The Software Project Manager's Handbook
Principles That Work at Work
2nd Edition
Published on 13. July 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
504 pages
978-0-471-67420-7 (ISBN)
Description
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.
This book emphasizes software project management at work. The author's unique approach concentrates on the concept that success on software projects has more to do with how people think individually and in groups than with programming. He summarizes past successful projects and why others failed. Visibility and communication are more important than SQL and C. The book discusses the technical and people aspects of software and how they relate to one another.
The first part of the text discusses four themes: (1) people, process, product, (2) visibility, (3) configuration management, and (4) IEEE Standards. These themes stress thinking, organization, using what others have built, and people. The second part describes the software management principles of process, planning, and risk management. Part three discusses software engineering principles, the technical aspects of software projects. The fourth part examines software practices giving practical meaning to the individual topics covered in the preceding chapters. The final part of this book continues these practical aspects by illustrating a sample project through seven distinctive documents.
Reviews / Votes
"...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)
More details
Product info
Paperback
Series
Edition
2. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
758 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-471-67420-7 (9780471674207)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Book
07/1998
IEEE Computer Society Press,U.S.
€52.81
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
DWAYNE PHILLIPS has worked as a software and systems engineer with the U.S. government since 1980. He has a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Louisiana State University. Phillips is the coauthor, with Roy O'Bryan, of It Sounded Good When We Started (published by Wiley-IEEE Computer Society) and author of Image Processing in C as well as several dozen articles for computer magazines.
Content
Preface.
PART 1.
1. What Makes a Good Software Manager?
1.1 People Perspective.
1.2 Business Perspective.
1.3 Process Perspective.
1.4 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
2. Four Basics That Work.
2.1 People, Process, and Product.
2.2 Visibility.
2.3 Configuration Management.
3.4 Standards.
2.5 Key Thought in this Chapter.
References.
3. What Doesn't Work and Why.
3.1 When the 3Ps Are Out of Balance.
3.2 When There's Not Enough Visibility.
3.3 When Configuration Management is Missing or Abused.
3.4 When Standards are Dismissed.
3.5 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
Reference.
4. Managing a Project Day by Day.
4.1 Balancing the 3Ps to Create a Good Environment.
4.2 Visibility: Project Control in a Simple Equation.
4.3 CM: Managing Baselines with Milestones.
4.4 Looking to Standards for Help.
4.5 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
PART 2.
5. Requirements.
5.1 Balancing the 3Ps: Requirements Analysis, Documentation, and Management.
5.2 Visibility: Making Requirements Known.
5.3 Using CM.
5.4 Using Standards.
5.5 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
6. Planning.
6.1 Elements of a Good Plan.
6.2 Balancing the 3Ps: Selecting the Process.
6.3 Making the Project Visible: Planning Techniques.
6.4 Making the Project Visible: Estimating Techniques.
6.5 Configuration Management.
6.6 Standards.
6.7 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
7. Risk Management.
7.1 A Task Overview.
7.2 Balancing the 3Ps: Uncertainty and Choice.
7.3 Making Risk Visible.
7.4 Other Ways to Manage Risk.
7.5 Configuration Management.
7.6 Using Standards.
7.7 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
PART 3.
8. Design.
8.1 The Challenge of the 3Ps.
8.2 Visibility--Expressing the Design.
8.3 Design in the Code.
8.4 Design and Process.
8.5 Designing with COTS.
8.6 Configuration Management.
8.7 Standards: Writing the SDD.
8.8 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
9. Integration and Testing.
9.1 Some I&T Myths.
9.2 Managing the 3Ps: People.
9.3 Managing the 3Ps: Process.
9.4 Visibility: Testing Techniques and Details.
9.5 Configuration Management.
9.6 Standards: Documenting the Test Plan.
9.7 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
10. Software Maintenance.
10.1 What is Maintenance?
10.2 Balancing the 3Ps: Managing the Maintainers.
10.3 Balancing the 3Ps: Managing the Process.
10.4 Balancing the 3Ps: Making the Most of the Product.
10.5 Visibility: Understanding the Maintenance Stages.
10.6 Configuration Management.
10.7 Using Standards.
10.8 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
PART 4.
11. Cookbook.
11.1 Essentials.
11.2 Opt: A Waterfall Project.
11.3 System Upgrade: An Evolutionary Project.
11.4 CTRAN: A Spiral Project.
11.5 Other Software Projects.
11.6 Key Thoughts in this Chapter.
References.
Appendix A. Documents for the OPT Project.
Appendix B. Configuration Management.
Appendix C. Structured Analysis and Design.
Appendix D. Annotated Bibliography.
Index.
About the Author.