77 Sure-Fire Ways to Kill a Software Project: Destructive Tactics That Cause Budget Overruns, Late Deliveries, and Massive Personnel Turnover [Paperback]

Daniel Ferry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2000

Are you on a doomed project? Do you really believe that spiffy SEI rating or the latest software engineering fad will save you from working long nights, missing deadlines, or having a nervous breakdown? Weve got news for you: your project didnt get that way by accident. It took a lot of careful planning.Want to learn how its done? In this book well teach you the basics of killing a project. Instead of forcing you to rummage through a bunch of dry software engineering texts to identify potentially damaging approaches, well equip you with 77 tactics proven on countless projects. Even if you have no experience as a manager, well guide you through the confusing maze of possible courses of action and teach you how to virtually guarantee the failure of your projectall under the guise of ensuring quality, improving productivity, and maintaining morale!Do you have your own project horror story? (Who doesnt?) Send it to us via our website:http://www.FineBooks.net

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel and Noelle Ferry have worked for Washington, D.C. metropolitan area Beltway Bandits for over twenty-five years. Noelle is the author of the womens issues novel Lies and Raspberry Coffee (iUniverse.com). Daniel is the author of the hard-boiled mystery, Death on Delivery (iUniverse.com). They live on their farm in Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (August 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595126103
• ISBN-13: 978-0595126101
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,805,290 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little book!, February 20, 2001

By 

Michael Greer "Michael Greer" (http://www.michaelgreer.com) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 77 Sure-Fire Ways to Kill a Software Project: Destructive Tactics That Cause Budget Overruns, Late Deliveries, and Massive Personnel Turnover (Paperback)

As a project management trainer, I often work with IT folks who are struggling with too many projects and not enough time to complete them. Typically IT people don't take the time to reflect and document management practices that drive them crazy and kill their projects. Instead, they just leave the company! In this rare book, two veteran soft developers irreverently vent their frustrations and provide plenty of insight for anyone wanting to better manage software development teams. While they provide a bunch of items related to technical and programming management issues, the also share some management-related sure-fire ways to kill a software project. Some hightlights from their list of items include: #13 -- Begin design while requirements are fluid. #18 -- Make developers fight for every purchase. #28 -- Concentrate on cosmetics, not functionality at inspections. #33 -- Forgo prototyping. #41 -- Give everyone beepers [... so they can be reached even in the middle of the night about cosmetic problems.] #47 -- Schedule as many meetings as possible. #58 -- Jump on the process improvement bandwagon. #59 -- Create lots of TQM groups. #60 -- Hire a TQM expert from outside the company. #68 -- Require overtime work without compensation. #70 -- Hire temp programmers [and pay them for all hours, even overtime, at a rate higher than staff] #73 -- Give humiliating performance reviews. #74 -- Get rid of developers over 40 [years old]. #75 -- Refer to people as "units."

This book is clean, crisp, and fun to read... and might well generate some valuable discussions in your organization that could improve the effectiveness of your projects!...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny book, but a little narrow., April 26, 2002

By 

Michael A. A. Schall - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 77 Sure-Fire Ways to Kill a Software Project: Destructive Tactics That Cause Budget Overruns, Late Deliveries, and Massive Personnel Turnover (Paperback)

The book is quite funny, but displays the author's bias for government work. As a development manager/implementor, I have seen some of these 77 sins, but others are rather esoteric and limited to the author's domain. Purchase it for a laugh, to educate the ignorant, or to know you are not alone.