BKSRSWJN.RVW   961011
 
"Survival in the Software Jungle", Mark Norris, 1995, 0-89006-831-3
%A   Mark Norris m.norris@axion.bt.co.uk
%C   685 Canton St., Norwood, MA   02062
%D   1995
%G   0-89006-831-3
%I   Artech House/Horizon
%O   617-769-9750 800-225-9977 fax: +1-617-769-6334
%O   artech@world.std.com bookco@artech.demon.co.uk
%P   256
%T   "Survival in the Software Jungle"
 
This book is a compilation of the common "received wisdom" in regard to large
scale software projects, and how not to let them get out of control.  Although
often repetitive (get your specifications done first), and rarely insightful,
it serves as a useful reminder of the basics in project development.
 
Norris states that this book is for the user, rather than the developer, but
the book often assumes too much background in the software industry for this to
be truly the case.  There are a great many tables and figures in the book, but
they rarely support the adjacent material, often being much less comprehensible
than Norris' text.  (The second figure in the book seems to imply that
"commodity" software is of low value to the company in both the short and long
term, which flies in the face of examples like word processing and email.) 
Possibly the most valuable, and certainly the most enjoyable, section of the
book is Appendix A3, which collects some of the humour that has surrounded
software development since its inception.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996   BKSRSWJN.RVW   961011
 
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