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The Laws of Software Process: Auerbach Publishers 2003 (ISBN 0-8493-1489-5)
Published in 2003, LoSWP covers in depth the ideas Phil has been exploring in his column in Communications of the ACM.
Starting from the premise that software is the fifth knowledge storage medium that has existed since the beginning of the
world, LoSWP, the book goes on to describe software development as primarily a learning or knowledge acquisition
activity rather than one that produces a product. It then shows that software process conforms to a set of "Laws"
that determine how effective any process can be. This leads on to observations about the reason we have "process" and
what the true role of a systems development methodology is. The book finishes with a future look at how the human and technological
elements will interact in the project of the future.The Laws of Software Process can be purchased from Auerbach Publishers or from Amazon.
Quest Conference Keynote delivered by Dr. Susan L. Slater at the Quest Conference in April 2009
The
Subtle Journey of Leadership
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CACM Articles:
These are synopses (in reverse chronological order) of some of the articles published in ACM's Communications of the ACM in Phillip Armour's "The Business of Software" column from August 2000 to present. Permission is granted to quote from these articles with attribution.
In Praise of Bad Programmers January 2010
The tale of Bad Harold and how he made a good team a better team.
Contagious Craziness, Spreading Sanity October 2009
Both sanity and insanity within organizations are catching it seems. But insanity is by far more contagious.
The Cliché Defense July 2009
Walking 110% of the extra mile walk out of the box.
The Ontology of Paper January 2009
It's amazing what putting ideas down on paper does to the ideas.
The Inaccurate Conception March 2008
Don't blame the forecast for the rain. Don't blame the estimate if your project fails.
Digging CACM January 2008
An archeological excursion into CACM's past.
The Conservation of Uncertainty September 2007
The only certainty is that there will be uncertainty. Why what you might gain on the LOC swings, you will lose on the "requirements" roundabouts.
Twenty Percent June 2007
Showing how Newton's Third Law applies to estimates and software projects--equal and opposite forces at work.
Mortality Play March 2007
In which an insurance company goes to Las Vegas and makes a really big bet.
Agile,.. and Offshore January 2007
A phoenix rises from the ashes, and runs a modern project using open source tools and developers in the Ukraine.
Software, Hard Data September 2006
Some interesting results on software projects from QSM. It seems you can do just about the same with three people that you can with 29 (really).
The Learning Edge June 2006
We only learn when we are incompetent but not overwhelmed. Why the Learning Edge is better than the Comfort Zone.
The Operational Executive Sponsor March 2006
Why leaders get what they want,... that is what they really want.
Counting Boulders, Measuring Mountains January 2006
Why Mt. Everest was two feet bigger than it should have been and what this means for software projects.
To Plan, Two Plans September 2005
What D-Day and software projects have in common. Why plans can be ineffective and why we should then have two of them.
Sarbanes Oxley and Software Projects June 2005
Why people should sometimes go to prison because of the way they run their projects.
Project Portfolios: The Organizational Management of Risk March 2005
Why and how otherwise sensible organizations to not manage risk in their estimates and commitments, and what they can do about it.
The Unconscious Art of Software Testing January 2005
Testing, gut feel, and how to optimally select test.
Not Defect October 2004
Why a "defect" may not be defective at all.
Real Work, Necessary Friction, Optional Chaos June 2004
The three kinds of work we do in building systems and why this makes the math of projects rather extreme.
Beware of Counting LOC March 2004
So, what's so wrong about counting Lines of Code anyway?
When Executives Code January 2004
Hey, what would happen if we let the CEO code?
Closing the Learning Application Gap September 2003
The inherent limits on software engineering (or any other) education, and what we can do about it.
In The Zone May 2003
Why this might be a better paradigm for modern projects than the "roles and responsibilities" focus of the man-to-man defense.
The Reorg Cycle February 2003
Why reorganizations are inevitable consequences of the structure of companies and why they will continue to occur pretty much as the seasons of the year will continue to occur.
Ten Unmyths of Project Estimation November 2002
There are many truths about project estimation that are just not very true. Here are ten of them. They explain, in part, why we are just not very good at estimating, though there are other reasons too.
The Organism and Mechanism of Projects May 2002
Projects are machines intended to build systems and they contain mechanisms of process, and roles, and functions and metrics. But they also contain people, and this gives projects an "organism" that we have to take account of.
The Spiritual Life of Projects January 2002
The most popular article in the Business of Software series. Talks about the forgotten (in software) dimension of people and teams.
Zeppelins and Jet Planes October 2001
A metaphor for old and new projects. One of the more popular articles.
Matching Process to Types of Teams July 2001
Why a one-size-fits-all form of software process doesn't work very well. Not only are different teams doing different things, the same team is doing different things
Software as Currency April 2001
An off-the-wall article written for the 50th Anniversary of ACM, showing that software is a modern equivalent of money
The Laws of Software Process January 2001
This was the article after which the book was named. These are the "laws" that govern the creation and application of all software processes.
The Five Orders of Ignorance September 2000
I consider myself to be an expert on ignorance; you want to know about ignorance, I'm your man. This article covers a model of the topic, with support from Isabel Lady Burton and Don Rumsfeld. Really.
The Case for a New Business Model August 2000
Published in August 2000, this was the first article in The Business of Software column and sets the theme for the articles that follow, namely Software is not a Product--it is a Knowledge Storage Medium. From this simple premise we arrive at a very different view of software development than the traditional one.