Full Description
Unrealistic schedules, unstable releases, continual overtime, and skyrocketing stress levels are legendary in the software development industry. Unlike traditional occupations such as accounting or administration, the software business is populated with programmers who are as creative and passionate about their work as musicians and artists. But for most programmers and project managers, it is a complete surprise when they enter the business world and find that internal politics, inept management, and unrealistic marketing drive the process, rather than a structured and orderly approach based on technical issues and quality. This guide, delivered with the wit and aplomb to make a serious topic entertaining and palatable, will help you survive the programming industry. The Career Programmer explains how you can work within the existing system to solve deadline problems and regain control of the development process. Youll master self-defense techniques to shield yourself, your project, and your code from corporate politics, arbitrary management decisions, and marketing-driven deadlines. Author Chris Duncan provides proven, practical, hands-on solutions designed to work even when tested by the political and chaotic realities of the business environment. Issues are addressed from the points of view of both the programmer and project manager, and steps are illustrated from all perspectivesfrom large-scale teams down to projects with a single developer. For you, the end results will mean less overtime and stress, higher-quality software, and a more satisfying career.
Contents
THE CAREER PROGRAMMER GUERILLA TACTICS FOR AN IMPERFECT WORLD, SECOND EDITION Christopher Duncan The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World, Second Edition Copyright (c) 2006 by Christopher Duncan All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher. ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-59059-624-1 ISBN-10 (pbk): 1-59059-624-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available upon request. Printed and bound in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Trademarked names may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Lead Editor: Dominic Shakeshaft Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Dan Appleman, Ewan Buckingham, Gary Cornell, Jason Gilmore, Jonathan Hassell, Chris Mills, Dominic Shakeshaft, Jim Sumser Project Manager: Richard Dal Porto Copy Edit Manager: Nicole LeClerc Copy Editor: Marilyn Smith Assistant Production Director: Kari Brooks-Copony Production Editor: Katie Stence Compositor: Dina Quan Proofreader: Lori Bring Indexer: Toma Mulligan Cover Designer: Kurt Krames Manufacturing Director: Tom Debolski Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 233 Spring Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Phone 1-800-SPRINGER, fax 201-348-4505, e-mail orders-ny@springer-sbm.com, or visit http://www.springeronline.com. For information on translations, please contact Apress directly at 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219, Berkeley, CA 94710. Phone 510-549-5930, fax 510-549-5939, e-mail info@apress.com, or visit http://www.apress.com. The information in this book is distributed on an as is basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author(s) nor Apress shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work. Contents at a Glance FOREWORD ... xiii ABOUT THE AUTHOR ... xvii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... xix INTRODUCTION ... xxi PART I SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO THE CORPORATE WORLD ... 3 CHAPTER 2 BUSINESS IS WAR. MEET THE ENEMY... 21 CHAPTER 3 GOOD CODING SKILLS ARE NOT ENOUGH ... 45 PART I I GUERILLA TACTICS FOR FRONT-LINE PROGRAMMERS CHAPTER 4 PREVENTING ARBITRARY DEADLINES ... 59 CHAPTER 5 GETTING YOUR REQUIREMENTS ETCHED IN STONE . . 75 CHAPTER 6 EFFECTIVE DESIGN UNDER FIRE ... 95 CHAPTER 7 PRACTICAL ESTIMATING TECHNIQUES ... 111 CHAPTER 8 FIGHTING FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ... 127 CHAPTER 9 KEEPING THE PROJECT UNDER CONTROL ... 141 CHAPTER 10 MANAGING YOUR MANAGEMENT ... 159 CHAPTER 11 CORPORATE SELF-DEFENSE ... 175 iv PART I I I BUILDING A BETTER CAREER CHAPTER 12 CONTROLLING YOUR DESTINY ... 189 CHAPTER 13 GET A JOB (SHA NA NA NA...) ... 201 CHAPTER 14 CAREER 2.0 ... 219 CHAPTER 15 FLYING SOLO ... 231 CHAPTER 16 JOB SECURITY ... 245 INDEX ... 261 v
