Enrich the Way
Your Organization Thinks About Quality
About the Book
High-quality software demands high-quality management. That's the subject of
Quality Software Management, a four-volume series that has grown out of
acclaimed author Gerald M. Weinberg's forty-year love affair with computers.
In Volume 1, Systems Thinking, the author tackles the first requirement
for developing quality software: learning to think correctly—about problems,
solutions, and quality itself. He also sets out guidelines that stimulate the
kind of thinking needed. "Act early, act small" is key to staying in
control of the software process. Managers need to serve as both planners and catalysts
within the organization: to continually plan what to do, observe what happens,
and then act decisively to bring the actual closer to the planned. Numerous examples
illustrate "control points," areas that can be managed to prevent a
crisis or to keep one from getting worse.
Topics include:
understanding quality
pressure and breakdowns
software cultures
patterns of quality
patterns of management
feedback
effects
the size/complexity dynamic in software engineering
detecting
failures and reacting to them
fault resolution dynamics
the
role of customers.
Useful diagrams, references, exercises, and a
bibliography augment the text.
Reviews
"I like Jerry Weinberg. He's a lunatic: I like
that in a person. He writes from a technical and psychological perspective, describing
how to think about what you do. . . . This series is one of my favorites."
"The notation is so elegant that it takes almost no effort to
learn and use it. The diagrams are simple and easy to understand and used in such
a consistent manner that on has to wonder why this notation is not in widespread
use. I hope it will be. . . ."
—Software
Quality World
"Once I read the book, I understood more about
how to effect change with my peers so that I could
improve our quality practices and we could succeed
at turning our projects into products."
—Johanna
Rothman Reflections
"A must-read book for every software development
manager."
—C.C. Dilloway Computer Books Review
". . . very highly recommended!"
—New
Book Bulletin
"Weinberg addresses more clearly the form and
essence of quality that we software people worry about. . . . I can't imagine
a better way to help change the thinking process in your organization than the
wide-scale distribution of Jerry Weinberg's wonderful new book."
"With
the current frenzy for Total Quality Management, ISO 9000, and Baldrige Awards
dominating the industry, it's refreshing to have someone as down-to-earth as Weinberg
focusing on the need for high-quality management as a necessary prerequisite for
high-quality software. . . . [a] people-oriented approach to quality."
—Warren
Keuffel Computer Language
"This is one of those
landmark books that comes along at the right time and addresses the right set
of issues. . . . what makes this book unique and invaluable is the organization
and presentation of the material. This is a book every software development manager
should study."
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DORSET HOUSE PUBLISHING CO., INC. New:3143 Broadway, Suite 2B New York, New York 10027 USA 1-800-DH-BOOKSor 212-620-4053, fax 212-727-1044
