DSDM: Business Focused Development, Second Edition (Paperback)

by DSDM Consortium (Author), Jennifer Stapleton (Author), DSDM Consortium (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Dynamic Systems Development Method is a process that is used to deliver new software systems. *Practitioner's guide addressing issues such as how to get people from different disciplines to work together as a team, how to gain commitment and how to manage projects within normal business constraints. *New edition covers how to use DSDM with other methodologies such as Extreme Programming and UML. *Updated case studies showing how DSDM is used in companies such as BT and British Airways. *Based on best practices and lessons learned by DSDM Consortium members and is vendor independent. *Members of the DSDM Consortium include Hewlett Packard, BT, British Airways, Ministry of Defence, PWC, Vodafone and KPMG. User Level: Professional Audience: Software developers. Author Biography: The DSDM Consortium aimes to produce and evolve the de facto approach to building systems both quickly and efficiently. In the UK, DSDM is the most commonly used method for RAD since it has repeatedly demonstrated success in organizations of all sizes. It is now gaining acceptace on a worlwide basis

From the Back Cover

"Solving hard problems is fun--solving them with other people even more so."

DSDM (the Dynamic Systems Development Method) has proved to be one of the most successful frameworks for "Agile" software development. The new edition of this classic introduction to DSDM has been fully updated to reflect recent changes in the framework and ebest practicei in its application.

Readers of this book will learn

• How DSDM can speed up project delivery
• Why agile methods like DSDM help to deliver business benefits more rapidly
• How to get users involved in delivering a usable solution
• How to deliver something that works in a short timescale.

The Second Edition features

• A wide variety of new case studies showing DSDM in practice in both large and small organisations
• New guidelines for using DSDM in conjunction with other methods and notations like XP and UML
• Discussion of how new developments in DSDM relate to the Agile Manifesto (included here in an appendix)

0321112245B01212003

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education; 2 edition (January 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321112245
• ISBN-13: 978-0321112248
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,368,760 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A well-written, if brief, practical book., December 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: DSDM: Dynamic Systems Development Method: The Method in Practice (Hardcover)

I would agree with the previous reader's comments. This is a very well written, readable book which explores the subject of RAD using the DSDM framework. The author has taken a very practical stance when writing the book with many references to real-life accounts of project failure/success & as such ensures the book is a useful companion for the practising DSDM project manager (or manager-to-be). If I had a complaint it would be that the book is a tad light on content and some of the case studies have been written by the external systems houses who have used DSDM on projects they feel went well - hence, one gets the impression that in some cases the accounts are a little biased, and have been used to promote the respective companies' abilities. However, the case study of (the then) British Telecom is very interesting in that it covers a pilot DSDM project and refers to social/organisational/political pressures and how these might be avoided. I should also add that the book is endorsed by the DSDM Consortium & is written by the Chairman of its Technical Work Group. I would recommend this book to anyone considering moving into RAD, or anyone who has tried RAD and found it didn't quite work - chances are you'll discover why it failed when you read the book...

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short, concise, well structured introduction to DSDM, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: DSDM: Dynamic Systems Development Method: The Method in Practice (Hardcover)

This is a book which the RAD project manager or project leader cannot do without.

The method also seems to have an ideal fit with OO techniques. Anyone planning to start using UML or OMT in their projects should at least concider reading this book to help provide a framework for project planning and control.

The first part of the book contains a short, concise description of the DSDM method. Each chapter describes a well structured set of issues and ends with a short summary of the important points. What is presented is a method which covers the whole software development cycle from feasability to production and the management structures required to achive this.

The second part of the book contains case studies of DSDM projects, which highlight problems, pitfalls, limitations and some solutions. Experienced project personnel can 'feel' the problems described in the texts.

DSDM is a method specifically for Software development, but it encapsulates a series of 'framework' concepts for process management. Some of these concepts can be used to control the delivery of any time cricical product or service.

This is probably the most important book on this subject since James Martins' RAD.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Agile Method/Frame work with a real business focus, June 28, 2003

By	Dane Falkner (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Today, so many Agile Methods make extraordinary claims. This book gives you an idea of the real world common sense business focus that is encapsulated within this international non-profit consortium's development framework (the framework is a little more than just a method). This book doesn't contain the entire framework and can be used as a primer for DSDM or to augment the actual DSDM manual (which you must become a member at ...to access.)

The Agile Method movement is remarkable and many of the Agile Method's mainstays, such as Extreme Programming, apply a high degree of discipline with real agility to build quality software (measured by defects, not by fit for purpose). DSDM, FDD, and Lean Development are the only major Agile Methods (I am aware of) that have that all-important focus on creating only high-value benefits to the customer (fit for purpose is my preferred measure of quality). Most of the other methods do what they do very well which is to provide a rapid and agile way to write software. DSDM is commonly used with a development shop's existing methods or to wrap around XP or other development methods to add scalability, control, and predictability all at a lower cost for the highest value solutions. This book provides only a little guidance on how this is done. The new DSDM Manual version 4.2 does provide substantial guidance in this area, but you must be a member at ...to access it.

Yes, I am an advocate and practitioner of DSDM and a developer and project manager of over 10 years. This book is a must have companion to any DSDM practitioner or for anyone who wants to learn a new paradigm (even if you already understand Agile).

As demonstrated in this book, no software is built in a vacuum; all stakeholders must be involved in creating the solution. This implies politics, culture, resources, obstacles, etc.

In this book, I would like to have seen more demonstration of DSDM's incorporation and synergy with the other methods.

I recommend all of the books on Agile Software Development in general, but for the DSDM practitioner I recommend they read the free documentation about XP on the Agile Alliance web site ...and buy a copy of "Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers"
by Mary Poppendieck, Tom Poppendieck