Best Project Management Books to Read in 2024

Every project manager should know how to handle project execution on time and within budget. A good project management book can help you level up your skills in project management. There are many online courses in the market for learning how to become a good project manager.

But the truth is that project management books are a more extensive way to get inside the brains of the best managers out there. These project management books are an excellent way for project managers to go deep on planning, project execution, marketing, and effective communication to improve their work.

Whether you are beginning your career as a project manager or have decades of experience in this field, we have found the 10 best project management books written by experienced project managers or experts for you.

1) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (6th edition) 

Author: The Project Management Institute (PMI)

It is the best beginner's book for those who want to master project management's fundamental theories and language. If you consider your project management career a university course, this book is good for you. It is a Project management textbook.

For those already studying for the PMP certification exam, the book is structured so that readers choose their starting point. This has been described as the project management book of knowledge for its comprehensive textbook-like guide intended for a detailed university like prep for the PMP exam. This is an undisputable part of any list of project management books.

This book has an in-depth collection of standards, sound practices, and procedures for successful project management. You can become a star project manager by excelling at project management. It was published in 1996, and PMBOK 6th edition was published in 2017; currently, PMBOK 7th edition is available in the market, which is PMBOK latest edition.

This book is a brief description of project management. Go for it if you're interested in reading the entire course. This will surely prep you to take the PMP 7^th edition exam.

2) Project Management Absolute Beginner's Guide

Author: Greg Horine

This book is a slightly different and easier-to-read version of PMBOK. The content in the book is to aid learner absorption in a variety of ways; relevant examples, checklists, and mind-maps are included to summarize the core components of the text briefly.

This book can be used as a substitute for the PMBOK, and according to previous students, it helps aspirants pass the PMP certification exam. While it covers all the significant project management concepts, it lacks a few solid examples and actionable on-the-job advice.

The updated version of the 4th edition of the book is available in the market. It is a good PMP study guide. It summarizes the Pmbok book, which is easy for you.

3) Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep

Author: Rita Mulcahy

Most project managers understand why PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy, is the Best PMP exam prep book for preparation for the PMP exam. The First edition of Rita PMP was published in the 1990s, and since then, it has been the primary source for PMP exam aspirants looking for a PMP exam prep book. It is a forthcoming book that focuses on critical points of the exam, which increases your efficiency and saves your time. PMP Rita Mulcahy 10th edition is available in the market.

Rita PMP book includes topics like Project Management Fundamentals, Planning, Contracting, Negotiation, Customer Requirements, and Risk Management. Additionally, it talks about real-life project roles and responsibilities and factors for project success and failure.

The Rita Mulcahy PMP book will help you to upgrade your project management abilities. It will direct you to work with team members, project managers, team leaders, and project leaders. This book provides practice tests that brush up on all your concepts prior to the PMP exam.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Rita Mulcahy PMP book was the only resource for preparing for the PMP Certification exam. There is a trend of online education and ease of access to online resources. Now PMP aspirants started to prefer reputable online PMP study courses rather than hard-copy PMP preparation books. It is a good book for PMP exam preparation. This book is a valuable addition to this list of Project management books.

Rita Mulcahy PMP Latest Edition

Rita Mulcahy published the first edition of Rita PMP book in 1990. Even though she died in 2010, her company RMC Learning worked on Rita Mulcahy's PMP Book. The latest version is PMP Rita Mulcahy 10th Edition, published in 2020. It is compiled according to the latest PMBOK 6th Edition. It is best suited for PMP exam prep 2024.

If you think you are a good project manager but are unsure if you will pass the PMP exam, go for this highly reliable book. This book can be easily renamed as Rita Mulcahy PMP exam prep because of its ability in prepping you for the exam.

4) Be Fast or Be Gone: Racing the Clock with Critical Chain Project Management 

Author: Andreas Scherer

It is a unique book in which the writer describes project management concepts in the form of a fictional novel format. If you are a novel lover, then this book is for you. This is a wonderful and extremely accessible addition to the list of project management books to consider. This book presented the Critical Chain PM in an easy-to-read narration.

Mike, the main character in the novel, finds himself in a sorrowful situation of having limited time to save his son's life from a brain tumor. Mike accelerates the pharmaceutical company project by using Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) which aims to produce a cure for his son.

The feature of this book is that it makes a composite topic like CCPM more attractive and accessible for a project manager who is just starting. This book is good because it explains complex topics like CCPM more interestingly for a project manager who is just beginning. Go for this book if you're interested in learning with fun.

5) Project Management for Non-Project Managers

 Author: Jack Ferraro

This book lays out project management principles, with examples for implementation and everyday use by non-project managers. If you've never managed projects yourself, this book helps you understand a day in the life of a Project Manager.

The book's author includes all critical project management skills such as work breakdown structures, risk management methods, program sequencing techniques, business analysis techniques, and performance reports.

Many project managers never take the PMP. They start their career in management or another role and fill the void to make sure the trains run on time. This book is good for the PMP certification exam. It is also a good book for those in traditional management roles who want to get more involved with project management.

6) Project Management Case Studies

Author: Harold Kerzner

This book provides more than ninety case studies taken from actual companies like Disney, Airbus, Motorola, The Olympics, etc. It explains both prosperous and poor implementation of project management. This is one of the few project management books which almost exclusively relies on non-hypothetical examples to better get the applications across.

These cases provide you with a unique opportunity to experience direct project management in action within various contexts. Against some of the most challenging situations, any project manager can face. Currently, the 5th edition is available in the market, which also focuses on Agile and Scrum methodologies suitable for preparing for the latest PMP Certification Exam. If you are interested in learning through case studies, this book is for you.

7) Agile Project Management with Scrum

Author: Ken Schwaber

This book is an excellent, readable, brief introduction to Scrum. Schwaber accepts the limitations of the booking form, so he provides case studies that show how Scrum has been applied in multiple complex situations, including how Scrum has been crumpled in its application and what lessons can be absorbed from those manglings.

In these case studies, writer Ken Schwaber identifies the real-world tasks, successes, and failures from his years of experience coaching companies in agile project management. This book also describes the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), representing best practices in developing software. It is one of the best books for project management.

8) Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management

Author: Scott Berkun

Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management is a collection of essays based on the writer's nine years of experience as a program manager for Internet Explorer, Windows, and MSN. This book does not emphasize the framework of project management but focuses on the philosophy and strategy of good project management. It covers many soft skills, such as effective communication, decision-making, planning, and problem-solving.

It is an overall good book that will serve you well on your current projects and future ones. If you are not getting ready for the PMP exam and want to improve your soft skills, it is the best book. It is a guide to the project management of a body of knowledge. This book increases your ability to crack the PMP certification exam.

9) Epiphanized: A Novel on Unifying Theory of Constraints, Lean, and Six Sigma

Author: Bob Sproull and Bruce Nelson

This book majorly focuses on the theory of constraints (TOC), which tells us how to increase organizational productivity. It is divided into two parts, in which part 1 follows the business Nobel format while part 2 describes the concept of TOC, Lean, and Six Sigma.

Part 1 is a business novel that tells a success story of implementing the Theory of Constraints (TOC) in an ailing company, Barton Enterprise, and turning it around into a successful one in a short time. Therefore, again we see an example of one of the project management books which rely on explaining applications to get the concept across.

Part two covers the core concepts of TOC, Lean, and Six Sigma methodologies which provides a more extensive explanation of each of these core concepts for those who want to explore them in detail.

Both parts are exciting and related to each other. It is a good book for those interested in project management.

10) The Lazy Project Manager: How to Be Twice as Productive and Still Leave the Office Early

Author: Peter Taylor

In this book, writer Peter Taylor tells a golden rule of project management to get the maximum output level with the minimum level of input.

This book focuses on the importance of using TOC, Lean, and Six Sigma methodologies to optimize and improve organization efficiency.

 The famous Pareto principles also explain the importance of discovering and focusing on the 20% of tasks that bring the most returns rather than working longer hours and stressing out over non-critical activities.

The Lazy Project Manager gives excellent insights and explanations on how to get more out of the people you work with. It makes you learn many skills.

What is the PMP exam?

The Project Management Institute (PMI) handles the PMP certification exam. First, your PMP certification application is approved. After you've paid the PMP exam cost, you'll receive a message from the PMI with instructions and a PMP certification eligibility code for scheduling your exam. Make sure to schedule and take the PMP certification exam within one year.

Without a schedule, you have to reapply and start the process all over again. This exam is for a project management course. After clearing this exam, you become a Project Manager. If you don't pass the first exam attempt, don't worry! You are allowed to take the PMP certification exam up to 3 times in a single year.

Read – Is PMP exam difficult?

Just clearing the PMP certification exam is not enough. When the confetti settles after passing the exam, it's time to shift to certificate maintenance mode. Your certificate will be valid for the next 3 years. During that time, you have to earn 60 PDU with a combination of project management education and activities that give back to the occupation to maintain your PMP exam certificate.

Conclusion

We have listed here all the best project management books for you. Some other good books are head first PMP, Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management, Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, agile project management for dummies, etc.

We hope this list helps you a lot. You can prepare for your PMP certification exam by reading these books. These books are best for PMP exam prep 2024. It makes the concepts clear and helps you crack the exam. These books are suitable for both learning and exam purposes. PMP Certification is one of the toughest requirements to clear, and aspirants need to be well prepared for this exam. The eligibility for the PMP exam depends on your educational qualifications and work experience.

A second-division degree is the minimum academic eligibility required to appear for the PMP exam. Purchasing a PMP prep book is a good option beyond the in-person online PMP exam. A PMP exam prep book can help clarify the PMBOK Guide concepts published by the project management institute (PMI).  Remember to make proper use of these books in order to ace the concepts of PMBOK latest edition 2021.

Using the best PMP Exam Prep Book can help increase the skill you need to pass the PMP exam by inspecting the topics within the PMBOK Guide from a different perspective. The PMP certification exam deals with both theory and practical, so practical projects are also required. These project management books would suffice for mastering the theoretical aspects of the study, but project management books cannot help gain meaningful insight into the practical concepts.

If you are searching for a PMP prep book that corresponds with the current PMBOK Guide and exam version, choose an edition that has been published recently and contains up-to-date content. Older readers can still be helpful in generally explaining project management concepts if you want to pass the PMP exam. It will maximize your study potential if you use the most recent versions.

Take the help of a reputed and recognized certification training body like Sprintzeal to further your chances of clearing the requirements for this certification. To get full details about the best project management certification training programs, chat with course expert.

Here are some courses offered by Sprintzeal that might interest you –

PMP Certification Training Course

PMP Certification Training Course