The Software Project Manager′s Handbook: Principles that Work at Work: Basics That Work at Work (Practitioners) - Softcover

Phillips, Dwayne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0818683007 ISBN 13: 9780818683008

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 1998

Synopsis

Software project managers and their team members work individually towards a common goal. This book guides both, emphasizing basic principles that work at work. Software at work should be pleasant and productive, not just one or the other.

The author′s unique approach stresses that success on software projects has more to do with how people think individually and in groups than with programming. Visibility and communication are more important than SQL and C. Personal and group techniques outweigh the latest tools.

The first part of the text discusses elements of effective software management. It introduces the four themes: (1) balancing people, process, product, (2) making ideas visible, (3) applying configuration management properly, and (4) using Standards. The author summarizes past successful projects and why others failed. The second part describes the requirements, planning, and risk management stages of the development cycle. These contain the hard part of software development and how the four principles help people who love to code work through essential but unpopular tasks. The third part of the book looks at the middle and late stages of development — design, test and integration, and maintenance. It discusses dealing with customers who want to be designers, avoiding endless test–fix cycles, and working maintenance so no one feels like a second–class citizen. The last part of the book is a cookbook that discusses three projects in light of the basic principles. These projects walk step–by–step through a waterfall, an evolutionary, and a spiral project.

About this title

Review

" clearly explains what it takes to be a good software project manager...a first–rate information source for novice project managers." ( IEEE Software Magazine, November/December 2005)

"...a useful book for the classroom or the workplace...I advise purchasing this book and applying the author′s ideas." (Software Quality Professional, September 2005)

"...a good reference for individuals just starting off as IT project managers...For those preparing for the CSQE exam, this book can be a good reference..." (Software Quality Professional, June–August 2005)

" helps guide software project managers and their team members in working towards common goals." (IEEE Computer Magazine, October 2004)

About the Author

Dwayne Phillips has worked as a software and systems engineer with the US government since 1980. He has a PhD from Louisiana State University in Electrical and Computer Engineering. His interests include computer vision, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and programming languages.
Phillips is the author of Image Processing in C, published by R&D Publications in 1994, and has written several dozen articles for computer magazines. When not writing, he spends time with his family and volunteers at his church.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0818683007
• ISBN 13: 9780818683008
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 408