Constantine on Peopleware

Constantine's not-so-subtle pokes at Microsoft prompted him to write "... I will most probably never get an invitation to lunch in Redmond with 'The Bill.'" Perhaps not, but Constantine's free-wheeling writing style and dead-on assessments will probably win over the majority of his readers. The book is a collection of essays from Computer Language Magazine, Software Development, and other places. Each essay is only a few pages and easily digested in a couple of minutes. Yet, most are thought provoking, entertaining, and may prompt a day's worth of discussions. Reading this, I sometimes felt like I was in a time machine. For example, here's an excerpt from a 1992 article in Computer Language Magazine. "Shortly after [Plauger] started Whitesmiths, Ltd., I visited him at their New York 'headquarters,' a small apartment in Manhattan... At each terminal were two programmers! Of course, only one programmer was actually cutting code at each keyboard, but the others were peering over their shoulders... The room buzzed with a steady stream of questions about the algorithm, or whether the initial value was correct, suggestions about how to break out of a loop, or drawing attention to a syntax error... After a while the two programmers would switch places, and the one at the keyboard would become the professional nudge." Years before Beck and Fowler would discuss Extreme Programming, Plauger had his team inching towards that methodology. Constantine immediately recognized its potential. Constantine also has other gems worth sharing. "The truth is, recognition and rewards of any kind are a lot less frequent than most managers think. Some 80% of managers claim they give their subordinates sincere and thorough praise, but only one out of seven of their subordinates see it that way." In an article from 1994, Constantine suggests "I'm now beginning to think that usability has to be everyone's job, that everyone on the development team has to be focused on end-product usability and take it seriously from the first brainstorm to the final box." How much different would the products of the last few years be if companies had taken that advice? The book has some flaws and Constantine doesn't get everything right. Then again, few who bravely predict the future do. A new version will be published this year, perhaps with material between 1995 and the present. If it retains the quality of this version, it will be easy to recommend.

This book was recomended for me from my teacher (very very clever woman) in Uni. And i am very happy to have such one.Constantine shows to us, where is the problem in typical software development project. He brings to light all known problems, what are related to all managers. Fascinating, that we all know these problems, but we don't see it without a help from outside (in this case from Constantine).From other side i don't like some things, what Constantine has postulated. I disagree to his idea about "cowboy's and cowgirl's" and maverick's. But all other stuff is perfect.

This book crosses many boundaries, intuitively feels "right", and inspires effort and excellence in those engaged in implementing business-oriented technological/software solutions (e.g. researchers, industrialists and consultants). Over 30 articles cover: group development (decisions, roles, space, time management), cowboys and cowgirls (teams and mavericks), work organization (7 different models), tools and methods (CASE, modelling, HCI, methods), process improvements (visibility, reward & reuse, JIT, quality), software usability (consistentcy/conventions, complexity & scope creep, source, languages, usability, objects), and brave new software (interfaces, wizards, future faces).Entertaining to read, with a depth of supported observations and guidance, this is a must-read together with the weightier thorough treatment of whichever methodology and toolset you use for your own business systems development.

Larry Constantine's columns on peopleware issues are finally compiled into this single volume.Although he shares the term "peopleware" with DeMarco and Lister's management classic "Peopleware," Constantine's book doesn't focus solely on management and workplace issues. Inside you'll find his insights on user interfaces, team construction, tool use, group learning, and more.Because each chapter is a reproduction of an article previously published throughout various journals and at various times in Constantine's career, there's a lot of breadth. And it's easy to skip over things that aren't appropriate to your project or company. But each article is small, and it's easy to digest one or two a day while at work.