The best 19 Scrum & Agile books

1
The Lean Startup

The Lean Startup

Eric Ries
How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses
4.6 (1,040 ratings)

What's The Lean Startup about?

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.

Who should read The Lean Startup?

  • Anyone interested in entrepreneurship and/or in starting their own company
  • Anyone interested in quick product development and testing
  • Founders, managers and employees in tech companies

2
Scrum

Scrum

Jeff Sutherland
The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
4.5 (277 ratings)

What's Scrum about?

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.

Who should read Scrum?

  • Anyone whose business is struggling to make ends meet
  • Anyone who wants to be more productive in less time
  • Anyone who manages a team

3
ReWork

ReWork

Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Unorthodox advice for growing companies
4.6 (193 ratings)

What's ReWork about?

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.

Who should read ReWork?

  • Anyone who has ever considered starting their own company
  • Anyone interested in what work should be like in the 21st century
  • Anyone trying to create an environment of productivity

4
Learning Agile

Learning Agile

Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Greene
Understanding Scrum, XP, Lean, and Kanban
4.3 (281 ratings)

What's Learning Agile about?

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. 

Who should read Learning Agile?

  • Software developers
  • Team leaders 
  • Project managers

5
The Agile Leader

The Agile Leader

Simon Hayward
How to Create an Agile Business in the Digital Age
4.4 (188 ratings)

What's The Agile Leader about?

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.

Who should read The Agile Leader?

  • Managers hoping to boost their team’s productivity
  • Entrepreneurs looking for a fresh perspective
  • Management consultants seeking new insights

6
The Scrum Fieldbook

The Scrum Fieldbook

J.J. Sutherland
A Master Class on Accelerating Performance, Getting Results, and Defining the Future
4.5 (118 ratings)

What's The Scrum Fieldbook about?

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.

Who should read The Scrum Fieldbook?

  • Small companies looking for big results
  • Managers aiming to streamline their team
  • Anyone interested in cutting-edge organizational techniques

7
Subscribed

Subscribed

Tien Tzuo with Gabe Weisert
Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company’s Future – and What to Do About It
4.2 (75 ratings)

What's Subscribed about?

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.

Who should read Subscribed?

  • Entrepreneurs and business owners looking for new ideas
  • Anyone who’s ever wondered how exactly Amazon and Uber made it so big
  • Subscribers curious about how the services they use work

8
The Elements of Scrum

The Elements of Scrum

Chris Sims and Hillary Louise Johnson
A guide to every aspect of Scrum
4.0 (100 ratings)

What's The Elements of Scrum about?

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.

Who should read The Elements of Scrum?

  • Project managers
  • Software developers and designers
  • Anyone interested in agile organizational processes

9
Radical Product Thinking

Radical Product Thinking

R. Dutt
The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter
4.1 (310 ratings)

What's Radical Product Thinking about?

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. 

Who should read Radical Product Thinking?

  • Product developers 
  • Entrepreneurs 
  • Change-makers

10
Reinventing the Product

Reinventing the Product

Eric Schaeffer and David Sovie
How to Transform your Business and Create Value in the Digital Age
4.3 (150 ratings)

What's Reinventing the Product about?

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.

Who should read Reinventing the Product?

  • CEOs, CIOs, and entrepreneurs
  • Business managers who want to stay on the cutting edge
  • People curious about the future of business

11
Working Backwards

Working Backwards

Colin Bryar
And Other Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
4.4 (110 ratings)

What's Working Backwards about?

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.

Who should read Working Backwards?

  • Executive coaches looking for fresh insights
  • Entrepreneurs hoping to turbo-charge their business
  • Managers wanting to boost their teams’ performance

12
Lean UX

Lean UX

Jeff Gothelf
Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience
4.3 (110 ratings)

What's Lean UX about?

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.

Who should read Lean UX?

  • Anyone interested in how lean startup tactics apply to a design environment
  • People who want to design successful user experience more efficiently
  • Managers of design-based projects, or any professionals involved in one

13
Agile Selling

Agile Selling

Jill Konrath
Getting Up to Speed Quickly in Today’s Ever-Changing Sales World
3.7 (66 ratings)

What's Agile Selling about?

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.

Who should read Agile Selling?

  • Anyone involved in selling products in a new industry
  • Long-time salespeople who need a boost of inspiration
  • Anyone struggling to sell in an ever-changing market

14
Exponential Organizations

Exponential Organizations

Salim Ismail
Why New Organizations are Ten Times Better, Faster and Cheaper than Yours (and What to Do About It)
4.5 (88 ratings)

What's Exponential Organizations about?

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.

Who should read Exponential Organizations?

  • Anyone who wants to be ready for the market of the future
  • Anyone looking to found a start-up company
  • Anyone who wants to make sure their organization is in step with modern thinking

15
Powerful

Powerful

Patty McCord
Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility
4.2 (46 ratings)

What's Powerful about?

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.

Who should read Powerful?

  • Leaders and managers
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Anyone interested in the stupendous rise of Netflix

16
Holacracy

Holacracy

Brian J. Robertson
The New Management System that Redefines Management
4.4 (37 ratings)

What's Holacracy about?

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.

Who should read Holacracy?

  • Founders, CEOs, managers and HR professionals
  • Employees who feel undervalued within a hierarchical organization
  • Anyone who wishes their company were more flexible, dynamic and responsive

17
Getting Real

Getting Real

Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application
4.5 (37 ratings)

What's Getting Real about?

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.  

Who should read Getting Real?

  • Developers, programmers and marketers
  • Entrepreneurs eager to develop a “big idea” app
  • Managers looking for optimal ways to organize teams

18
Flexible Working

Flexible Working

Gemma Dale
How to Implement Flexibility in the Workplace to Improve Employee and Business Performance
4.3 (80 ratings)

What's Flexible Working about?

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.

Who should read Flexible Working?

  • Businesses looking for more agile work arrangements
  • Workers wanting to see life outside the nine-to-five
  • Anyone curious about the future of work

19
Design To Grow

Design To Grow

Davis Butler & Linda Tischler
How Coca-Cola Learned to Combine Scale and Agility and How You Can Too
3.7 (16 ratings)

What's Design To Grow about?

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.

Who should read Design To Grow?

  • CEOs and leaders from businesses large and small
  • People interested in creating a recognizable scalable brand
  • Those of us who love Coca-Cola!

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