By: Pete Goodliffe
Publisher: No Starch Press
Price: $44.95
Rating (out of 5): *****
This is an excellent book about moving from average software development to professional-grade software development. The book basically covers the topics needed to teach developers how to make better software in a more effective manner than may be happening in many organizations today. Topics covered include: effective commenting and documentation, industry standards for software testing (including security), interface design standards, group development practices, mechanisms for spec development and code review and even insights into managing programmers more effectively.
If you are a developer or manage a group of developers, this book will teach you the softer skills to complement the technical skills you have already mastered. Given the complexity of today’s software, it is these softer skills that often make all the difference between career success and remaining “one of the code jockeys”.
My favorite thing about this book is the insightful tone it uses to get its point across. It truly reflects wisdom and experience from the author without getting the “preachy tone” some technical books seem to take on. Be prepared though, the book is big, some 500+ pages of actual content – so if you just finished that huge Harry Potter book everyone is reading, this may seem a little longer than you like for reading in your easy chair. But, unlike Harry Potter, this book’s payoff is long term career growth and skills improvement!