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Title: Peopleware : Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd Ed. by Tom Demarco, Timothy Lister, Timothy R. Lister ISBN: 0-932633-43-9 Publisher: Dorset House Pub. Date: 01 February, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $33.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.89 (46 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Overall, But Some Material Is Outdated Or Impractical
Comment: This is a good book on software management; however, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The references to the intercom paging system definitely date the book. I doubt this is really an issue anymore, but I am glad that it is not. Also, most companies are not going to allow the control over office space that is recommended in the book. This is where the book goes a little "pie in the sky" to me.
There is still a lot of good material for managers to consider. The authors make a very good point in the "true story" about the manager that brought soup in to an ill employee who was trying to meet a deadline. Management's job is to make it possible for people to work - not just to make them work.
I also found the information on teamwork to be very true based on my experience. I've seen defensive management at its worst, and how it was terrible to the team environment. Defensive management is a result of not following one of the earlier concepts of hiring the right people. Ultimately if you don't trust people to get the job done, why did you hire them in the first place?
Most of the information is not new nor is it really profound. However, that is the kind of thing that is usually taken for granted. The authors have given the material a good treatment and encourge the readers against this very thing.
Rating: 5
Summary: An absolute must-read!
Comment: I cannot overstate just how great this book is!
DeMarco and Lister don't mess around. They go right to the heart of project and team management and tell you exactly what makes one company succeed while so many others fail: it's not technology, it's people.
With reckless abandon, they attack cubicles, dress codes, telephones, hiring policies, and company core hours and demonstrate how managers who are not insecure about their positions, who shelter their employees from corporate politics, who, in short, make it possible for people to work are the ones who complete projects and whose employees have fun doing so. The authors use no-nonsense writing, statistical evidence, and even humorous anecdotes to drive their points home.
While the first edition was as appropriate to today's corporate cultures as it ever was, the authors have added analysis of some of the latest trends in management in this new second edition, and show what's good and what's not. The update includes coverage of the dangers of constant overtime, the stupidity of motivational posters, the side effects of process improvement programs, how to make change possible, and the costs of turnover. As with the rest of the book, all topics receive thorough and thoughtful treatment.
Although the book is weighed heavily towards software engineering projects, you'll find that much of what DeMarco and Lister say apply to projects where creativity and analytical skills are required. If you're a manager of such a project, consider this book required reading before you do anything else today. If you're a team member on such a project, buy a copy for your boss, and an extra one for your boss's boss.
One final note: I'd wager that Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, must use this book as inspiration for his comic strip. Dilbert's encounters with his moronic boss and idiotic company policies seem to come right from the pages of Peopleware's advice on what not to do.
Rating: 5
Summary: Total Agreement, Except on One Crucial Point
Comment: This book is as essential as everyone here makes it out to be. However, the authors' development of the notion of teamicide needs to be seriously questioned. While there is some truth to their characterization of incentive-based systems or tracking through testing having the ability to go haywire, the stated anti-postulate reads like an articulation of the doctrine of the soviet. No individuals' performances can be acknowledged to the group? At all times it must be enforced that the only goal is the group goal? This is the only dark ray in an otherwise wonderful collection of great insights. The reality is that a balance must be struck. I know balance and shades of gray are not popular in our polarizing, cartoon times, but politically, both the extreme Horatio Alger and the notion of the great state have crashed and burned. Truly, what is needed are more plural forms of organization.
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Title: The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, 20th Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition) by Frederick P. Brooks ISBN: 0201835959 Publisher: Addison-Wesley Pub Co Pub. Date: 02 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Rapid Development by Steve McConnell ISBN: 1556159005 Publisher: Microsoft Press Pub. Date: 02 July, 1996 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Waltzing With Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects by Tom Demarco, Timothy Lister ISBN: 0932633609 Publisher: Dorset House Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Slack : Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency by TOM DEMARCO ISBN: 0767907698 Publisher: Broadway Pub. Date: 09 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Code Complete by Steve McConnell ISBN: 1556154844 Publisher: Microsoft Press Pub. Date: 14 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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