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Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering 1st Edition
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The practice of building software is a “new kid on the block” technology. Though it may not seem this way for those who have been in the field for most of their careers, in the overall scheme of professions, software builders are relative “newbies.”
In the short history of the software field, a lot of facts have been identified, and a lot of fallacies promulgated. Those facts and fallacies are what this book is about.
There’s a problem with those facts–and, as you might imagine, those fallacies. Many of these fundamentally important facts are learned by a software engineer, but over the short lifespan of the software field, all too many of them have been forgotten. While reading Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering, you may experience moments of “Oh, yes, I had forgotten that,” alongside some “Is that really true?” thoughts.
The author of this book doesn’t shy away from controversy. In fact, each of the facts and fallacies is accompanied by a discussion of whatever controversy envelops it. You may find yourself agreeing with a lot of the facts and fallacies, yet emotionally disturbed by a few of them! Whether you agree or disagree, you will learn why the author has been called “the premier curmudgeon of software practice.”
These facts and fallacies are fundamental to the software building field–forget or neglect them at your peril!
- ISBN-100321117425
- ISBN-13978-0321117427
- Edition1st
- PublisherAddison-Wesley Professional
- Publication dateOctober 28, 2002
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions7.38 x 0.48 x 9.25 inches
- Print length216 pages
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From the Back Cover
The practice of building software is a “new kid on the block” technology. Though it may not seem this way for those who have been in the field for most of their careers, in the overall scheme of professions, software builders are relative “newbies.”
In the short history of the software field, a lot of facts have been identified, and a lot of fallacies promulgated. Those facts and fallacies are what this book is about.
There's a problem with those facts–and, as you might imagine, those fallacies. Many of these fundamentally important facts are learned by a software engineer, but over the short lifespan of the software field, all too many of them have been forgotten. While reading Facts and Fallacies of Software Engineering, you may experience moments of “Oh, yes, I had forgotten that,” alongside some “Is that really true?” thoughts.
The author of this book doesn't shy away from controversy. In fact, each of the facts and fallacies is accompanied by a discussion of whatever controversy envelops it. You may find yourself agreeing with a lot of the facts and fallacies, yet emotionally disturbed by a few of them! Whether you agree or disagree, you will learn why the author has been called “the premier curmudgeon of software practice.”
These facts and fallacies are fundamental to the software building field–forget or neglect them at your peril!
About the Author
Robert Glass is the founder of Computing Trends. He has written more than a dozen books on software engineering and on the lessons of computing failures. Robert is trusted by many as a leading authority on software engineering, especially by those who read his columns in Communications of the ACM and IEEE Software. Robert also publishes a newsletter, The Software Practitioner, and speaks frequently at software engineering events.
0321117425AB09232002
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
When I first heard that Bob Glass was going to write this book and model it after my 201 Principles of Software Development, I was a bit worried. After all, Bob is one of the best writers in the industry, and he would provide tough competition for my book. And then, when Bob asked me to write his foreword, I became even more worried; after all, how can I endorse a book that seems to compete directly with one of mine? Now that I have read Fifty-Five Facts, I am pleased and honored (and no longer worried!) to have the opportunity to write this foreword.
The software industry is in the same state of affairs that the pharmaceutical industry was in during the late nineteenth century. Sometimes it seems that we have more snake-oil salespeople and doomsayers than sensible folks practicing and preaching in our midst. Every day, we hear from somebody that they have discovered this great new cure for some insurmountable problem. Thus we have oft heard of quick cures for low efficiency, low quality, unhappy customers, poor communication, changing requirements, ineffective testing, poor management, and on and on. There are so many such pundits of the perfunctory that we sometimes wonder if perhaps some portion of the proclaimed panaceas are possibly practical. Who do we ask? Who in this industry can we trust? Where can we get the truth? The answer is Bob Glass.
Bob has had a history of providing us with short treatises on the many software disasters that have occurred over the years. I have been waiting for him to distill the common elements from these disasters so that we can benefit more easily from his many experiences. The 55 facts that Bob Glass discusses in this wonderful book are not just conjectures on his part. They are exactly what I have been waiting for: i.e., the wisdom gained by the author by examining in detail the hundreds of cases he has written about in the past.
The 55 facts that follow are likely to not be popular with all readers. Some are in direct opposition to the so-called “modern” ways of doing things. For those of you who wish to ignore the advice contained within these covers, I can only wish you the safest of journeys, but I fear for your safety. You are treading on well-trod territory, known to be full of mines, and many have destroyed their careers trying to pass. The best advice I can give you is to read any of Bob Glass’ earlier books concerning software disasters. For those of you who wish to follow the advice contained herein, you too are following a well-trod path. However this path is full of successful testimonies. It is a path of awareness and knowledge. Trust Bob Glass because he has been there before. He has had the privilege of analyzing his own successes and failures along with hundreds of others’ successes and failures. Stand on his shoulders, and you will more likely succeed in this industry. Ignore his advice and be prepared for Bob to call you in a few years to ask you about your project—to add it to his next compilation of software disaster stories.
Alan M. Davis, Spring, 2002
0321117425P07302002
Product details
- Publisher : Addison-Wesley Professional; 1st edition (October 28, 2002)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 216 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0321117425
- ISBN-13 : 978-0321117427
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.38 x 0.48 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #309 in Software Design & Engineering
- #1,445 in Software Development (Books)
- #3,909 in Computer Software (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Robert L. Glass is presently retired, having previously been president of Computing Trends, publishers of The Software Practitioner. Before retiring, Glass had been active in the field of computing and software for over 45 years, largely in industry (1954-82 and 1988-retirement) but also as an academic (1982-88).
In industry (North American Aviation, Aerojet-General Corp., and Boeing), he performed both development and acquisition projects, built and maintained software for most application domains, and engaged in research and development. In academia, he taught for five years in the software engineering graduate program at Seattle University and spent a year as a visiting staff member at the Software Engineering Institute.
He is the author of 28 books and more than 100 published papers on computing and software. He was editor of the Journal of Systems and Software and publisher and editor of The Software Practitioner. He was for 15 years a lecturer for the Association for Computing Machinery and was a columnist for such publications as Computerworld, Datamation, Software Magazine, Software News, Managing System Development, ACM SIGMIS Data Base, IEEE Software, and Communications of the ACM. He received an honorary Ph.D. from Linkoping University, Sweden, in 1995 and was named an ACM Fellow in 1999.
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Customers find the book informative and useful for process improvement teams. They appreciate the rich references and consider it a must-read. Readers describe the book as an easy, organized read that makes them think.
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Customers find the book informative with great references. They find it a good reference for process improvement teams to gain real-world focus. The book presents different facts and fallacies, but the advice is hard-won and represents a significant advancement. Overall, the book contains a succinct summary of what should be standard.
"The author is very opinionated and he makes that clear. He is very well experienced with lots of wisdom and is highly regarded...." Read more
"...The writing is informal, but gets right to the point. Also, the book is succinct and moves along pretty quickly – each fact or fallacy only covers a..." Read more
"...a better programmer, but the knowledge in this book will provide magnificent insight into all the non-coding aspects of software development that we..." Read more
"I actually agree with most of what this book says. I also like the references, which are for the most part to other books I like...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They describe it as a concise, organized, and fun read that makes you think. The writing style is informal yet gets to the point. Overall, readers appreciate the well-structured content and writing style.
"...Well-Structured Think of this book more like a table of contents. Each fact or fallacy is quickly summarized with a discussion and controversy...." Read more
"...It's a short read, but every section is brilliantly distilled to the bare essentials...." Read more
"...This book is easy to read and the content flows well from topic to topic...." Read more
"...I have not been disappointed. It is an easy read but it also makes you think...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2019The author is very opinionated and he makes that clear. He is very well experienced with lots of wisdom and is highly regarded. Even if you don't agree with him, you will better understand the issues as he explains his reasoning very well.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2017This book gets 4 stars for being pleasant to read, well-structured, and efficiently impactful. I would have liked to see more studies supporting the facts and fallacies. A more accurate title for this book might be “55 Opinions and Fallacies Which are Probably Mostly Supported by Evidence”. Since Glass has a ton of industry experience, academic experience, and he’s written 25+ books it’s probably safe to accept his opinions for facts. He is very aware that some facts and fallacies will be controversial and addresses those dissenting opinions. The book also feels a little naive at times as it seems to argue that a lot of problems in software engineering are the result of management just not understanding engineering. I agree management could benefit by being more understanding of engineers, but it goes both ways and I think engineers need to be much more understanding of the realities of running a business. The number one takeaway from this book is how valuable it is to be able to bridge the gap between engineering and management. If you are able to do that, and do it well, you will be extremely impactful in an organization.
Pleasant to Read
Glass’s personality comes through in his writing which makes the book feel less academic and more fun to read (he is known as the “premier curmudgeon” of software practice). The writing is informal, but gets right to the point. Also, the book is succinct and moves along pretty quickly – each fact or fallacy only covers a couple of pages.
Well-Structured
Think of this book more like a table of contents. Each fact or fallacy is quickly summarized with a discussion and controversy. Then Glass provides references and sources if you want to look further. A lot of the sources are his own books. A lot of the sources are well-regarded books like the Mythical Man Month, Peopleware, and Refactoring.
Efficiently Impactful
This book gets right to the point which means you can read it fast, and still get a lot out of it. I found myself agreeing with most of the facts and fallacies, disagreeing with a few, and being surprised by a few new ideas. I learned the most from the sections about estimation and maintenance. I also loved his opinion that we should teach new programmers to program by having them read programs (not write them).
More Opinion than Fact
A lot of the so-called “facts” feel more like opinions. But they are probably right, so it doesn’t matter much. Regardless, it would be nice to see more studies backing up the facts. For example, the fact that “For every 25 percent increase in problem complexity, there is a 100 percent increase in solution complexity” is a pretty extraordinary claim. It seems like it’s probably true-ish, but it seems too clean-cut to be true. How can this be true in every setting? Another one is “Enhancements represent roughly 60 percent of maintenance costs.” Is this really true? And how many studies have replicated these results? You’d need to go and do the due diligence to be sure.
Conclusion
Overall, I highly recommend this book for software engineers and managers of software engineers. It is a quick read and will have an immediate pay-off. If you learn one thing from this book it is the importance of being able to explain to management why things should be done a certain way. If you can explain the why and explain it well you will have happy managers and happy engineers.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2008This book covers all the mistakes we know about, but keep on making regardless.
When it arrived in the mail, I was amazed by how small this book was. It's a short read, but every section is brilliantly distilled to the bare essentials.
I've worked on several different teams developing software. There was very little in this book that came as a surprise. Every point seemed obvious, though in many cases, I was amazed by the wealth of research that Glass was able to cite to make his points. From the bankruptcy of hypesters to the importance of a work environment, Glass states the obvious with compelling and refreshing clarity.
The "painful" part was realizing that at some point in my career, I've made almost every mistake he highlights.
I found the tongue in cheek nature of the writing to be a bit much at times. That is my only complaint, and it's not so bad as to be unreadable.
It probably won't make you a better programmer, but the knowledge in this book will provide magnificent insight into all the non-coding aspects of software development that we so often overlook. Human nature hasn't changed, and software will always be complex. The facts and fallacies he cites truly are fundamental, and will be with us forever.
This book has given me a vocabulary with which to confront the absurd that we see every day in the world of software. Hopefully, I can now be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem. Thank you, Dr. Glass!
- Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2008I actually agree with most of what this book says. I also like the references, which are for the most part to other books I like.
This book is little more than a list of bullet points. Most of the writing doesn't say anything other than to reiterate the title and then claim that lots of folks just don't get it.
What's missing are case studies, or even arguments as to why the points the book makes are even worth thinking about.
I would recommend reading The Pragmatic Programmer by Hunt and Thomas instead.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2005A wonderful collection of facts and fallacies about software engineering. The references for each topic are outstanding, in fact, some of the topics piqued enough interest for me to order several of those books. The areas I found most interesting whether I agreed or disagreed were: software reuse, code review effectiveness, thoughts on new methodologies, and statistics on maintenance.
This book is easy to read and the content flows well from topic to topic. I highly recommend it for the richness of the references and for making one think about the different aspects of software engineering that are often overlooked.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2012I bought this book based on a recommendation from a co-worker. I have not been disappointed. It is an easy read but it also makes you think.
This will not be for everyone because his opinions are somewhat unique at times. However, it really helps any engineer consider what we do and how we do it.
I am happy I read it and will read it again.
Top reviews from other countries
- AbhilashReviewed in India on June 10, 2019
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice work! If you are keen on the history of software engineering
Nice work! If you are keen on the history of software engineering ! Experiences shared are useful and lasting.
- Jennifers DaddyReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 4, 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent diversion from work
This book is an excellent diversion from reading text books or doing normal work, but it's conclusions are still highly valid for any project. I found it a humourous read, and for virtually every point made I found my self nodding in agreement.
I highly recommend lending the book to your boss prior to a personal appraisal, as the first two points are about how worthy good developers are!
Any software developer should get this book for a bit of light reading, and bring back those memories of past project disasters!
- Normann Aaboe NielsenReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written and needed
The reason why I am nothing throwing in all 5 stars is that the books style irritates me a little. I would rather have all the references and sources in an appendix in the end of the book, rather than after each fact & fallacy.
But that said, the f&f that is shown here are good to be reminded of for almost any programmer. I wonder a bit why a fact stating that COBOL is the best business computer language is needed - true that it may be it is irrelevant and carries not the same weight as other statements in the book (I could add another fact about SNOBOL being the best string-manipulating language etc., but whats the relevance...?).
The book is part of the eXtreme / pragmatic / agile programming paradigme that we see these years. And true is it that Robert L. Glass doesn't bring that much new stuff - he is referring to his own old books a lot of the time - but from personal experience I have already seen that managers are impressed by the facts stated here.
So after all: The book should be used to throw in a couple of facts in an argument with a manager. That, or Dilbert...
- Pelagius KungReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2009
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
This is a great book founded in common sense, real life experience and genuine evidence. Most of the rest of the field of software engineering literature is characterised by idealogues and snake oil salesmen. This is the best cure to snake oil.