopting a methodology called scrum. This book gives you everything you need to know to start a scrum-based process in your own organization.

Radical Product Thinking (2021) lays out a step-by-step approach to developing game-changing products. Taking aim at the iteration-led approaches to product development that have become popular in recent years, it provides an inspiring, vision-driven alternative. 

Reinventing the Product (2019) takes an in-depth look at what it takes to compete in today’s increasingly digitized marketplace, outlining all the steps a company needs to take to pull itself out of the past and into a future where the marketplace is ruled by smart, digitally connected products.

Working Backwards (2021) tells the story of how Amazon changed the way people live. It explores founder Jeff Bezos’ leadership philosophy, and reveals how this philosophy has informed Amazon’s most iconic products and services.

Lean UX (2013) is a guide to applying lean principles to interactive design workspaces. These blinks explain the techniques of Lean UX and outline how you can best integrate them into your company’s design process. You’ll learn the importance of close collaboration and customer feedback, as well as how to constantly improve your designs.

In Agile Selling, you’ll discover how to boost your productivity and learn to thrive in any kind of sales environment. The book explores the strategies of great salespeople and how they adapt to new circumstances, and offers practical advice on how you too can become more adaptive in your business.

Exponential Organizations offers an expert look into this new, critical form of company organization that the authors contend will soon become an industry standard. You’ll learn exactly what an exponential organization, or ExO, is and how you can build your own. Companies like Uber and AirBnB are some top examples of ExOs; if your company wants to survive, you’ve got to adapt.

Based on the work practices at Netflix, Powerful (2017) is a guide to building a work culture that can adapt to today’s fast-paced and ever-changing markets. It offers insights that are rooted in an unconventional way of managing people. You’ll discover eight practices of management that’ll help you create a successful work culture and business.

Holacracy (2015) describes a revolutionary new management system championed by some of today’s most forward-thinking companies, like Zappos and Medium. These blinks explain how authority and responsibility are defined and distributed within a Holacracy – and why this system leads to a more effective and dynamic organization.

Getting Real (2011) offers a comprehensive breakdown of the challenges facing entrepreneurs in the market for web applications. These blinks are full of hard facts and solid advice about what to do and not to do when starting your new app business.  

Flexible Working (2021) is a practical guide to organizing work outside the standard nine-to-five. This helpful handbook explores the diverse array of working arrangements possible in the contemporary world.

Design to Grow (2015) reveals how iconic brand Coca-Cola went from a small local soda company to one of the biggest and most innovative companies in the world. With these blinks, you’ll be able to ensure your company is both agile and scalable, no matter how big your endeavor is.