Reviews (23)

Useful and practical, with many new insights for agile software development
In the last couple of years, I have heard many times about lean manufacturing (and in particular the Toyota way of manufacturing). I have also read a couple of articles by Mary Popendieck on the web, so I thought I would get this book and find out more.
Agile software development meets lean manufacturing
While the topic of agile software development has been popular at least since the late 90s, and many have written about how various methodologies (XP, Scrum, Crystal, etc) work and how much software developers love them as opposed to CMM and other process-heavy ways of doing things that only managers care to push, until this book came out few had been able to explain WHY these agile methodologies work and what principles are behind them.The main revelation comes at the beginning of the book: while the software engineering gurus (think SEI, DoD, etc) have been busy all these years trying to make software development more like mass production, the manufacturing world has actually moved on to lean production, and there is much we software managers have to learn from it.Drawing from her unique experience as software project manager for companies that follow lean manufacturing, Poppendieck distilled all she has learned from lean manufacturing into seven principles and twenty two practical tools for software development that while not a methodology per se at the very least serve as paradigm busters for managers who believe that believe there is a necessary trade-off between speed and quality, and at best it can provide the necessary building blocks for development organizations to develop custom methodologies that would allow them to work orders of mangitude faster.But more than that, by establishing a relation to lean production, principles which after the spectacular success of companies like Toyota are now unquestioned, Poppendieck provides a more solid foundation and gives greater credibility to agile methodologies that have until now remained controversial.This will hardly be the last word on this topic, and in fact Poppendieck is about to release a second book that goes into more detail on how to put lean development in practice, but nevertheless this work is sure to remain relevant for a long time to come.

A good, practical book
Our reading group at work recently read "Lean Software Development."There are several things I really like about this book:
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Programming - Software Development    6. Software Development    7. Computers / Programming / Software Development    8. Software engineering    9. Systems management   

Reviews (7)

Practical and Simple
This information in this book is simply presented and very easy to apply.
Information packed
Most texts on software testing have a chapter or two which describe test design techniques. This is the first text that is devoted exclusively to this subject. There is little in the way of theory. The text is practical and provides the software test professional with clear explanations and examples of test techniques that have been proven to be effective.
A Critically Important Read for Software Test Engineers
Lee Copeland's book, "A Practitioner's Guide to Software Test Design" provides an easily read introduction into a critical but often ignored subject. As those familiar with the IEEE Standard for Software Test Documentation (IEEE-Std-829) know, Test Design is the first step in turning the "What" of the Test Plan into the "How" of test execution. The IEEE Test Documentation lifecycle is Test Plan - Test Design - Test Case Development - Test Procedure Development - (Test Execution) - Test Summary Report creation. Many test engineers proceed directly from Test Planning into Test Procedure creation, and do Test Design implicitly as opposed to explicitly. This can have a negative impact on an effective test program. This book clearly shows how to implement the test design process described in Drabick's book "Best Practices for the Formal Software Testing Process".
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer software    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. General    6. Programming - Software Development    7. Reference - General    8. Testing    9. Software engineering   

Reviews (2)

Great Textbook!!!
This may be a college textbook but the information inside was extremely valuable in the emerging Ecommerce world!I found myself going to alot of the web sites it has listed in the book and none of it was out of date.

A GOOD BOOK
Managerial Orientation
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. E-Commerce - General    5. Electronic commerce    6. Industries - Retailing    7. Management    8. Management - General    9. Business & Economics / E-Commerce / General    10. Business & Management   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (22)

Definitive resource for web masters who consider themselves professionals
Each time I sit down to redevelop a website I revist this book.It can really help you understand the shortcomings of a site's present information architecture and explain those shortcomings to non-techy clients.

Interesting, but a bit on the fluffy side
I'm the kind of reader that enjoys straight to the point books. As interesting as this book was, I found it rambled and went too deep into how to sell IA to administration, or learn about IA in schools, or what steps should one take to become an information architect, etc. I found it presented ideas, often left the reader at the end of each section with "it depends" or "you'll see what works best for you". Which is fine, but isn't really helpful.
A Great Resource
This book is a great resource for IA. Struggling with what type of navigation to use and why? This book is an easy read that helps you get good IA done. It also explains the in's and out's of IA. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Computer - Internet    3. Computer Books: Internet General    4. Computers    5. Data Processing - General    6. Design    7. Information storage and retrie    8. Information storage and retrieval systems    9. Information systems    10. Internet - Web Site Design    11. Programming - General    12. Web sites    13. Computer / Internet    14. Computer architecture & logic design    15. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    16. Computers/Data Processing - General    17. Computers/Programming - General    18. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Reviews (6)

This should have been the manual
This is certainly as dry as a computer manual, so Microsoft could have included this as at least a PDF with PowerPoint. So did not do that and now they want you to buy this separately. That itself is reason to not buy this book and look at other alternatives.
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 Step by Step
Very easy to follow and teach from.It's also very easy for those that I'm training to follow from as well.
Office PP 2003
This Powerpoint book was very well written.The information was precise and easy to follow.I recommend it to anyone planning to get Microsoft certification. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business Software - Powerpoint    2. Business presentations    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computer graphics    6. Computer programs    7. Computers    8. Computers - Integrated Software    9. Graphic methods    10. Microcomputer Graphics    11. Microcomputer Integrated Application Software    12. Microsoft PowerPoint (Computer    13. Microsoft PowerPoint (Computer file)    14. Presentation graphics software    15. Programming - Software Development    16. Computers / General    17. Home Computing   

Reviews (6)

learning SPSS and statistics
Pallant manages to explain fairly advanced statistical concepts like multiple regression, analysis of covariance, factor analysis and others, using SPSS. You don't have to be a stats major to be able to gainfully master SPSS. It does the computational heavy lifting. The point of this book is to learn the broad meaning of these concepts and how to interpret the results SPSS returns.
Excellent book!!!! But the 1 year SPSS license ......
This book is a "must have" introduction to SPSS. Brilliant & Highly Recommended.(The 1-year only SPSS Student version license is a bummer ... many students do statistical research that takes longer than 1 year to complete.) Perhaps the next edition will carry a 3-year SPSS license?

This is a very helpful SPSS book
I bought this book based on a recommendation from my advisor.It is a great way for SPSS users to find out how to go about conducting the analysis that they need to do.The help function in SPSS is not terribly helpful, and the manual that can be purchased for a lot of extra money is so large and combersome that it is also not much help.This book makes SPSS much easier to use.
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Subjects:  1. Assessment, Testing & Measurement    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer programs    4. Computers    5. Educational Software    6. Psychology    7. Research & Methodology    8. SPSS for Windows    9. SPSS for Windows (Computer software)    10. Social sciences    11. Statistical methods    12. Education / Research    13. Mathematical & statistical software   

Reviews (6)

i have not received the book
I am a victim of hurricane katrina and have been displaced. I have not received the book because I do not have an address for my book to be delivered ro. I have tried to contact you about my situation but have so far received no response.
In great shape!
When i recieved the book i recieved it very quickly and it was also in great condition! I am glad i waited those couple of days for this book instead of buying it from any bookstore! Thanks!

Understanding Business with OLC PowerWeb Card and CD 7e
This is a great book for the student studying Business, I can't beleive how well this book was put together. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Computer Books: Spreadsheets    4. Industrial management    5. Management - General    6. Vocational guidance   

Editorial Review

Until the early '90s, project management was definitely located somewhere near the unsexy end of the business spectrum. But now, with the rise of downsizing and outsourcing, it has become one of the hot disciplines. Professional membership of the U.S.-based Project Management Institute has quadrupled in the last decade, and Microsoft claimed recently to have over 2 million users worldwide of its project-management software. The reasons for this growth are simple. Project management is about managing "projects," that is, unique pieces of work (as opposed to ongoing operations). Downsizing, outsourcing, and the accelerating pace of change have meant that, increasingly, work is carried out on an ad-hoc, one-off project basis. Read more

Reviews (46)

Outstanding and Comprehensive Introduction to Project Management
As someone who has performed a bit of project management in the Aerospace industry I can honestly say how much I wished I had read this book BEFORE I started doing PM. Without it I got by, through hard work, trying to apply common sense, and the luck of having great bosses. But it was painful nonetheless and often felt like I was walking an icy tightrope in pitch-black.
One of the best Project Management books
I've been really impressed about this book:
PMP Instructor Recommendation
I have been teaching a PMP preparation class for several years now and I recommend this book to every one of my students because it fits and supports the strategy which I stress: concepts, concepts, concepts - if you get the concepts, the rest (processes, formulas, techniques, etc.) comes easier.I recommend this book because it nails the concepts consistent with PMI's PMBOK guide plus it provides an approach to the application of these concepts in the workplace.If you're preparing for the PMP exam or just need a guide to help improve your project management skills, I highly recommend "The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, Second Edition." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Project Management    5. Business & Economics / Reference   

Reviews (26)

Well organised and sensible level of detail.
I was new to Spring when I got this book, but it bootstrapped me into the basics very quickly - I found its explanations provided insight above and beyond the material available in the online documentation (important to know because that's already pretty good).
Good for all Spring topics except for Spring MVC
Pro Spring is, for the most part, an easy book to absorb.I picked it up with only a middling understanding of Spring, and I feel comfortable with almost all of the topics.However, since my background in servlets and jsp is also quite shallow, I found the chapter on Spring MVC to be the exception.The material here was incomplete, as if the authors had not actually written their own Spring-based webapps.I've been forced to supplement it with web documentation and forum posts (a poor substitute).
This is not for Spring beginners
This book is not for programmer who needs more exlanation
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Java (Computer language)    5. Java (Computer program language)    6. Programming - General    7. Programming Languages - Java    8. Web site development    9. Computers / Programming / Software Development   

Reviews (26)

Not for Beginners
The book dives straight into the code and technicals and doesn't give enough context behind what is going on. I gave it up after first 2 chapters.

Not For Professionals
This book only mostly explains basic functionality like how to drag and drop controls, etc. When I purchased this book, I expected to find out how to go beyond this basic functionality like customizing controls, using templates and thorough explanation about them.
ASP.Net newbies need to stay away from this book
Don't say I did not warn you, this book is not for ASP.NET newbies. I'm fairly good with VB.NET and yet I simply can't use this book to learn ASP.Net. You will not even get past the first few pages.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Programming    3. Computers    4. Design    5. Internet - Web Site Design    6. Microsoft .NET    7. Web servers    8. Web sites    9. Computer Programming    10. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    11. Internet   

Reviews (4)

Another terrific book on Lean/Agile
This book is a great follow-on to the Poppendieck's "Lean Software Development" book.That book gave readers "an Agile Toolkit" for understanding what lean and agile are all about. This book is similar to its predecessor both in tone and content with practical examples of what works and what doesn't.Much of the book is still framed by lessons learned from Toyota's manufacturing system and Mary Poppendieck's experience at 3M.
where is XP?
The authors describe well what is meant by lean software development. An "agile" approach that involves planning and delivering software in small, frequent steps. As opposed to the traditional big delivery waterfall format.
Relating software development to manufacturing...
I don't think I've ever tried to fit software development into the model of lean manufacturing techniques.But surprisingly, it has a number of parallels, and they are outlined well in the book Implementing Lean Software Development - From Concept to Cash by Mary and Tom Poppendieck.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer software    3. Computers    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Development    6. Production management    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Computers / Programming / Software Development    9. Software engineering   

Reviews (13)

A good place to start
When i started preparation for the PMP certification exam the first book i read was the PMBOK guide. i must admit i found it a bit difficult to understand. Acting upon the advice of a friend i procured a copy of this reference and wnet through it. Its pretty straightfwd but at the same time it enhances one's ability to appreaciate the concepts of the PMBOK guide which because clearer to my mind. hence, i would say its a good reference to start with. going back to basics is sometimes good!

A bit too disjointed
I find this a bit jumpy, hard to keep the context. Examples may be a bit dated.

Good introduction to Project Management
This is a good book for beginners. If you are a seasoned Project Manager, you probably won't find this book of much interest.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Forecasting    6. Management - General    7. Project Management    8. Business & Economics / Project Management   

Reviews (11)

Errors and omissions
The discussion on how to use the new SqlCacheDependency class is wrong. The book claimed (in page 623) that "with SQL Server 2005 no setup work is needed and no external objects must be added to the Database.". In reality, you need to setup several permissions in the database side. In addition, you have to make sure that the compatibility level of your database is set to 90.
Does what it says on the cover
This book is an excellent introduction to the facilitites available in ASP.NET 2.0. It covers simple topics such as HTML controls, WebControls, page lifecycle etc, and also goes a little deeper to discuss details of providers, personalisation & master pages to name but a few. There are also several chapters devoted to displaying data using ADO.Net which are useful. There's also a good chapter on ASP.NET security. Most if not all of this information is available on the web, however having a single book that covers these topics is well worthwhile - it's a great book to have by your side when you are writing ASP.NET sites.

Broad and deep coverage
The two books of this series (Core Reference & Advanced Topics) offer broad and deep coverage of ASP.NET.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books: Web Publishing    3. Computers    4. Internet - Web Site Design    5. Internet - World Wide Web    6. Microcomputer Application Software    7. Programming - General    8. Computers / General   

Reviews (34)

Don't buy if you just want your printouts to look right
If you are looking for a practical, concise book explaining how to get the best possible match between what you seen on screen and what gets printed, this is NOT the book. It spends loads of time discussing background theory and how to create color profiles. Most people just don't need or want to get into this much detail or to control the process to this extent. If you just want to use color management tools and existing color profiles--which is at least 80% of us--this book is too long winded and not nearly practical enough. If you are in the elite 20%, this is a great book (see the glowing reviews for details).

Awesome Book
This is a great book that teaches about color theory and digital workflow. At the same time, it is not just theoretical. If you work with color images, you'll find this book very useful in a practical down-to-earth fashion. The authors eat, drink, and breath color management: they know what they are talking about.
Color Management Book
This is an excellent book for advanced and/or professional photographers/graphic artists/printers. Not for the faint of heart! If you can't find it here, you don't need it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Color    2. Color computer graphics    3. Color in design    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Electronic Publishing    8. Image processing software    9. Miscellaneous Software    10. Computer graphics software    11. Computers / Desktop Publishing / General    12. Image processing: graphics (static images)   

Reviews (32)

Best introductory book to GIS
I am taking a class on GIS applications in public health and this book has been extremely helpful. It is simple, easy to follow, and the step-by-step exercises are the best.

Very good book for begineers
I was starting with Arc products and this book was a very good start.

Excellent Resource and teaching manual
I purchased this book to be able to create my own maps for a client.I was familiar with ArcGIS Desktop 8.3, but had never really created any GIS data.Using this book, I was able to create custom shape files, MXDs and layer files that really impressed the client.The author assumes little or no previous knowledge of using the product and does an outstanding job putting the information in the simplest of terms.Unlike the books that come with the software, this one will actually have you creating GIS data in no time flat.Well worth the money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. ArcGIS    2. ArcGIS (Computer software)    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computer Graphics    5. Computer Graphics - General    6. Computers    7. Computers - Other Applications    8. Data Modeling & Design    9. Earth Sciences - Geography    10. Geographic information systems    11. Geography    12. Graphical user interfaces (Com    13. Graphical user interfaces (Computer systems)    14. Information Systems (Geography)    15. Miscellaneous Software    16. Remote Sensing    17. Computer Software Packages    18. Computers / Data Modeling & Design    19. Geographical information systems (GIS)    20. Map making & projections   

Reviews (14)

Great resource for teachers new to this technology!
Will's book is a great resource for teachers who are interested in introducing blogs etc. into the classroom but who may be intimidated by the technology. His book is easy to read and understand for those of us who are not as technologically advanced as of yet. I believe Will's book will be one of the greatest resources in my classroom in September. I would recommend this book to any teacher who does not want to be left behind by his/her students as technology advances.

Step by Step Book for Beginners
Will Richardson displays great pedagogical style in walking the reader through the steps of seemingly complicated technological tasks.He makes learning about great tech tools for the classroom like blogs, wikis, and rss easy and exciting. He not only tells how to set them up but various ways to use them in the classroom.I had been searching for such a text and now that I've found it, I plan to use it as the main text for my grad student course about educational uses of the Internet.

Will's book
We just finished a 3 day conference with Will for HS reform.My staff just loved the book and the conference.I cannot understand how anyone could rate the book low but everyone has an opinion.We plan to order for staff this fall. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aids and devices    2. Computers & Technology    3. Education    4. Education / Teaching    5. Educational Software    6. Educational Web sites    7. Internet in education    8. Teaching    9. Computer-aided learning (CAL)    10. Curriculum planning & development    11. Education / Computers & Technology   

Editorial Review

Anyone who has managed the process of developing or redesigninga Web site of significant size has likely learned the hard way thecomplexities, pitfalls, and cost risk of such an undertaking. Whilemany Web development firms have fantastic technical expertise, whatsets the topnotch organizations apart is the ability to accuratelymanage the planning and development process. Read more

Reviews (62)

Worth the buy.
I found it a very useful book, especially with all the downloadable forms. I felt it was a little light on user testing - but otherwise, very good. It felt a bit repetitive and that things were presented in an odd order sometimes, but it's still worth the buy.

Thinking about creating a website and want to do it right?
BUY THIS BOOK!I wish I had this book a few months ago.It could have spared me from many of the nightmares I had while developing a college website.It includes a link to the author's website where you can find lots of forms that ask the right questions so that you can create the right solution.

This book takes a SWAG at a process that could work for web redesign
I use this resource as the textbook for the "Web Site Design" course I teach at PSU.My favorite thing about this book is that it supports my course approach that "everyone has a site" and "when you get a job as a web site (designer, producer,developer)OR have the responsibility of having a site dumped in your lap.... you will not be building it from scratch."
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Subjects:  1. Business Enterprise    2. Computer - Internet    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. Computers    5. Internet - Web Site Design    6. New Business Enterprises    7. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    8. World Wide Web (WWW)   

Editorial Review

Cryptographic techniques have applications far beyond the obvious uses of encoding and decoding information. For Internet developers who need to know about capabilities, such as digital signatures, that depend on cryptographic techniques, there's no better overview than Read more

Reviews (96)

A must-have book for understanding Cryptography.
This book has really shed a lot of light on cryptography for me. I honestly can't put it down--I wish I had paid more attention in my statistics classes so I could be able to apply some of the stuff the author talks about better. I am about half way through the book, and I haven't gotten to the point where it's more of a chore than a pleasure to read it (something I can't about my other technical books).
Prepare to drink from the firehose
This book is really incredible.When it was first published in the mid-90's, there was almost no material available on the subject of cryptography.Now, ten years later, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of books riding on Schneier's coattails - but almost none have anything new or useful to say.Impeccably researched (with 1,653 references!) and unarguably complete, Schneier's expertise in theoretical mathematics, experience as a practitioner, and razor-sharp lucidity combine to make this the only book you'll ever need on the subject of cryptography.

Text Book for School
The book was in excellent condition.The book came within the alloted time period.No complaints! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer security    3. Computers - Computer Security    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Cryptography    6. Discrete Mathematics    7. Programming Languages - General    8. Security - General    9. Security measures    10. Telecommunication    11. Computers / Security    12. Data security & data encryption