Principles Of Software Engineering Management [Paperback]

Tom Gilb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1988 | ISBN-10: 0201192462 | ISBN-13: 978-0201192469 | Edition: 1

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: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 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
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This review is from: Principles Of Software Engineering Management (Paperback)

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.

14 of 18 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

This review is from: Principles Of Software Engineering Management (Paperback)

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A project management epiphany, April 3, 2009

By 

W. Craycroft (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Principles Of Software Engineering Management (Paperback)

Don't let the publishing date of this book fool you. This is a timeless reference in the art of requirements management and software inspections. It was an epiphany for me as a young software project manager in the late 80's, and it is still on my bookshelf today. It was written by a project manager who has "walked the walk". As another reviewer alluded, this book positively reeks with credibility and real-world experience. And the scope of its requirements management methodology is much wider than just software development -- it can be applied to virtually any project management discipline. Most failed projects were doomed from the start by their faulty requirements management or complete lack thereof. If every budding project manager read this book and practiced this methodology, the world would be a better place. Strong words, but read the book and see if it isn't true. You might also visit the www.gilb.com website -- lots of good stuff there, and a lot of it is free.