Constantine on Peopleware (Yourdon Press Computing Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Great software doesn't come from tools, it comes from people. That's why software development is so difficult to manage, much less automate. In this book, Software Development columnist Larry Constantine brings together new ideas on all the human issues of software development--quality and productivity, teamwork, group dynamics, personlaity and programming, interface design, human-machine interaction, and more.

From the Publisher

This book offers practical insights into the human side of software development. KEY TOPICS: Great software doesn't come from tools, it comes from people. That's why software development is so difficult to manage, much less automate. In this book, Software Development columnist Larry Constantine brings together new ideas on all the human issues of software development: quality and productivity, teamwork, group dyanmics, personality and programming, project management and organizational issues, interface design, human-machine interaction, cognition, and psychology. Constantine on Peopleware is a wide ranging series of essays, consistently thought-provoking.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (February 6, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0133319768
• ISBN-13: 978-0133319767
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,860,553 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Constantine's Columns ... Collected!, January 3, 2000

By	Sean Kelly "Consultant" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Larry Constantine's columns on peopleware issues are finally compiled into this single volume.

Although he shares the term "peopleware" with DeMarco and Lister's management classic "Peopleware," Constantine's book doesn't focus solely on management and workplace issues. Inside you'll find his insights on user interfaces, team construction, tool use, group learning, and more.

Because each chapter is a reproduction of an article previously published throughout various journals and at various times in Constantine's career, there's a lot of breadth. And it's easy to skip over things that aren't appropriate to your project or company. But each article is small, and it's easy to digest one or two a day while at work.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Constantine gets it right, February 20, 2001

By	B. Scott Andersen (Acton, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Constantine's not-so-subtle pokes at Microsoft prompted him to write "... I will most probably never get an invitation to lunch in Redmond with 'The Bill.'" Perhaps not, but Constantine's free-wheeling writing style and dead-on assessments will probably win over the majority of his readers.

The book is a collection of essays from Computer Language Magazine, Software Development, and other places. Each essay is only a few pages and easily digested in a couple of minutes. Yet, most are thought provoking, entertaining, and may prompt a day's worth of discussions.

Reading this, I sometimes felt like I was in a time machine. For example, here's an excerpt from a 1992 article in Computer Language Magazine. "Shortly after [Plauger] started Whitesmiths, Ltd., I visited him at their New York 'headquarters,' a small apartment in Manhattan... At each terminal were two programmers! Of course, only one programmer was actually cutting code at each keyboard, but the others were peering over their shoulders... The room buzzed with a steady stream of questions about the algorithm, or whether the initial value was correct, suggestions about how to break out of a loop, or drawing attention to a syntax error... After a while the two programmers would switch places, and the one at the keyboard would become the professional nudge."

Years before Beck and Fowler would discuss Extreme Programming, Plauger had his team inching towards that methodology. Constantine immediately recognized its potential.

Constantine also has other gems worth sharing. "The truth is, recognition and rewards of any kind are a lot less frequent than most managers think. Some 80% of managers claim they give their subordinates sincere and thorough praise, but only one out of seven of their subordinates see it that way."

In an article from 1994, Constantine suggests "I'm now beginning to think that usability has to be everyone's job, that everyone on the development team has to be focused on end-product usability and take it seriously from the first brainstorm to the final box." How much different would the products of the last few years be if companies had taken that advice?

The book has some flaws and Constantine doesn't get everything right. Then again, few who bravely predict the future do. A new version will be published this year, perhaps with material between 1995 and the present. If it retains the quality of this version, it will be easy to recommend.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Excellence in Business Software Development, March 30, 2000

By	Prof David T Wright (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This book crosses many boundaries, intuitively feels "right", and inspires effort and excellence in those engaged in implementing business-oriented technological/software solutions (e.g. researchers, industrialists and consultants).

Over 30 articles cover: group development (decisions, roles, space, time management), cowboys and cowgirls (teams and mavericks), work organization (7 different models), tools and methods (CASE, modelling, HCI, methods), process improvements (visibility, reward & reuse, JIT, quality), software usability (consistentcy/conventions, complexity & scope creep, source, languages, usability, objects), and brave new software (interfaces, wizards, future faces).

Entertaining to read, with a depth of supported observations and guidance, this is a must-read together with the weightier thorough treatment of whichever methodology and toolset you use for your own business systems development.