Strategies for Software Engineering: The Management of Risk and Quality

by Martyn A. Ould

An immensely practical resource for professionals in the software industry, this text offers a simple but effective decision-making approach to planning and managing all types of software engineering projects. The book establishes a constructive framework for selecting a development strategy, development methods, and support tools with the ultimate goal of minimizing technical risk and increasing product quality. Specific topics include the range of quality attributes (fitness for purpose, fitness for use, and timely delivery), standards for quality management systems, the work breakdown structure, and the use of metrics and indicators. The book closes with a discussion of the 14 dilemmas of software engineering--and how to break them.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471926280
• ISBN13: 9780471926283
• Release Date: September 1990
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.9" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Somewhat out-of-date but still valuable

This book laid the foundation of the author's later book titled "Managing Software Quality and Business Risk" (ISBN 0471926280). There are a few differences between this and the later work, and if you are among the target audience - service provider or development contractor - getting this book is a worthwhile investment.Some of the circa 1990 material regarding development environments and practices is woefully out of date, as is some of the terminology. However, there are some gems within this book that will be invaluable to the target audience. These are:- Chapters 2, 3 and 4 cover technical planning, risk reduction and quality planning in great detail. This material is aimed at contracting, but can be easily tailored for internal development or integration projects.Chapters 5, 6 and 7 address creating a quality culture, planning for quality control and resource planning. These are applicable to contracting and internal organizations and the material is excellent and as relevant today as it was when this book was written 14 years ago.In addition to the complete coverage of risk and quality that is presented in this book, the author provides detailed work breakdown structures which can serve as either a template for your own projects, or tailored to specific projects. I found this part of the book to be among the biggest reason to track down a used copy of this book. If you work as a project manager, an engagement manager who is responsible for contract capture, or on a technical team tasked with developing responses to RFPs this book is one I highly recommend. If you have broader responsibilities within an internal organization, I recommend the later book cited above. An excellent companion resource is Software Program Managers Network (ASIN B0001M00RA).