Use Observation
Techniques and Subtle Measurements to Improve Project Management
About the Book
To consistently produce high-quality software in today's competitive marketplace,
managers must have reliable information, obtained through careful observation
and measurement. First-Order Measurement is a comprehensive guide to the
basic measurement activities every organization must perform to manage the software
development process.
Many management failures are caused by poor observation.
First-Order Measurement tells how to observe properly with the aid of a
four-step model to break the complex observation process into a series of smaller,
simpler, steps. The book also defines the different levels of measurement, and
describes the minimum set of activities in order to start a measurement program.
Numerous examples and diagrams illustrate the author's points, and exercises challenge
readers to test their understanding of the concepts. Topics include
the
direct observation of quality
visualization of product and process
comparison
of cost and value
measurement of failures before they happen
and requirements as the basis of measurement.
This stand-alone text
is the second in a series of four volumes in which acclaimed author Gerald Weinberg
explores the most difficult aspects of building high-quality software.
Reviews
"Quality Software Management is a software
starship that has gone where no-one has gone before; and if there is further to
go, Weinberg is certainly not stopping us from going."
—Nicholas
Zvegintzov SoftwareManagement News
"What
struck me as amazing as I read First-Order Measurement was not that so
many software projects fail, but that so many manage to succeed. This book should
be required reading for anyone who cares about project success."
—Naomi
Karten President, Karten Associates
". . . delightful
. . . peppered with the kind of quotations that software engineers love to tape
on their managers' doors in the middle of the night, in hopes of inspiring change
for the better. . . . enlightening, practical, humorous, and enormously inspiring."
". .
. brimming with simple techniques and examples of their application."
—Roger D.H. Warburton Computing Reviews
"The
wealth of wisdom in this volume speaks directly to individuals who want to improve
their own powers of observation—a prerequisite to successfully applying knowledge
to improve software quality. . . . First-Order Measurement is a must for
all sentient software line and project managers!"
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