Principles Of Software Engineering Management (Paperback)

~ Tom Gilb (Author)
Key Phrases: evolutionary delivery planning, evolutionary delivery method, motivating your colleagues, Systems Journal, New York, The Omega (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book is designed to help software engineers and project managers to understand and solve the problems involved in developing complex software systems. It provides practical guidelines and tools for managing the technical and organizational aspects of software engineering projects. Part One explains the critical success factors for software, and introduces methods including: specification (using results-oriented quality and resource metricsfinding and evaluating solutioevolutionary planning and deliverinspection for quality and productivity Part Two gives detailed guidelines for implementing those methods, using a case study as an example throughout. Part Three shows in detail how the methods can improve productivity, reliability, estimation, deadline pressure, and motivation. It concludes with a set of 'Software Engineering Templates' showing how to quantify software qualities, and further case studies illustrating inspection experience and production planning.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (January 11, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201192462
• ISBN-13: 978-0201192469
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #593,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sound ideas, but tedious to read, September 29, 1999

By	Arno Schaefer (Frankfurt, Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book hard to read. I often had to force myself to read further, although the ideas and principles described are important and should be required knowledge of any software engineer and SE manager (which does not mean that they necessarily apply to all projects).

The book contains endless redundancy and lots of hard to understand details of projects the author has worked on. One chapter even contains excerpts from other books and articles that confirm the author's views - as though the author feared he hadn't been convincing enough (that wasn't the problem).

In summary, the book should have had half the length and that would have still covered the same content. It might be interesting to readers new to the principles of evolutionary delivery, measurable attribte objectives, and inspection.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best book on software development I have read, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

Firstly, don't let the title put you off -this book is relevant to a lot of people who wouldn't call themselves "sofware engineers" or "managers" - it's also highly relevant to systems analysts / designers & just about any sort of IT consultant, amongst others.

What separates this from most other books on software development is that just about every page is obviously written by someone who has been there and done it (recently), not just talked about it. The main ideas of the book (evolutionary delivery, defining ojectives as either "functional" or "attributes" ) may not seem revolutionary, but apply it and it could revolutionise your project and maybe career. No IT book I've ever has ever affected my own work so profoundly.

It's also well written and exceptionally well laid out. More please, Tom!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but limited, June 26, 1998

By A Customer

Gilb covers only a small portion of "Software Engineering Management" in detail. Other important issues are either not addressed at all or receive only cursory treatment. Still, what it does go into depth about it usually well thought out and makes imminent sense. I'd say it's worth reading, but it may be a bit expensive for it's narrowness.