Top 20 Agile and DevOps Books Recommended by the Author

The author admits to not being a prolific reader but has gathered a personal selection of twenty Agile and DevOps books that may be useful to others.

1. The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win – Recommended as an engaging, novel‑style introduction to DevOps that helped the author grasp core concepts despite initial confusion.

2. DevOps Era: The Invincible Agile – Co‑authored by Yao Dong, Wang Lijie, and Xu Zhouping; the author offers a free copy to interested readers and praises its comprehensive coverage of Agile and DevOps through an extended narrative.

3. Out of the Smoke: Lean‑Agile – How We Implement Scrum and Kanban – The author’s first Agile book, read on a train; it provides practical, experience‑based advice and has been used as a prize for internal training.

4. Clean Agile – Inspired by "Clean Code," this book by Robert C. Martin (one of the Agile Manifesto authors) presents Agile principles in plain language, emphasizing engineering practices.

5. Continuous Delivery & Continuous Delivery 2.0 – Essential DevOps reading; the author revisited these books while preparing for the DevOps Master certification, finding them comprehensive.

6. JD Agile Practice Guide – A concise yet broad guide covering Agile concepts, Scrum, XP, Kanban, scaled Agile, and case studies, suitable for readers with limited time.

7. Large‑Scale Scrum & SAFe 4.0 Reference Guide – Discusses the differences between LeSS and SAFe frameworks; the author notes personal experience with both and highlights their distinct advantages.

8. Agile Estimating and Planning – Recommended for those preparing for the ACP exam; the book offers a thorough overview of Agile planning, though some sections feel verbose.

9. Kanban Method: How Tech Companies Achieve Successful Transformation – Authored by David Anderson, this book introduces Kanban to software development and is essential for learning Kanban practices.

10. The Scrum Essentials – A classic Scrum guide that left a strong impression on the author, encouraging deeper understanding of Scrum.

11. The Scrum Guide – The official, concise Scrum reference; the author advises multiple readings to avoid common deviations from Scrum principles.

12. Lean and Agile Development for Large‑Scale Applications – Written by the same authors of "Large‑Scale Scrum," it explains how practical experience led to the formation of the LeSS framework.

13. User Stories and Agile Methods – Focuses on crafting user stories; recommended for readers wanting detailed insight into story‑writing.

14. User Story Mapping – Explains the origins and design of user story maps, offering a holistic view of product development.

15. Agile Software Testing – Covers Agile testing concepts such as the testing quadrants and testing pyramid; useful for testers and anyone interested in Agile testing.

16. Agile Project Management (2nd Edition) – Describes the differences between Agile and traditional project management, outlining five phases: envision, speculate, explore, adapt, and close.

17. Agile Retrospectives: From Good to Great Teams – Highlights the importance of regular retrospectives for continuous improvement and provides step‑by‑step guidance.

18. The History of Agile in China – Offers a historical perspective on Agile’s development in China, helping readers avoid past mistakes and gain contextual insight.

Overall, the list reflects the author’s personal experience and aims to guide readers toward deeper Agile and DevOps knowledge.