Making the Software Business Case
Home > Computing and Information Technology > Computer programming / software engineering > Software Engineering > Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers
Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers

Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



Out of Stock


Notify me when this book is in stock
X
About the Book

"Just the understanding and insights you will pick up about how people encounter and cope with combinations of technical, social, political, and economic opportunities and challenges make the book a joy to read and worth much more than the price of it alone." --Barry Boehm, from the Foreword This practical handbook shows you how to build an effective business case when you need to justify--and persuade management to accept--software change or improvement. Based on real-world scenarios, the book covers the most common situations in which business case analyses are required and explains specific techniques that have proved successful in practice. Drawing on years of experience in winning the "battle of the budget," the author shows you how to use commonly accepted engineering economic arguments to make your numbers "sing" to management. The book provides examples of successful business cases; along the way, tables, tools, facts, figures, and metrics guide you through the entire analytic process. Writing in a concise and witty style, the author makes this valuable guidance accessible to every software engineer, manager, and IT professional. Highlights include: How and where business case analyses fit into the software and IT life cycle process Explanations of the most common tools for business case analysis, such as present-value, return-on-investment, break-even, and cost/benefit calculation Tying the business process to the software development life cycle Packaging the business case for management consumption Frameworks and guidelines for justifying IT productivity, quality, and delivery cycle improvement strategies Case studies for applying appropriate decision situations to software process improvement Strategic guidelines for various business case analyses With this book in hand, you will find the facts, examples, hard data, and case studies needed for preparing your own winning business cases in today's complex software environment. 0201728877B09102001

Table of Contents:
Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. I: FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. 1. Improvement Is Everybody's Business. Viewing Software as a Business. Change Is the Nature of Software. Making the Giant Leap Forward. Success Is a Numbers Game. Improvement Cycles and Tricycles. Improvement by the Numbers. Business Versus Technical Cases. Why Change? Are You Ready to Change?. Getting Your Boss to Commit. How This Book Can Help You. Summary. 2. Making a Business Case. The Whats, Whys, and Whens of Business Cases. Relating Improvement Goals to Metrics Via Questions. Developing Business Cases: The Front-End Process. Tying the Business Process to the Software Development Life Cycle. Business Cases: Stepping Through the Life Cycle. Summary. 3. Making the Business Case: Principles, Rules, and Analysis Tools. Tooling the Process. Business Case Principles. Present Value and Future Worth. A Smorgasbord of Analysis Techniques. Tools of the Trade. Packaging the Business Case for Management Consumption. Avoiding Taxes and Tax Revolts. Summary. 4. Business Cases That Make Sense. The Parable of the Chinese Emperor. Improving the Process. Cost Avoidance. Capitalizing Software. Quick-to-Market Strategies. Architecting Products. Make Versus Buy Analysis. Moving to a Web-Based Economy. Summary. II: THE CASE STUDIES. 5. Playing the Game of Dungeons and Dragons: Process Improvement Case Study. Setting the Stage. Current Business Climate. Developing a Game Plan. Process Maturity: Are the Investments Justified?. Quantifying the Return-on-Investment. Getting Everyone Involved in Playing the Game. Reinventing and Refreshing the Organization. Summary. 6. Quantifying the Cost/Benefits: Capitalizing Software Case Study. You've Got a Problem. Organization Profile. Initial Operational Concept. Capital Decision-Making Process. Make-Versus-Buy Analysis. Putting Software Cost Models to Work. Performing Risk Analyses. Addressing "What If" Questions. Making Your Numbers Believable. Summary. 7. Making Your Numbers Sing: Architecting Case Study. The Grand Proposal. Developing a Strategy. Readying the Financials. Determining the Numbers. Trimming the Fat. Justifying Your Recommendations. Why Pursue Architecture in the First Place?. Summary. 8. Maneuvering the Maze: Web-Based Economy Case Study. For Openers. Finding a Likely Candidate. Determining the "Value" of a Firm. Computing How Much to Pay. To Buy or Not to Buy. Avoiding the Traps. Going Global. Timing Is Strategy. Summary. III: FINALE. 9. Overcoming Adversity: More Than a Pep Talk. The Wary Traveler. You Can Be Successful. Change Tactics Abound. Avoid the Many Bear Traps. Focus on the Things That Count. Other Interesting Uses of Numbers. Where's the Technology Heading?. Summary. Appendix A: Recommended Reading List. Appendix B: Compound Interest Tables. Acronyms. Glossary. Index. 0201728877T05222001.

About the Author :
Donald J. Reifer is the president of Reifer Consultants, Inc., a firm that specializes in helping clients implement changes that are financially justified. During his more than 30 years of industry and government experience, he has grown businesses, managed major projects, led recovery teams, and implemented improvement strategies globally. Most important, he has helped clients sell change based on the numbers. His numerous other publications include several popular books on software management. 0201728877AB08212001


Best Sellers


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9780201728873
  • Publisher: Pearson Education (US)
  • Publisher Imprint: Addison Wesley
  • Height: 187 mm
  • No of Pages: 320
  • ISBN-10: 0201728877
  • Publisher Date: 26 Sep 2001
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Language: English
  • Sub Title: Improvement by the Numbers


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers
Pearson Education (US) -
Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    New Arrivals


    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!