Iryna Viter 
Even though project managers are expected to embrace new digital technologies, it’s unlikely that they’ll get much direction from leadership regarding tools and processes. To help you orient yourself better in the digital world and give you as much guidance on this matter as possible, we suggest reading the following books.
Digital Project Management: The Complete Step-By-Step Guide to a Successful Launch
Author: Taylor Olson
Year: 2015
Digital Project Management is written to provide knowledge, best project management practices, and effective steps to finish your digital projects while integrating new technological advances. The author, Taylor Olson, is not only a certified project manager with over twenty years of experience in the field but is also a traveler who has spread her practices across Fortune 500 organizations. The book presents a digital rollout process that has been proven by over 100 companies worldwide to manage projects of different shapes and sizes, including those with limited resource pools. Reviewers highly recommend this book to bridge new digital trends with project management and say that it presents crucial steps for a successful launch such as creating thorough scope documentation, analyzing gaps, documenting budgets and requirements, and defining task-level details for your digital project plan.
The Digital Transformation Playbook: Rethink Your Business for the Digital Age
Author: David Rogers
Year: 2016
David Rogers’ book will be of particular interest to business leaders who want to learn how to compete in the digital economy and what steps they need to take to overcome the digital challenge. Rogers, a globally recognized digital expert, is convinced that digital transformation is not about updating technologies but about changing mindsets and strategic thinking. As a teacher at Columbia Business School and a consultant for multifarious businesses around the world, Rogers has learned a few valuable lessons and shares them in his book. It can be useful for representatives of pre-digital-era companies who want to adapt their approaches for the next level of digital innovation and growth. This book considers five aspects of “going digital” – strategy-customers, competition, data, innovation, and value. You’ll learn how to “harness customer networks, platforms, big data, rapid experimentation, and disruptive business models—and how to integrate these into your existing business and organization” based on real case studies from companies like Google, GE, Airbnb, and The New York Times.
Read more: 7 Online Courses to Help You Embrace Digital Transformation
Digital Strategy: A Guide to Digital Business Transformation
Author: Alexander Rauser
Year: 2016
If a step-by-step approach to creating a digital strategy is what you’re looking for, then this book is just right. It’s a compact, practical guide for a broad audience of businesspeople including digital disruptors and technology innovators. The author, Alexander Rauser, shares his experience acquired through his work as CEO at the strategic digital agency Prototype Interactive, which specializes in executing digital strategies. Rauser offers access to practical solutions for enterprises to keep up with digital innovations and adapt technologies faster. The advantage this book will provide you is in the form of clear starting points and effective tips to build up a digital strategy from scratch. Reviewers say that Rauser has a very practical and down-to-earth view on digitalization. Here’s a short keynote by the author explaining why you should read his book:
I will take you through the steps of defining what a digital strategy means to you and what it should include. I will discuss ways to roll out a strategy for your organization as well as how to implement it. Finally, this book will show you how to maintain your digital presence and become an innovative company that is riding the digital wave instead of being swallowed by it.
Building the Agile Business through Digital Transformation
Authors: Neil Perkin and Peter Abraham
Year: 2017
Neil Perkin’s and Peter Abraham’s book prepares the reader for business transformation in a digitally enabled world using an Agile methodology to plan and execute projects. The book defines digital transformation in light of what digital transformation is not. What sets this book apart from others on this list is its unorthodox style. Perkin and Abraham defy traditional approaches and outdated strategies, encouraging their readers to think out of the box when digital strategies are concerned. In this book, you’ll be placed in a new transformed context of work and competition, discover how digital disrupts, and find out what’s stopping you from embarking on a digital course. Ben Malbon, a Senior Director at Google, says the book is “full of actionable insights, frameworks and practical advice for any organization preparing for a digital-empowered world.” Additionally, if you’re looking for lessons from digital-native organizations you should definitely flick through.
Read more: Top Favorite Books of Project Managers in 2018
Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams
Author: Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson, Nate Walkingshaw
Year: 2017
Fond of learning things through interviews with top project performers? Then it’s good you’re here, as Product Leadership is a fresh account of product management in the digital era, presenting nearly 100 interviews with leading project managers. The book clearly answers why some product leaders achieve better results than others and makes conclusions that will become your reference guide in a leadership position. Product Leadership is rated highly on Amazon and is a must-buy for PMs.
What does it mean to be a digital project manager in the first place? The best way to start is to rethink your planning, prioritization, and lead processes, turning from old spreadsheets to automated online solutions. Epicflow’s people management application might be a good choice for you if you have a shared pool of resources and want to make intelligent capacity decisions. To see how Epicflow can work for your company, sign up below to set up a live demo with our team. With Epicflow, you’ll succeed as a digital project manager.
