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Summary: Weinberg's Testament on Change Management
Review: Change is inherently dangerous. Moreover, change becomes even more dangerous when we don't know what we're doing. Attempts to change software organizations commonly fail because of inadequate understanding of change dynamics -- the same reason the organizations got into crisis in the first place. Jerry Weinberg concludes his series of four stand-alone volumes with this pragmatic, comprehensive testament on the fundamentals of change management. From systems thinking to project management to technology transfer to the interaction of culture and process, this volume analyzes change from a broad range of perspectives, spanning the spectrum of sources of organizational change. Such breadth of awareness is essential for successful management of system evolution. Reviews "This fourth volume presents a recipe for a quality software engineering organization. . . . [Weinberg] recognizes the importance of tools for the delivery of high-quality software and software services, but he correctly suggests a much larger set of technologies, which includes formal and informal organizational relationships; technical reviews and planning approaches; standards; measurements; and technical infrastructure, such as networks, hardware, and software tools. . . . This book should be read after the author's other three volumes. Reading all four might be a time-consuming undertaking, but the many practical hints make it worthwhile. Practitioners will find it very useful." -- H. Remus, Computing Reviews, October 1997 "Gerald Weinberg, one of the truly original thinkers who write about organizational factors influencing software development, often provides me with the opportunity to say 'aha.' . . . Anticipating Change addresses how to create an environment conducive to implementing the software engineering culture he describes in the first three books of the series. What is fascinating about Weinberg's approach to software development management is how his perspective encompasses such diverse sources as family therapy theories, personality type studies, and experiences drawn from years of consulting for software development organizations." -- Warren Keuffel, Software Development, September 1997 Partial Contents * Modeling How Change Really Happens * Change Artistry * Planning for the Future Organization * Moving Off a Dead Stop * Tactical Change Planning * Selecting and Testing a Goal * Planning Like a Software Engineer * Why Software Projects Fail * Phrases to Listen For * Three Levels of Process Improvement * Terminating Projects Properly * Ways to Know When a Project Is Failing * Building Faster By Building Smaller * The Laws of Technology Transfer
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Summary: Good book on organizational change emphasising SW management
Review: The first half of this book is useful for anyone contemplating changing an organization. The second half is directed specifically at project managers. Not a step-by-step guide, but a lot of good concepts and models. Very thought-provoking. If you wonder why you haven't been able to change your organization, this is well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Good book on organizational change emphasising SW management
Review: The first half of this book is useful for anyone contemplating changing an organization. The second half is directed specifically at project managers. Not a step-by-step guide, but a lot of good concepts and models. Very thought-provoking. If you wonder why you haven't been able to change your organization, this is well worth reading.
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Summary: Best of the series
Review: This book is the best of the quality software series. Save yourself sometime and start with it and if you find it useful, go back to the previous 3 (I found them best in the following order 2,3,1). The chapter on managing requirements is one of best tools I have ever found for convincing management that we must get a handle on our processes. Be warned however, that none of these books are as readable as "The Secrets of Consulting" or "The Pyschology of Computer Programming." Which I view as Weinberg's best works.
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Summary: To change your software, start with yourself.
Review: This fourth and final volume in the Quality Software Management series is about how software organizations change so as to become more effectve. This volume shows you the importance of change artistry, and what you can do to become a change artist yourself - and lead others to become change artists, too. Some people like to start the series with this volume, even though it's number four. I hope you'll read and enjoy Anticipating Change and be able to apply it to your work and I hope you'll let me hear from you about how it helped.
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Summary: Lengthy, but good for managers who want to enable change
Review: Well, it's for managers who want to enable change *and* have a lot of free time. This book is fairly long for the amount of information in it, and drags on, even if you're a speed reader. Still, there are some great ideas early on about change agents, how they work, and the environment they require to succeed. It's worth reading at least that part of the book, if you're a manager. However, as a technical leader or 'change agent' yourself, there's not much in this book for you.
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