Software Project Management: A Unified Framework
Author: Walker Royce
List Price: $54.99
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ISBN: 0201309580
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co (10 September, 1998)
Sales Rank: 32,081
Average Customer Rating: 4.27 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Good Book on Software Project Management
This is a book that lives up to its title. It begins by explaining the pitfalls of the traditional models, and then introduces the reader to the new "Architecture First, Iterative" model. The material is organized well. Each chapter has something good to offer. Some chapters explain a concept in great detail, and just when you get a feeling that you are lost, there appears a section that makes "pragmatic" sense!! Good explanation about development Life Cycles, Workflows and the Iterative development model. There is a lot of emphasis on early integration, which I believe is the right way to develop software. Royce points out that Software Testing (Assessment) should not be treated as a separate entity in the software development life cycle. Instead it should be woven right into the framework, thus becoming an integral part of each phase in the Life Cycle - again, a very crucial and significant idea. One may have to tweak the ideas to suit specific needs, but the book delivers the right message in general. A must read for Software Project Leads and the likes......
Rating: 5 out of 5
A must-read for software developers and project managers
"Unjustified precision--in requirements or plans--has proven to be a substantial, yet subtle, recurring obstacle to success." --quote from author Walker Royce.The false dream that "writing the specifications to the utmost detail will ensure that the engineers create the perfect product, on time" is so prevalent, yet so wrong. Along the way to the finished product, the path is littered with discarded spec that can't be met for technical reasons, timing issues or a chain of dependencies for marketing reasons (if you remove Feature X, then Feature Y is useless.) The author goes on to write that software management is not an exact science; there are gray areas, dependencies and a constant situation of flux that has to be managed.
Royce gives case studies for software evolution and recommends changes in the management process, including a VERY valuable core set of metrics. The author is no ivory-tower professor; he developed the methods in this book and tested them in a large project for TRW. This book should be required reading for every software project manager.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Business case for an iterative process
Well-researched, well-thought, and well-written book provides a compelling business case for an iterative software development process. Rather than focus on the mechanics of the Unified Process, as one might expect, the author presents justification for transitioning from a traditional software engineering approach to an iterative approach.Conventional software engineering is first presented, along with its drawbacks. The changing software landscape is examined, and future success factors are identified. The factors are then tied into the new process.
Thorough coverage of many different angles, including an excellent section on metrics, estimation models (and the evolution of COCOMO), team development, culture changes, etc.
Great read.
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