Book Review by Tom Demarco: Deadline. Project Management Roman
The manual on project management in the genre wrapper of a spy detective fell into my hands not by chance: Earlier I got acquainted with the works of H. Rainwater “How to graze cats” about managing a team of programmers. Entering the taste of writing reviews, I decided to share my opinion about the work of DeMarco.
Oddly enough, this book should be considered primarily from the point of view of philosophy. The main criteria here, of course, are the form and content. The shape is not perfect: the style is lame on both legs. From the tension of deliberate dialogues, sometimes I want to cry. The content, in turn, is extremely fascinating.
"Deadline" is a kind of parody of the adventures of James Bond. In other words, this is such a story about the "fellow", only told not in the scenery of another planet, but in the world of information technology of the planet, similar to ours. In general, a book illustrating the dreams of a project manager. After reading it will be difficult to take on any other book on project management - it will inevitably seem boring.
It is important to note here that DeMarco's books are really well written. They are easy to read and upon reading they immediately want to grab into quotes. In “Deadline”, among other things, there is still a lot of irony and subtle humor.
Free, at first glance, the plot is actually thoroughly worked out. The book in a playful manner summarizes many years of research experience. In the course of the narrative, DeMarco generously shares the patterns he has found, reveals numerous secrets and warns of impending difficulties with his soul. The author emphasizes that software development is always research. I tried, analyzed, made conclusions. No other way.
Few people can explain complex things in simple language, but this is not what distinguishes the author from his ilk. Thanks to the naive charm of the book, DeMarco manages to fall in love with the reader in the profession. Watch your hands. Here is the diagram, here is the diagram, and here you cannot live without software development.
To whom and why to read?
This book should be read by those who have already become dull from the work of the project manager. Especially to those from whom the cynic made work. Such people, when they pick up another management textbook, think: “Well, again, this mumbo jumbo about resources and risks.” You can't say that about Deadline. He’s funny, that’s true.
Quote
“The basics of common sense:
1. The project should have two deadlines - planned and desired.
2. These terms should be different. ”
Oddly enough, this book should be considered primarily from the point of view of philosophy. The main criteria here, of course, are the form and content. The shape is not perfect: the style is lame on both legs. From the tension of deliberate dialogues, sometimes I want to cry. The content, in turn, is extremely fascinating.
"Deadline" is a kind of parody of the adventures of James Bond. In other words, this is such a story about the "fellow", only told not in the scenery of another planet, but in the world of information technology of the planet, similar to ours. In general, a book illustrating the dreams of a project manager. After reading it will be difficult to take on any other book on project management - it will inevitably seem boring.
It is important to note here that DeMarco's books are really well written. They are easy to read and upon reading they immediately want to grab into quotes. In “Deadline”, among other things, there is still a lot of irony and subtle humor.
Free, at first glance, the plot is actually thoroughly worked out. The book in a playful manner summarizes many years of research experience. In the course of the narrative, DeMarco generously shares the patterns he has found, reveals numerous secrets and warns of impending difficulties with his soul. The author emphasizes that software development is always research. I tried, analyzed, made conclusions. No other way.
Few people can explain complex things in simple language, but this is not what distinguishes the author from his ilk. Thanks to the naive charm of the book, DeMarco manages to fall in love with the reader in the profession. Watch your hands. Here is the diagram, here is the diagram, and here you cannot live without software development.
To whom and why to read?
This book should be read by those who have already become dull from the work of the project manager. Especially to those from whom the cynic made work. Such people, when they pick up another management textbook, think: “Well, again, this mumbo jumbo about resources and risks.” You can't say that about Deadline. He’s funny, that’s true.
Quote
“The basics of common sense:
1. The project should have two deadlines - planned and desired.
2. These terms should be different. ”