Death March (Yourdon Press Computing Series): Amazon.co.uk: Edward Yourdon: Books

Product Description

74831-9 The complete software developer's guide to surviving projects that are "doomed to fail." In the course of a career, practically every software developer and manager will encounter projects with outrageous staffing, scheduling, budgeting, or feature constraints: projects that seem destined to fail. In the wake of re-engineering, such "Death March" projects have become a way of life in many organizations. *Surviving projects that are "doomed to fail" ! *Negotiating the best deal up-front. *Managing people and setting priorities. *Choosing tools and technologies. *When it's time to walk away. Now, best-selling author Edward Yourdon brings his unique technology and management insights to the worst IS projects, showing how to maximize your chances of success-and, if nothing else, how to make sure your career survives them. Yourdon walks step-by-step through the entire project life cycle, showing both managers and developers how to deal with the politics of "Death March" projects-and how to make the most of the available resources, including people, tools, processes, and technology.Learn how to negotiate for the flexibility you need, how to set priorities that make sense-and when to simply walk away. Discover how to recognize the tell-tale signs of a "Death March" project-or an organization that breeds them. If you've ever been asked to do the impossible, Death March is the book you've been waiting for.

From the Back Cover

74831-9

The complete software developer's guide to surviving projects that are “doomed to fail.”

In the course of a career, practically every software developer and manager will encounter projects with outrageous staffing, scheduling, budgeting, or feature constraints: projects that seem destined to fail. In the wake of re-engineering, such “Death March” projects have become a way of life in many organizations.

Surviving projects that are “doomed to fail” !
Negotiating the best deal up-front.
Managing people and setting priorities.
Choosing tools and technologies.
When it's time to walk away.

Now, best-selling author Edward Yourdon brings his unique technology and management insights to the worst IS projects, showing how to maximize your chances of success—and, if nothing else, how to make sure your career survives them.

Yourdon walks step-by-step through the entire project life cycle, showing both managers and developers how to deal with the politics of “Death March” projects—and how to make the most of the available resources, including people, tools, processes, and technology.

Learn how to negotiate for the flexibility you need, how to set priorities that make sense—and when to simply walk away. Discover how to recognize the tell-tale signs of a “Death March” project—or an organization that breeds them.

If you've ever been asked to do the impossible, Death March is the book you've been waiting for.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Don't panic: there is light at the end of the tunnel 3 July 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I was delighted to discover that none of my current projects fall into the 'death march' category; at least not as defined by Yourdon (one of my favorite gurus). So you too may be surprised; things may not be as bad as you fear. And if they are, then at least you will have the comfort that you are not alone. Yourdon offers some good advice, especially on the importance of managing Requirements and managing risk. I particularly liked the concept of concentrating on the 'top ten' risks to the project. This is an easy read, gratifyingly low on detail but with enough substance to stimulate the thought processes. One of the few books on Project Management that I've read cover to cover.

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

Know how to spot em -- if you must: know how to handle em 12 Oct 2001

Death March is a pretty light and easy read - fairly thin too so borrow it off someone for the w/e and read it! Time well spent for anyone with an interest/involvement in non-trivial sized IT projects. It's not aimed at but is very relevant to any attempted .com style startup as well as companies that are involved in or undertake several month+ IT projects.
This book works to define a class of projects/endeavours that are almost asking to fail -- looks at classifying this helpfully and what the pros and cons might be for being in various types of these projects (some can be very trying but enjoyable heroic efforts if you're into that kind of thing). It gives good advice on how to spot and classify these types of projects and gives good warning for those heading towards one. And for those who have no choice or leap into them with giddy abandon: it gives very useful advice on both surviving them and raising you c. 1% success rate to 10% ;)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

good read 24 Nov 2009

By Salman Jaffer

good to read that I am not the only one. Enables one to `stand back` and question whether their project exhibits any of these characteristics. padded with emails which detracts from the content. Probably only a short read if emails (sources) are not read.