A discipline for software engineering

This new work from Watts Humphrey, author of the influential book, Managing the Software Process, broadens his orderly view of software process management, and lays the foundation for a disciplined approach to software engineering. In his earlier book, the author developed concrete methods for managing software development and maintenance.

These methods, now commonly practiced in industry, provide programmers and managers with specific steps they can take to evaluate and improve their software capabilities. In this new book, Humphrey scales those methods down to a personal level, helping software engineers develop the skills and habits needed to plan, track, and analyze large, complex projects.

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Humphrey and others have used material from this book to train professionals and students around the world in a projects-oriented software engineering course. First establishing the need for discipline in software engineering, and the benefits to practitioners of learning how to manage their personal software process, Humphrey then develops a model that they can use to monitor, test, and improve their work.

Examples drawn from industry enhance the practical focus of the book, while project exercises give readers the opportunity to practice software process management as they learn it. Features: presents concepts and methods for a disciplined software engineering process; scales down industrial practices for planning, tracking, analysis, and defect management to fit the needs of small-scale program development; and shows how small project disciplines provide a solid base for larger projects.