Steve McConnell has written this book on project management for leads and managers. There isn't really much that's software-specific here, but as usual, Steve presents an organized and convincing approach for using a disciplined engineering process for product development, and backs up his recommendations with convincing facts and data. The material is presented effectively by starting with various stakeholder's perspectives - the team member, the customer, and the manager - and introducing the notion of a 'survival checklist' to determine how prepared the project is for the hazards which it likely will encounter. From that 'self-assessment', specific guidance is then offered ('survival skills') in the following areas:

Planning

• Hitting a moving target
• Requirements Development
• Quality Assurance
• Architecture

Phased Development

• Detailed design
• Construction
• System testing
• Release

My favorite part of this book is the 'crib notes' section, in which Steve summarizes a set of "dos and don'ts" from the Software Engineering Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center:

Do's for software success

1. Create and follow a Software Development Plan
2. Empower Project personnel
3. Minimize the bureaucracy
4. Define the requirements baseline, and manage changes to it
5. Take periodic snapshops of project health and progress, and replan when necessary
6. Reestimate system size, effort, and shcedules periodically
7. Define and manage phase transitions
8. Foster a team spirit

Don'ts for Software Success:

1. Don't let team members work in an unsystematic way
2. Don't set unreasonable goals
3. Don't implement changes without assessing their impact and obtaining approval of the change board
4. Don't gold-plate
5. Don't overstaff, especially early in the project
6. Don't assume that a schedule slip in the middle of a phase will be made up later
7. Don't relax standards in order to cut costs or shorten a schedule
8. Don't assume that a large amount of documentation ensures success

ASIN: