The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect WorldUpplaga 1

Missed deadlines, death marches, unstable releases, continual overtime, and skyrocketing stress levels are legendary in the software development industry. Unlike traditional occupations such as accounting or administration, the software business is populated by programmers who are as creative and passionate about their work as musicians or artists. For most, it is a complete surprise when they enter the business world and find that internal politics, inept management, and unrealistic marketing drive the process, rather than a structured and orderly approach based on technical issues and quality. The average programmer, having the least authority in the management chain of command, feels powerless to change these things, but suffers the consequences. "The Career Programmer" steps through the entire sequence of events, from the decision to create a new software system to the end of the project, and explains how the individual programmer or project manager can work within the existing system to solve specific problems and regain control of the process. Avoiding an academic approach, care is taken to offer proven, practical, hands-on solutions that are designed to work when confronted with the political and chaotic realities of the business environment. Issues are addressed from both the programmer and project manager point of view, and steps are shown from all perspectives, from large-scale teams down to single developer projects. Management will never simply hand over the reins and allow a completely new and unfamiliar approach to be instituted. Realizing this, the reader is shown how to build on small, incremental successes that not only solve the problems at hand, but also work towards a gradual reworking of the development process by showing management a stream of results to which they can relate. For the individual programmer or project manager, the end result is less overtime, less stress, better quality software, and a more satisfying career.