Customer Reviews

A Methodology for Client/Server and Web Application Development

5 star:		(7)
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading Roger Fournier's book. I am a voracious reader with many books on Client-Server, Web technology, systems development, etc.; however, Mr. Fournier's methodology is a welcome addition to my library. This may be the most practical book that I have seen for systematically approaching the development of complex systems. I plan on incorporating much of his methodology and ideas in my future projects. I would recommend it for anyone interested in learning about client-server or web technology and it is a great reference for professionals involved in project development (both large and small).

I am encouraged by the books honesty in stressing that building large systems is hard work. Too often the literature touts "sure-fire" success if you follow a particular "cook book" sequence or employ specific technology. As anyone in the business knows, good preparation, realistic goals, teamwork and attention to detail are more important than choosing the latest "hot" technology. The book walks through the stages of a projects life cycle and provides much "food for thought" in how to get each stage right. But it never deceives one into thinking the process is easy and it never implies that the proposed methods are the only logical approach to take.

Although the title focuses on C/S and Web Application development, the methodology presented has a much broader application. It provides an excellent framework for development of any complex system. The book is well written. It provides broad coverage from requirements discovery through project deployment. The book contains so much information that the reader may want to focus on specific areas of high personal interest at first- such as Web architecture or systems analysis. Fortunately, Mr. Fournier's style is such that you can concentrate on the chapters that are most relevant to your needs first and later read the other sections without a significant loss of continuity.

As an Enterprise Architect, I have found the book very helpful. It contains useful information for project managers, enterprise and system architects, analysts, developers and test engineers. Without going into details I'll say that the tables, checklists and web-references presented throughout the book have been very useful.

I believe the survey, analysis and joint facilitated session chapters are well presented and offer a lot of information on project definition and scoping. They certainly make clear the importance of up-front planning to a projects success. For my purposes, the C/S and Web Architecture chapter was of high interest and was well presented. I was glad to see a chapter devoted to software re-use. However, I would like to see this chapter expanded to include more information on infrastructure, middleware and components. I would recommend anyone interested in the book to quickly scan the table of contents to see the wide range of information that can be found.

Mr. Fournier mentions that there might be a follow-up book focusing on the project management aspects of building complex systems. I sincerely hope he writes this.

Having just read Roger Fournier's book on Client/Server methodology & Web development, I can offer the opinion that this book is a great roadmap for anyone responsible for large client/server and web Application Development. He has obvious knowledge of the System Development life cycle and his book illustrates with very good detail, the major technical phases and deliverables required for a successful development effort.

He has also provided some real life examples that will help you both avoid the most commonly encountered problems, and using best practices, be capable of successfully delivering a major Development effort.

Fournier's coverage of the testing process is detailed and complete. Testing is covered in the development phase's chapters, from analysis to construction. Chapter 8 is entirely dedicated to client/server and web testing. Chapter 9 provides some valuable discussions on the type of IT technology infrastructures that must be put in place to facilitate the development and support of mission-critical client/server and web database applications. In chapter 9, Fournier also describes some of the most critical system management services that are required to successfully manage distributed IT environments. Finally, chapter 9 ends with a very complete but high level description of all the different web technologies that an organization can use to increase productivity in the work place.

The information on GUI design is relevant and to the point, although it is scattered in different chapters of the book. Even though chapter 12 is entirely dedicated to this important subject, Fournier should have consolidated all GUI-related design guidelines in a single chapter. Such an approach would have saved valuable time for busy developers who want to quickly read, in one location, everything there is about this subject. I also wish Fournier had covered web-specific GUI guidelines in greater depth in chapter 11, which also covers a variety of design topics on web application development. His treatment of web page navigation provides interesting guidelines and suggestions.

Although Fournier clearly stated that his book does not cover project management activities, it would have been nice to provide more information on this important subject. It could have been the subject of a separate chapter or maybe an appendix. However, in his book's preface Fournier states that a "companion" book on project management should be written soon. I am not aware of any comparable methodology book out there that can compete with Fournier's book, except maybe some costly commercial methodologies. As a whole, I most definitely recommend this down-to-earth, practical technical reference guide on large client-server and web application development software to both developers and Project Managers. Despite little quirks, I give Fournier's book five stars and hope he publishes a companion book on project management best practices in the not too distant future.

I am very carefull about the books I buy simply because most books just teach you the alphabet again. This one is a rare exception. Very exhaustive coverage and an important reference book in my collection.

If you are experienced in IT governance and processes, this book is a great reference. This is a great tool when combined with other frameworks such as CMM, ITIL, and COBIT.

This book covers the subject matter extremely well and integrates all the good practices for WEB application development.

This book is really good.It gives clear picture of software developement methdologies. I really enjoyed reading this book.This will be my one of the favorite books.

Excelente para el desarrollo de grandes proyectos tanto en Web como de todo tipo de sistemas.