Process Patterns: Building Large-Scale Systems Using Object Technology (SIGS: Managing Object Technology) [Hardcover]

Scott W. Ambler (Author), Barbara Hanscome (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: SIGS: Managing Object Technology | Publication Date: October 28, 1998

Written by one of the best known object-oriented practitioners in the business, Process Patterns is based on proven, real-world techniques. Scott Ambler shows readers how to successfully deliver large-scale applications using object technology and carefully describes how one develops applications that are truly easy to maintain and to enhance. He shows how such projects can be supported and points out what is necessary to ensure that one's development efforts are of the best quality. His object-oriented software process (OOSP) is geared toward medium to large-size organizations that need to internally develop software to support their main line of business. Developers and project managers who have just taken their first OO development course will find this book essential. It describes the only OOSP to take the true needs of development into consideration, including cross-project, maintenance, operations, and support issues. This book uses the Unified Modeling Language (UML).

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

In Process Patterns , Scott Ambler shows readers how to successfully deliver large-scale applications using object technology and carefully describes how one develops applications that are truly easy to maintain and to enhance. He shows how such projects can be maintained and points out what is necessary to ensure that one's development efforts are of the best quality. Developers and project managers who have just taken their first OO development course will find this book essential. It describes the only object-oriented software process (OOSP) to take the true needs of development in to consideration, including cross-project, maintenance, operations, and support issues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 582 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521645689
• ISBN-13: 978-0521645683
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,255,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about time, May 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Process Patterns: Building Large-Scale Systems Using Object Technology (SIGS: Managing Object Technology) (Hardcover)

I was really impressed with this book, and it's follow-up, More Process Patterns. It's about time someone described a software process that can be used by actual development teams, likely because it is written based on the author's real-world experiences. He tackles all the issues of software development, not just the cool ones such as modelling and programming that everyone else appears to focus on. The fact that he has shown how "boring" topics such as quality assurance, risk management, reuse, and people management fit into the picture throughout the entire software process makes the book worthwhile for any project manager. The programmers that I've shared the book with have gotten a lot out of it, in fact one was even amazed at how complex software development actually is. A true eye opener. There is something in this book for everyone.

I think readers will benefit most from the general philosophies that pervade the book, such as testing early and often, letting requirements drive modeling which drives programming (i.e. think first, then act), taking maintenance and support into consideration, and actually doing the work necessary to obtain high levels of reuse. I highly suggest this book to anyone involved in the development of software. Although the book is large, 550 pages, it is an easy read. Another good thing about it is that it's size and content make it a good book to beat your pointy-haired managers over the head with when they do something stupid like set an unrealistic schedule for your team.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It could use a good editor & some organization, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Process Patterns: Building Large-Scale Systems Using Object Technology (SIGS: Managing Object Technology) (Hardcover)

Some of the recommendations made in this book could be used by the editor or by the author on this book itself. Maybe SIGS & the author could apply some techniques from a business jargon called "quality management".

1. The editing is atrocious. There are so many incomplete paragraphs missing from the text e.g. page 106, the paragraph ends in mid sentence, "you increase the productivity of your p" (litterally the p is the last letter in the paragraph). This book is filled with such sloppy editing.

2. Bad Editing is obvious when we look at the diagrams. No one has taken the time to make them presentable in a book format. Some diagrams have text flowing out of a box. Some diagrams are not even related to the text. They seemed to be inserted because they were simply available.

It's sad to see a potentially good book ruined by sloppy editing.

3. In terms of content, I found there are many good ideas in the book but it is organized terribly. Once we got the thesis that OO development is "serial in the large" & "iterative in the small" and to combine various object-oriented design & analysis techniques, then we are lost in many disorganized details. If the author has concentrated on the two theses above, the book can be very useful.

4. It is obvious that the author has done much oo development and really want to convey his exeperience to the readers. But if you are looking for process patterns that can be applied in your work, there are not many from this book. A lot of anecdotal, amusing stories, but few "process patterns".

5. The book is more of a mind-dump from the author's lecture notes. He kept promise to provide real-world development examples and away from the "theoretical, ivory-towered", but I feel like what we got is what the author think about the original ideas of other object-oriented experts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Foundation for Process Maturity, September 27, 2001

By 

Linda Zarate "IT Ops Consultant" (Azusa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Process Patterns: Building Large-Scale Systems Using Object Technology (SIGS: Managing Object Technology) (Hardcover)

This book's collection of process patterns is the foundation for best practices in applications delivery, and align to a variety of methodologies, including the Rational Unified Process. These patterns can also be used as the basis for key process areas for achieving increasing levels of capability maturity or process improvement capability for organizations that use SEI's CMM or ISO/IEC
15504 (SPICE).

Chapter 1 assumes no prior knowledge of patterns or object-oriented software processes, and gives a descriptive overview of both. It also discusses various approaches to software development, which provides a context for how patterns can fit within various approaches, such as serial, iterative, incremental or parallel projects. It also introduces a process framework called Object-Oriented Software Process (OOPS)and compares this process to other common OO approaches to development. Although this book is structured for OOSP, the patterns will fit within any framework or methodology. This makes the book valuable to any shop regardless of whether OO or traditional procedural languages and approaches are used. A highlight of this chapter is the discussion of process maturity that uses SEI's CMM as a baseline. The information can be realigned to SPICE or Bootstrap as well because there is no firm bias towards the CMM - I suspect the CMM is used because it's well known to U.S. readers.

The book is divided into parts after chapter 1, with each part aligned to a life cycle stage and comprised of a collection of chapters that describe patterns that are applicable to the stage. Each chapter is a pattern and is structured as Initial Context, Solution, Solution Project Tasks, Resulting Context, Process Checklist and What you have learned.

Part I is the INITIATE stage. Patterns include: Initiate Phase (how to start the phase itself), Define and Validate Initial Requirements, Define Initial Documents, Justify and Define Infrastructure. Part II is CONSTRUCT, with patterns for Construct Phase Initiation, Model, Program (development), Generalize and Test in the Small.

What I like is the format of the patterns make them easy to read and consistent. It is easy to tailor them for organizational use, as well as to add more patterns. It also adds a defined structure to the development process itself, providing a solid basis for documenting key process areas and defining development workflow. The second book in this series, More Process Patterns, completes the pattern library by addressing test, release and operational aspects of applications and systems. I read that book last February and feel that both books should be a part of any mature development organization, or organizations that are seeking to improve their processes and capabilities maturity.