I love books (for work or otherwise), and I’m surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for books that I see in the field. Few people read. It’s a real shame. People who read often ask me very relevant questions. And then reading a book peacefully in your bed, relaxed in your bath, comfortably on the beach, calmly on the train, that’s priceless. (a real book, something you twist, mark up, chew on, etc.)

Agile offers a plethora of books, many of quality. I’ll give you my suggestions and in a few lines why I recommend these.

Happy reading.

Claude Aubry, Scrum

I always recommend Claude’s book first because it’s good. It serves both to discover the Scrum method, and it can serve as a reference book when you need to dig up information or remember certain details. I also recommend it a lot because it’s in French and I thus avoid a lot of misunderstandings with people who don’t master English well enough. It’s not serious but as a result they don’t dare tell me that they don’t read the references I give them because of the English… with Claude’s book I hit two birds with one stone: it’s good and in French.

in French

Mike Cohn, Agile estimating & planning

Mike Cohn is very educational. His books read like water off a duck’s back. I’m not comfortable with everything (notably the permanent use of “business value” isn’t simple, value yes, “business value” is harder). If you start with Claude’s book, this one constitutes a very interesting complement for **product owners ** in particular.

in English

Mary Poppendieck, Lean Software Development

My favorite. A global approach on **Lean ** and its application in the software domain. I love everything.

in English

Extreme Programming Explained, Kent Beck

Something like hard leather, difficult to twist, but that stands the test of time and that you consult with pleasure. To immerse yourself in the sources of Extreme Programming.

in English

Hell’s Angels, Hunter Thompson

A return of experience concerning an agile coach plunged in the middle of a Hell’s Angels gang. Indispensable. Especially since I unfortunately predict the massive and imminent collision of agile coaching and gonzo journalism (strong signals to this effect at the moment).

in English or French

Agile Retrospectives, Esther derby

The retrospective is really the key element of agility (as I conceive it). This book allows you to renew the genre, our formats, and to push our teams further.

in English

Management 3.0, Jurgen Appelo

Wildcard! I haven’t read it. So I’m in the process of strongly suggesting you read a book that I haven’t yet read! (what nerve!) It’s on my nightstand and all the feedback I have about it leads me to think that it too is indispensable to all (future) agile managers. So I think it would have been even more damaging not to list it. Promise I’ll do a review as soon as I read it (December/January ?)

in English