The Career Programmer

The Career Programmer explains how the individual programmer or project manager can work within the existing system to solve deadline problems and regain control of the development process. Care is taken to offer proven, practical, and hands-on solutions that are designed to work when confronted with 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 shown in all perspectives, from large-scale teams down to projects with a single developer. For the individual programmer or project manager, the end results are less overtime, less stress, higher-quality software, and a more satisfying career.

Conquer the problems that all professional programmers routinely face, regardless of language, operating system, or platform Improve your ability to deliver solid code, on time and under budget, in even the most uncooperative environments Master the self-defense techniques that you need to shield yourself, your project, and your code from corporate politics, arbitrary management decisions, and marketing-driven deadlines

Contents

Part I: Software Development in an Imperfect World

Chapter 1: Welcome to Corporate America
Chapter 2: Business is War - Meet the Enemy
Chapter 3: Good Coding Skills Are Not Enough

Part II: Guerilla Tactics for Front Line Programmers

Chapter 4: Preventing Arbitrary Deadlines
Chapter 5: Getting Your Requirements Etched in Stone
Chapter 6: Effective Design under Fire
Chapter 7: Practical Estimating Techniques
Chapter 8: Fighting For Quality Assurance
Chapter 9: Keeping the Project Under Control
Chapter 10: Managing Your Management
Chapter 11: Corporate Self Defense
Chapter 12: Controlling Your Destiny

Index