Software Craftsmanship: The New Imperative
Author: Pete McBreen
better applications.
Today’s software development projects are often based on the traditional software engineering model, which was created to develop large-scale defense projects. Projects that use this antiquated industrial model tend to take longer, promise more, and deliver less.
As the demand for software has exploded, the software engineering establishment has attempted to adapt to the changing times with short training programs that teach the syntax of coding languages. But writing code is no longer the hard part of development; the hard part is figuring out what to write. This kind of know-how demands a skilled craftsman, not someone who knows only how to pass a certification course.
Software Craftsmanship presents an alternative—a craft model that focuses on the people involved in commercial software development. This book illustrates that it is imperative to turn from the technology-for-its-own-sake model to one that is grounded in delivering value to customers. The author, Pete McBreen, presents a method to nurture mastery in the programmer, develop creative collaboration in small developer teams, and enhance communications with the customer. The end result—skilled developers who can create, extend, and enhance robust applications.
This book addresses the following topics, among others:
Software Craftsmanship is written forprogrammers who want to become exceptional at their craft and for the project manager who wants to hire them.
Table of Contents:
| Foreword | ||
| Preface | ||
| Pt. 1 | Questioning Software Engineering | 1 |
| 1 | Understanding Software Engineering | 3 |
| 2 | The Problems with Software Engineering | 11 |
| 3 | Understanding Software Development | 17 |
| 4 | Finding a Better Metaphor Than Software Engineering | 25 |
| Pt. 2 | Software Craftsmanship | 31 |
| 5 | Putting People Back into Software Development | 33 |
| 6 | Craftsmanship Is the Opposite of Licensing | 37 |
| Pt. 3 | Implications of Software Craftsmanship | 45 |
| 7 | How Craftsmanship Affects the Users of Systems | 47 |
| 8 | Customers Have a Different Relationship with Craftsmen | 55 |
| 9 | Managing Craftsmen | 69 |
| 10 | Becoming a Software Craftsman | 79 |
| 11 | Mastering the Craft | 85 |
| 12 | Apprentice Developers | 93 |
| 13 | Journeymen Developers | 105 |
| Pt. 4 | Repositioning Software Engineering | 109 |
| 14 | Software Engineering Projects | 111 |
| 15 | Hazards of the Software Engineering Metaphor | 117 |
| 16 | Learning from Software Engineering | 131 |
| Pt. 5 | What to Do on Monday Morning | 139 |
| 17 | Experience - The Best Indicator of Project Success | 141 |
| 18 | Design for Testing and Maintenance | 155 |
| 19 | Perpetual Learning | 171 |
| Epilogue | 179 | |
| Acknowledgments | 181 | |
| Index | 183 |
Look this: Texturing Modeling or Case Studies in Knowledge Management
Inside Cisco: The Real Story of Sustained M&A Growth
Author: Ed Paulson
An insider reveals the core strategies behind Cisco's phenomenal success
Most savvy business observers agree that the major component in Cisco's phenomenal growth has been their unwavering commitment to expanding their product line through aggressive acquisitions. Since 1995, the "New Goliath," as Cisco is known throughout the business and finance communities, has acquired more than sixty companies. In this groundbreaking book, a Silicon Valley veteran, Ed Paulson, uses his strong connections to Cisco's management to reveal the M&A gospel according to Cisco.
Paulson explores how Cisco has used acquisitions to stay ahead of its competitors, analyzes their strategies and proven methods for incorporating new companies seamlessly, positively, and profitably. Paulson reveals the centerpiece of Cisco's acquisition strategy-one that is company-focused, culturally compatible, and retains staff. He examines how Cisco executives determine if a target company is compatible with Cisco's corporate culture and strategic outlook and describes the extraordinary lengths to which these executives will go to gain the loyalty of acquired people. This book details the Cisco methodology and illustrates how it can be applied to companies across industries.
Ed Paulson (Chicago, IL) is President of Technology and Communications, Inc., a business and technology consulting firm and a visiting professor at DePaul University's School for New Training. He is a Silicon Valley veteran with more than two decades of experience and the author of numerous business and technology books, most recently, The Technology M&A Guidebook (Wiley:0-471-36010-4).
Publishers Weekly
Once the gold-plated standard for how to succeed on the Internet, Cisco Systems has since lost some of its luster. But even though the company's stock price has dropped, Paulson (The Technology M&A Guidebook) makes a convincing case for still using Cisco as a model for how other companies can manage their M&A (merger and acquisition) growth. For one, Cisco buys companies not just when it is trying to expand or protect itself against potential competitors, but rather "as an integral part of its system," thus looking ahead for future growth. Indeed, Cisco's acquisitions have been prolific, and the author explains who the company targets for acquisitions and why. Unlike many acquirers, Cisco tries to retain most of the personnel during an acquisition, and Paulson shows how that makes good sense. According to Cisco CEO John Chambers, "If you pay $500,000 to $2 million per person... and you lose 30 to 40 percent of those people in the first two years, you've made a terrible decision." Paulson shows most of Cisco's major acquisitions and the buying price per employee, which is appropriate for a book on M&A's, of course, but he is too meandering to offer specific, helpful information. Those interested in refining their company's M&A strategies won't find too much here to help them; Paulson makes a great case why Cisco is good at what it does, but aphorisms like "[Cisco] listens closely to its customers" are less than effective. Such lines suggest that the book is targeted more at a general business audience, but how many of those readers actually need advice on how to buy companies? (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
