Software Books

Great book about learning Word 97 annoyances. Complete coverage of these annoyances is followed by using VBA/Word as a solution to Word 97 annoyances. Very good introduction to VBA/Word. This book belongs on your bookshelf!
My only complaint is that the book should be bigger.

This is a fantastic book, and I would consider it essential to anyone who gets fustrated by Word's tendency to try to help you when you least want any help. Unfortunately the book is now about 3 years old, so some of the information in it no longer applies to Word 2000. You more or less have to determine which portions of the book are out-of-date and skip them. If Woody updates the book, I would buy it immediately.

...Why can't the decisions, rules and controls be mine? Having read this book, I now understand that defaults and standards aren't necessarily the last word. Helpful hints and shortcuts will make life easier for everyone. whether you only ever use word to dash off a letter or you regularly produce complex documants and tables. With a writing style of amiable sarcasm, Woody Leonhard has obviously learned his lessons the hard way. Don't make the same mistake - buy this book!

The chapter on Word macro viruses alone is by far the best treatment of the subject that I've seen anywhere.

This book gives a good explanation on Word 97 and how to use it. Ranging from general windows settings to visual basic for applications (VBA) users from almost any level can find useful advise in this book. Written in an enjoyable style it is an easy read for anyone with interest for word 97. Together with Bill Camarda's 'Using Microsoft Word 97' from QUE for reference/addition you should be able to create some fancy documents.

This book is awesome! Does not go indepth, but has ALL the pertinent information related to specific diseases/clinical signs (definitions, Physiology, symptoms, lab work, treatment, follow up care)all on one page! A VERY useful book so far, especially from a tech's point of view!

Just replaced my 3rd edition, the 4th addition is a bit better has some new information, doseages for new drugs and a CD with Client education handouts.

I needed this item ASAP and I received it on time which was excellent since I paid for fast shipping. The cover of the book though looked a little worn. The book was supposed to be new but looking at it I wasn't 100% sure. If I had time I probably would have returned it for another copy. Besides that I was satisfied with my purchase.

very helpful in learning details about diseases and drugs we use.Easy to use the book and easy to understand.Thank you for the opportunity for me to receive this book to Turkey.

Whenever I encounter a new disease, or need to refresh my memory about one I haven't seen lately, I reach for this book first. I find it to be concise, informative, and useful. While other medical texts make for good fireside or bedtime reading, this one cuts to the chase, and is useful in the midst of a busy veterinary schedule.
I use this book as my "nerd book", jotting notes in the margins when I learn something new about a disease from reading journals. Overall I am quite impressed at how up-to-date and complete the information is vis-a-vis JAVMA, the Compendium for Continuing Education, etc. I also appreciate that this book comes out in new additions often enough to keep up with the rapid changes in veterinary medicine.

This book is a concise and friendly guide that is great for admins. It proved itself the first time that I had a problem allowing me to quickly find the answer I needed.

This is one of those most have books for any SQL Server DBAs reference library.

Brian Knight covers a LOT of different items and goes into sufficient detail on all topics. Probably the best real world book on SQL Server administration out there. I've worked with SQL Server for over 5 years and have been a senior DBA over a large enterprise SQL Server farm but I still learned a great deal from this book.

This is an excellent book. The coverage of SQL Server is very solid. However, if you plan to purchase the author's newest book, SQL Server 2000 for Experienced DBAs, DO NOT purchase this book. The newer book covers everything this book covers, in addition to the topic of high availability. Owning both books would be completly redundant, a mistake I personally made.

If you're thinking of buying this book, because you've tried everything in Microsoft's online manual "Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Performance Tuning Guide" and are still having some performance problems, then this book could be your solution.

It helped me solve some of the problems I was having with our productive server and helped me understand some basics a bit better than before. It does not contain everything you need to know, but gives you some ideas how you have to look for further information and what you have to look for.

It contains some good reference material, but not all of the hidden features. As with every book under 1000 pages this is not THE bible for the DBA but is a complementary book that will provide some invaluable information not found elsewhere. This book was well worth the price..

SQL Server 2000 Administration headaches? ... Well if you need a rapid reference on system administrative functions that could not only save your company $$$ on downtime and system availability but improve your response to difficult situations this is a DBA must have. I have purchased more books attempting to get reliable information and tips to make my Administration of SQL Server Database systems robust, reliable, and rapid on response I have finally found the information I needed in "One" book. I would recommend this book for Mid to Senior level Database Administrators and as a guide for training Junior level DBA's to prevent bad habits and teach the proper habits of monitoring, managing and maintaining SQL Server databases overall. Oh and the nice touch is that TIPS: and CAUTION: notices throughout the book educate the creative "out of the box" approach to proper system risk management. I hope Mr. Knight considers sharing his talent with future Administrative Guides !!!

This book has completely smashed every possible expectation I had when I set out to read it.

Let me put it simply. There comes a time in every software developers' life when he contemplates the age old question of, "If I were to be stranded on an island and I could bring only 3 things with me, what would they be?" Well, this would be one of the 3 items. (The other two would be Windows Internals by Russinovich and some other obvious classic like the Windows via C/C++ by Richter, or UNIX Network Programming by Stevens). This book is easily on the same playing field as such classics as those, and its only flaw is that it is not 1,000 pages because when a book like this comes along, you really just don't want it to end. There is so much useful information in here.

The chapter on LPC debugging is worth the price of the book alone, as LPC is completely undocumented and you literally will not find this type of information anywhere else. Every single chapter in this book is filled with gems, and with the plethora of average books being released recently, it really took me by surprise to read such a well thought out book that hits all the right topics in all the right ways.

That being said, it is advanced. Yes, I realize the title says it, but too many books come out with the word Advanced in the title that are merely Intermediate. You need some assembly language, you need to be comfortable with native code, you need to not be frightened at the thought of debugging something for which you have no source code. But for those that meet the pre-requisites, this is a must-have in every sense of the word for the serious developers' bookshelf.

Chapters on debugging heap/stack corruptions are simply invaluable. Worth reading even if you think you know everything about those issues, this book will easily prove you wrong.

A very good hands on book with many gems of knowledge. It walks you through the processes of different debugging techniques with easy to follow screen shots. I definitely recommend this to anyone writing Windows OS dependent code and it is even a very good book to read even if you are a .Net or Java developer on the windows platform. Even if you consider yourself advanced in this area you will still find a few new tricks.

The focus is on debugging using tools other than Visual Studio. There is still a lot of useful information about other tools, but if you want to learn how to debug with the Visual Studio debugger, this is not the book to get.

Have you ever tried to debug a problem in a productive environment? Do you know how hard this can be, especially when you are not allowed to install or use your full Visual Studio environment? Or did you ever try to debug a problem which only happens at the customer's side? This book shows you how to do all of this, and much more. It shows you, for example, how to create and use a memory dump and how to set up and use remote debugging.

And this is a very concentrated book. It covers a very wide area of expertise. It is an indispensable companion for every real world programmer. It explains in detail some of the lesser-known areas of programming infrastructure, like stacks and heaps and the RPC (DCOM) infrastructure, the possible error symptoms and their analysis.

Did you know about the powerful tools in the Debugging Tools for Windows package? This book begins with an introduction to these tools. It shows you how to set up and use them. It introduces you to the user-mode and kernel-mode debuggers, the Global Flags, the Application Verifier and many other tools. All of them are available for free. And you can easily give them to your customers or to the IT department of your productive environment.

But be aware it is for you only if you are an Arcitecht... if you use autocad for other reasons I think you should consider another one..

For many years I have wanted to learn AutoCAD, but the complexity of earlier programs, and the instructional materials available made the task far too time consuming and difficult. In this book, David Frey presents a simple project which by continuing development of it cover to cover, takes an individual from the basic functions of AutoCAD R14 through 3 dimensional modeling.

Starting with a personal CAD knowledge base of zero, following Frey's lessons, I was able after about 8 hours with the book to create from scratch a basic architectural floorplan. Within four weeks, I had completed this book and was able to produce full, architectural quality construction drawings. Individual ability to create such sets will depend upon prior architectural training. But, one will most certainly be able to create simple plans, and make modifications to much more complex ones. As way of comparison, the easy to read and understand material presented here amounted to what is taught in a much more intense three month college introductory level CAD course. I give this book an A+.

A word of note. This book is written for those who are needing to aquire AutoCAD skills for architectural design, construction, or structure documentation purposes. In this respect, Frey delivers. It is not a book for mechanical engineering, or civil engineering CAD skills.

In conclusion, this work quickly provided me a comprehensive set of skills needed to assume a leadership role in historic preservation project management, cutting many months off what is normally a steep learning curve. I recommend it to anyone who needs to learn how to create or modify architectural drawings, without reserve.

Following this book, I recommend George Omura's "Mastering AutoCAD Release 14". Purchase these two together, and one will have a high quality architectural CAD training package and reference source.

As a person who has never done any computer aided drawing before, this book was excellent. I have beed trying for many years to get involved with Autocad but would somehow get very frustrated and chuck it in after a number of starts. This book took me through the paces via a project. I am now drawing the plans (or at least the first draft) for my home. As a 'hands-on' type person this book suited me just fine.

In January 2001, I got a job at an engineering firm to train as an autocad operator. I had absolutely no knowledge of Autocad. I came to this site to see if I could give myself a head start and in less than 40 hours I knew all the basics (and some shortcuts) that I needed to know for my new job. Long story short I got a $5,000.00 raise in three months and now I am training others in my firm on autocad14. To keep a step ahead I'm now reading the AutoCad 2000 by Frey. This book was easy to follow and Frey did a Great Job with explanations of terms and all the questions that I had were answered right there in the book. I'd recommend this book to everyone interested in learning AutoCad. It's a no brainer here.

This is great for those who have never ventured into AutoCAD and need to start learning. I bought the book because I was starting an internship at an architecture firm and needed to get basics down so that I would be of more use. I have begun working through the tutorial and have picked up enough so that I am pretty comfortable using the application. The project managers in the office were so impressed with the book, and the results they see in me, they're planning on buying it for themselves!

This book thoroughly discuss the steps in using auto cad 2D and an opener in 3D autocad drafting. It uses a simple terms that anybody even not engineers can understand. Must buy for a beginner to intermediate autocad users.

The delivery from amazon really surprised me as the book arrives ahead of thier given arrival time. It arrives in two days only, supposedly shall arrive after 3-5 days. another 5 star rating for amazon's delivery system!

Easy to follow, Lots of excercises to practice with and explanation when you screw things up (beyond repair, sometimes.
A must read if you want to go to "AutoCAD University"?

AUTOCAD 2006 AND AUTOCAD LT 2006: NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED is a fine, basic introduction to a powerful program which once commanded the attention only of professionals. Any seeking to utilize the CAD software should have this manual in hand: it provides a set of tutorials which are sequentially arranged for step-by-step study - but it also can be used as an at-a-glance reference sourcebook for solving specific problems. From understanding coordinate systems and drawing routines to working with fills, text, external references and more, AutoCAD's powerful tools and drawing features are all detailed in depth.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I work for a survey company. I have never been to college and I am a self-taught AutoCAD user. I learned AutoCAD '02 with this book. Now I train guys and we buy this book for guys that have backgrounds with Microstation and are transitioning to AutoCAD.

Fantastic book for the experienced or the beginner. Easy to understand. Highly recommmend for those just starting out.

Bottom line - great how-to book. I am NOT in any way, shape, or form, a computer geek. Technology is not my friend, and nothing about machinery is inuitive to me. I am also a no-nonsence kinda guy. In this particular case, I want to edit, not spend my time READING about how to edit. So this book is GREAT! (Wouldn't know if it's the best 'cause I'm completely dependent on doing what it says to do so I have no way to compare it to other resources.) The layout is straightforward - topics are categorized and independant from each other. Like a cookbook. Simply go to the instructions on how to do a particular thing, and there you go! The book uses paragraph format in the beginning of each topic/chapter to explain the "why's" of the upcoming topic; like a comprehensive overview. (What's the purpose and point of doing "_____".) Then when it comes to the "how-tos", each subtopic/activity converts to bullet-points. (Click A, then do B, then press C.) The book also includes side notes and hints along with illustrations of what you should be seeing on the screen at that particular stage. Wonderful! Efficient!

This book is based on Avid Express Pro as of 2004 and will serve you well as a reference text. It is well-indexed and has useful cross-references in the text.

This book is very helpful for new beginners learning AXP. It is very detailed and to the point. A must have.

figata ci vediamo al solito posto alle 12.00. porta la corazzata
pinuccio

I am a beginner with Avid and was daunted by all the different and options available to me. Monohan's book was just what I needed. I am currently giong through the book from A to Z, which gives me an overview of all the options and work-methods the program has. Even though I allready had set up my workspace, this book gave me some interesting tips. Even though I had allready developed a workflow for my previous projects, I learned some new options by reading this book.

Interestingly, serving as a guide from a to Z is not where Monohan excells. It should be used as an index to all the available options from this program. Want to know how to find those audio-peaklevels? How to get rid of that nested alpha-channel? Or you want to remember that trick in lassoing to trim mode? Use the index or the table of contents and you'll find what you're looking for in no time.

Great value for its price!

"Beyond Stone and Steel" by Brian W. Vaszily recounts a personal passage from one mental state to another far better one, describes the slow, step-by-step trudge often required by events much larger than ourselves.

That event might be death.
That event might be the loss of a job.
That event might be rejection.
That event might be bankruptcy.
Or the event might be national loss.

For this author, all of these experiences played a part in his transformation. Right from the first chapter, Vaszily makes no secret of the result; what he discovered on his path down misfortune's lane is that he is "a lucky man" in spite of the hardships he has suffered.

This slim volume may be difficult to take, depending on the reader's status with recovery from the events of 9/11. Regardless of one's recovery status, though, it may be just what the doctor ordered.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

I've had this book a long time. I've read it many times. Each time I experience an expanded and enhanced spiritual and psychic understanding of an event I thought I'd come to terms with long ago. Probably because he doesn't journalistically report exactly what happened; probably because he presents the psychic reality of his personal experience: that experience enlarges our own. I was watching a local Spanish station at the time because, of course, the antenna for regular major news media broadcasting was destroyed. At the time I worked in an international on-line network. I remember being physically discomfited by others, elsewhere in the country/world, speaking as though they had some inherent legitimate authority to tell me what was happening less than 3 miles away (by flying crow). But that fortuitous allegation reminded me that the unthinkable event had happened to the "World" Trade Center - not the "New York" Trade Center. I remembered that New York Harbor was a major trading center, a stock exchange in physical goods dating back to the 1600s and housed in the Custom House which is still there. The traders were Dutchmen. I, too, have a semi-tangible psychic reality about the entire 400-year time line. We live in a spiritual world and there is still much that we really don't understand but we do get glimpses of it along the way.

This slim volume greatly humanizes the lives, hopes, fear and dreams of those about to die. It is fiction...no real names are used. It reminds us that of the thousands who died, every one of them was a living, breathing person, just like us. This is a small masterpiece and deserving of your attention.

"Beyond Stone and Steel" by Brian W. Vaszily recounts a personal passage from one mental state to another far better one, describes the slow, step-by-step trudge often required by events much larger than ourselves.

That event might be death.
That event might be the loss of a job.
That event might be rejection.
That event might be bankruptcy.
Or the event might be national loss.

For this author, all of these experiences played a part in his transformation. Right from the first chapter, Vaszily makes no secret of the result; what he discovered on his path down misfortune's lane is that he is "a lucky man" in spite of the hardships he has suffered.

This slim volume may be difficult to take, depending on the reader's status with recovery from the events of 9/11. Regardless of one's recovery status, though, it may be just what the doctor ordered.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

This book was like none other I have ever read... the author seemed to digest this tradegy and somehow turned it into something beautiful. It has reminded me of all that I have, how easily it could be gone and to cherish every moment we are here. It has truly changed the way I see my life. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it to everyone.

Despite its title this book is an easy and entertaining read for a broad audience. While specifically written from the perspective of management of software projects, the book actually addresses management at large. It makes a concise case showing how dangerous and detrimental it is (to the successful outcome of large scale (software) projects that is, defined by the author as a "quality product on time and on budget") to separate technical leadership/management from personnel leadership/management, as so often mandated by many organizations. The "manager-architect," as termed by the author in his book, is key to success. Consequently not everybody can be up for this task, and only few who dare to try will succeed at it, as evidenced by the disconcerting fact that many "top level managers" manage nothing but major budgetary overruns (be they hidden or not), for which they are "held accountable" by society by being hailed as "America's Best Leaders." This book puts an end to such phoniness and provides especially the inexperienced/naive reader with a skill set to reveal/uncover such mismanagement and the individuals responsible.

The book is a true eye opener for aspiring and "want-to-be" managers alike. Also, having posters on "true leadership" pinned to the office wall does not magically inhale the ability of leadership into the office occupant. Leadership is an ability rather than a skill as clarified by the author. It is just like playing an instrument: it only gets you so far if you do not have it in you and practice every day. Chapter 12 "The Impact of Leadership on Software Development" should be read by any manager (aspiring, "want-to-be", or acting alike), and in particular by those who confuse management with suddenly having power over people. Moreover, management does not and should not mean "tenure" along the lines of "now I have made it, now I can relax" or "now I am in power." Rather the "Old Fritz" (Friedrich II, Prussian King) statement, simple yet true, comes to mind: "I am the first servant of the country" ("Ich bin der erste Diener meines Staates"), and serves as a good guide.

The author puts forth an interesting concept for true autonomy founded on the philosophical considerations of the human mind, upon which the AI-(IF-THEN-ELSE)-community will most likely have to choke. In doing so, the author outlines nicely the profound difference between automation and autonomy, two terms, which are often confused, intermixed, or misunderstood, even by so-called experts in the field.

If management is done right, as exemplified/laid out in this book and practiced by its author in an exemplary fashion, managers would rather have to be pitied because of their huge added responsibility for their people/troops and the projects they manage/lead (in that order!). Special attention should be paid throughout the book and in particular throughout Chapter 12 to the "Machiavellian Prince," as this kind of "leader" unfortunately exists (and not in small numbers!), and, while striving only for personal power and gain, causes a lot of damage to otherwise noble causes.

The author of this book has deep insights and wisdom for any level of interface with computer science applications. You simply cannot go wrong for putting your weight down on patterns to follow from someone who has had success in the field. The techniques in this book go beyond basic head knowledge, into the live action of software development where the rubber meets the road. Only an experienced person can give these insights. I am very impressed with the advanced mapping, made simple. This book seems to be written for people who are looking to find answers to every day problems in a rapidly moving computer world, without fear.

Mr. deGyurky gives a great overview of his experience at JPL in organizing and developing large, complex, software systems, and delivering them on schedule, on cost. Mr. deGyurky demonstrated that the most important contribution to software management is that of leadership in life, carries over in software development also.

If you are thinking of becoming a manager of a software development project, you should check this book out, and You will be a step ahead of the game!

The author has given us a framework for conceptualizing, organizing and developing large, complex, software systems, and delivering them on schedule, on cost.

His approach to software development emphasizes two basic ideas. Unique is his application to the development process of the cognitive philosophies of the great Nineteenth Century German cognitive philosophers, principally Schopenhauer, Kant and Hegel, which De Gyurky has studied for years (- in the original Nineteenth Century High German). De Gurky also emphasizes to an extraordinary degree the active role of personal leadership required of the successful software development manager.

Far from being a purely theoretical work, the book is richly illustrated with pungent examples from De Gyurky's near-incredibly varied experience both in the US military as a Special Forces officer commanding a detachment of Montaignards in the mountains of Vietnam, as an action officer at NATO Headquarters, and as the civilian developer of very large military flight-schedule management systems as well as spacecraft software command and control systems.

All the examples are exquisitely pertinent to the software development process. But in addition, four detailed programmatic examples are presented, together with comments, figures and schedules. The author's application of the principles he developed is wholly consistent and unfailingly pertinent, if sometimes challenging, due to the likely unfamiliarity on the part of the typical software engineering reader with the application of the philosophical concepts.

In fact, the single characteristic of the book which may challenge the typical software developer is the accessibility of some of the concepts. Some of the most powerful concepts discussed, e.g., the dialectical process by which an ill-formed idea becomes an object that reflects the meeting of the minds of the design team, are likely to be unfamiliar. However this process has profound implications for the organization of the design team, its management, team-member responsibilities, and on and on. It might have been helpful if the author had expanded on these key concepts, perhaps in context closer to their original use. It would be demanding on the reader, but probably no more so than parts of the book itself.

This unique contribution is recommended to software developers interested in on-time, on-cost development of large software systems, and willing to invest in the intellectual effort required to understand the author's unique contribution. They will be well rewarded.

I have read many books on systems and software development and management principles over the years. The ones that most influenced me were: "More Reliable Software Through Composite Design" by Glen Meyers; "Up the Organization" by Robert Townsend; and "Reengineering the Corporation" by Michael Hammer and James Champy. And of course no system developer's library would be complete without "Managing the Software Process" and other books by Watts Humphry, a giant in our industry. Mr. Szabolcs Michael deGyurky's book will occupy a place along side these on my bookshelf.

In this book, Mr. deGyurky has provided a completely different and refreshing, but no less important, viewpoint on systems development. As different as all the above mentioned books are, the one theme common to all of them is their focus on the "real" problem by differentiating between the truly important and the seemingly important - commonly referred to as separating the wheat from the chaff..

"The Cognitive Dynamics of Computer Science" focuses on strength of character as being indispensable to successful completion of complex systems development projects, which not only satisfy the "real" requirements, but ensure the system is delivered within an agreed to budget and schedule. This book draws on the philosophy of such estimable historical figures as Kant, Hegel and Schopenhauer, among others, in defining the behavioral characteristics of successful leaders and managers. Personal experiences in real world projects by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) provide a substantive backdrop for Mr. deGyurky's approach to managing systems development.

It is impossible to adequately relay the impact of such a book in so short a review, but I do come away with some points which derive more meaning because of my own experience: 1) Design from the user in, but develop from the inside out, in layers, 2) Don't implement until you have an initial design documented and understood by the development team - expect that to change, 3) Manage change through the Project Implementation Plan (PIP), which is the Project Manager's equivalent to the Software Development Folder, 4) Don't hire staff until you have their tasks well defined (control burn rate and you have controlled your budget), 5) Make sure you understand exactly what your customer wants through constant customer involvement, 6) make your customer's goal, your goal, then incentivize the entire development team to focus on that goal as the highest priority, 7) There shall be no implementation without documented, repeatable process and standards, which should be tailored to the individual project, but at no time should process and standards replace common sense in a dynamically changing development environment, 8) Employ tools and ensure the team is involved in their selection, 9) Ensure the development team is trained in methodology, process, standards, tools and system requirements, and 10) the manager should place the needs of his customer and his team ahead of his personal goals.

All of this is done in concert with the philosophical teachings of our great philosophers, who would encourage strict honesty and ethics in dealing with our customer, subordinates, colleagues, company management, even if it means being fired. Of course, one does not fit all the meaning of a 300-page book into such a short review, and one could easily list another 10 or more points of interest.

I agree with almost everything in this excellent book, but may differ on the role played by Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) and Computer Aided Design (CAD) in systems development. Since CASE tools became mature enough to use effectively, I personally selected my tools, then built my process and standards around them. This includes the way I modify process and standards (including DoD) to conform to streamlining development and associated documentation. The CASE tool, when used with discipline can ensure that interface errors are avoided during the design process, as provided through automatic leveling and validation as the system design progresses. Fixed price contracts caused me to gravitate to using the latest tools available and build around them each time.

I am certain that Autonomous Cognitive systems are in our future, but not without application of increasingly sophisticated CASE tools and compilers (Autonomous Cognitive Compilers), which can parse complex combinations of Boolean expressions with many operations per expression to simulate the human thought system in making decisions. Neither can these systems be built without addressing the transducers (sensors), which would connect to and provide stimuli to be interpreted and processed by any autonomous system as the 5 senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste). I look forward to Mr. deGuyrky's next book, which may address this highly complex problem.

I would only close this review with one last comment, directed to JPL. Mr. deGyurky and his team were on the right track with Ada. It is unfortunate that JPL didn't adopt this very highly typed and disciplined high order language as their standard development language. I believe it would have saved more than one failed project. Based on my 40 plus years of developing computer systems, I would humbly suggest that JPL require mandatory use of Ada in all "Class A" development projects.

Planguage is a word and concept that combines Planning and LANGUAGE and is rooted in the author's experience since 1960. The core tenant of Competitive Engineering is that well structured specifications have a dramatic cost reduction over down-stream error correction. The defect prevention process (DPP) is used to clean up early stages specs, or preferably measure defects and motivate lower defect injection, in specifications and the attendant issues instead of relying solely on defect detection andcorrection once actual development has begun. Competitive Engineering provides focus and skills to dramatically increase how productive many of us have been in the past.

The centrality of quality specifications means significant gains for the broadest spectrum of stake-holders who stand to win with the System Of Interest (SOI). Take this specification as an example to clean up:

"The new system will use Foo language running on OS Bar and ensure top industry quality response time on web requests."

People in the field have seen specs like these. Hopefully you aren't writing them. There are what Gilb classifies as "Major defects" in this spec. Which web requests, the front page or all of them pulling from the various databases? Can the old system be incrementally upgraded instead of an entirely new development environment? Why use Foo and Bar if something else gets the job done better, faster, and with less resource utilization? Just how fast is "fast", anyway?

In Competitive Engineering you're told to get measureable quality requirements, record who requested that requirement, and exactly what "success" is defined as. That allows you to go back to the requester with notes such as "If we use OS Baz we'll get a 27% increase in CPU performance" and let them make a decision or escalate to the project funder. You're also encouraged to weed out "design constraints"; at least out of the mandatated and into the labelled area "Design Constraint". Wouldn't it be great if you got a specification that let you design the best you could without technical input from someone that can't use a web-browser?

See if you can understand my re-write of the above spec into Planguage.

Response Time on Front Page of Company Website.

Type: Performance Requirement
Version: 1.2
Status: Draft
Owner: F. Flintstone

Stakeholders: Marketing, Server Support, Corporate Intelligence, ,

Ambition: The front page of the corporate website should respond fast enough to keep the viewer's attention.

Description: Marketing research indicates the typical business website viewer makes an opinion on the website, and thus the company, within 20 seconds. Our corporate site pulls data from three different databases and a sizeable image library, taking an average of 26.87 seconds on a home DSL/Cable modem equivalent network. Marketing advantage can be gained if we can grab viewer attention noticibly faster than our two nearest competitors who average 23.43 and 26.09 seconds, respectively.

Vision: Enough accurate information provided quickly enough to keep the customer on our site.

Scale: Time, in Seconds, to a complete front page load on the equivalent of a 250K network connection.

Past [Front page, 1 Apr 07]: 26.87 seconds

Goal [1 November 07]: 19 seconds <- Marketing Director: BR

Stretch: 15 seconds

Wish: 9 seconds

Design Constraint: Supportability <- Server Support Manager WF Must utilize .

Design Constraint: Security <- Corporate Intelligence BB Must meet .

------------------------ end of spec example --------------------

Probably the only thing that might confuse you about that specification is the use of text within "<...>". Planguage uses that to denote a "fuzzy requirement"; something that is defined but not with the concreteness you'd like. In this example, however, it would be relatively simple to query B. Rubble for the specific guidelines her team seeks to enforce. The use of fuzzy requirements also allows for change over time; more OS versions may become supported while others are obsolete.

When I read part of an electronic copy of the text I had a problem. My antiquated home printer could not print it and if I used the work printer I view the output as a possession of my employer. The book is written as part instruction, part reference manual; I bought my own copy because I know I'm going to use it for the next few years and several employers.

This is one the books which has caused a great impression on me. It helps to get away from high-level, gut-feeling, fuzzy goals and descriptions to very concrete targets, unambiguous requirements and rational decisions. This strikes a chord at the heart of systems design and architecture, which consists in maximizing a set of business goals with limited resources (time, budget, personnel). I highly recommend it.

Building software systems is not easy, this book can help you to do a better job.

In a period where the trend is to follow agile approaches with condensed guidance (see the 12 principles of the Agile Manifesto for instance), it could seem strange to publish a book on software development with more than 500 dense pages. You should however not be frightened by this book. Beneath the size and the structured form lies an approach based on practical experience that incorporates change and flexibility without abandoning the quest for precision and delivering value.

The main concept of Competitive Engineering is Planguage, a word created mixing plan and language. Communication is the basis for working together. This is why Tom Gilb emphasises first the creation of a common vocabulary. He states that his glossary could be considered as the best contribution of this book. Beneath the definition of a common language, for me the "hidden agenda" of the book is to help us to think... further. The common language is only a tool that helps us express our thoughts more precisely and completely.

Fortunately for us, Tom Gilb didn't only write a dictionary of system engineering. A large part of the book is devoted to the activities of system engineering and project management. Based on Planguage, Gilb gives us a framework to elicit clearer requirements. He emphasises a measurable vision ("bad numbers beat good words") and presents tools to achieve this objective. He also helps us separate requirements from design. He devotes an entire chapter to quality control. Finally, there is a presentation of the techniques of evolutionary project management that supports incremental development based on the priority and impact techniques described in previous parts of the book.

In every chapter you will find examples and case studies that help to visualise how the concepts translate into practice. There is also an "additional ideas" part that presents material for further thinking. Beneath the seriousness of the topic, Gilb also manage to place some lighter parts and you will find how to compare seriously apples with oranges.

At the end, your realise that you have a book where process is not opposed to people, structure is not opposed to flexibility, precision is not opposed to allowing change, documentation is not opposed to active refinement, Gilb's proposed solution is not opposed to customisation for your needs. It is just a book that gives you new inspiration to deliver better software solutions to your customer.

If you are interested in software process improvement, you can read this book from the beginning and find practical material to examine your current practices with a different vision. If you are a lonesome project manager or developer, you could begin by just using the index to get Gilb's view on your current activity or problem. Be cautious, because there are many chances that you will be tempted to read more material ;o)

After reading this book, I browsed again my old copy of "Principles of Software Engineering" that I bought when it was published in 1988. I saw that many ideas from "Competitive Engineering" were already presented in this book. Tom Gilb just applied to his ideas the same concepts he proposes for system engineering. He refined, expanded and structured them to get a better product. The printing industry has just prevented evolutionary delivery, but you can bet that he will find a way to include this in the future.

My interest in the topic of competitive engineering (CE) was piqued several years ago when I heard very favorable comments about Tom Gilb's tutorial on that subject at the INCOSE 2002 Symposium in Las Vegas.

The book's subtitle is "A Handbook for Systems Engineering, Requirements Engineering, and Software Engineering Using Planguage". The term "Planguage" is central to an understanding of the book. Planguage, which is derived from a union of "plan" and "language", is the methodology for implementing CE. Much of the book is devoted to describing the generalized processes, rules, and vocabulary of Planguage. Tom notes, "Planguage should be viewed as a powerful way to develop and implement strategies that will help your projects to deliver the required competitive results." Fundamentally, the book presents a new take on best practices in systems engineering and management.

The book is useful on several levels. For organizations without a formal or documented process, tailoring of Planguage would jump start the process at a high level of maturity. For organizations that have achieved CMMI level 3 status, Planguage by itself is not as useful. However, many of the ideas of CE-the Planguage methods-are worth considering for enhancement of existing organizational processes. Tom states that CE is "about technological management, risk control, and breakthrough improvement in complex business systems, projects, and processes." CE is a believable approach for delivering complex projects on time and within budget.

The book passed my value-added test, when I realized that I was photocopying several pages for future reference, to be part of my "toolkit" of helpful tips and techniques. I particularly enjoyed reading the 10 often witty, summary principles in each chapter. Two examples are:

* The Principle of `Storage of Wisdom': "If your people are not all experienced or geniuses, You need to store their hard-earned wisdom in your defined process. Capture wisdom for reuse, Fail to write it, that's abuse!"

* The Principle of `The early bird catches the worm': "Your customers will be happier with an early long-term stream of their priority improvements, than years of promises, culminating in late disaster."

About 30% of the book is the Planguage Concept Glossary, which Tom views as a central contribution of the book. I focused my attention on the other, more interesting, parts of the book, which describe the main CE/Planguage methods of Requirement Specification (RS), Design Engineering (DE), Impact Estimation (IE), Specification Quality Control (SQC), and Evolutionary Project Management (EVO, also known as Evo). RS describes an approach for identifying all types of requirements while avoiding ambiguity and also planning for change. Functional and performance requirements are distinguished. DE deals with identifying, choosing, and prioritizing the order in which design ideas are implemented and delivered. In conjunction with Evo, DE selects the design ideas most likely to provide a significant benefit for early delivery.

SQC is an eminently practical approach for evaluating the quality of any technical document via sampling measurements. An hour of SQC early in a project can save almost 10 hours of rework. SQC also provides a means to assess the success of process improvement efforts. IE provides a realistic method for evaluating-in quantitative terms-the effectiveness of designs in meeting both the requirements, especially critical performance attributes, and the resource budgets.

Evo focuses on early, frequent delivery of project results via a series of high-value, small evolutionary steps. An ideal Evo approach would divide the project into a series of cycles. Each cycle would consume 2-5% of the total financial budget and 2-5% of the total project time-while delivering some measurable, required results to the stakeholders. The next cycle is selected to deliver the best stakeholder value for its cost (highest ratio of value to cost, or highest ratio of performance to cost). Although an ideal approach can't always be realized, Tom provides some convincing examples to argue that there is always a solution to making a project evolutionary (small steps with critical deliveries first).

Perseverance pays off with Competitive Engineering. The book is not a quick read, which Tom acknowledges. You have to carefully study some of the pages to understand the concepts being presented. The reward occurs when you glean the nuggets of wisdom from the numerous practical examples, case studies, and Planguage examples. Tom's way of presenting the CE concepts makes the book a useful addition to the systems engineer's library.