Ship it!: A Practical Guide to Successful Software Projects

Jared Richardson · William A. Gwaltney

Jun 2005 · Pragmatic Bookshelf

About this ebook

Ship It! is a collection of tips that show the tools andtechniques a successful project team has to use, and how to use themwell. You'll get quick, easy-to-follow advice on modernpractices: which to use, and when they should be applied. This bookavoids current fashion trends and marketing hype; instead, readersfind page after page of solid advice, all tried and tested in thereal world.

Aimed at beginning to intermediate programmers, Ship It! will show you:

• Which tools help, and which don't
• How to keep a project moving
• Approaches to scheduling that work
• How to build developers as well as product
• What's normal on a project, and what's not
• How to manage managers, end-users and sponsors
• Danger signs and how to fix them

Few of the ideas presented here are controversial or extreme; most experiencedprogrammers will agree that this stuff works. Yet 50 to 70 percent of allproject teams in the U.S. aren't able to use even these simple, well-acceptedpractices effectively. This book will help you get started.

Ship It! begins by introducing the common technicalinfrastructure that every project needs to get the job done. Readerscan choose from a variety of recommended technologies according totheir skills and budgets. The next sections outline the necessarysteps to get software out the door reliably, using well-accepted,easy-to-adopt, best-of-breed practices that really work.

Finally, and most importantly, Ship It! presents commonproblems that teams face, then offers real-world advice on how tosolve them.