Software Company: Development, Test & Support Booklet
Description
This booklet is a subset of the complete Software Company book which gives advice on how to start, grow and exit a software company. This booklet only contains the Development, Test, Support and QMS chapters - it does not contain the whole book! IN SUMMARY: This booklet does not have all the Software Company book chapters in it. This is why it is significantly cheaper than the complete book.
My advice is based on over 23 years of starting, running and exiting two very successful international software companies. My aim has been to deliver a comprehensive practical handbook for software entrepreneurs.
Development is as much about art as it is about science. It moves in mysterious ways! I cover all aspects of development including the new religion of Agile and how to avoid it trashing your productivity.
Product quality is sacrosanct. I have first-hand experience of what happens when you release buggy code, and it's not pleasant. The testing section will help you avoid such unpleasantness. It discusses test team independence, automated testing, manual testing, the agile approach, and risk based testing. It's all there. Support is vital to customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction is vital to the success of the company!
The support chapter covers all the basics you need to get it right including my thoughts on how to turn support it into an asset rather than a perceived overhead and liability.
Finally, I discuss how you can implement a QMS without spending a fortune on consultants.
The purpose of the booklets is that, if you just want to read my thoughts on, for example, Development, Test, Support and QMS, you don't have to purchase the whole book. To understand the contents of the complete book and the five booklets (of which this is one) please visit my website where there is a detailed table of contents and full explanation of what is in each booklet and the contents of the complete book.
The purpose of these booklets is that, if you just want to read my thoughts on, in this example, development, test, support and QMS, you don't have to purchase the whole book. To understand the contents of the complete book and the five booklets (of which this is one) please visit my website where there is a detailed table of contents and full explanation of what is in each booklet and the contents of the complete book. Note: Including the url is the description is not permitted the quickest way there is to use my initial and last name !
More details
Person
My name is David Cornwell. I started my career as a Mechancial Engineer before doing an MBA and discovering software. In 1994 I started my first company which eventually sold its software around the world having raised £11million in venture capital on the way. You can read all about it in The CDC Story which is a free download from my website: www.softwarecompanybook.com.
I then went on to establish PleaseTech - which also sold its software around the world. The difference was this time it was organically grown with no external investors - a somewhat different experience! The PleaseTech Story is also a free download from the website.
My book, Software Company, gives advice on how to start, grow and exit a software company. My advice is based on over 23 years of starting, running and exiting two very successful international software companies - the aforementioned CDC and PleaseTech.
The book covers set-up, first steps, hiring, firing, growth, culture, development culture, the Agile Methodology, offshoring development, selling to the USA, selling to Europe, software licensing, patent trolls, marketing, sales, partnerships, venture capital investors, bootstrapping, the analyst game, professional advisors and the exit process. In short, it's a brain dump which I hope some people will find useful and which will support the next generation of entrepreneurs.
In addition to the complete book, individual sections/chapters are available via cheaper 'booklets'. These mean that you do not have to purchase the whole book if you just want to read my thoughts on, for example, marketing.
Please visit my website (www.softwarecompanybook.com) there is some additional background and where I share the tips, thoughts and advice I wasn't able to include in the book due to space limitations. It also gives you the opportunity to download the book's appendices.
These days, in addition to publishing and promoting my book, I have several other interests which are listed on my LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrcornwell).
PS: For your viewing pleasure, may I recommend my post exit interview with ICON Corporate Finance which is conveniently on YouTube (https://youtu.be/N7SVtA5sSG8).
