Best project management books according to redditors
We found 251 Reddit comments discussing the best project management books. We ranked the 91 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 251 Reddit comments discussing the best project management books. We ranked the 91 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Articles from reputable sources are a decent source of knowledge, but some quality business books will get you an infinitely better understanding of concepts. Here is my personal business book list if you want to get a "universal generalist" understanding of business:
I am graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce Honors degree in May and I can easily say that one of these books (average price ~25$) has significantly more content than most individual classes I have taken (~600$). However, keep in mind that business knowledge and business acumen are two entirely different things. Knowledge is easily obtainable through books like these, and acumen is the result of applied experience with decision making. In short, it is one thing to be book smart, but it is another to get out there and actually apply it. No one can give you that in the form of an article or book - you have to do that yourself.
edit: added links to amazon
Sure :)
EDIT: Added links to Amazon just in case anyone wants to see reviews.
[$1 Or More Tier]
Head First Ruby
Head First C
Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
Head First SQL
Head First Statistics
[$8 Or More Tier]
Head First Javascript Programming
Head First PMP
Head First HMTL and CSS
Head First C#
Head First Agile
[$15 Or More Tier]
Head First Design Patterns
Head First Java
Head First Python
Head First Learn to Code
Head First Android Development
The Rocket Company had an interesting idea to allow orbital launches from inland locations, in there they built the first stage to fly vertical to lob the upper stage out of the atmosphere and then the first stage would shuttlecock its way back to the launchpad area while the upper stage had to do all of the sideways boosting instead of using the first stage to pick up a couple kilometers per second sideways like, say, a Falcon.
It'd require a built-up second stage and have efficiency losses, but the argument was that the real savings would come from having lots more launch locations, much lower recycling costs between launches, and so on. First stage failures have your wreckage confined to your launch complex and upper stage failures can have a huge flexibility in where the spacecraft comes down or, if it's something like the vehicle coming apart, the hypersonic re-entry tears it apart and it's essentially no different from a small aircraft accident by the time stuff hits the ground.
I'm not suggesting that's the plan here, but... just as a thought experiment, if the Starship is borderline SSTO on its own, then one that's lobbed vertically out of the atmosphere should be able to comfortably orbit with payload and then land like normal, just less payload than a standard downrange first stage course would provide. The first stage lands back at the launch complex for the next flight and...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Again, not saying that's the plan here, but what an announcement THAT'D be at the 9/28 event....
I was interested in PM but didn't have the work experience so I am working on the CAPM.
​
From what I have heard/read, I agree that if you don't have real formal PM experience, that even if you were able to pass the PMP exam it would not go well when you go to interview/are expected to jump into a PM role if hired.
​
From what I know, the questions on the PMP are based more on experience/knowing what to do in a certain situation, and are much more difficult than what will be on the CAPM. The CAPM is based more on understanding concepts/definitions, and less about actually being able to apply them.
​
Here is what I did and would recommend you do.
-Sign up with PMI, you get discounts on the test/materials and a free PDF of the PMBOK.
-DO NOT take the class through PMI to get your contact hours. I originally signed up for this, it was over $300 and it was extremely boring and poorly formatted. I was lucky that PMI refunded me for the class. - Instead of the PMI class, take the Joseph Phillips course on Udemy. You will get a certificate for completing it, it qualifies for the required contact hours, and it is only $12. If you search this subreddit, you will read a lot of good things about it, that's how I found out about it originally.
https://www.udemy.com/capm-pmbok6/
​
-When you sign up with PMI, they give you a PDF copy of the PMBOK but it has restrictions. You cannot print/edit/highlight the PDF, all of these features are locked. I found a site where you can get a PDF that is fully functional for $5. It also includes a book on Agile that is in built into the same PDF. I purchased this and had no issues
https://ebooks4class.com/product/guide-to-the-project-management-body-of-knowledge-pmbok-6th-edition-pdf-etextbook/
​
-I also purchased this book. It has practice questions/ITTO questions.
https://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Practice-Questions-Exams/dp/1984187376/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=capm+prep&qid=1557361352&s=gateway&sr=8-6
​
-I hope this is helpful! You should definitely consider other sources as well, but this is where I am starting. I am about 3/4 of the way through the Udemy class and have enjoyed it.
In the book Lean from the Trenches the author made the experience that using T-shirt sizes (S/M/L) was perfectly sufficient and no less accurate overall than using finer point scales. And this was in a huge government project with several teams doing a Scrum of Scrums.
Strictly in order.
Head First Programming
Head First Java
Effective Java
Head First Design Patterns
Head First Software Development
<http://developer.android.com/training/index.html&gt;
You are welcome!
Which certification? I'll assume RHCSA for now, but really the suggestions I'm making are for both.
Check out the RHCSA exam objectives (a similar list exists for the RHCE.)
I don't advise just checking these off if you think you know them. Work through exercises and actually do them.
The Jang book and its companion with practice exams seem to be the go-to books. Do the practice exams.
You may consider some more formal training and/or certifications by organizations such as Project Management Institure. They present a structured approach to all aspects of managing projects (which many people consider to be just maintaining a schedule). The PMI body of knowledge defines 42 different project processes in 9 different knowledge areas. It's a lot of detail, and a lot of jargon, but also covers a lot of important stuff. I managed projects for years before beginning to learn a more formal methodology, and wish that I had started that earlier in my career.'
A book that I found VERY useful was Head first PMP. It presents a lot of the concepts around project management (and stuff you need to memorize for a PMP exam) in a comprehensible (at least for me) format. Even if you don't go for a certification there's a lot of good knowlege here.
Michael Jang's study guide and the companion practice exams with VMs.
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Certification-Practice-Virtual-Machines/dp/007180160X
The second book has some nice practice tests once you've covered everything.
Say no more, fam.
You don't need a degree to run a business. Having your own business allows you to experiment with these books first hand instead of taking some professor's word for it. Professor's usually just read what the book says. If they were actually good at running a business they'd probably be doing that.
Hi skunk,
Since everyone is remaining quiet I might as well give this a shot. I'm from a technical background but currently studying PM in my spare time in the hope that I can progress in this direction within my industry.
PMP
It seems like the global standard is the PMP with PMI which requires:
> A secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or the global equivalent) with at least five years of project management experience, with 7,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.
> OR
> A four-year degree (bachelor’s degree or the global equivalent) and at least three years of project management experience, with 4,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.
I'm currently studying towards this. I've taken recommendations from this subreddit (and /r/pmp) and bought:
and
In order to obtain the required 35 contact hours, I bought one of several cheap Groupons for $99. I'm not going to link the course because I don't necessarily recommend it - it should be easy enough to find and people have linked to these in previous posts. It doesn't really matter anyway because it's just so I can "tick that box", as I've learnt everything I need to know from the books.
The exam however will have to be sat in person. I have yet to do this so can't give you any pointers.
CAPM
If you don't match the above criteria, you can always opt for the lower qualification of CAPM (also with PMI) and work your way up.
For this I reccommend CAPM/PMP Project Management Certification, Third Edition and the previously mentioned online course.
Please note that you can potentially pitch anything as a project in the right light, even washing the dishes. Aim high and try to get the hours for PMP if possible.
PRINCE2 & SIX SIGMA
What else? Well, if I'm successful with the PMP and still enjoy PM after the blood, sweat and tears, I'm looking at these two qualifications.
I've already added a few books to my Amazon wishlist but have yet to seriously look into these with enough detail to commit.
I know that the exam for the PRINCE2 foundation level (and possibly practitioner level?) can be sat online with a webcam.
Six Sigma I know very little about except that several colleagues have mentioned it and my industry takes it seriously. However, I don't believe you can do these Six Sigma "belts" online.
Sorry for the serious wall of text but I just thought I'd share everything I know about PM accreditation. This isn't a comprehensive list but I'm planning on doing 90% online so I'm in a similar situation to yourself.
I would be grateful for any feedback myself from experienced PMs on my plans going forward.
Michael Jang's books albeit hard to understand and read at times... are great for prepping for the RHCSA. I have my RHCSA, haven't started on my RHCE yet.
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Edition/dp/0071765654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397241140&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=RHCE
http://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Certification-Practice-Virtual-Machines/dp/007180160X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397241140&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=RHCE
Asghar Ghori released his updated book to his RHCT classic that I loved
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1467549401/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
My friend says this one helped him out a lot.
As for the command line, there's a ton of online crash coarse resources you can find with a Google search. Also, there's the lower 100 courses Red Hat has and I'm pretty sure they deal with command line if you have the bucks, or company funding for it.
I am in the same situation and I am going to take the new test in Feb. I am using the Rita Book and they released this update for the book. http://shop.rmcls.com/multisite_includes/pdfs/misc/PMP_8th_Ed_8th_printing_Updates_English.pdf
If you read around it is not that big of a change as the new test is still based off the 5th edition of the PMBOK
Good Luck and if you need the updated Rita book here is the link on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932735658/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687582&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=1935589679&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=0W27D2FBPX0M5XDQHZHW
I used the following approach to pass the PMP exam--
http://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Prep-Eighth-Edition/dp/1932735658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1393947324&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=PMP
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-PMP-Jennifer-Greene-ebook/dp/B00HETLZIQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1393947324&amp;sr=8-5&amp;keywords=PMP
I passed with all "Proficient". The exam wasn't nearly as hard as the practice tests I took.
Edit: This is also very helpful in your preparation. A consolidated list of 100 "Lessons Learned" for the PMP exam http://www.testprepsupport.com/blog/100-pmp-exam-lessons-learned-posts-all-in-one/
You don't necessarily need to study from the PMBOK. I think you really need an exam prep book.
https://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Prep-Eighth-Edition/dp/1932735658
Formulas are important to memorize but I had less than 10 questions that required formula calculation. In order to pass, you really need to understand the knowledge and process areas. You need to be able to put yourself in a project manager's shoes from PMI's perspective. Most of the questions are situational, e.g. "What should the project manager do?"
Title/Company: Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep, Eighth Edition
Type of Material: Book
Cost: $64.95 - $87.21
Learning Style:
Review: I've seen this mentioned several times in conversation, but I've not read it - can someone provide a review? It is rated 4.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon.
My resource has been the book "Essential SCRUM". Here's the book on Amazon.ca, feel free to find it in your region.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0137043295/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_yqqkDb1RWTQP8
The beauty of it, in a sense, is that although it's pretty expensive, the first 2-3 chapters should give you everything you need to know. The rest of the book will push you further if you want to be a Scrum Master.
I'd recommend reading [Project Management Lite by Juana Clark Craig] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Project-Management-Lite-Enough-Nothing-ebook/dp/B00AJ3S76M/ref=sr_1_98?s=digital-text&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1405101844&amp;sr=1-98&amp;keywords=project+management). Concise, easy to read and covering all the basics, it'll give you an easy start to managing your first project without unnecessary jargon and acronyms.
I would need more information from you before I could make some solid recommendations.
by 'adopt agile methodologies' do you mean your company just said 'we want to be agile now. go make it happen.' or have you already made the commitment to hire an agile coach? how big is your dev organization? are we looking at 2 or 3 teams of ~10 people each? or are we looking more at 15 teams with 10 each?
You personally should also try to understand what Agile is and what it isn't. after that, you should try to understand what scrum is and what it isn't. with this information you'll be able to figure out what you need to brush up on and dig into.
---------------
Some general things to know:
the scrum training/certification shows bare minimum exposure to knowledge to begin practicing. IE: you should never assume that anyone that has gone through training knows how to implement Scrum in an organization. This includes yourself. At best, the cert means you have enough knowledge to talk about Scrum, and could practice scrum in an environment where it is already in place. it is not a good measure of your ability to aid a company in an agile transformation.
Aglie/Scrum is not a magic bullet. it takes a lot of hardwork and effort to make it work. It's better than what you're doing. but one of the key things Agile/Scrum does is bring the problems you have to the surface so you can fix them. IE: if it doesn't hurt, you're probably not doing it right. be prepared. you've been doing a lot of work that enables bad process. you're going to see all of it in painful, excruciating detail. Focus on fixing the process and making it the way it should be, even if that means slowing WAY down on getting product out the door. depending on the size of your organization, it may be a full year before you really start to see major benefit. it might take you 6 months to fix all of your broken processes and break even with where you are now. Keep in mind, that fixing some of the broken might include an increase in scope to some people's jobs. Don't take shortcuts. you're not doing yourselves any favors by trying to cut corners and implement faster. the transformation will put strain on the weakest parts of your process. it's supposed to.
No series of courses is going to prepare you to spearhead a transformation. You will need expert help, it's not something you can easily stumble through. it becomes more difficult the bigger your organization is. and keep in mind, that the transformation isn't segregated to development only. it will have repercussions in marketing, sales, etc. There is a reason a company is expected to hire a dedicated person as a scrum master (as opposed to having a dev manager that acts as scrum master).
read these two books:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Business/dp/0988262509/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465834584&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=phoenix+project
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lean-Trenches-Managing-Large-Scale-Projects/dp/1934356859/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1465834595&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=lean+from+the+trenches
If you're going to be the main driver of transformation, you're better off reading those two books than undergoing scrum training. they will give you a more complete understanding of what you're trying to do.
I have a few clients on retainer that share the same traits as your boss, and oddible is giving some salient points.
An organization I work with now had no process or standard operating procedures in place for anything tech or branding related. What brought the focus away from how the front-end looks like and on track with what and why, was asking foundational questions and getting stakeholders to think through why we're putting content there and the goals we're trying to achieve. Doing so brought everyone into the same boat and the reasoning for design decisions were recognized by the group; they needed to have insight and own the design decisions I already figured out. They were then open to the process of problem solving and being open to my recommendations for moving forward with achieving goals because they were right there with me during each step of the design process (whatever that is) and realized that my experience enables them to worry about the what and why and lets me figure out the how (including better design practices that get users to accomplish what your client wants them to, while addressing their business goals). I've written up documentation on how we handle branding, standard operating procedure for website related stuff, and helped a few other staff members re-write their job responsibilities within their contracts since I've gotten there.
For your boss, maybe you can stress the time inefficiency and cost he's incurring with the current method of edit requests. Even though you can make instant updates, doing so bit by bit is not as effective or timely as batch updates and it's probably sucking up your time's bandwidth with other tasks.
Sketches, even MSPaint, are mediums of information. Your boss sounds like he is communicating to you what he wants done, and you have to do it. Steering them towards problem solving and answering "what are we trying to accomplish here, on this page?" and proposing your recommendations may help change the type of feedback you're getting. If your boss is actively reducing the effectiveness and value of the experience of pages, you should communicate that to them and offer what you think should be done based on your experience and web standards and most importantly your reasoning behind why you recommend those options and the expected result from them.
Ultimately, if your boss keeps overriding you than you have to do what they tell you to do. You can try and put some process in place, but if you've already demonstrated that you can make an instant edit to someone who doesn't understand ux/webdev than you've opened a can of worms to someone who thinks you're a wizard that can do anything (regardless of the complexity) as fast as you've done other edits.
oddible's comment in regards to mockups "iterate, list assumptions they make, formulate hypotheses to validate, do research, compile and present data" seems to be addressing the process you're using and where mockups are within that process. Usually, a process (whatever that is) takes into account clients having dozens of minor edits by listing out the goals of the request, establishing the user groups who will interact with the experience, and the desired result; then creating a mockup of sorts to get feedback, then confirming before executing. If the client is requesting edits after the mockup is confirmed repeatedly, there's something wrong with your process; either the client isn't thinking through all the requirements of the request, you're not, or both of you are not.
As for raging anonymously on the internet: /s how dare someone point out possible useful criticism based on the information you provided. This shit is common to come across with clients, and shutting someone down who shows experience within their direct feedback to you is a selfish dick move; especially this "disrespect" nonsense. Get over it, don't take stuff personally because it's not an assault on you, web design is about the client's goals and needs not about you and how you feel about their design. Respect is earned with the amount of money your work/portfolio earns you and if you're hating your role now you'll despise working at a larger company with a senior webdev or ux role because it's filled with people like your boss everywhere, but processes are in place to avoid wasted time and micromanaging. The most successful IT professionals are likable, charismatic, and know how to get desired outcomes from social interactions; tech skill sets are secondary.
How to tell your boss to stop?
Here's a great book with strategies, tactics, methods, and tools for UX design that show you multiple processes to get from request to execution: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Guide-Design-experience-designers/dp/0321815386 maybe some processes in that book could help add a structure that prevents the current situation you're in now, and figure out how to iterate requests before you've already executed stuff.
How to tell your boss to stop directly? Give him this book and tell him that he needs to read it so he's speaking the same language you are: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515
Head First Software Development
Start with this book. I think it explains the basics pretty well. It’s not about creating flow charts though that can be part of it. Your goal is to create attainable goals in order to reach your solutions in an efficient manner. Like breaking large problems into smaller ones and taking them on one at a time. You should learn different design patterns and how to apply them. Programming isn’t writing code. It’s developing solutions to problems that a program will solve. Writing code is just the medium used.
Who is it that you are delegating to? What kind of work is it that you do? If you work on large-scale collaborative data projects, J. Scott Long has good suggestions about documentation practices that improve efficiency and make it easier to collaborate with other people. His book is called The Workflow of Data Analysis Using Stata. His principles are useful even if you don’t use Stata.
You can download chapter one from his website.
He periodically offers workshops in the ICPSR summer program .
I distrust this website. Don't buy from them.
I once bought their anti-patterns book, but I quickly discovered that it was a ripoff of the original anti-patterns book, the text and even the graphics were literally copied from that book.
This is it:
http://www.amazon.com/AntiPatterns-Refactoring-Software-Architectures-Projects/dp/0471197130/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1450850251&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=antipatterns
While there are some significant changes in 6th Edition, I wouldn't expect the new exam to be too much of a stretch for someone already prepared to pass the old one.
Obviously, obtain the 6th Ed PMBOK and read through it for changes, and take practice exams based on 6th Edition.
Considerations for Agile/Adaptive Life Cycles : Since no one has taken the exam yet, not sure how deep they will go into Agile, but what has been emphasized in PMBOK is likely:
What seems to have been either pulled or de-emphasized from prior editions:
If you get snowed under and have to go to 6th Edition, I suggest buying this book of Practice Questions aligned with 6th Edition ($9.99). It also has tests available online. You can see where you stand relative to the new material:
https://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Practice-Questions-Exams/dp/1984187376/
I recommend picking up Michael Jang's RHCSA/RHCE study guide. It has a lot of good exercises, and is generally really noob-friendly. If you do all the exercises and seriously stop and do your homework online when you encounter terms or ideas you don't fully understand, it's a great framework for things you're likely to encounter in a corporate OSS implementation.
Use that with a home installation of Fedora, and use any old/expendable computers for CentOS servers. With diligence and earnest effort, you should be ready for admin work within a few months if you're already used to the Windows Admin side.
What's worked for me really well was learning about the different roles that a UX oriented person can do. There are a lot of various hats you can wear under the UX umbrella like Interaction Designer, Information Architecture, User Research, and a few more from there.
I'd suggest doing your research, learning as much as you can whether that be reading the latest posts on blogs, reading books or even jumping on twitter and contacting some really great ux'ers out there right now.
I'm a designer that's slowly making the transition too, and this is what worked out really well for me, not saying it's going to be your answer but hopefully some of it helps!
I use www.uxmag.com to just read some articles and keep up to date on what people think within the field.
The best learning that I've had so far though would be from books that I've had suggested to me from various UX designers within the industry right now:
Emotional Design
Project Guide To UX Design
If you want to keep chatting about it feel free to PM me and I'll help out as much as I can! :)
So does anyone else remember reading the book 12 years ago (AntiPatterns: Refactoring Software, Architectures, and Projects in Crisis)
Try:
A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making
If you’re averaging in your high 50s consistently without progress, you might want to start working on your fundamentals and give yourself time for it before giving the exam. I’d suggest the following approach:
Give yourself a week to decide if you should reschedule or not. If you decide to reschedule and follow this plan, you should definitely be back on track to take the PMP on your revised date. All the best.
The Standard for Program Management – Fourth Edition (2017)
Governance of Portfolios, Programs, and Projects: A Practice Guide (2016)
Benefits Realization Management (2019)
Agile and Lean Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization (2016)
Recently read Project Management Lite. It was solid through-out, and kept the focus on what was important. You can get bogged down in project management by a lot of unnecessary work. And PMs have an unhealthy need to create processes and lists where none is needed. Project Management Lite helps with perspective, and focuses on what's important.
Is the material/terminology similar?
Also, I took the PMP exam a couple years ago. Only used the Head First PMP prep book. Spent 4 days in a room in the library to cram for it and passed it easily. In case you’re interested, I linked it for you.
Head First PMP Prep
Oh with 11 years experience I don't think you would get much out of CAPM. It is very much a 'get-you-in-the-door' type certificate.
Rita's is a text book, https://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Prep-Eighth-Updated/dp/1932735658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1509553496&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=rita which I found very helpful. The end of chapter tests are quite good, the only downside is they do relate to the material you just learned which is quite leading. I am not sure if there is going to be an updated version coming out soon with the updates to the test format and the PMBOK.
Another paid resource I found useful was PMTraining. It was a pretty reasonable cost for a 3 month subscription and I found the questions similar in format to the actual test exam.
For free resources, I found that the Oliver Lehmann questions were pretty solid. The HeadFirst mock exam was maybe a bit on the easy side, but was a good exercise in taking a 200 question multiple choice test.
The Rita Process game found @ http://pmp.aamirafridi.com/_rpg/index-3.html was really helpful to me as well. Being able to map out the processes, and figure out exactly what process group you are is very valuable IMO.
Stata is awesome, but /r/statistics is probably your friend. I'd search first, they've probably had the question before. Personally, I learned SAS & Stata in school, R through online tutorials, and I used books for all of them ("R in a Nutshell", Stata Workflow, and "Little SAS Book").
If you know the statistics underlying the methods, Stata is quite easy. A lot is point and click, and learn how to write a do file. If you just need some practice doing stuff, the Stata help is quite good and has some built in data sets and examples. Stata also has a great resources guide and the UCLA page (top link on resources) is a terrific reference to look stuff up.
Sure thing!
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Project-Study-Authorized-Courseware/dp/0470585927/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1463544309&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=project%2B
It's the book that ucertify pulls its material from so you might also be able to get a PDF of the book from a course mentor. I thought there was a link somewhere in the COS but I can't find it.
So... it depends. I've been a PM for 13 years, and PMP for 9.
I took a Project management course in my undergrad during my Bcomm at u of c so I didn't need the education contact hours, but being the keener I am took the PMP prep course at MRC.
That was a waste of time. It was taught by volunteers from PMISAC, and they don't have education as their background...
What was of benefit though was the course forced me to sit and read the PMBOK chapters to be prepped for the lectures.
Alongside the course, I picked up Rita's Guide to the PMP. Link This book is one of the two best resources for passing the PMP. It teaches you to think in the language of the exam.
The next best resource was pmstudy.com. I bought the four pack of exams. I scheduled the cert exam for a Friday, and did one test per night Monday-Thursday. On Friday, when I sat the exam, I finished in 1.5 hours as I had seen over 100 of the questions before. It was a breeze and I passed with only a few wrong.
So... if you need education contact hours, go somewhere that's cheap. Check out places like Global Knowledge or Cheetah as well. If you want to pass the exam, get Rita's book and the 4 pack of exams from pmstudy.com.
And don't forget, you don't need to maintain your PMI membership to maintain you PMP credential.
Wow. It's like he took the two-stage, semi-modular design from The Rocket Company and scaled it up to go to Mars.
I'm skeptical though. It smells like a lifting-body design, which to me seems like more complexity than I would have expected from SpaceX. And I'm waiting to hear about a space cargo version that Musk can sell to cover NASA's tepid LEO/BEO plans. At $0.5B/flight, I don't think Musk wants to fund this himself.
Might I also suggest Making Things Happen
There is very little earth-shattering in the book, but it's a breezy read and great reference. It's true utility is in having all of the 101 stuff in one place.
PMTraining is what I used for PMP last year, got an average of 80 and passed.
For both PMP and ACP the last few days were 'what if I missed something' but I did well. Review the weak areas, understand why you're weak on them and go from there. For me, formulas are always the hardest to memorize, and I found Aileen Ellis's books very helpful.
If your getting to the point where you feel 'If I don't know it now, I won't by the test', take a break. Go for a walk, read a book, watch a movie. Don't stress out.
Good luck!
The three things that helped me massively with executive function are:
https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/B01B6WSK5C/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=getting+things+done&amp;qid=1569271349&amp;sr=8-3
https://www.amazon.com/Time-Your-Life-ANTHONY-ROBBINS/dp/B001ZGQSX6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=time+of+your+life+robbins&amp;qid=1569271376&amp;s=audible&amp;sr=1-1-catcorr
https://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Pass-First-Sixth/dp/0990907473/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AFLJESI1X0QE&amp;keywords=pmp+exam+prep&amp;qid=1569271403&amp;sprefix=pmp+%2Caudible%2C203&amp;sr=8-3
I did these over a number of years and worked extremely hard at it. I also use mind mapping software called freeplane.
> We have a primary PO, 2 SM, and separate pools of ~15 BAs, ~30 devs, ~15 testers; all grouped into 5 smaller 'agile' teams.
So there are around 12 members per team? That sounds quite large. Succeeding with Agile recommends teams of 5-7 people. I personally like having 1 tester, 1 BA, and then the rest of the team being software engineers provided that the team is responsible for delivering end to end features.
> Our 2 week sprints total 1 month in dev, then 1 month in test (PTA/UAT), then moves to production.
This sounds more like a 2 month sprint. You should be capable of taking user stories and finishing them in their entirety in a single sprint. This includes requirements, design, coding, and testing. Having a 2 week sprint duration is the most common sprint duration and works pretty well for most teams. So if your team can get your process fixed up, you can stick with 2 week sprints.
>However, a team member proposed that for requirements issues or UAT change requests, that we should always defer these for a later release; if it isn't in the acceptance criteria, it gets deferred.
Why should these be deferred to a later release? Are requirements not allowed to change? Remember the Agile Manifesto welcomes changes in requirements. It is not possible to get all of the requirements "right" the first time. Some of the requirements will emerge from what you learn from feedback as you work on the software.
>My hesitation with this is that our next 1-2 releases are planned out, so it may take 1-2+ releases to come back around and fix a small issue that was deferred.
Are you not allowed to change what you are releasing? What if the market changes? What if you demo to the client and they don't like the direction the feature is going in? Essential Scrum argues against a fixed-scope release for this reason. When planning a release, we should be able to make adjustments to our release plan to account for these things. Here is a good excerpt from Planning Extreme Programming that talks about this:
"How stable is the release plan? Not at all. The only thing we know for certain about a plan is that development won't go according to it. So release planning happens all the time. Every time the customer changes his mind about the requirements and his priority, this changes the plan. Every time the developers learn something new about hte speed of doing things, this changes the plan."
Maybe go on Indeed.com and type in the salary you are ok with, and the location. I.e. if you want $100,000 in Denver, Colorado, then type in "$100,000": https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=%24100%2C000&amp;l=denver%2C+co . Be realistic about the job you think you'll get. Then find a profession that you think you'd like based off the descriptions and look at what the requirements are. Maybe you want to be a "junior ux designer". Look at the requirements, and get a book on the subject, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Guide-Design-experience-designers/dp/0321815386/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1486050395&amp;sr=8-4&amp;keywords=ux+design. Now you can become a UX designer after reading the book. The thing I learned in college is that the professors just regurgitate what's in the book, so you're better off reading the book rather than listening to a lecture on some crappy interpretation. Good luck.
Also a good job and money don't mean anything. I have a 6 figure job and look at me... I'm back to the drawing board here. Trying to figure out how to minimize expenses and get that low paying artist job (with no artistic skills) that I've always wanted. I guess the solution is to do what you love in your free time and then eventually create your own business?
I really like Making Things Happen. Casual tone, emphasis on heuristics, and enjoyable to read.
Andrew Ramdayal book
https://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Prep-Simplified-PMBOK%C2%AE/dp/198572829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538798513&sr=1-1&keywords=PMP+Exam+Prep+Simplified
My favorite book on Scrum is great.
https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Scrum-Practical-Addison-Wesley-Signature/dp/0137043295
If i were you i would look at the PMBOK book first then. A lot of what i have read so far is about organization, documentation, genaric/broad direction that you can tailor to industry specific standards and goals, and assignment and delegation.
I think, since you will be running a team in the future, its really helpful to know how to organize everything and make things much more streamlined. You will be able to set expectations of your editors as a group, and as individuals. It can help define rolls and responsibilities and cut down on a lot of confusion in processes and procedures.
&#x200B;
Check out this book on Amazon to help you get started.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628251840/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_1miVDbJV2W54M
&#x200B;
Since your company is willing to pay, and if you are planning on staying with the company long enough, Id say go for it!
A good complimentary book is "Anti Patterns": http://www.amazon.com/AntiPatterns-Refactoring-Software-Architectures-Projects/dp/0471197130
You might try the Head First PMP book, as it is very visual and almost like a workbook. Like miles different than the PMBOK/Rita.. I test in a few days and it has been a great way to solidify my understanding of concepts without making me feel like I was reading a dictionary.
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-PMP-Management-Professional/dp/1449364918/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1521577281&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=head+first+pmp
I signed up for the PM Prepcast, which I think is the cheapest approved preparation ($199) and also did a bootcamp ($1,800). The Prepcast is a bunch of podcasts that I just occasionally put on in the car while driving.
I was dragging my feet and the bootcamp at least got me into the mode of "I gotta finish this" but the best preparation for me was the Headfirst PMP book...designed for visual learners, it kind of made everything gel for me. Just flipped through it casually and passed on first try. Hardest part was the application.
I guess what I'm saying (if you're like me) is maybe get a book you like and prepare and if you think that's enough, it's an option just to go with an inexpensive course to get the certified hours. In the end, do what you know will work for you.
Good luck!
PMBOK- https://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Knowledge-PMBOK%C2%AE-Sixth/dp/1628251840
Rita's Book-https://store.rmcproject.com/pmp-exam-prep-ninth-edition
Vargas video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC7pN8Mjot8
Prepcast exam simulator-https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/pmp-exam/the-pmp-exam-simulator
Good luck!
Let me recommend Essential Scrum as IMO one of the best books on the topic.
Also just research Lean, Agile and Scrum yourself.
There are tons of free stuff you can read! My handbook is also out there for free.
This book was recommended by John_Carmack and other rocket scientists
https://www.amazon.com/Rocket-Company-Patrick-Stiennon-ebook/dp/B00BWEEWOI
The Rocket Company is a fictional account of the development of a commercial two stage to orbit (TSTO) reusable launch vehicle (RLV). Included is a description of the business model devised by a group of seven fictional investors committed to creating an economic engine that will cause the cost of space transportation to spiral rapidly downward as the market for launch services expands. In this context, the marketing, regulatory, and technical problems facing any serious attempt to reduce the cost of space transportation are explored. Although a work of fiction, the book follows in the vein of non-fictional accounts of the development of successful technological products and businesses, such as The Soul of a New Machine, and American Steel.
I guess you mean this one. Problem is that it is from 2012 so it covers RHEL6 and quite a few things changed in RHEL7.
Well if you are looking for study material here are some links to books I suggest.
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Project-Management-Body-Knowledge/dp/1935589679/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1405382005&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=pmbok
http://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Prep-Eighth-Edition/dp/1932735658/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y
http://pmhigherlearning.com/project-management-exam-guide/
I used the PMP Exam Simplified book. I have a review on my review post. Below is a web link to the book.
PMP Exam Prep Simplified: Based on PMBOK® Guide Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/198572829X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_aE0ZCbTQW59QQ
I used these books when I took the course in college:
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Software-Development-Pilone/dp/0596527357
http://www.amazon.com/Software-Engineering-9th-Edition-Sommerville/dp/0137035152
Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management by Scott Berkun is great.
I read an earlier edition when it had a better title "The Art of Project Management"
I believe there is an audio version. But this hardcopy is what you want.
PMP Exam Prep, Eighth Edition - Updated https://www.amazon.com/dp/1932735658/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.cbyzbC83DVFN
If you enjoyed the Head First experience, you should proceed to Head First Software Development which does cover this topic.
Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!
Here are your smile-ified links:
Headfirst PMP
---
^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly&nbsp;bot
how does the book exactly helpful?
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Things-Happen-Mastering-Management/dp/0596517718
Other advice I'd give:
Best 4$ spent on my pmp journey so far:
https://www.amazon.com/every-Earned-Value-question-right-ebook/dp/B00M4QD776/
Her video on YouTube is awesome too!
I found this great resource for nailing every EVM question: (free if you have Kindle Unlimited):
&#x200B;
https://www.amazon.com/every-Earned-Value-question-right-ebook-dp-B00M4QD776/dp/B00M4QD776/
&#x200B;
Just set aside an hour and blow through all the practice questions and you'll be golden.
Here she is, laying it all out in a clear and concise manner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpMTv3LVKyw
&#x200B;
And if you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read PMP Master Prep by Scott Payne (this) that I'm reading in combination with the Rita Mulcahy book, and I think they are a perfect combo. Rita is wordy and is chock full of insider PMI strategy, and Scott is cut and dried to the point ITTOs.
&#x200B;
Best of luck! You got this!
http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Project-Study-Authorized-Courseware/dp/0470585927/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1426225915&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=project%2B
Which Andrew Ramdayal book did you get? Amazon has two of them:
PMP Prep Simplified and PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try
I apologize in advance for the long post: Thanks so much for all the help and feedback everyone! I will definitely try to utilize everyone's advice as best I can. Here is my game plan for the next few months. I would love more feedback if everyone is willing to help refine my process.
1- After talking to my aunt/mentor in the field, she recommends that I should not go for the CSM *until* I have a working understanding of the field I will be getting into. She recommends that I apply/learn as much as I can about Project Management Essentials like the one she took in UChicago. Unfortunately, the next class that is offered is Jan 16th, and I personally want to leave the hell that is my job as soon as possible.
To get over this, I have decided to learn as much as I can on my own from books like A, B, C, D, E (please take a look at recommend if there are others I should look into or if I should drop any). She recommends that I do not focus on just Agile but also Waterfall (a basic understanding). I will also be utilizing the podcasts and links graciously provided by u/recycledcoder:
"So... podcasts. There are many, but these are my faves:
And finally, my own preferred twist on it all: Modern Agile"
2- Once I have done as much research on the fundamentals as I can before October 13 (not a lot of time, I know), I will be attempting the CSM boot-camp course. I want to do this because I have no prior experience in field, and while I know a certification may not mean much, I hope it reflects my desire to start applying for roles for project coordinator positions. I will have to tweak my resume to show my desire, and I think the certification is the first step to do this. I'm favoring the CSM over the PSM and PSPO per u/nizzerp and my aunt's advice as these courses need more experience to apply for.
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
&#x200B;
I know there are a lot of links and stuff, but I would really appreciate it if I could get as much feedback as I can to start committing to this plan, especially feedback on books and resources in my step 1.
I haven't taken the test yet so I can't speak to how useful my habits are. TL;DR I don't think you need it if everything else you've purchased is helpful and engaging.
I've purchased Andy Crowe's book, several courses on Udemy, both the long form and cram versions of Joseph Phillips' courses, and the PrepCast Exam simulator, all in addition to the PMBOK. Out of all these I have used the PMBOK the least, and it's very very dry compared to everything else. The Exam Simulator will point out where in the PMBOK I can look up for a specific question, I'll read that page several times and still not really understand it. I don't find it particularly helpful and it bores me. I think if you're very detail-oriented it could help, but it comes with a lot of noise that drowns out the main takeaways you should be getting from the material.
Thanks but I’ve ordered Andy Crowe,also aligned.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0990907473
Update: book never came. I’ve passed the exam without the book.
The largest an agile team should be is usually around 9 people. Daily standup should be time boxed to 15 minutes and if an extra discussion is needed about a particular feature, blocker etc, those who are involved should stay for a discussion afterwards or schedule a separate meeting for it. Everyone answers 3 questions : What did you do yesterday? What are you working on today? Do you have any impediments or blockers?
Stick to answering these three questions and avoid having the daily standup become an unfocused and dragged out meeting.
My workplace had our whole engineering and product team read this book and it was helpful to grasp agile methodologies for both engineers and product managers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0137043295/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1
Are you aware of the numerous uncanny similarities?
http://amzn.com/B00BWEEWOI
Eschewed carbon fiber for aluminum.
Friction stir welding.
Funded by dot.com billionaire.
TSTO.
Pop-up trajectory 1st stage.
Gas generator cycle.
Favor rugged & simple over complex & bleeding edge.
While you're at it, also read Antipatterns, which gives a very good explanation of what goes wrong when patterns are ignored, and how to remedy those problems.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471197130/theantipatterngr