Strategies for Software Engineering

A very practical book for professionals in the software industry. The author presents the software development manager with directly applicable strategic techniques for planning. The focus is on the explicit handling of risk, the selection of appropriate methods, and the appropriate handling of quality.

Clear insights and ample illustrations from personal experience spanning twenty years in the business contribute to the readability and general usefulness of the book.

Software development managers in particular, and software engineers at all levels of experience (including final year students), will find time spent reading this book a worthwhile investment.

1. Grasping the Snake
1. Early brain damage
2. Down with risk
3. Up with quality
4. Silver bullets
5. Sharp instruments
2. Planning Strategically
1. Technical Plans
2. Technical planning at bid time
3. Technical planning at project inception
4. Preparing a Technical Plan
5. Writing the Technical Plan
6. The life and times of a Technical Plan
7. Reviewing a Technical Plan
8. Chapter recap
9. How to read the rest of this book
3. Planning for Risk Reduction
1. What is a process model?
2. Why have a process model?
3. Which process model?
4. The V process Model
5. The V process model with prototyping
6. The evolutionary development process model
7. The incremental delivery process model
8. The exploratory process model
9. Blending process models
10. Detailed risk reduction manoeuvres 
11. Preparing the input to your plan
12. Chapter recap
4. Planning for Quality Achievement
1. Introduction
2. Modeling a system
3. The system models defined
4. The system models in practice
5. Technical planning and system models
6. Preparing the Technical Plan
7. Chapter recap
5. Establishing a Quality Culture
1. A definition of quality
2. Quality assurance
3. Quality control
4. Quality planning 
5. Chapter recap
6. Planning for Quality Control
1. What is quality control?
2. Over-the-wall testing
3. V&V potential of methods
4. Quality factoring and the verification chain
5. Developing a verification strategy
6. Developing your Quality Plan
7. Chapter recap
7. Planning Resources
1. The culmination of a journey
2. Preparing the Resource Plan
3. Preparing the monthly report
4. Factors affecting productivity
5. Metrics and indicators
6. Chapter recap
8. The 14 Dilemmas of Software Engineering
1. Changing is hard
2. Breaking the blocks
3. Handling the risks of innovation
4. Getting the basic experience
9. Résumé
1. Clouds to concrete
2. Getting There
10. A Worked Example
1. Introduction
2. The Invitation to Tender
3. The Technical Plan
4. The Quality Plan
5. The Resource Plan
11. Exercises

In reality, the subject is project management, but strategies sounds more sexy.