As a solo developer, I think I'm using an Agile-like process, but I'd like to compare what I'm doing to real Agile and see if I can improve my own process.
Is there a book out there that's the de-facto standard for describing best practices, methodologies, and other helpful information on Agile? What about that book makes it special?
Best Answer
Is there a canonical book?
There is the agile manifesto, but for a canonical book?
No. There are lots of books out there.
Specific book recommendations:
Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices by Robert C. Martin
The art of Agile Development by James Shore
Practices of an Agile Developer: Working in the Real World by Subramaniam and Hunt
Scrum and XP from the Trenches by Henrik Kniberg
Extreme Programming Explained by Kent Beck
Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn
The Art of Unit Testing by Roy Osherove
The Agile Samurai by Jonathan Rasmusson
Unsorted books mentioned
Agile Adoption Patterns: A Roadmap to Organizational Success by Amr Elssamadisy
Agile and Iterative Development: A Manager’s Guide by Craig Larman
Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn
Agile Project Management: Creating Innovative Products by Jim Highsmith
Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen
Agile Software Development by Alistair Cockburn
Agile Software Development with Scrum by Ken Schwaber and Mike Beedle
Becoming Agile: ...in an imperfect world by Greg Smith and Dr. Ahmed Sidky
The Business Value of Agile Software Methods: Maximizing Roi with Just-In-Time Processes and Documentation by David F. Rico, Hasan H. Sayani, and Saya Sone
Collaboration Explained by Jean Tabaka
Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation by Humble and Farley
Crystal Clear: A Human-Powered Methodology for Small Teams by Alistair Cockburn
Encyclopedia of Software Engineering edited by Phillip A. Laplante
Fearless Change by Linda Rising and Mary Lynn Manns
Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests Freeman and Pryce
Innovation Games: Creating Breakthrough Products Through Collaborative Play by Luke Hohmann
Lean Software Development – An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers by Mary and Tom Poppendieck
Lean Solutions by Jim Womack and Dan Jones
Lean Thinking by Jim Womack and Dan Jones
Managing Agile Projects by Sanjiv Augustine
Managing the Design Factory by Donald G. Reinertsen
Planning Extreme Programming by Kent Beck and Martin Fowler
Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum by Craig Larman and Bas Vodde
Scrum Pocket Guide: A Quick Start Guide to Agile Software Development by Peter Saddington
The Software Project Manager's Bridge to Agility by Michele Sliger and Stacia Broderick
Today and Tomorrow by Henry Ford (From 1926)
User Stories Applied by Mike Cohn
Book lists