Managing Software Quality and Business Risk

Martyn Ould has spent thirty years in software development, mostly with UK software houses, Logica and Praxis, and was latterly with Deloitte Consulting. His role has ranged from developer and manager on projects to setting company software engineering policy. He became an independent consultant in 1998 and now consults for clients on the software engineering process, specialising in project audits and rescues, reviews of software development methods, and risk management. He contributes articles, reviews and papers to the computing press, and lectures to public, government, university and corporate audiences.

• INTRODUCTIONBUILDING THE BOATICEBERGS AHEAD! BUSINESS RISKPLANNING FOR RISK MANAGEMENTSOFTWARE QUALITYRIVETS OR WELDING? PLANNING FOR QUALITY ACHIEVEMENTIS IT WATERTIGHT? PLANNING FOR QUALITY CONTROLSTOPPING THE RUST: PLANNING FOR QUALITY PRESERVATIONPUSHING THE BOAT OUT: CREWING AND PROVISIONINGTHE HAND ON THE TILLER AND THE CAPTAIN'S LOGBLOCKS ON THE SLIPWAYDIARY OF A VOYAGERESUME OF THE PLANNING PROCESSGLOSSARYINDEX

"Managing Software Quality and Business Risk addresses itself to software project leaders, managers and technicians alike, pulling them temporarily away from their own discipline and encouraging them to view the gestalt of project planning. You get an overview of what each of these areas of expertise has to offer: a technician, for example, might learn the importance and practicality of risk planning first, followed by quality planning. (The software project team that does not calculate for the eventualities of many kinds of failure is re-enacting a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.) The unifying theme is studying and perfecting the planning process, and ensuring that your project plan has minimised associated risks and maximised quality.The style is clear, and though the writing is studded with a fair amount of jargon, it clearly lays out management information and perspectives. On the practical side, the author takes you through several techniques and introduces insights from those skilled in coping with market forces or with service users, often underestimated, misunderstood or completely ignored by programmers. There are plenty of interesting, well-designed grey tone charts and diagrams that instantly bring to the fore the subject or strategy being developed, and examples are given throughout. This is a book that is best approached as a good, thought-provoking read rather than as a reference.--" -Wilf Hey , Amazon.co.uk