Practitioners Books

I purchased this book to help me with a university unit primarily on system testing methods and techniques. Although this book covers many of the primary testing concepts needed for software testing, some of the concepts covered were sometimes completed short (or too verbose in some sections). All of the example questions after each chapter that were stipulated for the student to complete - answers were not provided either in the book, or online. So as a fellow software testing student, when completing some of the exercises, I was unaware of whether I was completing them correctly or not.

However, on the contrary the book has some valuable information that I couldn't even find on the internet (when investigating some further explanations on particular topics covered).

The book could have been written in a more professional manner, covering topics in more detail and exploring some of the minor (and major) difficulties that one can encounter when developing test cases for any software being created.

It helped me with basic understanding of concepts. Further investigation on the internet was needed to get what I deem as "sufficient understanding" of the material covered.

This is a great reference, giving a good overview of most common test methods. Good bases for in-depth study or to structure a class around.

Lee Copeland's book, "A Practitioner's Guide to Software Test Design" provides an easily read introduction into a critical but often ignored subject. As those familiar with the IEEE Standard for Software Test Documentation (IEEE-Std-829) know, Test Design is the first step in turning the "What" of the Test Plan into the "How" of test execution. The IEEE Test Documentation lifecycle is Test Plan - Test Design - Test Case Development - Test Procedure Development - (Test Execution) - Test Summary Report creation. Many test engineers proceed directly from Test Planning into Test Procedure creation, and do Test Design implicitly as opposed to explicitly. This can have a negative impact on an effective test program. This book clearly shows how to implement the test design process described in Drabick's book "Best Practices for the Formal Software Testing Process".

Lee's book provides a concise description based on excellent Case Studies of Black-Box (Requirements Focused) test techniques, moving from the simple (Equivalence Class and Boundary Value testing) to the more complex (Domain Analysis and Use Case testing). He provides the best description I've seen of test case development using orthogonal arrays. Lee then addresses White-Box (Structural Focused) testing, showing how to approach Control Flow and Data Flow testing. Again, he has the best description with illustrative examples of Data Flow testing that I've ever seen.

Lee then describes two Test Paradigms: Scripted Testing and Exploratory Testing that appear to be significantly different, and shows how the two can be used together for even more effective testing. That's the way I've always done testing, by the way.

His Defect Taxonomies chapter provides valuable insight on how to use such information in test design (I never thought of that), and he concludes with a short chapter that addresses the critical question When to Stop Testing.

The Case Studies on "Brown & Donaldson" and "Stateless University Registration" are effectively used to provide valuable insight into the techniques.

This book would be a good read in combination with the book from Rick Craig and Stefan Jaskiel, "Systematic Software Testing".

In summary, this book is well done, is an easy read, and should be read by every test engineer.

Most texts on software testing have a chapter or two which describe test design techniques. This is the first text that is devoted exclusively to this subject. There is little in the way of theory. The text is practical and provides the software test professional with clear explanations and examples of test techniques that have been proven to be effective.

Although Copeland covers both black box (behavioral) and white box (developer oriented) test techniques, the majority of the test design techniques described are black box. Each technique is explained along with its applicability, advantages/disadvantages, along with references for more information.

For what can be a dry subject, Copeland effectively used humor to make this book very readable.

I also appreciated the chapter summaries, key points in the margins, and a thorough works cited -- including several web articles. Highly recommended.

This information in this book is simply presented and very easy to apply.

I think the price is a bit high compared to a related book (Systematic Software Testing by Rick D Craig and Stefan P Jaskeil). I managed to get the other book (536 pages) for about $40.00. While the other book represents much better value, I still bought this one and would do it again. If you can only buy one, I'd suggest getting Systematic Software Testing.

First of all, no 136 page book is worth 22 dollars and change. I also have a problem with a book that teaches someone how to use another book, whereas the original book costs less than the explanation book. Why risk the explanation book getting it wrong (as it does; I second the appellate lawyer's view) when you can sit down with the orginal book?

I know law students are always looking for the one book that will have all the knowledge they need, the magic spellbook of law, but really, you don't need more than the Bluebook, Gardner's Redbook, and your casebook (maybe the Examples and Explanations series) for law school. Forget getting Black's Law Dictionary; it's a piece of garbage now, been dumbed down to the point of useless.

The Blue Book is not complicated, and if you think it is, trying to understand it will improve your mind. If you don't want to do that, maybe you shouldn't be a law student and save the legal profession from a mediocre mind.

Understanding and Mastering The Bluebook: A Guide for Students and Practitioners

I bought this book to help me teach bluebooking to our firm's paralegals, and it will be a good resource. But it contains too many mistakes to be useful as a text. Here are some examples:
1. On page 13, the author states that a case cite in mid-sentence is not followed by a comma unless it is part of an independent clause that would ordinarily require a comma. This is contrary to Rule B5.3 of the Bluebook. The elements of the citation other than the case name must always be "set off" by commas (i.e., before and after) if they are mid-sentence.
2. The definition of "E.g." on page 90 is incorrect, and the "example" makes no sense. "E.g." means "for example," so you would never use it in the middle of a string cite.
3. On p. 93, the author says to combine "See + e.g.," as "See e.g.,". While it is true that the signal "see" does not require a comma, "e.g." must be set off by commas ("See, e.g.,"). See Rule R1.2(a) of the Bluebook for examples.
4. The comma after "accord" in the example on page 90 appears to be a typo - the author clearly knows better.
It's a great start, so I hope there's a second edition in the works.

Many of my students told me this is the most helpful book they bought all year. It really makes the Bluebook manageable. I highly recommend it for Legal Writing professors, as well as practitioners.

This is the best book ever for learning Bluebook citation. I like its format, illustrating how each rule works. Although a previous reviewer found a couple of mistakes in the book, they are really minor (a couple of misplaced commas), and the book is so helpful this shouldn't stop you from buying it. It's a must have book for anyone trying to learn citation and for practitioners who want a quick reference guide.

This is the most user friendly bluebook guide ever.. it is 100X better than Interactive Citation Workbook for The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, 2007 Edition If you're a 1L looking for a great introduction to the bluebook this is it.

The book is a great guide to understanding the different models used on Wall Street to capture the intricacies of modeling and pricing derivatives. The books focus of using models as a tool and NOT a solution is a great reminder to both traders and salespeople.
This summarized when the author describes the pricing of a digital cliquet.
"Those sellers using local Vol models will certainly value a digital cliquet at a lower price than sellers using stochastic volatility. Perversely then, those sellers using an inadequate model will almost certainly win the deal and end up short a portfolio of misvalued forward-starting digital options. OR even worse, a dealer could have an appropriate valuation approach but be pushed internally by the salespeople to match (mistaken) competitors' lower prices."

I found this book by Jim Gatheral very useful from a practical standpoint. His insight for trading applications is remarkable. I reccommend this book to any derivative trader to read from cover to cover. Its filled w/ useful tips and concepts that will save you and your firm from the many pitfalls that arise in marketers trying to satisfy their clients at the house's expense.

Managers should make this required reading for all traders.

The Volatility Surface is a MUST READ for anyone who desires a deep and practical understanding of the pricing and risk management of derivative claims. Thoughtful enough for academics but accessible to the practicioner. The picture on the back jacket is a masterpiece as well.

Too often we see authors unnecessarily overcomplicate mathematics. Jim Gatheral on the other hand does the reverse. By taking a difficult subject and presenting in a wonderfully concise and pedagogic style he shares with the reader his deep knowledge of volatility. Such an important financial quantity which still appears to invoke fear, Jim Gatheral uses his enviable blend of master practitioner and brilliant academic to combine both the real-world finance principles together with the underlying mathematics to demystify volatility.

The working is beautifully laid out, in a manner that is patient, friendly and approachable - and shows that quant finance need not look greek! This is the measure of a true genius!

As a teacher of mathematical finance, I have no hesitation in strongly recommending this book to students, researchers and practitioners in the field of derivatives.

Jim Gatheral has done everyone in quant fin a service by gathering and organizing his lectures, practical execution issues, and experience in this welcome volume, The Volatility Surface: A Practitioner's Guide. This is simply an excellent, clear work that defies the logic that good valuable books in finance don't get written because authors make more money elsewhere. Compare Gatheral with the execrable collection of disjointed papers with Jarrow's name slapped on it (Volatility, Jarrow, et al,1998). This is the book they were trying to write, but it took a practitioner who had his hands dirty and worked hard to try to explain what he was doing to write it.

Topics are rolled out extremely well, and Gatheral dives right in to where practitioners swim: volatility isn't a single data point, or a smile, but a surface and needs to be thought of that way. In explicating the volatility surface and the possible explanations for shapes Gatheral raises the level of conversation for everyone in the field: this is the way we must think of volatility now (until something better comes along, but given the curse of dimensionality my guess is we will be here for a very long time).

This is an excellent, necessary book. Full disclosure: I am not an expert in this field and only have friends who are (many of them are editorial and AMAZON reader reviewers cited here). This book assists me in having interesting and comprehensible conversations with them, but if there are any flaws they likely would escape me. So far, my friends who are experts all agree: thank you Jim Gatheral, excellent job. Very helpful and well worth the money.

Useful basics for any professional whose work with patients requires cooperation. Health practitioners working to improve their ability to assess, motivate, and educate patients as partners for better health outcomes will want to read this honest, practical yet reflective book twice - and then again - while trying out its ideas, practicing, and growing into its approach to care. Useful both for persons in training and already in practice.

It's a bit unusual for me to agree with customer reviews that both praise and criticize a book, but in this case I do. On the one hand, Rollnick et al, have done an amazing job of applying motivational interviewing and stages of change theory to the short interchanges common with patients in a medical setting. For those readers already well-versed in stages of change, this is an excellent and thought-provoking approach. I believe many "counselors" of various stripes would benefit from the applications advocated in this book.

On the other hand, I found the theoretical foundation wholly inadequate. While I appreciated the attempts of the authors to carefully distinguish between evidence-based substantiation of their guidelines and the weaker suggestions based on clinical practice, I felt that there was a preponderance of the latter.

I was also overwhelmed by the repetition included in the three final "application" chapters. Surely there is a better way to present this material! Frankly, the final chapters are so tedious to read that I suspect the average medical professional tends to conclude this volume with a less-than-enthusiastic feeling regarding the guidance.

My advice is to read through chapter 5, at the most, and to consult chapters 6-8 only after encountering specific problems in applying the techniques provided.

This book gave helpful perspectives regarding doctor-patient communication, but was not very enlightening. The problem might be that it was written from the perspective that the doctor is always correct, and the patient is always some poor sap who needs to be enlightened and trained as you would a child. I don't see this book awakening the human within some budding physician and transforming the physician into some effective communicator. The worst part was how many pages it took to convey helpful information.

This is surprising because the motivational interviewing video training from these authors is exemplary. Maybe the video approach did not transfer well to book.

I gave it more than one star because it does have good strategies in it, and I believe reading it would be better than reading nothing.

Health Behavior Change dramatically simplifies and expands the Motivational Interviewing counseling style techniques underlined in Motivational Interviewing by Miller and Rollnick (1991). Health Behavior Change is very easy to read and provides a practical menu of "tools" that could assist individuals thinking and/or committed to behavioral change. Although the authors' targets are medical professionals, the book is a must for everyone involve in health care promotion and/or counseling (prevention workers, outreach workers, treatment advocates, drug and alcohol counselors, psychotherapists). It is also a great book to pass along to family members and anyone concerned in assisting others to move in the direction of change. The most important message: when we are moving in the direction of behavioral change, we need helpers who care, remain non-judgmental and help us tip the balance towards healthier behaviors. Assisting people to set their own realistic goals --however small, is crucial to facilitate meaningful, long lasting change. Love this book!!!!

HIV Service Provider and Trainer, San Francisco Bay Area, CA

A simple, easy, and yet deep, thought-provoking book. ONLY ONE of this kind.

I am tring hard to implement some of their methods in Japan.

This is an excellent "how to" book. It describes in detail all the steps required to properly lead a software development team. It pays particular attention to conflict resolution including examples on how to handle difficult situatuions and people. I get the impression that in Richard Whitehead's limited project experience he has had significant exposure to conflict.
It would have been useful if he had fully explored some of the other paths during conflict resolution. He explains what to do in certain circumstances, but does not go the additional step; what if it doesn't get results, what then?

Whitehead covers alot of the basics of team management. It shouldn't be difficult, and that what Whitehead explains through "questioned" title chapters. It works quite well because you can zero in on the question about leadership in your situation that may be plaguing your mind. The book is short and easy to read, so it can be read in about 3 days on a bus.

The author subscribes to making you aware of the qualities of good managers and how to handle common types of problems, like what to do when you don't have the technical knowledge about a problem, or how to handle difficult/disruptive team members. In summary, Whitehead helps you get into thinking like a ternary leader, that is you are part of a group, all working towards a common goal and you, (the teamleader/manager), should not dictate your "will and whim" to others.

The only criticism is that it is probably too light on the aspect of project management. There are issues about project management of people in terms of requirements, risk, scheduling that are not discussed. This book is about working with your colleagues not clients.... but overall a good read at a good price.

I bought this book in the middle of a project where we face lots of problems. We come accross about 90% of the problems that are describe in this book. How I wish I could have read this before involving in leading a project. The recommendation and advice are very practical. It took me a few trials to get to the solution by myself before this. Now I can just refer to this book whenever I have problem in handling project issues and save me lots of unnecessary trials. I highly recommend this for new project leaders.

After reading this book, I would say for sure that Richard Whitehead understands the role of the project lead. I would buy this book for a new, or existing lead, if I wanted him to understand the challenges he might face. I really applaud this and would add that many books feel like they were written from the outside looking in (sure, everyone on the outside wants twice the functionality in half the time!). I would love to see an update that included more strategies for success however. A lot of the solutions seemed to be based on a specific set of circumstances and personalities. Perhaps adding some examples from others who faced similar challenges, and overcame them with different methods, would increase the impact of this book.

While the programmer in me has often railed at the managers of software development, generally with very good reason, but admittedly sometimes for reasons that were less than pure, I do readily admit that it is a very difficult job. Humans tend to have distinct sets of skills, some of which seem to have a fundamental incompatibility. Writers of good software seem to be predisposed to having limited social and managerial skills and in general one needs to be able to understand a great deal about software in order to be able to manage its' creation. Programmers are also known as being "somewhat difficult" to organize, so even the best managers can be challenged by what is oftentimes an unruly bunch of developers.
However, difficult does not mean impossible, I have yet to meet a quality programmer who did not have a "weakness", that properly exploited, will cause them to work intensely and log an enormous amount of keyboard time. Teams are built in many ways, and Whitehead quite properly notes that many (most) successful teams are made of people who respect and rely on each other's skills, but may not personally like each other. Some of the most successful sports teams of all times were made up of players who did not speak to each other outside the bounds of play. Arguing and bickering, as long as it is within clearly defined boundaries, should be considered normal and tolerated. Attempts to dictate that people like each other and engage in silly "teambuilding" exercises more often lead to failure rather than success. Other examples in the book show the same good sense, as Whitehead clearly has experience in making projects work.
The book is split into sections, which are

* The new leader.
* Project management.
* Leading people.
* Requirements capture.
* Stress and conflict management.
* Relationship with management.
* Making decisions.
* Analysis and design.
* Testing and project release.

Under these sections, there are a total of 40 different points, with a header and explanation of some of the rights, wrongs and different shades of gray inherent in the points. While forty is not large enough to cover all possible contingencies, I cannot find a reason to criticize those that were chosen.
Writing good software is hard, and managing hard people is difficult. However, from this book you can find some very sound advice that will improve your chances of managing a project to a successful conclusion.

I believe in a spiritual way of business and no i am not rich but i am happy and honorable. This was helpful for it gave me a way to be honest and kind and find a way to my practice being all that it could be. I actually got four more clients after reading the book and listening to the cd. Thanks

This book really helps the healing practitioner realize what value they have. It also gives very practical advice for someone who wants to share their healing gifts. Whether you are just getting started in the healing gifts or you are a seasoned professional, this book will help you improve your bottom line.
Not many books are written especially to help the healer with our special circumstances, this book addresses all our problems in a loving inciteful way,
Rebecca Marina, professional workshop leader

Kathryn's course taught me the "business" side of healing and how to successfully market my services to clients. She helped me meld the spiritual aspect of being a practitioner with the physical in a clear, easy-to-follow process outlined in her practical, how-to book. I especially benefitted from her meditation guiding me to the powerful work I can do on the inner planes to expand my consciousness and increase my prosperity and success. Thank you, Kathryn, for so generously sharing what has clearly worked for you in your success.

Kathryn Alice's book and cd awakened in me the worth of my consciousness! And since consciousness precedes form, more clients have arrived.

Kathryn's work has inspired me to release small ideas of myself and reveal a more expanded and powerful version of me through my healing practice! I have seen direct results from following the guidlines in this book. My clients are booking series rather than single sessions. I have begun creating products,designed promotional materials and have built a website. I am grateful for the expansion of consciousness this course has facilitated and for inspiring me to give myself permission to be all that I can be. Many blessings to you Kathryn.

many of the test questions will undoubtedly be in this book so it was worth it.

This is a required textbook for my Family Practice course and its very informative and useful in its arrangement.

This book was in perfect condition and arrived very quickly.

I received the textbook exactly as ordered with prompt service. It is required for a course I am taking but will serve as a valuable resource in the future.

A good book for a basic overview of primary care including developmental milestones, physical assessment, and pathophysiology. I do not recommend it, however, if you are looking for in depth details and explanations.

Sorry to the author - I feel bad writing bad reviews about well intentioned books, but there has to be *some* way of separating the wheat from the chaff.

It's actually not bad, it's just mediocre, yet-another-wicca-101, but aimed at the college crowd this time.
Or, less of a Wicca 101, more focused on just being a 'Wiccan at College', by someone not that experienced, interviewing the equally inexperienced (not being ageist here, I would have thought the same at 18 - actually, I'd have been a little more disparaging. Ooops), and really, there's not that much involved in 'being a wiccan at college' or enough insight in the concept for the size of the book.

I'd recommend 21st Century Wicca instead, it has a chapter or so on practising in college situations etc which seems a better substitute.

As you could probably already guess, ROCKING THE GODDESS is aimed at Wiccans in college. Paige takes his knowledge of being a college student and interviews with other Wiccans in college around the country in a textbook-style format (but not in a boring way).

ROCKING starts out introducing the history of the Craft, which is a "must-know" for Wiccans, then into stories and interviews by Paige with other collegiate Wiccans all over the US talking about their struggles - and even doing ritual in a dorm room. Although it is aimed at college students living on campus, it is still perfect for the student living at home or on their own. Also included are a few spells to help the reader out with their studies - a wonderful idea for the stressful days that we call "finals."

The main point of the book, though, is to inspire the young Wiccan with a message of hope: you are not alone. Others are struggling with "being in the broom closet" and fighting for equal religious rights on campus. Don't give up.

As a freshman in college, I found this book to be a tremendous help. The Wicca 101 stuff aside, it helps to address serious issues, such as being in the broom closet, working rituals in dorm rooms (that can be quite a hassle), sexuality and Wicca, the campus coven and Pagan student union groups, and even drugs in their relation to the Craft (something few other books have discussed in depth). But my favorite part of this book is the fact that it's full of interviews from Pagans in college, and since I love firsthand experiences, I couldn't put it down. The resource guide and small section on rituals and spells is also a plus. Be you new to the Craft or veteran, this book is a real treat for the college Pagan.

When Anthony Paige calls this book "Not your parents Wicca" he was right. Mostly aimed at the college witch, he covers everything I feel is essential for the younger beginner pagan. Being a college witch himself, this book was written with a lot of first hand experiences, and he goes out of the way to get many other perspectives of the life of many other college witches.

Anthony has separated this book into 3 sub books. The first is "A Witches Knowledge-Core Requirements". He first starts by giving an excellent overview of the history of Wicca. Then he moves onto explaining the different traditions, and sharing stories of those he has talked to.

Chapter 4 is where he begins to explain Magick and Ritual. I particularly liked was the fact he explains that you don't need a lot of fancy tools to work Magick. Most of us, in college or out, don't have a lot of extra money to go out and buy that 50$ bottle of essential oil. He gave ideas for making tools that cost next to nothing.

Book 2 is "A Witches Power-Electives". In this section he covered the areas of coming out the broom closet, campus covens, and solitary practice. I related a lot with some of the stories about coming out of the broom closet.

Anthony also gives excellent ways of finding a coven for yourself if you so desire to do so. Solitary Sorcery is the other part of this section which he covered and I liked. Along with giving ways for solitary practice, he also deals with roommates who may not understand, and space problems.

In the third and final section of his book, he gives a few spells, lists of different Goddess and Gods, ways of finding college witches worldwide, and Rocking the Goddess. Rocking the Goddess includes the Charge of the Goddess and God. Also listed are a few pagan music artists and at least 20 web sites for further study

I know when I started practicing Wicca several years ago my freshman year at university I felt I was stuck in the middle between the Teen Witch books and the somewhat intimidating Farrar, etc. books. I made do with the Ravenwolf selection, but I wish I had had this book back then. It's written in a very clear, brisk manner, and relates to many of the concerns of the college Witch. I especially like the chapter where Paige does a little 'human interest' background, relating the inspiring and sometimes heartbreaking stories of the college witches he has encountered. Buy it for these if you buy this book for no other reason.

This book is very well written, content-rich and provides a plethora of examples that I can use on the job immediately. What more can a software developer ask for? I would give it 10 stars if the option was available.

This book is great ! Really ! I pratice OO development especially following RUP. This book describe a full Usability process, with activities, guidelines, workload estimation and artifacts. You can directly put it at work, because you naturally see why an activity leads to another. All the book is good, even if it seems heavy (500+ pp), there is no waste of space. As a RUP practitioner, it's very easy to integrate this approach into the RUP and it naturally fits with Use Cases. Believe me: get it !

Or do other people think there is a need for creativity in user interface design? This book, while very helpful in providing a set of procedures to follow when evaluating users and their particular needs, leaves out the very important concept of the ART of user interface design. I see plenty of recommends for Tufte's trilogy of user oriented design books and for the book "Don't Make Me Think". These books are much more readable, and none of them are nearly so formulaic in their approach to user interface design.

Another problem I have with this book, and with many other computer books, is the size. Why does it take so much to say so little? Is there an editor in the house? There is definitely some good content in this book. I happens to be buried in a mountain of text.

This book gives concrete data on the "how-to" of usability engineering and realistic data regarding the *selling process* of these concepts to management. Additionally, it can function as a "how-to" handbook with its many examples. To name a few, the examples include: pre-evaluation, evaluation and post-evaluation questionnaries, data collection sheets and data analysis and report sheets.

The book has a fantastic index for quick reference and is organized well.

I have never written a review before, but I am so impressed with this book - it is indispensable. I particularly like the way the information is presented - very readable. Also valuable are the sections that address shortcuts and alternatives for applying techniques in the real world. I often am called to get involved during and after development and have to adapt "perfect world" techniques into very short cycles. This is a must have for people in our profession.

Don't take this lightly - THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. I read it back to front in two days just marvelling at the integrally-informed genius of Peter McNab.

I haven't come across too many books on Integral Theory or Graves' SD model that are this accessible. Correspondingly, I haven't some across too many NLP books that cover this level of all quadrant depth.

Peter's style is chatty but not facile, and thorough but not sleepy. I was so drawn to his first person writing style, and the hands-on nature of his work.

It's a real joy.

Peter McNab has written a inspiring and thought provoking book which takes most of the latest thinking from the NLP movement and elegantly integrates it with Wilbers philosophies. This creativity supplies the reader with pragmatic tools to analyse life situations and develop real actions. An excellent balance of academic thought and practical methods to improve any 'self-developers' life or as an aid to therapists in the field.

First I have to say the editing job really detracted from my experience of the book. there are words that are missing and words that are wrong in many places, so that was frustrating. Besides that I found the book lucid in many places toward the end, where it begins to get to the real meat and potatoes of NLP Spiral Dynamics and some Integral theory. I felt like i had to wade through a lot of reading to get to some key points and their elucidations, however they are in there.

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. It is so wonderfully easy to read despite the complex subjects it covers. Peter McNab has a delightful way of writing so that it comes across so naturally - interspersed continually with interesting stories, anecdotes and examples in order to make the material clear to understand. It contains many practical exercises for the reader to do, which brings the content alive and renders it useful and valuable. I will dip into this book over and over again and definitely use its suggestions throughout my life.
An invaluable book for anyone wishing to journey inside of themselves in order to help to create a nicer world.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

An amazingly easy to read and understand book about NLP, Ken Wilbers quadrants and Clare Graves Values Model. Combining all the above into a very readable and enjoyable format. A must for both advanced NLP'ers and complete beginners alike.