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Product Description
Product Description
From prolific and influential consultant and author Tom DeMarco comes a project management novel that vividly illustrates the principles -- and the outright absurdities -- that affect the productivity of a software development team.
With his trademark wit set free in the novel format, DeMarco centers the plot around the development of six software products. Mr. Tompkins, a manager downsized from a giant telecommunications company, divides the huge staff of developers at his disposal into eighteen teams -- three for each of the products. The teams are of different sizes and use different methods, and they compete against each other . . . and against an impossible deadline.
With these teams, and with the help of numerous consultants who come to his aid, Mr. Tompkins tests the project management principles he has gathered over a lifetime. Key chapters end with journal entries that form the core of the eye-opening approaches to management illustrated in this entertaining novel.
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Customer Reviews
But I must say I disagree with the last minute implementation theory. And no testing until the implementation is done?? It looks a lot like the good old waterfall model! Very few clients will let you defer implementation till the last 1/5 or 1/6 of the project! If they can't see progress from the beginning they get nervous and start shouting etc.
Second, the staffing model as explained (staffing up agressively towards the end of a project) seems to ignore the time it takes to integrate new members into a team. In the story Mr. T luckily has 3 teams doing about the same thing, so getting them up to speed is easier. In real life I haven't seen that so far. Note, the story deals with integration time earlier in the book, so I think the solution to raid the existing similar teams is too easy / far from reality :-) Try again!
I'd say I believe more in the XP way of doing things. Same staffing model, start small, staff up as the software develops. Lots of early implementation and testing, yet still enough design to avoid killing the project. And the client always knows exactly how much he has at any time. That is, the software as it runs today!!
... but then again, I haven't been a manager :-) only been exposed to a lot of bad ones.
will his suggestions ever make it in the real world (most projects are run on a very fudal basis - most of us 'serf' have had that experience) can the pathology ever be changed from below ?
All in all a very good and easy read. Kevin O'H - Londinium
You read this book, exactly like a novel and at the suddenly realise you have been... Read more
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