Applied Software Project Management

Many software companies have problems with their projects. Though they're staffed with talented designers, dedicated programmers and eager managers, they can't figure out why they have so much trouble building software. In some cases, teams can't seem to get all of the bugs out of their software before it's shipped, and find themselves in a costly cycle of releases and patches. In others, projects feel chaotic and unpredictable, and team members feel that they never get to solve interesting problems because they're bogged down with tedious bug fixes or stressful and unrealistic deadlines. And some teams are stuck in a development "death spiral" and can't release any software at all.

To help fix these problems, Applied Software Project Management provides a set of practical techniques that teams can use to plan software projects, review and inspect projects as they progress, diagnose and fix design and programming flaws, and provide quality assurance. On a broader level, the book also offers tools for developing leadership and management skills, and even ways to approach and implement organizational change. Written by experienced and skilled software managers, Applied Software Project Management includes a checklist of major points at the end of each chapter that team members can use in every project.

About the Authors
Jennifer Greene and Andrew Stellman have been building software together since 1998. Andrew comes from a programming background, and has managed teams of requirements analysts, designers and developers. Jennifer has a testing background, and has managed teams of architects, developers and testers. She has led multiple large-scale outsourced projects. Between the two of them, they have managed every aspect of software development. They formed Stellman & Greene Consulting in 2003, with a focus on project management, software development, management consulting and software process improvement. They have worked in a wide range of industries, including finance, telecommunications, media, non-profit, entertainment, natural language processing, science and academia. For more information about them and this book, visit http://www.stellman-greene.com.