The most recommended agile software development books

Who picked these books? Meet our 15 experts.

15 authors created a book list connected to agile software development, and here are their favorite agile software development books.
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Book cover of More Agile Testing: Learning Journeys for the Whole Team

Markus Gärtner Author Of ATDD by Example: A Practical Guide to Acceptance Test-Driven Development

From my list on surviving the Agile world as a software tester.

Why am I passionate about this?

Markus Gärtner works as Organizational Design Consultant, Certified Scrum Trainer, and Agile Coach for it-agile GmbH, Hamburg, Germany. Markus, author of ATDD by Example - A Practical Guide to Acceptance Test-Driven Development, a student of the work of Jerry Weinberg, received the Most Influential Agile Testing Professional Person Award in 2013 and contributes to the Softwerkskammer, the German Software Craft movement. Markus regularly presents at Agile and testing conferences all over the globe, as well as dedicating himself to writing about agile software development, software craft, and software testing, foremost in an Agile context.

Markus' book list on surviving the Agile world as a software tester

Markus Gärtner Why did Markus love this book?

The second book from Gregory and Crispin brought me up-to-date on the different trends in the Agile world, ten years after having delved into their first book.

How do you share the quality mindset in a DevOps culture? What about Design Thinking? With many more examples from the industry, the two authors made me curious about some of the things that I had ignored until I read their book.

By Janet Gregory, Lisa Crispin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked More Agile Testing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Janet Gregory and Lisa Crispin pioneered the agile testing discipline with their previous work, Agile Testing. Now, in More Agile Testing, they reflect on all they've learned since. They address crucial emerging issues, share evolved agile practices, and cover key issues agile testers have asked to learn more about.

Packed with new examples from real teams, this insightful guide offers detailed information about adapting agile testing for your environment; learning from experience and continually improving your test processes; scaling agile testing across teams; and overcoming the pitfalls of automated testing. You'll find brand-new coverage of agile testing for the enterprise,…


Book cover of Scaling Simplified: A Practitioner's Guide to Scaling Flow

Johanna Rothman Author Of Agile and Lean Program Management: Scaling Collaboration Across the Organization

From my list on scaling agility for fun, profit, development.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve managed projects and programs for over forty years. I’ve seen the effects of both good and bad systems on the people who try to do their best work. These books help managers and teams see their systems. How long does a team need to deliver work that fulfills a good objective? Are there systemic blockages that prevent people from doing a good job? These books represent my philosophy: People want to do a good job. When they have clear objectives and know the principles of flow, they can succeed. That’s how I’ve succeeded in my career. You can, too.

Johanna's book list on scaling agility for fun, profit, development

Johanna Rothman Why did Johanna love this book?

When I read the very first page, I had an “aha!” moment. Singh explains that scaling flow, the flow of work through the teams, is the single most important idea in “scaling” agility. That means each team optimizes for their challenges, not a specific process. 

I loved this book because Singh makes the principles of flow easy to understand and apply. That’s the “secret” to scaling agility. 

By Prateek Singh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Scaling Simplified as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If you are a large organization that has seen the benefits of Agile approaches on teams, you have either attempted to or talked about scaling Agile. Scaling has become synonymous with overburdened and cumbersome frameworks that create more problems than they solve. We need a simpler solution to the problem of scaling Agile. We need to break this problem down to its basic tenet - Optimizing the flow of value to customers. The strategy of Kanban can be applied to do exactly that. In doing so, we can discard the practices proposed by common Agile scaling frameworks and go to…


Book cover of Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-Driven Approach

Markus Gärtner Author Of ATDD by Example: A Practical Guide to Acceptance Test-Driven Development

From my list on surviving the Agile world as a software tester.

Why am I passionate about this?

Markus Gärtner works as Organizational Design Consultant, Certified Scrum Trainer, and Agile Coach for it-agile GmbH, Hamburg, Germany. Markus, author of ATDD by Example - A Practical Guide to Acceptance Test-Driven Development, a student of the work of Jerry Weinberg, received the Most Influential Agile Testing Professional Person Award in 2013 and contributes to the Softwerkskammer, the German Software Craft movement. Markus regularly presents at Agile and testing conferences all over the globe, as well as dedicating himself to writing about agile software development, software craft, and software testing, foremost in an Agile context.

Markus' book list on surviving the Agile world as a software tester

Markus Gärtner Why did Markus love this book?

“Good agile testing is good context-driven testing applied in an agile context.”

The authors of this book summarize their decades of experience in software testing in over 100 lessons they learned. Follow them along different aspects of the tester’s job, as they re-tell various stories collected over the years with some clear guidance to surviving and testing project.

These software testing industry leaders have some timely contextual advice in here – whether you work as a tester on an agile team or in a more traditional fashion.

By Cem Kaner, James Bach, Bret Pettichord

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lessons Learned in Software Testing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Decades of software testing experience condensed into the most important lessons learned.

The world's leading software testing experts lend you their wisdom and years of experience to help you avoid the most common mistakes in testing software. Each lesson is an assertion related to software testing, followed by an explanation or example that shows you the how, when, and why of the testing lesson. More than just tips, tricks, and pitfalls to avoid, Lessons Learned in Software Testing speeds you through the critical testing phase of the software development project without the extensive trial and error it normally takes to…


Book cover of Clean Agile: Back to Basics

Jesse Liberty Author Of Git for Programmers: Master Git for effective implementation of version control for your programming projects

From my list on for creating great software.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been coding for over 30 years. I’ve seen some miserable interfaces, and some large programs that collapse under their own weight. Software was, at one point, notorious for being late, over budget, and unreliable. These books have helped turn the corner on these failings, and I have found each of them very valuable in my day-to-day programming. While you can learn technique and even languages online, the kind of insight found in these books is rare and worth spending time and money on.

Jesse's book list on for creating great software

Jesse Liberty Why did Jesse love this book?

Many of us have fully embraced agile programming, but doing it well, really well, requires discipline. In Clean Agile a number of world-class programmers discuss what it takes to put Agile programming into practice with y our team. This book has made me a much more “agile” agile programmer, and the section on SCRUM is worth the price of the book.

By Robert C. Martin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Clean Agile as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Agile Values and Principles for a New Generation
"In the journey to all things Agile, Uncle Bob has been there, done that, and has the both the t-shirt and the scars to show for it. This delightful book is part history, part personal stories, and all wisdom. If you want to understand what Agile is and how it came to be, this is the book for you."
-Grady Booch
"Bob's frustration colors every sentence of Clean Agile, but it's a justified frustration. What is in the world of Agile development is nothing compared to what could be. This book is…


Book cover of Technical Agile Coaching with the Samman Method

Jan Van Ryswyck Author Of Writing Maintainable Unit Tests: Mastering the Art of Loosely Coupled Unit Tests

From Jan's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Technical coach Software craftsman Writer Reader

Jan's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Jan Van Ryswyck Why did Jan love this book?

There are many creative professions where the performers practice their skills more often compared to the actual time they do the actual work.

Software development is widely considered as a creative profession. Unfortunately, it doesn’t fall into the category of professions where its practitioners hone their skills. This book discusses a coaching strategy where software teams can periodically practice and improve their technical practices.

“Samman” is the Swedish word for “together”. Organisations that invest in technical coaching increase their business success. This book is a real eye-opener for anyone who likes to improve their approach to team coaching. It lays out the groundwork for improving the technical practices of software teams. 

By Emily Bache,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Technical Agile Coaching with the Samman Method as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Samman Technical Coaching is an approach to Agile training that focuses on technical questions concerning how code is written. It is a highly effective way of increasing agility in your software development organization. The first part of the Samman method involves the coach working in an ensemble with development teams, programming in their production codebase. This hands-on mentoring is accompanied by daily “learning hour” sessions for mastering particular techniques. In this book you will discover how to put Samman into practice, improve your coding procedures and how you collaborate. It is a practical guide for aspiring and experienced coaches looking…


Book cover of Mastering the Requirements Process: Getting Requirements Right

Karl Wiegers Author Of Software Requirements

From my list on defining software requirements.

Why am I passionate about this?

Defining and managing the requirements for a software system is hard! I’ve been interested in improving how projects handle their requirements for more than 35 years. I realized how important this was when I saw how many projects—including my own—struggled and failed when they neglected to build a solid foundation of well-understood and clearly communicated requirements. I’ve personally used nearly all of the techniques described in my book Software Requirements, and I got always better results when I applied those techniques. My books, articles, training courses, presentations, and videos on requirements have been helpful to thousands of business analysts worldwide for many years.

Karl's book list on defining software requirements

Karl Wiegers Why did Karl love this book?

Suzanne and James Robertson have been writing insightful books on software requirements for many years. This book covers all the important topics, including understanding the real problem, different techniques for exploring solutions, and numerous ways to communicate requirements effectively. I especially like their treatment of quality attribute requirements and defining “fit criteria” to judge whether a solution adequately addresses them.

The book includes a comprehensive requirements specification template to guide writing a rigorous and complete specification on projects for which that is valuable. I also appreciate their use of visual models both to communicate with the reader and to guide the reader in communicating requirements to project stakeholders. I do prefer my book Software Requirements, but this is an excellent choice as well by two authorities in the field.

By Suzanne Robertson, James Robertson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mastering the Requirements Process as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"If the purpose is to create one of the best books on requirements yet written, the authors have succeeded."

-Capers Jones

Software can solve almost any problem. The trick is knowing what the problem is. With about half of all software errors originating in the requirements activity, it is clear that a better understanding of the problem is needed.



Getting the requirements right is crucial if we are to build systems that best meet our needs. We know, beyond doubt, that the right requirements produce an end result that is as innovative and beneficial as it can be, and that…


Book cover of Agile Technical Practices Distilled: A learning journey in technical practices and principles of software design

Jan Van Ryswyck Author Of Writing Maintainable Unit Tests: Mastering the Art of Loosely Coupled Unit Tests

From my list on starting your software developer journey.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a professional software developer for more than 22 years now. I’ve used many programming languages, platforms, frameworks, etc. throughout my career. However, the only constant for me personally was the practice of Test-Driven Development. I’ve never stopped learning about the principles and practices behind it, and it paid huge dividends throughout my career. I’m very humbled and grateful to be able to learn from all those amazing people over the years, that I decided to write a book on the topic. Giving back some of the knowledge that I gathered about TDD throughout 18+ years. 

Jan's book list on starting your software developer journey

Jan Van Ryswyck Why did Jan love this book?

This is the most recent book I'm recommending, and it’s also more than just a book on Test-Driven Development. I often proclaim that Test-Driven Development and software design are two sides of the same coin. One cannot separate one from the other. So learning about Test-Driven Development also means that one has to learn about software design principles. This book teaches both. The first part of the book is all about Test-Driven Development, while the remainder of the book also touches on object calisthenics, refactoring, code smells, design patterns, the S.O.L.I.D. principles, connascence, the four elements of simple design, and much more. Whether you’re new to programming software, or whether you’re a seasoned developer, there’s much to learn from this book.      

By Pedro M. Santos, Marco Consolaro, Alessandro Di Gioia

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Agile Technical Practices Distilled as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Delve deep into the various technical practices, principles, and values of Agile.

Key Features Discover the essence of Agile software development and the key principles of software design Explore the fundamental practices of Agile working, including test-driven development (TDD), refactoring, pair programming, and continuous integration Learn and apply the four elements of simple designBook Description

The number of popular technical practices has grown exponentially in the last few years. Learning the common fundamental software development practices can help you become a better programmer. This book uses the term Agile as a wide umbrella and covers Agile principles and practices, as…


Book cover of Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams

Markus Gärtner Author Of ATDD by Example: A Practical Guide to Acceptance Test-Driven Development

From my list on surviving the Agile world as a software tester.

Why am I passionate about this?

Markus Gärtner works as Organizational Design Consultant, Certified Scrum Trainer, and Agile Coach for it-agile GmbH, Hamburg, Germany. Markus, author of ATDD by Example - A Practical Guide to Acceptance Test-Driven Development, a student of the work of Jerry Weinberg, received the Most Influential Agile Testing Professional Person Award in 2013 and contributes to the Softwerkskammer, the German Software Craft movement. Markus regularly presents at Agile and testing conferences all over the globe, as well as dedicating himself to writing about agile software development, software craft, and software testing, foremost in an Agile context.

Markus' book list on surviving the Agile world as a software tester

Markus Gärtner Why did Markus love this book?

While this book was still in the writing, Crispin and Gregory published draft chapters on the internet.

At the time, I read them, and managed to introduce many of the great insights into my own work. Even though I was working in a more traditional environment, the ideas from the two ladies inspired me on my journey to the agile methodologies.

I even managed to contribute some of my own real-world examples from my own experiences to their writings – and they decided to include some of them.

By Lisa Crispin, Janet Gregory,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Agile Testing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Te>Two of the industry's most experienced agile testing practitioners and consultants, Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory, have teamed up to bring you the definitive answers to these questions and many others. In Agile Testing, Crispin and Gregory define agile testing and illustrate the tester's role with examples from real agile teams. They teach you how to use the agile testing quadrants to identify what testing is needed, who should do it, and what tools might help. The book chronicles an agile software development iteration from the viewpoint of a tester and explains the seven key success factors
of agile testing.…


Book cover of Joy of Agility: How to Solve Problems and Succeed Sooner

Steve Fenton Author Of Pro TypeScript: Application-Scale JavaScript Development

From Steve's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Software punk Programmer Thought recycler Musician Reader

Steve's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Steve Fenton Why did Steve love this book?

When agile software development emerged, many developers saw it as a way to end the era of death march projects. The more "agile" caught on, the less it looked like the original concept.

In the face of the corruption of the movement, Joy Of Agility is a wonderful return to positive ideas that make you agile, not hasty. As we all push back against the industrial complex that has appropriated the agile movement, this book is the white wizard shining blinding light that chases away the monsters.

By Joshua Kerievsky,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Joy of Agility as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Agility enables you, your team, and your organization to streamline slow and awkward actions, overcome obstacles quickly, and adapt to change with ease and grace.

Agility isn’t a formula, a framework, nor a set of roles and rituals to follow. It’s a timeless way of being that matures with practice and skill. Becoming agile involves knowing the difference between being quick or hurrying, moving with ease or difficulty, being in or out of balance, graceful or awkward, adaptable or rigid, resourceful or resentful.

With Joy of Agility, Joshua Kerievsky, CEO of Industrial Logic, one of the oldest and most-respected agile…


Book cover of Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations

Tanya Janca Author Of Alice and Bob Learn Application Security

From my list on DevSecOps (it is just like DevOps, done securely).

Why am I passionate about this?

I have worked in IT for over 25 years, creating and securing software. I am completely obsessed with ensuring that our software is more reliable, that its integrity can be trusted, and that it keeps our secrets safe. I am not only a computer scientist but an ethical hacker who works hard to create a dialogue between software developers and all of the people who work in our security industry. I am a teacher, a community leader, and a computer nerd who shares messages and lessons wherever she goes.

Tanya's book list on DevSecOps (it is just like DevOps, done securely)

Tanya Janca Why did Tanya love this book?

Accelerate is a book about data. The authors used data collected during their PhD projects in order to prove The DevOps is effective.

They have all sorts of different ways to measure DevOps, it sufficiency, and the fact that way more projects succeed when you do DevOps, rather than waterfall methodology.

The book essentially show can be used as evidence of return on investment when modernizing your IT department. I am a person who loves data, and thus I absolutely love this book. Also, if you listen to the audiobook version, one of the authors reads it to you and her personality really shines through in a fun way.

I really enjoyed listening to Nicole read a book about to me about data!

By Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, Gene Kim

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Accelerate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Shingo Publication Award


Accelerate your organization to win in the marketplace.


How can we apply technology to drive business value? For years, we've been told that the performance of software delivery teams doesn't matter that it can't provide a competitive advantage to our companies. Through four years of groundbreaking research to include data collected from the State of DevOps reports conducted with Puppet, Dr. Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim set out to find a way to measure software delivery performance and what drives it using rigorous statistical methods. This book presents both the findings and…


Book cover of More Agile Testing: Learning Journeys for the Whole Team
Book cover of Scaling Simplified: A Practitioner's Guide to Scaling Flow
Book cover of Lessons Learned in Software Testing: A Context-Driven Approach

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