Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices)

Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices)
by Karl E. Wiegers

Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices)
List Price: $39.99
Buy Used: from $12.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Buy Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices) at Amazon.com
(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Karl E. Wiegers
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-02-26
ISBN: 0735618798
Number of pages: 544
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Product features:

Book Reviews of Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices)

Book Review: Worth your time
Summary: 4 Stars

For the most part this is rather informative and practical text.

Positive: It establishes an importance of solid software requirements process. Without solid requirements process, software engineering/development is doomed to be extremely painful for stakeholders, developers, and pretty much everyone involved in the project. After reading this book you will have to reconsider the importance of requirements engineering as foundational to the project success. It give practical examples on development SRS (soft. requirements specifications) and Vision and Scope document.

Negative: Some sections are not well elaborated (which is understandable, due to the nature of the specific subject of the book). For instance, when it deals with various diagrams, I would rather recommend reading other supplemental texts to give you better understanding of various diagrams, and their use. As you may know, for example, in ERD, it is not advisable to have M:N relationships (many-to-many). But of course SOME specific situations may require otherwise.
Other thing I did not like, is invisible to the most readers couple expression found in the book on p. 214 "Avoid getting caught up in the dogmatic mindsets and religious wars that sometimes take place in the world of software development methods and models. Instead use what you need to best explain your system's requirements". Here, while the underlying idea is somewhat valid, the wording is not.
1.) "Avoid getting caught in the dogmatic mindsets" - is in itself pretty much sound like a dogma.
2.) "Religious wars" - is somewhat disrespectful to the question matter of the ultimate reality - i.e. God. Unless you are Freudian, Marxist, or otherwise secular naturalist, there is no reason to compare "religious wars" to the political wars, where second is well known show. In other words, I wold appreciate author not using religious terminology, or comparing religious language to the politics.

All in all, this is practical and informative book about requirements engineering.

Recommended.

Summary of Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices)

Learn proven, real-world techniques for managing the software requirements engineering process. This award-winning book has been expanded with new topics, including use cases, up-to-date tools, more field examples, and a new troubleshooting guide.
"Requirements" are essential for creating successful software because they let users and developers agree on what features will be delivered in new systems. Karl Wiegers's Software Requirements shows you how to define and get more out of software requirements with dozens of "best practices" and tips that make this book a valuable resource for both software project managers and developers.

The book's commonsense approach provides exemplary project management skills tailored to gathering (and refining, implementing, and eventually tracking) software requirements. While the book often cites recent software engineering studies, the focus always returns to practical management techniques. A case study for a chemical tracking application frames the book, and most chapters begin with anecdotes that demonstrate situations in which users and developers misunderstand each other about a software project's ultimate goals. (If you've ever worked in the field, these stories will probably sound all too familiar.)

This book offers hope, though, for improving your software design process, with dozens of tips on getting better design input from your customers and then using these requirements to generate a variety of design documents. There are numerous templates and sample documents too--a big help for the busy software manager.

Several standout sections cover negotiating difficult steps in the process, particularly how to manage shifting requirements as projects move forward and keep the various users and stakeholders content throughout the software process. Late in the book, the author surveys today's software management tools and shows how to pick the right ones for your organization.

Anchored by the author's considerable experience and software engineering expertise, this jargon-free and practical guide to software requirements can definitely give you the edge in managing software projects more efficiently. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: software requirements specifications (SRS); business and user requirements; risk management; the requirements process; sample documents and templates; requirements development: elicitation, analysis, specification, and verification; rights and responsibilities for software customers; best practices; project management tips; process assessment and improvement; types of users; product champions; use cases and other diagrams; tips for prototyping; managing requirements change; change centered boards (CCBs); evaluating and using requirements tools; requirements traceability matrix; impact analysis.

Design Tools & Techniques Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Excellent programming books and more
Software Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices) ImageSoftware Requirements: Practical Techniques for Gathering and Managing Requirements Throughout the Product Development Cycle. (Pro-Best Practices)
by Karl E. Wiegers
Microsoft Press; Published: 2003-02-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops: $39.99
Software Engineering: (Update) (8th Edition) ImageSoftware Engineering: (Update) (8th Edition)
by Ian Sommerville
Addison Wesley; Published: 2006-06-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $73.10
Price in other shops: $133.00
Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture ImagePatterns of Enterprise Application Architecture
by Martin Fowler
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2002-11-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $35.93
Price in other shops: $69.99
The Object-Oriented Thought Process (3rd Edition) ImageThe Object-Oriented Thought Process (3rd Edition)
by Matt Weisfeld
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2008-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.05
Price in other shops: $44.99
The Practice of Programming ImageThe Practice of Programming
by Brian W. Kernighan, Rob Pike
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 1999-02-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.93
Price in other shops: $49.99
Programming Pearls (2nd Edition) ImageProgramming Pearls (2nd Edition)
by Jon Bentley
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 1999-10-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.00
Price in other shops: $39.99
Bundle of Algorithms in C++,  Parts 1-5: Fundamentals, Data Structures, Sorting, Searching, and Graph Algorithms (3rd Edition) (Pts. 1-5) ImageBundle of Algorithms in C++, Parts 1-5: Fundamentals, Data Structures, Sorting, Searching, and Graph Algorithms (3rd Edition) (Pts. 1-5)
by Robert Sedgewick
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2002-01-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $78.99
Price in other shops: $109.99
Student's Solutions Guide to accompany Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications ImageStudent's Solutions Guide to accompany Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications
by Kenneth Rosen
McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; Published: 2006-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $49.22
Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications ImageDiscrete Mathematics and Its Applications
by Kenneth Rosen
McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; Published: 2006-07-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $137.95
The Algorithm Design Manual ImageThe Algorithm Design Manual
by Steven S. Skiena
Springer; Published: 2008-08-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $47.00
Price in other shops: $79.95
Similar Books and other products
Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules ImageRapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules
by Steve McConnell
Microsoft Press; Published: 1996-07-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.36
Price in other shops: $35.00
UML for the IT Business Analyst: A Practical Guide to Object-Oriented Requirements Gathering ImageUML for the IT Business Analyst: A Practical Guide to Object-Oriented Requirements Gathering
by Howard Podeswa
Course Technology PTR; Published: 2005-06-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.00
Price in other shops: $49.99
Practical Project Initiation: A Handbook with Tools (Best Practices) ImagePractical Project Initiation: A Handbook with Tools (Best Practices)
by Karl E. Wiegers
Microsoft Press; Published: 2007-08-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.55
Price in other shops: $29.99
The Business Analyst's Handbook ImageThe Business Analyst's Handbook
by Howard Podeswa
Course Technology PTR; Published: 2008-12-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.42
Price in other shops: $49.99
Mastering the Requirements Process (2nd Edition) ImageMastering the Requirements Process (2nd Edition)
by Suzanne Robertson, James C. Robertson
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2006-03-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $40.92
Price in other shops: $69.99
Software Requirement Patterns (Best Practices) ImageSoftware Requirement Patterns (Best Practices)
by Stephen Withall
Microsoft Press; Published: 2007-06-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.01
Price in other shops: $39.99
Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art (Best Practices (Microsoft)) ImageSoftware Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art (Best Practices (Microsoft))
by Steve McConnell
Microsoft Press; Published: 2006-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.98
Price in other shops: $39.99
The Software Requirements Memory Jogger: A Pocket Guide to Help Software And Business Teams Develop And Manage Requirements (Memory Jogger) ImageThe Software Requirements Memory Jogger: A Pocket Guide to Help Software And Business Teams Develop And Manage Requirements (Memory Jogger)
by Ellen Gottesdiener
Goal Q P C Inc; Published: 2005-11-30; Spiral-bound; Book
Best price: $11.03
Price in other shops: $17.95
Writing Effective Use Cases ImageWriting Effective Use Cases
by Alistair Cockburn
Addison-Wesley Professional; Published: 2000-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.99
Price in other shops: $54.99
More About Software Requirements: Thorny Issues and Practical Advice ImageMore About Software Requirements: Thorny Issues and Practical Advice
by Karl E. Wiegers
Microsoft Press; Published: 2005-12-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.52
Price in other shops: $29.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories