Tom DeMarco

Timothy R. Lister

Most software project problems are sociological, not technological. Peopleware is a book on managing software projects.

Productive Projects and Teams

Peopleware

Any software project that's worth starting will be vulnerable to risk. Since greater risks bring greater rewards, a company that runs away from risk will soon find itself lagging behind its more adventurous competition. By ignoring the threat of negative outcomes---in the name of positive thinking or a Can-Do attitude---software managers drive their organizations into the ground. In Waltzing with Bears, Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister---the best-selling authors of Peopleware---show readers how to identify and embrace worthwhile risks. Developers are then set free to push the limits. You'll find that risk management makes aggressive risk-taking possible; protects management from getting blindsided; provides minimum-cost downside protection; reveals invisible transfers of responsibility; isolates the failure of a subproject---readers are taught to identify the most common risks faced by software projects: schedule flaws; requirements inflation; turnover; specification breakdown; and under-performance. Packed with provocative insights, real-world examples, and project-saving tips, Waltzing with Bears is your guide to mitigating the risks---before they turn into problems.

Managing Risk on Software Projects

Waltzing with Bears

Two of the computer industry's best-selling authors and lecturers return with a new edition of the software management book that started a revolution.With humor and wisdom drawn from years of management and consulting experience, DeMarco and Lister demonstrate that the major issues of software development are human, not technical -- and that managers ignore them at their peril.Now, with a new Preface and eight new chapters, the authors enlarge upon their previous ideas and add fresh insights, examples, and anecdotes.Discover dozens of helpful tips on- putting more quality into a product- loosening up formal methodologies- fighting corporate entropy- making it acceptable to be uninterruptiblePeopleware, 2nd ed. shows you how to cultivate teams that are healthy and productive. The answers aren't easy -- just incredibly successful.

The papers were selected from more than a dozen sources, including IEEE Computer, Software -- Practice & Experience, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, and Communications of the ACM.

Timothy R. Lister

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