The Software Project Survival Guide by Steve McConnell

‘The Software Project Survival Guide’ is the one book that I wish I’d had when I started out in project management.  I still return to it time and time again.  I recommend it to the people that I work with, mentor and coach.  I’ve bought it for people.  I’ve had copies borrowed from my desk that have never been returned.  Yes, it is that good.

Rapid Development by Steve McConnell

Another book by Steve McConnell?  Why not!  ‘Rapid Development’ specifically addresses on of the most pressing issues of our time – the demand to deliver projects in less time.  This book will show you how.

Practical Project Risk Management by David Hillson and Peter Simon

You can hardly go wrong with one book written by two experts in the management of project risk.  Both Fellows of the Association for Project Management and with more than 60 years of project management behind them, David Hillson and Peter Simon give you the tools  to make managing risk a part of what you do for all your projects. 

APM Body of Knowledge, 5th edition by the Association for Project Management

The field of project management is so big, so wide, that having a guide like the ‘APM Body of Knowledge’ to help you navigate it is a must.  This slim volume covers 52 knowledge areas covering the field of project management.  Each one is a summary of the key themes and acts as a jumping off point for more information.

Just to give you fair warning, the 6th edition came out in July 2013 and has been expanded to over 230 pages.  I can’t recommend it since I haven’t read it, but since I’ve worked with the APM and know more than a few contributors I’d give it a thumbs up all the same.

Systems Analysis and Design by Don Yeates, Maura Shields and David Helmy

‘Systems Analysis and Design’ is a great reference guide for anyone who wants to learn enough about systems analysis to keep them alive.   It combines information on the analysis and design of information systems, a great refresher on SSADM (Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method) and summarises different approaches to analysis and design, including Yourdon, Merise, SSADM and Object-Oriented Design (OOD)

The copy I bought came out in 1994.  This version is still available through second hand booksellers.  The second edition came out in 2004 and is still available, but ridiculously expensive.  That is not an offer to sell mine, just fair warning.

Java Modelling in Color with UML by Peter Coad, Eric Leferbvre and Jeff De Luca

I tend to lead software development projects and this is one of a number of books that I bought on Object Oriented Design and UML as it became more popular.  My goal was not to retrain as a business analyst, but instead to ensure that I understood it well enough to plan projects based on agile approaches and to understand the key artefacts that I’d need to incorporate into my plans.  ‘Java Modeling in Color’ is the first book I turn to when I’m looking at a conceptual model of the the system we’re building and is worth the cover price just for the section on Feature Driven Development alone.

This book has lots of mediocre reviews on Amazon, with just a few five star ratings.  Most people seem to feel short-changed by what they see as a lack of teaching, while others feel like there lots of padding.  My take?  This is a book that describes a different way of looking at object modelling, describes a dozen archetypes and teaches you an Agile approach to software development that people who cannot implement Scrum can use to great effect.

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story by Jerry Weissman

Project management is not just about plans, schedules and resources.  Project management isn’t even about plans, schedules and resources.  Project management is about communicating with people to create action. This book is a great starting point for anyone who wants to get better at communicating with groups of people to get results.  Jerry Weissman distils his years of experience as a television producer and scriptwriter to help you to transform your presentations into powerful messages to get support, commitment and momentum.

The Presentation Coach by Graham Davies

This is the one book that I would recommend over others to anyone who wants to get really good at speaking in public.  It’s not the only book that I’ve read on the topic and it’s not the only great book on the subject.  The presentation Coach is the one book that you can use to strip professional speaking down to the bare bones so that you can create a effective talk that you can deliver with confidence, authority and impact.  This book gets even better when you see the Graham Davies speak live.  He’s not only a fantastic speaker, but a fantastic advert for his book as you see all of his tips and recommendations come to life.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

There’s a strange dichotomy in the role of the project manager.  You have to spend a lot of time looking into the future, guiding your project and your team towards a distant objective.

At the same time you have to assimilate lots of information in the here and now and make the right decisions in order to get to the future that you’re aiming for – the one that represents success rather than failure. You have to weigh up so many different pieces of information, make so many choices, any one of which could prove to be the mistake that leads to the wrong outcome.

That makes being able to live in the present moment an essential skill to staying calm under pressure.  People who I work with often ask me how I can stay calm when there is so much going on around me.  This book is part of the answer.