Review: Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers

Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit for Software Development Managers by Mary Poppendieck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is probably the best book on management of software development that I have read so far. I appreciate that Poppendiecks propagate the principles and certain mind-set and not some specific methods for agile development. The best of all, I see from my own work that many of these principles do work if properly followed and communicated to the rest of the team and to the clients.

Examples from the lean production are not always very illuminating, yet sometimes provoke interesting analogies.

Review: The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P. Brooks Jr.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A book which is considered to be classics for the software development management - very much quoted and referred to. Although many of the claims and concepts are quite dated, the main principles are well adaptable to the nowadays world. I particularly liked the general discussions of what is the software engineering on meta-level - with all its joys and pitfalls. Brooks explains very well inherent complexity of managing software development projects - understanding where the complexity lies is probably the first step to effectively manage it.

Review: Smashing UX Design: Foundations for Designing Online User Experiences

Smashing UX Design: Foundations for Designing Online User Experiences by Andrew Maier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is a well-structured book which goes step-by-step through all the major techniques for designing a good user experience for the Web sites. I picked up several interesting methods on working with clients and on designing different parts of the Web experience (navigation, forms, search etc). I very much agree with the general philosophy the book is conveying as well.

On the other hand, it could have been shorter - many things seem rather trivial and, at times, repetitive. The chapters have too many sub-chapters with the same structure. In addition, the book focuses pretty much on solely designing Web shops - there could have been more variety in the examples and (a lot to wish from UX book perhaps) anything on designing Web experience for professional users (corporate interfaces).

Review: Specification by Example: How Successful Teams Deliver the Right Software

Specification by Example: How Successful Teams Deliver the Right Software by Gojko Adzic

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book on how to create and deliver software which is (a) quality; (b) what is needed; (c) not more than needed. One way to achieve that is needs and requirements specification together with clients. In addition, using different examples illustrating what software is supposed to do.

Capturing needs, not scripts - that is probably one of the most important messages from the book.

All in all, there are very good ideas and practices presented (many of them are still ahead of their time), albeit in somewhat preaching mode. Sometimes, the book becomes repetitive - and quotes from different teams often do not add additional value. I would also like to have read more concrete examples - on both requirements as well as the programming code itself. Otherwise, recommended to software analysts, developers and IT managers interested in (improving) software quality.

Triangle of choice in software development

Yesterday I had a chance to listen live to the true legends of lean software development principles who visited Tallinn: Mary and Tom Poppendieck

One of the main things I remember from this 2-hours long presentation:

An ordinary triangle of choice (a client has to give up one of them - can't get all three at the same time):

Time-Money-Quality

...should rather be thought of as:

                               Time-Money-Scope

...because there is anyway so much waste in software development.

And scope cannot be given up without having trust between vendor and client.

Wise thoughts.

Review: Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems

Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems by Steve Krug

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Short and effective, well-written and well-designed book about the Web site usability testing.
Main points of this book were covered in Krug's first book ("Don't Make Me Think"), but "Rocket Surgery Made Easy" goes more in details. Sometimes, the details become rather trivial.
All in all, an easy reading with several relevant recommendations, but it is probably enough reading only the first of the two books.

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Review: Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A concise and sharp book on Web usability. Relevant examples and illustrations, great design of the book and a nice dose of wit - sure ingredients for an enjoyable reading. It is well written and easily read - the reader does not have to have any technical competence to grasp the meaning.

Recommended to anyone having to do with Web sites design and development - either developers, designers or managers

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Review: Kanban and Scrum - Making the Most of Both

Kanban and Scrum - Making the Most of Both by Henrik Kniberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A concise and easy to read guide on some of the "hottest" Agile methods for software development these days. The book provides useful guidelines on how to improve the software development practices on a team/organisational level. I found the case study presented in the second part to be somewhat long-winded - and would prefer more different examples instead. Otherwise, recommended to anyone working in IT sector on middle-management level (and all other levels too).

How I learnt programming - Codeacademy

My professional ambitions are related to the information technology management. This is the path I partly follow now - and this is the direction I want to grow in further.

Having worked close to 4 years in an IT-company, I see almost every day that people without technical background education consider the developers' room as "a-place-where-magic-happens". In many occasions, I represent one of those.

Indeed, although I intuitively understand why some things take longer than expected in programming, although I often ask questions from my IT-skilled colleagues, at times I feel simply dumb. What all these lines of code REALLY mean?

Few weeks ago I read of an exceptional U.S.-based start-up which enables people like me to actually learn programming in a fully interactive mode - Codeacademy. You start to learn immediately, as you go - all by solving exercises which start with trivial things and get more and more complicated. There is a good explanation for each component and hints if you don't get it at once - all framed into an easy and clean interface. I have used it and have passed two sets of exercises already. And I can say I love this tool! One needs patience and determination to handle it - but, well, so it goes for all kind of learning.

For me, this project is now on the same line as Khan Academy which I discovered somewhat earlier (and thanks to which I have learnt a great deal about the biology for example). Viva la life-long learning!

Below is the example of the code I wrote for one easy numerical algorithm (with the help of replication and instructions, of course):


Just a couple of days ago I would have struggled understanding it all. What does this code result in? This array of digits/words:

1

2

Fizz

4

Buzz

Fizz

7

8

Fizz

Buzz

11

Fizz

13

14

FizzBuzz

One can learn JavaScrip, jQuery as well as the web fundamentals (HTML and CSS) through Codeacademy. As for now, completely free. I just need time to master it all (and I hope I will have enough of it) - in order to be able to see the real math behind the apparent "magic" when working with the software developers :)