Extreme Programming Explained by Kent Beck In order to build high-quality software, you need good agile management (e.g. Scrum) and strong technical practices such as XP. Involve the whole team Increase technical collaboration through pair programming and continuous integration Reduce defects through developer testing Align business and technical decisions through frequent planning and conversation Improve teamwork by setting up informative, shared workspaces

Implementing Lean Software Development by the Poppendiecks Ideas for implementation of Lean software principles: Optimize the Whole Eliminate Waste Build Quality In Learn Constantly Deliver Fast Engage Everyone Keep Getting Better Also see: Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit Leading Lean Software Development

The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki Groups of people that are diverse (culture, education, age, ...) can often produce better answers than a group of like-minded experts.

Linchpin by Seth Godin How to make yourself invaluable to your organization: through continual self-improvement by differentiating your work and your job by bringing and expending emotional labour Being a professional is getting up and doing the things that you love even when you don’t feel like doing them.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath If you want to change things, you need to address both the intellectual side and emotional side of people and make it easier for them to choose change. Direct the Rider: Find the Bright Spots, Script the Critical Moves, Point to the Destination Motivate the Elephant: Find the Feeling, Shrink the Change, Grow Your People Shape the Path: Tweak the Environment, Build Habits, Rally the Herd

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink If you want to introduce change in an organization, it is much easier if you understand what motivates people and tailor the change to those motivations: Autonomy: I want to control how I do my work Mastery: I want to get better at what I am doing Purpose: I want to work on something that is meaningful for me

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson Wide-randing series of lessons learned while running 37 Signals on topics such as: Takedowns Go Progress Productivity Competitors Evolution Promotion Hiring Damage Control Culture

Scrumban by Corey Ladas Discusses differences between push and pull systems and advantages to uses one over the other Provides practical scenarios for moving an iteration-based Scrum system (velocity) to a pull-based Kanban system (cycle time) See also Henrik Kniberg’s presentation on Scrum and Kanban

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson Technology, innovation, and curation have made it possible to build a business based on the long tail of demand iTunes Netflix Pandora eBay Amazon

The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: by Peter Senge et al How to build a learning organization Systems Thinking Personal Mastery Mental Models Shared Vision Team Learning

Bridging the Communication Gap by Gojko Adzic By increasing the level and effectiveness of communications, you can greatly reduce project risks. On software projects, ‘specification by example’ and ‘agile acceptance testing’ help to build a shared mental model and expose weaknesses in assumptions and knowledge early.

The Leader’s Handbook by Peter Scholtes Discusses: A history of management Leadership competencies Systems thinking Getting things done Meaning, purpose, direction, and focus Breakthrough improvement Measuring improvement, progress, and success Leading by asking Performance without appraisal

Management 3.0 by Jurgen Appelo Disclaimer: I haven’t read this one yet but lots of people I follow speak highly of it. Topics include: Agile Software Development Complex Systems Theory Motivation and Team Organization Leadership Learning and Building Competence Communication Embracing Change and Adapting