The Road to the Unified Software Development Process (SIGS Reference Library) [Paperback]

Ivar Jacobson (Author), Stefan Bylund (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0521787742 | ISBN-13: 978-0521787741 | Edition: Rev Upd

Ivar Jacobson is one of the most important figures in the software development industry. Together with his colleagues Grady Booch and James Rumbaugh, he has been pivotal to the creation of the Unified Modeling Language and Rational's Unified Software Development Process. In this book, Stefan Bylund has collected and revised Ivar Jacobson's articles from Object Magazine, JOOP, ROAD, and Component Strategies. It not only presents his most influential work, but also tracks the development of the Unified Software Development Process. An excellent reference for software professionals interested in analysis and design, the volume offers real-world experience in developing quality software through disciplined engineering.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Overall, this book presents a fine introduction to and tutorial on the concepts and components of the Unified Process ... the book provides a compelling argument for the methods it describes.' G. R. Mayforth, Computing Reviews

Book Description

Ivar Jacobson, one of the Three Amigos of Rational, follows his fellow amigos, Grady Booch and James Rumbaugh, with the publication of The Road to the Unified Software Development Process, his own collection of the best of his work. Together with Stefan Bylund, Dr. Jacobson has gathered the best of his articles from Object Magazine, JOOP, and ROAD, and updated them to reflect current trends in the industry. This book not only presents the best of his work, but it also tracks the development of the new Unified Software Development Process. This book is an excellent reference for software professionals who are interested in analysis and design. It provides real-world experience in developing quality software through disciplined engineering.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; Rev Upd edition (July 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521787742
• ISBN-13: 978-0521787741
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,965,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the RUP diehard or organizational champion, October 4, 2001

By 

Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road to the Unified Software Development Process (SIGS Reference Library) (Paperback)

The 31 chapters in this seven-part book are articles that cover the spectrum of the Rational Unified Process (RUP) from history to epilouge. NOTE: Tthere is a not-so-hidden agenda to "sell the RUP" as the book unfolds. There is nothing particularly evil about that, but you need to know this when making a purchasing decision.

Part 1 is a brief three chapter introduction that gives the philosophy behind the RUP. This is followed by Part 2, which is a brief history, a large commercial success story and the unfolding of a goal (industrial-style development using OO techniques). There is one recurring feature that I like about this book - each part ends with a brief summary titled, "In Inar's Words", which provides deeper insights into the true spirit and philosophy of the RUP to augment the more practical information given in each chapter. Part 3 takes you a bit further into the evolution of the RUP, starting with a chapter titled "The Seeds of a Vision", and proceeds with a chapter that pleads for a cease fire in the methods war, and finally gets down to business with chapters on BPR with object technology, building components and reuse. Part 3 also makes a case for UML as an object modeling standard.

Process and tools are the theme of Part 4, which opens with an article discussing the software engineering process and support environment. This is a lead-in for three articles that cover "Reengineering Your Software Engineering Process", "Designing a Software Engineering Process", "Designing an Integrated Software Engineering Process Support Environment" and "Building Your Own Process by Specializing a Process Framework". These firmly define the RUP as a framework.

Part 5 is titled "Use-Case Engineering" and is comprised of seven articles on use cases. I particularly liked all of the articles in this part. They cover the basics through advanced techniques. Regardless of whether you are committed to the RUP it's probably a given that you have or will employ use cases and this section of the book alone is of value to a much wider audience.

My favorite part of the book, Part 6, covers architecture and large-scale systems. I have a professional interest in this topic and the seven articles are uniformly excellent. Again, even if you are not interested in the RUP, the material here fits within a number of methodologies and frameworks and is essential reading for anyone who is interested in architecture. Of course these articles are biased towards the RUP, and particularly how use cases can be employed in architecture. The strongest article is Chapter 28 titled "The Steps to an Architecture" and is the one from which I I learned a lot.

The final part, 7, is almost anti-climatic. there are two chapters titled "Objectory Is the Unified Process" and "The Unified Process Is Iterative", capped off with the recurring "In Ivar's Words" that ends each part of the book.

If you are exploring the RUP, or are seeking a framework of processes for OO development, this book will be interesting. If you are your organization's RUP champion then this is an essential book because it will strengthen your case for the RUP. The articles are short and they cover such a wide number of topics that there is something for everyone. I personally liked the way philosophy and practical aspects of the Unified Process were interwoven. However, some may feel that the book tried too hard to sell the Unified Process. For the right audience this is a 5-star resource.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not an excellent read., January 13, 2004

By 

Aaron Myers (Toledo, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road to the Unified Software Development Process (SIGS Reference Library) (Paperback)

The compilation of articles from the 90's does fit together, but its integrity is loose due to this structure. It spans genres (history, survey, reference, howto). Even though the second section is listed as history, most of the book can be considered history. This is because the articles range from the early to late the 90's. The mini interview sections after each article titled "In Ivar's Words" (not 'Inar' lol) often clarify or update the content of the article. This book is a decent mix of history, description, and clarification. I found the history and the somewhat conversational tone of the mini interviews most interesting.