I am back once again. As always, I gave due diligence to my reviews. To those of you who found my ratings of multiple PMP publications helpful, you will want to read on. See collective ratings under “Michael Henry” https://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Professional-Certification-Exam/dp/1492310549/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1CXATM61H9GX&dchild=1&keywords=sohel+akhter%2C+exam+prep+book%2C+6th+ed&qid=1606711795&sprefix=sohel%2Caps%2C230&sr=8-3
That said, all my Agile book reviews are Verified Purchases.
Now let’s get down to business shall we. This time around I decided to rate multiple Agile Guides using the same criteria listed on my PMP Guide Evaluations. Obviously, it was necessary to revise/tailor the criteria to meet the unique requirements for Agile-based project management versus the Traditional Waterfall approach. In other words, my ratings were based on how well a given Agile publication satisfies requirements as defined by PMI, AgileAlliance.org and applicable industry standards. As for why I chose to evaluate Agile-based guides is simple. It is my understanding that PMI will be instituting new guidelines regarding their PMP certification requirements. Part of the new requirement will include testing for proficiency in the application of Agile Methodologies (50% of PMP Exams?). More importantly, I happen to know (I have many contacts in major industries) major players such as Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Apple, Boeing, Raytheon, and various pharmaceutical companies are all looking to migrate their systems over to an agile-based project model. It has come to my attention that executive management teams have been chartered by the CEO’s of these companies, with making the transition to the “Agile Way” going forward. Assuming my assertion is true, it is in your best interest to start preparing now if you expect to stay current given the paradigm shift slowly but surely coming our way. Change is hard but it is necessary!
After poring over 11 comparable guides, here is what I came up with:
Agile Rating Criteria:
A) Cost.
B) Dual Purpose Feature (DP). Answer depends on whether Guide offers Guidance on Agile project selection/management AND Agile PMI-ACP compliant test questions that cover all chapters.
C) Level of Comprehensive test (where applicable) and content coverage.
D) How consistent chapter focus is aligned with percentage of test questions.
E) Multiple methods of presenting the same material to increase comprehension through redundancy.
F) How well diagrams, tables, graphs, charts, and presentation material were utilized to provide a contextual understanding of various Agile methodologies.
G) Coverage of test taking strategies for deciphering test questions.
H) How well test questions answers are explained at the end of each chapter.
I) Using Real-life case studies to “drive home” complex and/or complicated constructs (look it up if you don’t know the difference between the two).
J) Online test bank availability.
GUIDES I PURCHASED AND REVIEWED:
- Author Jack Lead: “Agile Project Management: How to master Scrum, Kanban and all Agile tools to optimize the organization, Performance, Quality and Results. Includes Kaizen guide to grow step by step and achieve goals. (4 Stars).
- Author Jack Lead: “Project Management: This book includes Lean Guide + Agile Project Management. Practical guide for Managing Projects, Productivity, Profits of Enterprises or Startups with Lean, Scrum, Agile.”(4 stars).
- Author Jeffrey Ries: “Agile Project Management: The Complete Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide to Agile Project Management & Software development: Lean Guides for Scrum, Kanban , Sprint, DSDM, XP & Crystal, Book 1.”(4 Stars)
- Author Brian Will: “AGILE ADOPTION AND TRANSFORMATION, PRINCIPLES, CHALLENGES, AND PITFALLS.” (4 stars).
- Author Peter Measey: “AGILE FOUNDATIONS, Principles, practices and frameworks.” (4 Stars
- Author Sam Ryan: “Agile Project Management: 2 Books in 1: Beginner’s Guide & Methodology. The Definitive Guide to Master Scrum, Kanban, XP, Crystal, FDD, DSDM. (4 Stars )
- Author Joseph Phillips: “ALL-IN-ONE PMI-ACP Agile Certified Practitioner, Exam Guide. (dual purpose) (5 stars)
- Author Hans Wendel van Hespen: “Agile methods: Accurate match! Which agile methodology is most appropriate for your IT-Project?” (3 ½ stars)
- Author Sohel Akhter: “Agile Project Management, Aligned with Agile Practice Guide, First edition, PMI and Agile Alliance.” (dual purpose) (5 stars).
- Author Konnor Cluster: “AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT, Learn How to Manage a Project with Agile methods, Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming.”(4 ½ Stars)
- Author PMI: “Agile Practice Guide.” (4 ½ Stars)
After careful review of the above Agile publications, My top 3 picks are as follows:
1st place: Author Sohel Akhter: “Agile Project Management, Aligned with Agile Practice Guide, First edition, PMI and Agile Alliance.”(dual purpose) (5 stars).
2nd place: Author Joseph Phillips: “ALL-IN-ONE PMI-ACP Agile Certified Practitioner, Exam Guide. (dual purpose) (5 stars)
3rd place: Author Konnor Cluster: “AGILE PROJECT MANAGEMENT, Learn How to Manage a Project with Agile methods, Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming.”(4 ½ Stars) AND Author PMI: “Agile Practice Guide.” (4 ½ Stars)
Honorable mention: All 4 Star ratings
***Special Note: I chose not to include publications targeted for Beginners (don’t want to be accused of comparing apples to oranges).
For the record, I will be posting these evaluations for 1st 2nd 3rd place and “honorable mention” reviews only.
For those of you wondering why I chose to evaluate 11 Agile Guides. The answer is simple, rating these guides not only enhances my understanding of the various Agile based project management methodologies, it also allows me to continuously improve my knowledge base relative to the current advances being made in the field of project management, across a wide array of industry types. It’s all about staying informed lest you want to get left behind.
In closing, I hope you all find my effort to provide guidance, when selecting an Agile Guide Publication, useful!