About the Book
Unrealistic schedules, unstable releases, continual overtime, and skyrocketing stress levels are legendary in the software development industry. Unlike traditional occupations such as accounting or administration, the software business is populated with programmers who are as creative and passionate about their work as musicians and artists. But for most programmers and project managers, it is a complete surprise when they enter the business world and find that internal politics, inept management, and unrealistic marketing drive the process, rather than a structured and orderly approach based on technical issues and quality.
This guide, delivered with the wit and aplomb to make a serious topic entertaining and palatable, will help you survive the programming industry. The Career Programmer explains how you can work within the existing system to solve deadline problems and regain control of the development process. Youll master self-defense techniques to shield yourself, your project, and your code from corporate politics, arbitrary management decisions, and marketing-driven deadlines. Author Chris Duncan provides proven, practical, hands-on solutions designed to work even when tested by the political and chaotic realities of the business environment. Issues are addressed from the points of view of both the programmer and project manager, and steps are illustrated from all perspectivesfrom large-scale teams down to projects with a single developer. For you, the end results will mean less overtime and stress, higher-quality software, and a more satisfying career.
Table of Contents:
THE CAREER PROGRAMMER GUERILLA TACTICS FOR AN IMPERFECT WORLD, SECOND EDITION Christopher Duncan The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World, Second Edition Copyright (c) 2006 by Christopher Duncan All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher. ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-59059-624-1 ISBN-10 (pbk): 1-59059-624-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available upon request. Printed and bound in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Trademarked names may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Lead Editor: Dominic Shakeshaft Editorial Board: Steve Anglin, Dan Appleman, Ewan Buckingham, Gary Cornell, Jason Gilmore, Jonathan Hassell, Chris Mills, Dominic Shakeshaft, Jim Sumser Project Manager: Richard Dal Porto Copy Edit Manager: Nicole LeClerc Copy Editor: Marilyn Smith Assistant Production Director: Kari Brooks-Copony Production Editor: Katie Stence Compositor: Dina Quan Proofreader: Lori Bring Indexer: Toma Mulligan Cover Designer: Kurt Krames Manufacturing Director: Tom Debolski Distributed to the book trade worldwide by Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 233 Spring Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Phone 1-800-SPRINGER, fax 201-348-4505, e-mail orders-ny@springer-sbm.com, or visit http://www.springeronline.com. For information on translations, please contact Apress directly at 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219, Berkeley, CA 94710. Phone 510-549-5930, fax 510-549-5939, e-mail info@apress.com, or visit http://www.apress.com. The information in this book is distributed on an as is basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author(s) nor Apress shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this work. Contents at a Glance FOREWORD ... xiii ABOUT THE AUTHOR ... xvii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... xix INTRODUCTION ... xxi PART I SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO THE CORPORATE WORLD ... 3 CHAPTER 2 BUSINESS IS WAR. MEET THE ENEMY... 21 CHAPTER 3 GOOD CODING SKILLS ARE NOT ENOUGH ... 45 PART I I GUERILLA TACTICS FOR FRONT-LINE PROGRAMMERS CHAPTER 4 PREVENTING ARBITRARY DEADLINES ... 59 CHAPTER 5 GETTING YOUR REQUIREMENTS ETCHED IN STONE . . 75 CHAPTER 6 EFFECTIVE DESIGN UNDER FIRE ... 95 CHAPTER 7 PRACTICAL ESTIMATING TECHNIQUES ... 111 CHAPTER 8 FIGHTING FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE ... 127 CHAPTER 9 KEEPING THE PROJECT UNDER CONTROL ... 141 CHAPTER 10 MANAGING YOUR MANAGEMENT ... 159 CHAPTER 11 CORPORATE SELF-DEFENSE ... 175 iv PART I I I BUILDING A BETTER CAREER CHAPTER 12 CONTROLLING YOUR DESTINY ... 189 CHAPTER 13 GET A JOB (SHA NA NA NA...) ... 201 CHAPTER 14 CAREER 2.0 ... 219 CHAPTER 15 FLYING SOLO ... 231 CHAPTER 16 JOB SECURITY ... 245 INDEX ... 261 v
About the Author :
Founder of Practical Strategy Consulting, Christopher Duncan is the bestselling author of Unite the Tribes and The Career Programmer. He's been a frequent guest on radio shows across the country, his monthly columns have been read by hundreds of thousands worldwide, and he is widely acclaimed for his immensely practical approach to success in the real world where self interest and office politics are often more prevalent than common sense. This keen insight does not come by accident. Christopher has an unusually diverse background which includes a career in sales consulting, life as a professional musician, and experience fighting deadlines as a cubicle-dwelling software developer. He's also performed mind-numbing factory work, labored on construction sites, and built components for guided missiles. Currently, he writes, speaks and mentors professionals on career and business strategies. He understands the problems and goals of your people, from the lowest-paid workers to the executive elite, because he's been there himself and lived to tell the tale. Whether he's talking about the job-related anxieties of the night watchman's attack chihuahua or explaining the relationship between bunny slippers and corporate productivity, his humor and light-hearted antics will entertain your audience as he shares his vision of success through the pursuit of American excellence. Lively, expressive, and a consummate professional with three decades of stage experience, Christopher delivers an exciting and practical message to your people, inspiring them to reach for their very best and showing them how to get there in the real world, where things don't always go according to plan. Most importantly, he makes sure that everyone has a little fun in the process. He can be reached at www.PracticalStrategyConsulting.com.
