#AgileTeams
Your 2025 Definitive Guide to Top Agile Books
31 January 2025
By Scott M. Graffius
Introduction
In today's fast-paced world, agility rules. Master it, and you'll thrive. This list of the top 10 agile books covers everything from Scrum and Kanban to leadership and innovation. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting, these books will deepen your understanding, sharpen your skills, and unlock new potential.
Scott M. Graffius—in collaboration with others—curated this list. For that reason and to keep things fair, Graffius’ award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is not included.
Top Agile Books
Ready to accelerate your success? Dive into the list, organized alphabetically by title.
Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn
Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn is a must-read for agile project management. It advocates relative estimation methods like story points over time-based approaches for greater accuracy and adaptability. Covering velocity tracking, iteration, and release planning, it aligns sprints with business goals while preserving agility. Cohn highlights the team-driven nature of agile estimation, refining it continuously to improve decision-making. This approach enhances planning precision, empowers teams, and drives project success. Transform your agile practices—order your copy today!
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B004X1D3TC)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0131479418)
Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products (Second Edition) by Jim Highsmith
Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products (Second Edition) by Jim Highsmith offers a strategic, adaptive approach to managing projects in fast-changing environments. It defines agility as a mindset balancing flexibility with discipline, enabling teams to navigate uncertainty while delivering value. Blending agile and traditional methods, it introduces the Agile Project Management (APM) model, emphasizing continuous delivery, customer collaboration, and iterative planning. Highsmith prioritizes leadership over rigid processes, advocating decentralized decision-making and innovation. This book equips professionals with the tools to drive agility at both tactical and organizational levels.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B002HMJYAG)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0321658395)
Agile Retrospectives: A Practical Guide for Catalyzing Team Learning and Improvement (Second Edition) by Esther Derby, Diana Larsen, and David Horowitz
Agile Retrospectives: A Practical Guide for Catalyzing Team Learning and Improvement (Second Edition) by Esther Derby, Diana Larsen, and David Horowitz provides expert guidance on running effective retrospectives. This updated edition adds 120 pages of new insights, incorporating recent research and real-world experience. Emphasizing psychological safety, it offers practical techniques and strategies, including solutions for remote and hybrid teams. By applying these approaches, teams can drive continuous improvement, boost satisfaction, and deliver greater customer value.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B0D6XFL73D)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 979-8888650370)
Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices by Robert C. Martin
Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices by Robert C. Martin explores agile methodologies, object-oriented design, and design patterns. It stresses solid design principles for maintainable, scalable software. With detailed discussions and code examples in C++ and Java, Martin demonstrates real-world applications. The book also covers UML and Extreme Programming (XP), offering a comprehensive view of modern development. Agile Software Development is a must-read for those looking to improve their design and coding practices.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0135974445)
Clean Agile: Back to Basics by Robert C. Martin
In Clean Agile: Back to Basics, renowned software engineer Robert C. Martin revisits the foundational principles of agile development—emphasizing the importance of simplicity, communication, and feedback. Martin argues that many organizations have strayed from agile's core values, focusing too heavily on processes and tools rather than individuals and interactions. He advocates for a return to the essence of agile, highlighting essential practices such as test-driven development (TDD), refactoring, and continuous integration to produce high-quality software. This book is a valuable guide for both newcomers and seasoned professionals seeking to realign their development practices with true agile principles.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B07XTL99JQ)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B08X7FWCZM)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0135781869)
Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition by Lyssa Adkins
Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition by Lyssa Adkins provides essential guidance for scrum masters and agile coaches. It highlights team dynamics, collaboration, and empowerment while navigating agile complexities. Adkins offers practical coaching strategies, urging continuous learning and growth. This book equips readers to build high-performing teams and drive lasting success in agile environments.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B003QP47YG)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B08QTX31HV)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0321637703)
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel H. Pink challenges traditional beliefs about motivation, presenting a compelling case for the power of intrinsic motivators over external rewards. Drawing on four decades of scientific research, Pink identifies three core elements that drive human motivation: autonomy, the desire to direct our own lives; mastery, the urge to improve and excel in meaningful tasks; and purpose, the yearning to contribute to something greater than ourselves. He argues that the conventional "carrot-and-stick" approach is often ineffective, especially for tasks requiring creativity and critical thinking, and that fostering an environment that supports these intrinsic drives leads to higher performance and personal satisfaction. This insightful book offers practical guidance for individuals and organizations aiming to harness true motivation. Discover the transformative insights in Drive and unlock your full potential. Over two million copies sold worldwide — order yours today!
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B004P1JDJO)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B0032COUMC)
• Hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-1594488849)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-9123682348)
Innovation Project Management: Methods, Case Studies, and Tools for Managing Innovation Projects (Second Edition) by Harold Kerzner
Harold Kerzner's Innovation Project Management: Methods, Case Studies, and Tools for Managing Innovation Projects (Second Edition) provides a powerful roadmap for managing innovation projects with precision and impact. Traditional project management methods often fall short when faced with the uncertainty and fluidity of innovation. This book takes a different approach, offering professionals practical tools, processes, and metrics tailored to address the unique challenges of innovation-driven initiatives. Through case studies from world-class organizations—like IBM, Lego, and Deloitte—the author illustrates how successful companies navigate the complexities of incremental and radical innovation, safeguard intellectual property, and align project management with value creation. In the Agile Innovation section, Kerzner incorporates content from the award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions by Scott M. Graffius. Get Innovation Project Management for actionable tools, processes, metrics, and insights from world-class organizations to master innovation; and elevate your project management skills today!
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B0BN4SQCW5)
• Hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-1119931249)
Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck
Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck adapts lean manufacturing principles for software development. It provides a framework to deliver high-quality products faster and more efficiently. The book covers seven core lean principles—eliminating waste, amplifying learning, delaying decisions, delivering quickly, empowering teams, building integrity, and seeing the whole—to streamline development and maximize value. With 22 actionable tools, the book provides strategies for improving collaboration, navigating uncertainty, and driving continuous improvement. Ideal for overcoming inefficiencies and slow delivery, Lean Software Development is a go-to resource for building better, faster, and more adaptable software.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B00HEL13HW)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0321150783)
User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product by Jeff Patton
User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product by Jeff Patton is an essential guide to understanding the user story mapping technique, which helps teams break down complex products into manageable tasks. The book illustrates how this method allows for better communication between stakeholders, improved product discovery, and an overall more effective approach to building software. Patton offers practical advice on creating shared understanding and prioritizing work. User Story Mapping is a must-have for anyone looking to build products that truly meet user needs and deliver successful outcomes.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B00NF07FHS)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B08TZGKKF2)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1491904909)
• Audio CD (ISBN-13: 979-8212930895)
Conclusion
Agile mastery is a journey, and the right knowledge can make all the difference. Get these books, apply their insights, and take your skills to the next level—because learning and adapting is the best way to thrive.
Read on for:
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a high impact and globally recognized AI, advanced technology, agile, and project management researcher, thought leader, author, and public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $1.9 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of two award-winning books.
Organizations around the world invite Graffius to speak on tech (including AI), agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership. He has developed and delivered unique and compelling talks and workshops. To date, Graffius has delivered 91 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), and more. With an average rating of 4.81 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
For booking inquiries, complete the speaker engagement request form or email directly to explore how Graffius can help elevate your organization’s performance.
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds nine professional certifications:
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle worldwide. Some links by country follow.
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle worldwide. Some links by country follow.
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, January 31). Your 2025 Definitive Guide to Top Agile Books. Available at: https://agilescrumguide.com/blog/files/agile-2025.html.
Short Link for Article
The short URL for this article is https://bit.ly/agile-2025
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius. All rights reserved.
Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
Introduction
In today's fast-paced world, agility rules. Master it, and you'll thrive. This list of the top 10 agile books covers everything from Scrum and Kanban to leadership and innovation. Whether you're an experienced professional or just starting, these books will deepen your understanding, sharpen your skills, and unlock new potential.
Scott M. Graffius—in collaboration with others—curated this list. For that reason and to keep things fair, Graffius’ award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is not included.
Top Agile Books
Ready to accelerate your success? Dive into the list, organized alphabetically by title.
Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn
Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn is a must-read for agile project management. It advocates relative estimation methods like story points over time-based approaches for greater accuracy and adaptability. Covering velocity tracking, iteration, and release planning, it aligns sprints with business goals while preserving agility. Cohn highlights the team-driven nature of agile estimation, refining it continuously to improve decision-making. This approach enhances planning precision, empowers teams, and drives project success. Transform your agile practices—order your copy today!
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B004X1D3TC)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0131479418)
Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products (Second Edition) by Jim Highsmith
Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products (Second Edition) by Jim Highsmith offers a strategic, adaptive approach to managing projects in fast-changing environments. It defines agility as a mindset balancing flexibility with discipline, enabling teams to navigate uncertainty while delivering value. Blending agile and traditional methods, it introduces the Agile Project Management (APM) model, emphasizing continuous delivery, customer collaboration, and iterative planning. Highsmith prioritizes leadership over rigid processes, advocating decentralized decision-making and innovation. This book equips professionals with the tools to drive agility at both tactical and organizational levels.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B002HMJYAG)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0321658395)
Agile Retrospectives: A Practical Guide for Catalyzing Team Learning and Improvement (Second Edition) by Esther Derby, Diana Larsen, and David Horowitz
Agile Retrospectives: A Practical Guide for Catalyzing Team Learning and Improvement (Second Edition) by Esther Derby, Diana Larsen, and David Horowitz provides expert guidance on running effective retrospectives. This updated edition adds 120 pages of new insights, incorporating recent research and real-world experience. Emphasizing psychological safety, it offers practical techniques and strategies, including solutions for remote and hybrid teams. By applying these approaches, teams can drive continuous improvement, boost satisfaction, and deliver greater customer value.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B0D6XFL73D)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 979-8888650370)
Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices by Robert C. Martin
Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices by Robert C. Martin explores agile methodologies, object-oriented design, and design patterns. It stresses solid design principles for maintainable, scalable software. With detailed discussions and code examples in C++ and Java, Martin demonstrates real-world applications. The book also covers UML and Extreme Programming (XP), offering a comprehensive view of modern development. Agile Software Development is a must-read for those looking to improve their design and coding practices.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0135974445)
Clean Agile: Back to Basics by Robert C. Martin
In Clean Agile: Back to Basics, renowned software engineer Robert C. Martin revisits the foundational principles of agile development—emphasizing the importance of simplicity, communication, and feedback. Martin argues that many organizations have strayed from agile's core values, focusing too heavily on processes and tools rather than individuals and interactions. He advocates for a return to the essence of agile, highlighting essential practices such as test-driven development (TDD), refactoring, and continuous integration to produce high-quality software. This book is a valuable guide for both newcomers and seasoned professionals seeking to realign their development practices with true agile principles.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B07XTL99JQ)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B08X7FWCZM)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0135781869)
Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition by Lyssa Adkins
Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for Scrum Masters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition by Lyssa Adkins provides essential guidance for scrum masters and agile coaches. It highlights team dynamics, collaboration, and empowerment while navigating agile complexities. Adkins offers practical coaching strategies, urging continuous learning and growth. This book equips readers to build high-performing teams and drive lasting success in agile environments.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B003QP47YG)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B08QTX31HV)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0321637703)
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel H. Pink challenges traditional beliefs about motivation, presenting a compelling case for the power of intrinsic motivators over external rewards. Drawing on four decades of scientific research, Pink identifies three core elements that drive human motivation: autonomy, the desire to direct our own lives; mastery, the urge to improve and excel in meaningful tasks; and purpose, the yearning to contribute to something greater than ourselves. He argues that the conventional "carrot-and-stick" approach is often ineffective, especially for tasks requiring creativity and critical thinking, and that fostering an environment that supports these intrinsic drives leads to higher performance and personal satisfaction. This insightful book offers practical guidance for individuals and organizations aiming to harness true motivation. Discover the transformative insights in Drive and unlock your full potential. Over two million copies sold worldwide — order yours today!
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B004P1JDJO)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B0032COUMC)
• Hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-1594488849)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-9123682348)
Innovation Project Management: Methods, Case Studies, and Tools for Managing Innovation Projects (Second Edition) by Harold Kerzner
Harold Kerzner's Innovation Project Management: Methods, Case Studies, and Tools for Managing Innovation Projects (Second Edition) provides a powerful roadmap for managing innovation projects with precision and impact. Traditional project management methods often fall short when faced with the uncertainty and fluidity of innovation. This book takes a different approach, offering professionals practical tools, processes, and metrics tailored to address the unique challenges of innovation-driven initiatives. Through case studies from world-class organizations—like IBM, Lego, and Deloitte—the author illustrates how successful companies navigate the complexities of incremental and radical innovation, safeguard intellectual property, and align project management with value creation. In the Agile Innovation section, Kerzner incorporates content from the award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions by Scott M. Graffius. Get Innovation Project Management for actionable tools, processes, metrics, and insights from world-class organizations to master innovation; and elevate your project management skills today!
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B0BN4SQCW5)
• Hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-1119931249)
Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck
Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck adapts lean manufacturing principles for software development. It provides a framework to deliver high-quality products faster and more efficiently. The book covers seven core lean principles—eliminating waste, amplifying learning, delaying decisions, delivering quickly, empowering teams, building integrity, and seeing the whole—to streamline development and maximize value. With 22 actionable tools, the book provides strategies for improving collaboration, navigating uncertainty, and driving continuous improvement. Ideal for overcoming inefficiencies and slow delivery, Lean Software Development is a go-to resource for building better, faster, and more adaptable software.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B00HEL13HW)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0321150783)
User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product by Jeff Patton
User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product by Jeff Patton is an essential guide to understanding the user story mapping technique, which helps teams break down complex products into manageable tasks. The book illustrates how this method allows for better communication between stakeholders, improved product discovery, and an overall more effective approach to building software. Patton offers practical advice on creating shared understanding and prioritizing work. User Story Mapping is a must-have for anyone looking to build products that truly meet user needs and deliver successful outcomes.
Click here to see the price on Amazon
Additional details:
• Kindle (ASIN: B00NF07FHS)
• Audiobook (ASIN: B08TZGKKF2)
• Paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1491904909)
• Audio CD (ISBN-13: 979-8212930895)
Conclusion
Agile mastery is a journey, and the right knowledge can make all the difference. Get these books, apply their insights, and take your skills to the next level—because learning and adapting is the best way to thrive.
Read on for:
- About Scott M. Graffius,
- How to Cite This Article,
- and more.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius is a high impact and globally recognized AI, advanced technology, agile, and project management researcher, thought leader, author, and public speaker.
Graffius has generated more than USD $1.9 billion in business value for organizations served, including Fortune 500 companies. Businesses and industries range from technology (including R&D and AI) to entertainment, financial services, and healthcare, government, social media, and more.
Graffius leads the professional services firm Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions, along with its subsidiary Exceptional Agility. These consultancies offer strategic and tactical advisory, training, embedded talent, and consulting services to public, private, and government sectors. They help organizations enhance their capabilities and results in agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership, supporting innovation and driving competitive advantage. The consultancies confidently back services with a Delighted Client Guarantee™. Graffius is a former vice president of project management with a publicly traded provider of diverse consumer products and services over the Internet. Before that, he ran and supervised the delivery of projects and programs in public and private organizations with businesses ranging from e-commerce to advanced technology products and services, retail, manufacturing, entertainment, and more. He has experience with consumer, business, reseller, government, and international markets.
He is the author of two award-winning books.
- His first book, Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions (ISBN-13: 9781533370242), received 17 awards.
- His second book is Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change (ISBN-13: 9781072447962). BookAuthority named it one of the best Scrum books of all time.
Organizations around the world invite Graffius to speak on tech (including AI), agile, project management, program management, portfolio management, and PMO leadership. He has developed and delivered unique and compelling talks and workshops. To date, Graffius has delivered 91 sessions across 25 countries. Select examples of events include Agile Trends Gov, BSides (Newcastle Upon Tyne), Conf42 Quantum Computing, DevDays Europe, DevOps Institute, DevOpsDays (Geneva), Frug’Agile, IEEE, Microsoft, Scottish Summit, Scrum Alliance RSG (Nepal), Techstars, and W Love Games International Video Game Development Conference (Helsinki), and more. With an average rating of 4.81 (on a scale of 1-5), sessions are highly valued.
For booking inquiries, complete the speaker engagement request form or email directly to explore how Graffius can help elevate your organization’s performance.
Prominent businesses, professional associations, government agencies, and universities have featured Graffius and his work including content from his books, talks, workshops, and more. Select examples include:
- Adobe,
- American Management Association,
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute,
- Bayer,
- BMC Software,
- Boston University,
- Broadcom,
- Cisco,
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts Germany,
- Computer Weekly,
- Constructor University Germany,
- Data Governance Success,
- Deimos Aerospace,
- DevOps Institute,
- EU's European Commission,
- Ford Motor Company,
- GoDaddy,
- Harvard Medical School,
- Hasso Plattner Institute Germany,
- IEEE,
- Innovation Project Management,
- Johns Hopkins University,
- Journal of Neurosurgery,
- Lam Research (Semiconductors),
- Leadership Worthy,
- Life Sciences Trainers and Educators Network,
- London South Bank University,
- Microsoft,
- NASSCOM,
- National Academy of Sciences,
- New Zealand Government,
- Oracle,
- Pinterest Inc.,
- Project Management Institute,
- Mary Raum (Professor of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College),
- SANS Institute,
- SBG Neumark Germany,
- Singapore Institute of Technology,
- Torrens University Australia,
- TBS Switzerland,
- Tufts University,
- UC San Diego,
- UK Sports Institute,
- University of Galway Ireland,
- US Department of Energy,
- US National Park Service,
- US Tennis Association,
- Veleuฤilište u Rijeci Croatia,
- Verizon,
- Virginia Tech,
- Warsaw University of Technology,
- Wrike,
- Yale University,
- and many others.
Graffius has been actively involved with the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the development of professional standards. He was a member of the team which produced the Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures—Second Edition. Graffius was a contributor and reviewer of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge—Sixth Edition, The Standard for Program Management—Fourth Edition, and The Practice Standard for Project Estimating—Second Edition. He was also a subject matter expert reviewer of content for the PMI’s Congress. Beyond the PMI, Graffius also served as a member of the review team for two of the Scrum Alliance’s Global Scrum Gatherings.
Graffius has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a focus in Human Factors. He holds nine professional certifications:
- Certified SAFe 6 Agilist (SA),
- Certified Scrum Professional - ScrumMaster (CSP-SM),
- Certified Scrum Professional - Product Owner (CSP-PO),
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM),
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO),
- Project Management Professional (PMP),
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB), and
- IT Service Management Foundation (ITIL).
He is an active member of the Scrum Alliance, the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He divides his time between Los Angeles and Paris, France.
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile frameworkโScrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle worldwide. Some links by country follow.
- ๐ฆ๐บ Australia
- ๐ฆ๐น Austria
- ๐ง๐ช Belgium
- ๐ง๐ท Brazil
- ๐จ๐ฆ Canada
- ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic
- ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark
- ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland
- ๐ซ๐ท France
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany
- ๐ฌ๐ท Greece
- ๐ญ๐บ Hungary
- ๐ฎ๐ณ India
- ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland
- ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel
- ๐ฎ๐น Italy
- ๐ฏ๐ต Japan
- ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg
- ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico
- ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands
- ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand
- ๐ณ๐ด Norway
- ๐ช๐ธ Spain
- ๐ธ๐ช Sweden
- ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland
- ๐ฆ๐ช UAE
- ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐บ๐ธ United States
- ๐ More countries
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle worldwide. Some links by country follow.
- ๐ฆ๐บ Australia
- ๐ฆ๐น Austria
- ๐ง๐ท Brazil
- ๐จ๐ฆ Canada
- ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic
- ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark
- ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland
- ๐ซ๐ท France
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany
- ๐ฌ๐ท Greece
- ๐ฎ๐ณ India
- ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland
- ๐ฏ๐ต Japan
- ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg
- ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico
- ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands
- ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand
- ๐ช๐ธ Spain
- ๐ธ๐ช Sweden
- ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland
- ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates
- ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐บ๐ธ United States
- ๐ More countries
Graffius, Scott M. (2025, January 31). Your 2025 Definitive Guide to Top Agile Books. Available at: https://agilescrumguide.com/blog/files/agile-2025.html.
Short Link for Article
The short URL for this article is https://bit.ly/agile-2025
Copyright © Scott M. Graffius
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Content on this site—including text, images, videos, and data—may not be used for training or input into any artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automatized learning systems, or published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius.
The Future of Agile
10 April 2023
Agile Workflows
A Brief Overview of Agile
Organizations are increasingly adopting Agile approaches — such as Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, and others — to develop products and services. Some of the top reasons are:
- Flexibility: Agile approaches prioritize flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing requirements and circumstances easily. That’s advantageous in today's fast-paced business environment.
- Faster Time-to-Market: Agile approaches emphasize quick delivery of working products or services, which enables businesses to rapidly respond to market demands and gain a competitive edge.
- Customer-centric: Agile approaches focus on delivering value to customers, which helps businesses to better understand their needs and deliver products or services that meet those needs.
- Collaboration: Agile approaches encourage collaboration and communication between team members, which helps to create a more cohesive and productive team.
- Continuous improvement: Agile approaches prioritize continuous improvement, allowing teams to reflect on their performance and adjust their approach as needed to improve productivity and efficiency.
The Future of Agile
As technology advances and business environments become more complex, Agile remains a powerful approach for organizations to stay competitive and deliver value to their customers. This article explores trends shaping the future of Agile and the key factors that contribute to its success.
Scaling Agile
One of the key trends shaping the future of Agile is scaling. Many organizations are looking for ways to scale Agile across teams, departments, and even the entire organization. Doing so involves adopting frameworks like the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS), Disciplined Agile (DA), and others to coordinate and align multiple Agile teams to achieve common goals. Scaling Agile is essential to ensure that Agile practices are consistent across the organization, and that teams are working towards the same objectives.
Agile and DevOps
DevOps is another trend shaping the future of Agile. DevOps is a natural extension of Agile principles and values. DevOps aims to integrate development and operations teams to improve collaboration, streamline processes, and accelerate software delivery. As organizations increasingly embrace DevOps, Agile teams will need to incorporate DevOps practices into their workflow. This means that Agile teams will need to work more closely with operations teams and adopt new tools and practices to manage infrastructure and deployment.
Agile for Non-Tech Projects
Agile approaches were initially developed for software development projects. However, Agile principles and values can be applied to non-tech projects as well, such as marketing, HR, and finance. As organizations look for ways to improve their processes and adapt to change quickly, Agile will continue to gain traction in non-tech areas.
Agile with AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way businesses operate. Agile teams can leverage AI tools and techniques to improve software quality, automate testing, and optimize project management. As AI continues to evolve, Agile teams will need to adapt their processes and practices to best incorporate AI. Agile teams will need to work closely with data scientists and machine learning experts to identify opportunities to use AI in their projects.
Agile for Remote Teams
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend of remote work. Agile teams need to adapt their processes to work effectively in a remote environment. This includes adopting new collaboration tools, establishing clear communication channels, and adapting Agile events (previously referred to as ceremonies) to work in a virtual setting.
Conclusion
The future of Agile is bright. Organizations are increasingly adopting Agile approaches to the development of products and services. By embracing trends — such as Scaling Agile, Agile and DevOps, Agile for non-tech, Agile with AI, and Agile for remote teams — and advances in technology, organizations can improve their Agile implementations and competitive advantage.
About Scott M. Graffius
Scott M. Graffius, PMP, SA, CSP-SM, CSP-PO, CSM, CSPO, SFE, ITIL, LSSGB is an agile project management practitioner, consultant, multi-award-winning author, and international keynote speaker. He is the Founder of Exceptional PPM and PMO Solutions™ and subsidiary Exceptional Agility™. He has generated over $1.9 billion of business value in aggregate for Global Fortune 500 businesses and other organizations he has served. Graffius and content from his books (Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions and Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change), talks, workshops, and more have been featured and used by businesses, professional associations, governments, and universities. Examples include Microsoft, Oracle, Broadcom, Cisco, Gartner, Project Management Institute, IEEE, Qantas, National Academy of Sciences, United States Department of Energy, New Zealand Ministry of Education, Yale University, Tufts University, and others. He has delighted audiences with dynamic and engaging talks and workshops on agile, project management, and technology leadership at 84 conferences and other events across 25 countries. Visit https://ScottGraffius.com to learn more.
Connect with Scott on:
About Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions
Shifting customer needs are common in today's marketplace. Businesses must be adaptive and responsive to change while delivering an exceptional customer experience to be competitive.
There are a variety of frameworks supporting the development of products and services, and most approaches fall into one of two broad categories: traditional or agile. Traditional practices such as waterfall engage sequential development, while agile involves iterative and incremental deliverables. Organizations are increasingly embracing agile to manage projects, and best meet their business needs of rapid response to change, fast delivery speed, and more.
With clear and easy to follow step-by-step instructions, Scott M. Graffius's award-winning Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions helps the reader:
- Implement and use the most popular agile frameworkโScrum;
- Deliver products in short cycles with rapid adaptation to change, fast time-to-market, and continuous improvement; and
- Support innovation and drive competitive advantage.
Hailed by Literary Titan as “the book highlights the versatility of Scrum beautifully.”
Winner of 17 first place awards.
Agile Scrum: Your Quick Start Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle worldwide. Some links by country follow.
- ๐ฆ๐บ Australia
- ๐ฆ๐น Austria
- ๐ง๐ช Belgium
- ๐ง๐ท Brazil
- ๐จ๐ฆ Canada
- ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic
- ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark
- ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland
- ๐ซ๐ท France
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany
- ๐ฌ๐ท Greece
- ๐ญ๐บ Hungary
- ๐ฎ๐ณ India
- ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland
- ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel
- ๐ฎ๐น Italy
- ๐ฏ๐ต Japan
- ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg
- ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico
- ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands
- ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand
- ๐ณ๐ด Norway
- ๐ช๐ธ Spain
- ๐ธ๐ช Sweden
- ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland
- ๐ฆ๐ช UAE
- ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐บ๐ธ United States
- ๐ More countries
About Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change
Thriving in today's marketplace frequently depends on making a transformation to become more agile. Those successful in the transition enjoy faster delivery speed and ROI, higher satisfaction, continuous improvement, and additional benefits.
Based on actual events, Agile Transformation: A Brief Story of How an Entertainment Company Developed New Capabilities and Unlocked Business Agility to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Change provides a quick (60-90 minute) read about a successful agile transformation at a multinational entertainment and media company, told from the author's perspective as an agile coach.
The award-winning book by Scott M. Graffius is available in paperback and ebook/Kindle worldwide. Some links by country follow.
- ๐ฆ๐บ Australia
- ๐ฆ๐น Austria
- ๐ง๐ท Brazil
- ๐จ๐ฆ Canada
- ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic
- ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark
- ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland
- ๐ซ๐ท France
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany
- ๐ฌ๐ท Greece
- ๐ฎ๐ณ India
- ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland
- ๐ฏ๐ต Japan
- ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg
- ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico
- ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands
- ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand
- ๐ช๐ธ Spain
- ๐ธ๐ช Sweden
- ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland
- ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates
- ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom
- ๐บ๐ธ United States
- ๐ More countries
Let's Connect
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And connect with agile project management practitioner, consultant, award-winning author, and international speaker Scott M. Graffius on:
This article was first published at https://ScottGraffius.com.
The short link for this article is: https://bit.ly/asg-future
© Copyright 2023 Scott M. Graffius, AgileScrumGuide.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express written permission of Scott M. Graffius/AgileScrumGuide.com.