Reflections on Management

Reviews / Votes

"Watts Humphrey is best known for software engineering approaches that formalize and systematize software development. But I personally have found Watts to be most inspiring when he is discussing the interpersonal, human side of the software equation. The selections in this book emphasize Watts's deep experience and deep insights into human dynamics and offer a valuable counterpoint to more programmatic writings for which he is better known."

Steve McConnell

Author of Code Complete and Software Estimation



"Watts Humphrey is doing for the software industry what W. Edwards Deming did with TQM for the automobile industry. For the software executive reading this book, it is my belief that Watts has developed a real weapon for beating your competition: a reliable, repeatable way to create software that has excellent quality and reduces the time to deliver it to your customer and lowers the cost of the entire software life cycle and improves employee morale. All at the same time! For the software engineer or developer reading this book, it is my belief that you are on your way to making your job more productive, satisfying, and fun."

Michael J. Cullen

Vice President, Quality, Oracle Communications Global Business Unit



"Software development is a daily collision between code, the most black-and-white of technologies, and organizations, the most idiosyncratic of human experiences. Here is the guidebook-the GPS-to success in navigating the fault line between science and art, between code and human experience. Sharing his knowledge with his characteristic style of analytics and anecdotes, Watts Humphrey imparts timeless wisdom on teams, teamwork, and creating complex software successfully and reliably."

Scott D. Cook

Founder & Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit Inc.



"Fledgling project managers often ask me if there is one book they should read; it was often difficult for me to resist the temptation to recommend Machiavelli's The Prince. But now I have a better, and far more positive, recommendation: Watts Humphrey's Reflections on Management-a collection of management gems, organized into eight broad themes, that reflect his deep insights and leadership in the field."

Ed Yourdon

Consultant and Author



"I've followed Watts Humphrey's work for as long as I can remember. I recall, in my youth, thinking that he was asking too much. Now that I'm suddenly about his age, I realize how many things he has gotten right. This collection from his most important writings should bring these ideas to the attention of a new audience: I urge them to listen better than I did."

Ron Jeffries

www.XProgramming.com



"You will enjoy this collection for its down-to-earth, accessible prose, its pragmatism, its optimism and, above all, Watts's demonstration that software quality improvement is vitally important and very achievable. Your software team can realize its full potential by applying Watts's methods. Ours

did, and yours can, too."

Aidan Waine

Information Solutions General Manager, Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division



"Software development is a team sport. Watts understands this, and better yet, he knows how to express his understanding so that others can learn from his insight. A good coach knows how to make players and other coaches more successful. Watts is one of the software profession's great coaches."

Walker Royce

Vice President, Chief Software Economist, IBM



"Watts Humphrey brings legendary experience and insight to developing great software. Whether you are in a startup or Fortune 500 company; are a developer, development manager, or CEO; use agile, lean, waterfall, or other methodology-if software and quality are important to you, you should read and pay attention to Watts's reflections."

Bill Ihrie

Software Leader/Mentor/Entrepreneur; Former SVP & CTO, Intuit



"The software engineering world owes a great debt to Watts Humphrey. His pioneering work in transforming software development practices from random and chaotic to disciplined and effective has saved billions of dollars that might otherwise have been wasted on failed projects. Bill Thomas has assembled kernels of writing by Watts drawn from his previous books and publications. The original books are all excellent, but this summation is valuable in its own right. It provides a very useful overview of Watts's thinking and the practices he has developed."

Capers Jones

Chairman and Founder, Software Productivity Research



"Watts Humphrey's contributions to professional software project management are numerous and range from CMM to Personal Software Process (PSP) and Team Software Process (TSP) practices. This book summarizes all his experiences and represents a unique body of knowledge in the area of project management. It should be the premier choice of reference for all project managers."

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Rombach

Executive Director, Fraunhofer IESE, Kaiserslautern, Germany



"Watts Humphrey has been the intellectual leader and driving force behind the movement to apply process improvement to software for the last quarter century. He has a deep understanding of management based on years of personal experience, both as an executive and as an advisor to managers and executives of major corporations developing software systems. His keen insight, acquired from helping the international software community apply disciplined management processes, has been captured in his previous books and articles from which this work is derived. His advice is not limited to managers of software systems and certainly will be valuable to managers at all levels."

Larry E. Druffel, Ph.D.

Director Emeritus and Visiting Scientist, Software Engineering Institute



"Watts Humphrey shares his deep and personal understanding of what goes on in the hearts and minds of software professionals-from engineers to top managers. Watts translates this understanding into software development and management practices for producing the high-quality software products these professions innately want to produce, incorporating personal- and team-level growth, learning, and improvement. This book is certainly a collection of the best-of-the-best guidance Watts has imparted to the industry in this regard. This collection is sure to be a classic."

Laurie Williams

Associate Professor, North Carolina State University



"Reflections on Management is a prescription for leading people in largescale knowledge work. The management themes of commitment, planning,measuring, learning, leading, and teamwork are skillfully echoed throughoutthe book as mutually reinforcing tiles in a mosaic serving to lock inthe vision from every dimension. The book manages to accomplish this ina succinct and easily readable format."

Don O'Neill

Former President 2005-2008, Center for National Software Studies



"Watts Humphrey, who has written so much that has changed how software is managed and developed, has written another book. And once again he has written an easy-to-read, well-informed, and practical-to-use book that should help almost anyone who has worked on a software project. To say I highly recommend it is probably not saying enough. Buy it. Read it. Use it."

Ron Radice

Principal Partner, Software Technology Transition



"Watts Humphrey has made a major contribution to the understanding of software quality and how to control and improve it. Since software is the major player in contemporary computer systems, software engineers and managers will benefit significantly by following his guidelines. I particularly liked his advice that quality is a never-ending journey and his emphasis on continuous improvement of both product and process. This is important because software may last for decades. Organizations seldom discard software. They enhance and reuse it in perpetuity. Thus, software quality must be a lifecycle journey."

Norman Schneidewind

Professor Emeritus of Information Sciences, Naval Postgraduate School



"Watts Humphrey's Reflections on Management is a treasure trove of insights and advice from one of the leading lights in software project management. It is a must read. We are fortunate that Watts took the time to write and share his thoughts and experiences; even the chapter titles provide good advice and insights."

Victor R. Basili

Professor, University of Maryland



"Watts Humphrey's ideas, encapsulated in this book, aren't just another set of software engineering techniques and methods. Rather, they represent a way of life that encourages us to work more effectively, alone and with others; to develop our talent; and even to become better people through self-knowledge, commitment, and consideration of quality as a top priority."

Juliana Herbert

Senior Consultant, Herbert Consulting, Brazil



"Watts Humphrey's latest book has a very fortunate title; it is a genuine invitation into a transformation of how we manage our projects, our teams, and ourselves. Watts manages to draw from his rich and extensive professional experience in software development and shed light upon the road to quality. In itself, quality in software is his life quest, and Watts rightly suggests methods to accomplish this goal."

Fernando J. Jaimes

Fellow, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico



"This is a wonderful book. Fans of Watts Humphrey will find new and personal examples that put the previous books in another perspective. Those who know his work but have not applied it yet may be convinced to do so now. Reflections on Management may be a pleasant introduction for those (if any) who do not know Watts Humphrey or his work."

Michiel van Genuchten

Manager of Digital Dentistry, Institut Straumann AG, Switzerland



"At the core, Humphrey appeals to management to create the vision of better products, greater professional fulfillment, and the joy of delivering something that is used and useful. For those of us needing a daily dose of encouragement, this book is the abundant and articulate source of it."

Stan Rifkin

Master Systems, Inc.



"Reflections on Management is a superbly organized book, with simple, concise chapters. It describes a comprehensive, totally disciplined approach, covering all aspects of software development, from the personal concern of the individual engineer to teams of engineers building large, significant systems. The book deserves to be on the desk of every software development manager and student."

Lawrence H. Putnam

President, Quantitative Software Management, Inc.



"How to manage technical people? How to control a software project? How to introduce and sustain disciplined software engineering practices? How to mature your organization? How to build a high performing team? How to develop excellent software? Until now you had to read five to ten books to learn all the lessons taught by the Father of Software Process. And then, of course, you had to integrate it all in your head. With this book, Watts's lifetime of lessons and advice all coalesce into one book. If you truly want to understand the discipline of software management, start here."

Dr. Bill Curtis

Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist, CAST Software

Director, Consortium for IT Software Quality