Equip yourself with SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE. It's for everyone with a stake in the outcome of a development project--and especially for those without formal software project management training. That includes top managers, executives, clients, investors, end-user representatives, project managers, and technical leads.

Here you'll find guidance from the acclaimed author of the classics CODE COMPLETE and RAPID DEVELOPMENT. Steve McConnell draws on solid research and a career's worth of hard-won experience to map the surest path to your goal--what he calls "one specific approach to software development that works pretty well most of the time for most projects." Nineteen chapters in four sections cover the concepts and strategies you need for mastering the development process, including planning, design, management, quality assurance, testing, and archiving. For newcomers and seasoned project managers alike, SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE draws on a vast store of techniques to create an elegantly simplified and reliable framework for project management success.

So don't worry about wandering among complex sets of project management techniques that require years to sort out and master. SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE goes straight to the heart of the matter to help your projects succeed. And that makes it a required addition to every professional's bookshelf.

1. The Survival Mind-Set

   1. Chapter 1 Welcome to Software Project Survival Training

      1. Survival Needs
      2. Survival Rights
      3. Survival Checks

   2. Chapter 2 Software Project Survival Test

      1. Survival Test Questions
      2. Survival Test
      3. Interpreting the Survival Test

   3. Chapter 3 Survival Concepts

      1. The Power of "Process"
      2. Upstream, Downstream
      3. Cone of Uncertainty

   4. Chapter 4 Survival Skills

      1. Planning
      2. Planning Checkpoint Review
      3. Risk Management
      4. Project Control
      5. Project Visibility
      6. Peopleware
      7. User Involvement
      8. Product Minimalism
      9. Focus on Shipping Software

   5. Chapter 5 The Successful Project at a Glance

      1. Intellectual Phases
      2. Project Flow
      3. Planning Phases
      4. Staff Buildup
      5. Code Growth Curve
      6. Major Milestones and Deliverables

2. Survival Preparations

   1. Chapter 6 Hitting a Moving Target

      1. Change Control Procedure
      2. Change Control Benefits
      3. Common Change Control Issues
      4. Committing to Change Control

   2. Chapter 7 Preliminary Planning

      1. Project Vision
      2. Executive Sponsorship
      3. Project Scope Targets
      4. Publicizing Plans and Progress
      5. Risk Management
      6. Personnel Strategies
      7. Time Accounting
      8. The Software Development Plan

   3. Chapter 8 Requirements Development

      1. Overview of the Requirements Development Process
      2. Identify a Set of Key End Users
      3. Interview the End Users
      4. Build a Simple User Interface Prototype
      5. Develop a Style Guide
      6. Fully Extend the Prototype
      7. Treat the Fully Extended Prototype as the Baseline Specification
      8. Write the Detailed End-User Documentation Based on the Prototype
      9. Create a Separate, Non–User-Interface Requirements Document

   4. Chapter 9 Quality Assurance

      1. Why Quality Matters
      2. The Quality Assurance Plan
      3. Defect Tracking
      4. Technical Reviews
      5. System Testing
      6. Beta Testing
      7. Work Products Covered by the Quality Assurance Plan
      8. Supporting Activities

   5. Chapter 10 Architecture

      1. Easing into Architecture
      2. Characteristics of a Good Architecture
      3. How to Tell When Architecture Is Complete
      4. The Software Architecture Document

   6. Chapter 11 Final Preparations

      1. Project Estimates
      2. Staged Delivery Plan
      3. Ongoing Planning Activities

3. Succeeding by Stages

   1. Chapter 12 Beginning-of-Stage Planning

      1. Why is Stage Planning Needed?
      2. Stage Planning Overview
      3. Miniature Milestones
      4. Stage Planning and Management Styles

   2. Chapter 13 Detailed Design

      1. Architecture Revisited
      2. How Much Detailed Design Does a Project Need?
      3. Technical Reviews
      4. Detailed Design Documents
      5. Special Considerations for Stage 1 of the Project

   3. Chapter 14 Construction

      1. Source Code Quality
      2. Software Integration Procedure
      3. Daily Build and Smoke Test
      4. Special Considerations for Stage 1
      5. Tracking Progress
      6. Controlling Changes
      7. Staying Focused
      8. Is that all there is to Construction?

   4. Chapter 15 System Testing

      1. Test Philosophy
      2. Test Group’s Support for Daily Builds
      3. Developer’s Support for System Testing
      4. Strategic Quality Assurance

   5. Chapter 16 Software Release

      1. Treating Releases Seriously
      2. When to Release
      3. Release Checklist
      4. Release Sign-Off Form

   6. Chapter 17 End-of-Stage Wrap-Up

      1. Hold an Omnibus Change Board Meeting
      2. Recalibrate Estimates
      3. Evaluate Performance Against the Project Plan
      4. Archive Project Media
      5. Update the Software Project Log

4. Mission Accomplished

   1. Chapter 18 Project History

      1. Gathering Project Data
      2. Software Project History Document
      3. Preparing the Project History Conclusions for use on Future Projects
      4. Distributing Copies of the Software Project History

   2. Chapter 19 Survival Crib Notes

      1. Nasa’s Success Checklist
      2. Other Survival Resources

   3. Appendix Epilogue

   4. Appendix Notes

      1. Preliminary Survival Briefing
      2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Software Project Survival Training
      3. Chapter 3: Survival Concepts
      4. Chapter 4: Survival Skills
      5. Chapter 5: The Successful Project at a Glance
      6. Chapter 6: Hitting a Moving Target
      7. Chapter 7: Preliminary Planning
      8. Chapter 8: Requirements Development
      9. Chapter 9: Quality Assurance
      10. Chapter 10: Architecture
      11. Chapter 11: Final Preparations
      12. Chapter 12: Beginning-of-Stage Planning
      13. Chapter 13: Detailed Design
      14. Chapter 14: Construction
      15. Chapter 15: System Testing
      16. Chapter 16: Software Release
      17. Chapter 17: End-of-Stage Wrap-Up
      18. Chapter 18: Project History
      19. Chapter 19: Survival Crib Notes

   5. Appendix Glossary

   6. Appendix About the Author

      1. Survival Guide Web Site