The Rational Unified Process: An Introduction (The Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series) [Paperback]

You will eventually have to deal with The Rational Unified Process (RUP) if you work on large software projects. In practice, RUP is a Web-based project management tool with a built in e-coach (a sophisticated help system) and much previous art. It emphasises obvious project management practices such as defining user needs, interactive development and testing, reusing working code components, inter-developer communications, change control, risk management and so on. Rational claim to add value by charging for it, couching it in arcane management speak and invoking UML. The tools it provides make it easier to implement good practice, but RUP is far from being a panacea and, to some developers, this introduction will seem patronising.

Managing large software projects, unlike civil engineering, remains more art than craft. Customers don't know what they want until they see what they've got. The structure often remains secret from the paying customer, the finished product always comes with faults, accurate costing is impossible and large software projects frequently fail more often than civil engineering projects. It's not surprising, then, that much of The Rational Unified Process: An Introduction is made up of somewhat uninformative statements, like "Workers have activities which define the work they perform", or "A metric is a measurable attribute of an entity". RUP is gaining mind share as a useful tool--and this is a low cost introduction--but don't expect it to turn software development into engineering. --Steve Patient --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Rational Unified Process (RUP) is a saleable product from Rational/IBM.The RUP unifes the entire software development team and seeks to optimizethe productivity of each and every team member by putting the collectiveexperience derived from thousands of development projects and many industryleaders at the user's fingertips. It is a very popular product, and this bookrepresents the most thorough documentation for the latest version of theproduct (RUP v2003), which was released in May of 2003.

A roadmap to the Rational Unified Process
This book is not the "Silver Bullet". This book is not an end, the ultimate answer. It is only a start, the tip of an iceberg, a beach-head for your discovery of the Rational Unified Process. This software development process is quite comprehensive, covering many different disciplines and can be overwhelming at first, a maze sometimes, and I wrote this book to be your travel guide when researching it. I have tried to present in simple terms the key principles and the underlying concepts, to introduce the jargon and to provide roadmaps for your personal exploration of the Rational Unified Process. Although only my name shows up on the cover, this book is the result of the collective effort of many people; first my team, the Rational Process Development Group, which spreads from Vancouver to Stockholm, and scores of other "rationalites." In this development process, we have tried to capture, synthesize and present the best software development practices we could identify, based on our own experience, and that of our partners and customers. This book is not new (nor for that respect is the Rational Unified Process): it was part of our version 4.x in 1996, but was only available through Rational Software, so I am delighted that with very short turn-around time Addison Wesley Longman accepted to publish it to make it more widely available.
Philippe Kruchten, Rational Software, Vancouver BC, Canada --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Rational Unified Process, Third Edition, is a concise introduction to IBM's Web-enabled software engineering process. Rational Unified Process®, or RUP®, Lead Architect Philippe Kruchten quickly and clearly describes the concepts, structure, content, and motivation that are central to the RUP. Readers will learn how this approach to software development can be used to produce high-quality software, on schedule and on budget, using the Unified Modeling Language (UML), software automation, and other industry best practices.

The RUP unifies the entire software development team and optimizes the productivity of each team member by bringing them the experience of industry leaders and lessons learned from thousands of projects. It provides detailed and practical guidance through all phases of the software development life cycle, but it is not inflexible. The RUP can be tailored to suit a wide variety of projects and organizations.

This new edition has been updated to reflect all the changes integrated into the latest version of the Rational Unified Process--RUP 2003. It includes a four-color poster that lists key RUP elements: disciplines, workflows, artifacts, phases, and milestones.

RUP 2003 also offers

The RUP Builder with enhanced configurability, process views, and three base configurations.

MyRUP, enabling personalized views of the RUP configuration.

Additions to the Rational Process Workbench, used to define process components, perform modifications to the RUP, and create process plugins.

The introduction of a separate Process Engineering Process offering guidance on adapting the RUP, creating plugins, and deploying the RUP.

The Rational Unified Process, Third Edition, is a reliable introduction to the Rational Unified Process that will serve project managers and software professionals alike.

0321197704B11072003

Philippe Kruchten is the lead architect of the Rational Unified Process. He has more than thirty years of experience in the development of large software-intensive systems for the telecommunications, defense, aerospace, and transportation industries. His book The Rational Unified Process: An Introduction (Addison-Wesley) has been translated into eight languages and has sold more than 160,000 copies in its two previous editions.

0321197704AB11072003