Systems Thinking

If I owned no other books on information technology, I would want the four volume Weinberg "Quality Software Management" series. The books contain a wealth of practical information on managing the software development process.

I was recommended to read this book by Mark Barker (an associate of Parity Training) in 1999, after 10 years or so working experience. To say that scales fell from my eyes would be an understatement! Some of the concepts were familiar to me in a slightly different context (e.g. feedback) but Jerry does a superb job of applying some of these techniques in context.If you've been in "the business" for any length of time you'll also chuckle at your own stupidity when Jerry talks about issues that we've all handled wrongly in the past.

This book holds a special place in my heart. It's the first technical book I ever read in one sitting. I've been in the software business since 1983. By the time I encountered Quality Software Management in 1992, I was thoroughly cynical about books about software project management. By and large they were, and still are, preachy tomes that quote unverifiable statistics and make dubious claims about "right" and "wrong" processes. Grow up, guys!Jerry's books are different, and this is my favorite of all of his books. As I read QSM, I didn't feel preached at or condescended to. I felt like, for the first time, someone was offering me ideas for coping with the very difficult problems that face those of us who work on projects where we don't have enough time, enough information, enough skill, or enough money to do a perfect job of anything. Given our limitations, we have to make tradeoff decisions in light of the best understanding of cause and effect we can muster. That's exactly what my organization was trying to do, in '92, when we were competing and winning against Microsoft (oh, they eventually beat us by hiring away the top third of our team, but that's another story). We just thought of ourselves as pragmatists, but when I read QSM I realized that our approach was also scientifically sound. Looking back, I see QSM as one of the handful books in this field that actually helped me to become more expert at my job, and it's the first book I suggest to anyone who is serious about software quality assurance or software project management.Get it and read it.

I am not a software developer. When I stumbled across Gerry's book, I soon realized that I had found a hidden treasure. It contains within it the best definitions of quality that I have ever read. And he has a great sense of humor that helps make the lessons and insights you will get from the book easier to take. PS: His other books are equally great and should be read by software folks, as well as everyone else. Ned Hamson, Senior Editor, Association for Quality and Participation.

Why is software development so often plagued by crisis? Weinberg helps the reader step back from developing software and examine the dynamics and patterns of software creation. By discussing patterns of quality, patterns of managing and patterns of software faults, the author shows that quality software begins with keen observation and clear thinking about software development. The text is extremely thought-provoking and is spiced with anecdotes drawn from decades of software experience. When my software team considered the book in a study group last year, our insight into our efforts and understanding of each other took a leap upward. Highly recommended