Software Project Management: A Unified Framework

If you aren't versed in advanced project management techniques this book will be overwhelming. More important you may pick up misleading information. However, if you are a battle-scared veteran of software development projects and have a full understanding of earned value project management, estimating techniques and development life cycles you'll learn much from this book.The highlights are:* A project life cycle and process framework that is [obviously] closely aligned to the Rational Unified Process (RUP), and can be fitted to any rapid development or iterative approach.* An excellent tutorial on effective project controls, with an emphasis on earned value project management.* In-depth coverage of estimating techniques, with a lot of material on the constructive cost model (CoCoMo), and current gaps in estimating techniques and to where the craft and science of estimating and software economics needs to evolve in the discussion of next-generation cost models. I especially like his distinction between the use of source lines of code metrics for size and function points for scale. There is middle ground.The treasure trove of metrics, including core project metrics, and the change metrics that are given in Appendix C.There is one glaring flaw in this book and an experienced project manager will quickly spot it: the proposed approach to basing work breakdown structures on project phases instead of the decomposition of the system to be delivered will not work. Using Royce's approach there is no clear way of integrating the work breakdown structure with the organizational breakdown structure. Using earned value techniques (which is well covered elsewhere in the book) Royce's approach will not align control accounts (sometimes called cost accounts), making his recommendations contrived and unworkable.This book is better suited for an architecture-centric approach to project management, which means that it's more applicable to product development instead of internal IT projects. However, all seasoned PMs will learn much from it.

This is a book that lives up to its title. It begins by explaining the pitfalls of the traditional models, and then introduces the reader to the new "Architecture First, Iterative" model. The material is organized well. Each chapter has something good to offer. Some chapters explain a concept in great detail, and just when you get a feeling that you are lost, there appears a section that makes "pragmatic" sense!! Good explanation about development Life Cycles, Workflows and the Iterative development model. There is a lot of emphasis on early integration, which I believe is the right way to develop software. Royce points out that Software Testing (Assessment) should not be treated as a separate entity in the software development life cycle. Instead it should be woven right into the framework, thus becoming an integral part of each phase in the Life Cycle - again, a very crucial and significant idea. One may have to tweak the ideas to suit specific needs, but the book delivers the right message in general. A must read for Software Project Leads and the likes......

The resources on the line to deliver the software development product know what needs to be done. The chronic challenge is getting senior management to understand how they must support the "doers" in order for the organization as a whole to be successful.This is the kind of book that can be shared with senior management in our endless efforts to help them understand why it is so key that they champion the best practices. This book will not be easily dated. As our organization becomes more mature, the content and perspective put forth by Walker will continue to support us.

There are several books on Software Engineering, Software project Management, Software Development, Development Economics and so on. Most of these books treat the practice of Software Project Management or Software Development based on the long established software development models and principles. But as obvious to any practicing software developer/project manager, these models and principles do not reflect or represent the reality. For example, the widely accepted Waterfall model is not a true representation of the actual software development process. It gained its popularity because it was easier to understand, use and implement. But that does not make it infallible or unquestionable. Actually many people, over the years have tried to question the correctness and soundness of these models and theories. But their efforts have been somewhat sporadic and the impact was not felt and most of them were ignored or forgotten. But in the book `Software Project Management: A Unified Framework', Walker Royce has done a commendable job in not only questioning the established theories, models and principles, but also in exposing their weaknesses and in many cases is providing with practical and ready-to-use solutions. This book is comprehensive, thought provoking and often provocative and holds nothing-whether it is the existing software theories or it way in which the software development was done and is being done-as sacrosanct. The author questions many of the existing theories, exposes their weakness and tells why they are not suitable for the software development in the modern times. Drawing from his vast and varied experience as a project manager and software developer, Royce offers the reader, in clear and simple terms, his ideas and insights on software development and software project management. The most striking factors that make this book so good and useful is that, it is written by a professional for the professionals. It not a book written some theorist who does not have any idea of the reality, but this is written by a person who has done it all and seen it all and that too for quite some time.Another interesting aspect of the book is the writing style. It is simple, precise and to-the-point. No wasted words and such economical and efficient use of language. The prose is peppered with real-life examples, anecdotes, charts and tables. The author's well-developed sense of humour is evident in many occasions. For example, consider this paragraph from the preface; "I have struggled with whether to position this book as management education or management training. The distinction may seem nitpicky, but it is important. An example I heard 15 years ago illustrates the difference. Suppose your 14-year-old daughter came home from school one day and asked, "Mom and Dad, may I take the sex education course offered at school?" Your reaction would likely be different if she asked, "May I take the s

Walker's book is somewhat irreverent, but wholly pragmatic. He is not afraid to gore some of the sacred cows of software project management in search of updated principles. He notes that many of the tried and true principles were first generalized in the 1960s and 1970s. As our tools and understanding of the software development process have matured, these prinicples need to be revised - indeed, some need to be discarded.The result is a book that is pithy and frank. Walker makes no apologies for his views and he shouldn't. They are based on his personal experiences and in my view more accurately reflect what successful software project managers do today. He explains the rationale for his statements and uses tables and figures to capture them in an easy to read form.This is a MUST read for anyone developing software in today's tool rich environment and with today's understanding of the things that make software projects successful. It should also be used as the required textbook for software project management courses in every university that offers a software engineering curriculum.