Rating: 
Summary: Very good S/W Project Mgmt Book - very easy to read
Review: The Deadline is a very enjoyable and easy reading book. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in S/W Project Management. DeMarco gives you a keen insight into the joys, pitfalls and underpinnings of S/W Project Management, without bogging you down with a lot of VERY technical details. Highly recommend it!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Intrigue and romance - just another large software project.
Review: Intrigue and romance - just another large software project. If the project management principles illustrated in Demarco's farfetched story worked with that absurd schedule and odd project team, maybe they can work with the impossible schedules and team characters we all must deal with in real life software project management.
Rating:
Summary: Ever wondered why software development is so hard??
Review: In this book the author tells you why. A lot of myths about programming are explained. Many very complex subjects are explained in a very entertaining way. Why designs never get done when projects are overstaffed, what goes on in a managers head who demands 7 day weeks (and what the results are). Great reading.
Rating:
Summary: A terrific follow up to Peopleware
Review: Tom DeMarco has written a terrific follow up to his earlier Peopleware book. He uses the vehicle of a fictional software project to present a number of ideas for improving project management. I loved the book, and read it in two evenings. People who read widely in this area will probably enjoy the veiled references to a number of other "gurus" in the field of software project management. My only suggestion for improving this book would be an appendix listing any real world experiments that support the suggestions in the book. Overall, I thought this was a great book, and definitely worth adding to your project management library (particularly if you liked Peopleware).
Rating:
Summary: DeMarco's charming wit makes it work
Review: The messages in this book aren't too hard to swallow, nor are they too soft such that you can pass up reading this book. It is true that many of the techniques presented by DeMarco here are not new, but some of them are not well known, and some are even considered (gasp!) sacrilege by today's managers. Its 101-management principles alone make this book worth the purchase. This book presents management in the light it should be seen in: a people-oriented activity, versus a thought-oriented activity. Too many of the newest software management books forget this simple truth. This book is a resounding reality check: apply the new ideas, but never forget to lead with your heart.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful story, useful principles, great laughs
Review: My local bookstore had it on the fiction shelves, rather then in the computer section, making it hard to find, but they were right, this is a story, even though it had principles for PMs in every chapter. The believablity factor is negative 2, but it's a great read, and a good slam at various industry personalities.
Rating:
Summary: Slip "The Deadline" into your manager's briefcase.
Review: Using a fictional project as an instructional device, DeMarco discourses on the human side of project management, introduces some new (or lesser known) techniques,
and sneaks in
some swipes at industry sacred cows.
Problems appear, are discussed, and then disappear, just like real life... Several well-known consultants make
thinly disguised guest appearances to lend advice on problems in their area of expertise.
This is a entertaining "big picture" read for project leaders, but seems aimed more at managers who manage managers--folks at the Director or V.P. level. Each chapter ends with a set of management friendly, presentation-ready "lessons learned" bullet points. Read it, then
slip it into your manager's briefcase before their next long flight.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable overview of managing software development.
Review: Tom Demarco does an excellent job as he gives his opinions on familiar (and some not-so-familiar) techniques for managing large-scale software development projects. Don't expect to get down to the low-level details of particular approaches, but do expect to see a humorous and thoughtful discussion of many common practices. Process improvement and the CMM take some funny hits, indeed. This is a very quick read that will often make you stop and think. The format of the book, a fictional story, does wonders for letting the reader gain a new perspective on material they have probably seen before and stopped really thinking about. Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable presentation of software development principles
Review: This book is a lot more enjoyable than most software projects! Aimed mostly at developers of medium- to large-scale software projects, it's a fun read with a message. The principles are all summarized in the protagonist's "Journal", ensuring that you don't miss any of Demarco's points. Thought-provoking even if we don't agree with everything - and quite probably we should.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for project managers and managed alike
Review: I love this book! If you have anything to do with programming-in-the-large, do yourself a favor and read this book. If you've never read a book on project management, you really have to read this book. Even if you feel like you've read every book on project management, you'll definitely enjoy this book. If you hate project management or are the victim of lousy project management, you'll love this book. Not only is it a must-read but it's an easy read. It's as informative and enjoyable a book as I could imagine being written on project management. It makes the best of today's thought on the theory and practice of project management readily accessible to virtually anyone.
| 
