Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices)

Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices)
by Steve McConnell

Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Steve McConnell
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-10-22
ISBN: 1572316217
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9781572316218
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices)

Book Review: McConnell's high level approach to Project Management remains valuable even today. Be sure to read his more recent texts
Summary: 5 Stars

The Software Project Survival Guide by Steve McConnell remains applicable today as when first published in 1995. McConnell has a clear knack for combining research, experience, and theory. His writing style is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

McConnell approaches the topic of project management (design through to delivery) from a high abstract level; he outlines the best practices, provides comprehensive checklists, but leaves the fine details to other authors. McConnell States, "Whereas this book provides a big picture technical framework for a project, [Fergus] O'Connell's book focuses on the many specific activities a project manager must perform." (Part IV)

McConnell's writing style maintains a high sense of integrity and he always encourages personal research and development through his extensive use of external references.

Selected quotes:
"Software development is inherently an exercise in climbing steep learning curves - an exercise in problem solving - and the learning curves don't disappear" (Chapter 17)

"No individual is a success who hurts the team, and no individual is a failure who helps it." (Chapter 18)

This is an excellent book, a great reference; although a little too heavy to be comparable to the "first aid kit you carry in your backpack" (Chapter 20).

The "Cone of Uncertainty" (chapter 3) and the "Survival Needs" section (chapter 1) were quite interesting. In the "Survival Needs" section McConnell draws many parallels with the basic human needs and the basic needs for a successful project. Similarly intriguing is his Project Team's Bill of Rights (chapter 1).

Be sure to visit the book's website it provides the chapter checklists in digital form and many other useful resources.

There is no one-size-fits-all or simple solution - this book is not an exception. Continue reading other project management books and some of McConnell's more recent texts like Software Estimation Demystifying the Black Art.

Summary of Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices)

Equip yourself with SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE. It's for everyone with a stake in the outcome of a development project--and especially for those without formal software project management training. That includes top managers, executives, clients, investors, end-user representatives, project managers, and technical leads.

Here you'll find guidance from the acclaimed author of the classics CODE COMPLETE and RAPID DEVELOPMENT. Steve McConnell draws on solid research and a career's worth of hard-won experience to map the surest path to your goal--what he calls "one specific approach to software development that works pretty well most of the time for most projects." Nineteen chapters in four sections cover the concepts and strategies you need for mastering the development process, including planning, design, management, quality assurance, testing, and archiving. For newcomers and seasoned project managers alike, SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE draws on a vast store of techniques to create an elegantly simplified and reliable framework for project management success.

So don't worry about wandering among complex sets of project management techniques that require years to sort out and master. SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE goes straight to the heart of the matter to help your projects succeed. And that makes it a required addition to every professional's bookshelf.

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