Process Patterns
Building Large-Scale Systems Using Object Technology
Cambridge University Press/SIGS Books, July 1998 ISBN#: 0-521-64568-9
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Process PatternsBuilding Large-Scale Systems Using Object TechnologyCambridge University Press/SIGS Books, July 1998 ISBN#: 0-521-64568-9 |
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Organizations have moved beyond the pilot
project stage and are now using object technology to build
large-scale, mission-critical business applications.
Unfortunately they are finding that the processes which proved so
successful on small, proof-of-concept projects do not scale very
well for real-world development. Today’s organization needs
a collection of proven techniques for managing the complexities
of large-scale, object-oriented software development projects, a
collection of process patterns. A process pattern (see
An Introduction
To Process Patterns White Paper)
describes a collection of general techniques, actions, and/or
tasks for developing object-oriented software. An important
feature of a process pattern should be that it describes what
should be done but not the exact details of how it is done.
The object-oriented software process (OOSP) presented in this
book is a collection of process patterns that are geared toward
medium to large-size organizations that need to develop software
that support their main line of business. I have chosen to
describe the OOSP as a collection of process patterns that have
been proven in practice: they are not the theoretical musings of
an ivory-tower academic who has never built an application. The
OOSP provides a framework which addresses issues such as how to:
1. Describes the Initiate and Construct phases of
software development.
2. Satisfies the demands of large-scale, mission-critical
software.
3. Geared towards the development of business applications.
4. Provides proven advice based on experience, not academic
theory.
5. Indicates how the entire object-oriented software process
(OOSP) works together.
6. It is written by a software developer for software developers.
7. It is written in straightforward, easy to understand language.
8. Uses the industry standard
Unified
Modeling Language(UML) for all models.
9. Provides a significantly more comprehensive view of the
software process than the Unified Process, providing techniques
which can be easily adapted to
extend
and complete the Unified Process.
This book, along with More Process
Patterns, actively attacks several
myths of the object industry. First, the belief that object
development is a purely iterative process is questionable at
best. Although this might appear to be true for small pilot
projects using OO technology, the reality for large-scale,
mission-critical applications is that the OO development process
is serial in the large and iterative in the small, delivering
incremental releases over time.
Second, this book also disproves the myth that you can do less
testing when you use OO technology. The reality is that the exact
opposite is true, you need to do more. One of my fundamental
beliefs, a belief shared by the vast majority of professional
software engineers, is that testing and quality assurance should
be performed throughout the entire development process, not just
at the end of it. Furthermore, the reality of incremental
development is that you need to perform more regression testing
than with single-shot, "big-bang" development.
Third, this book disproves the myth that we only need to be
concerned with development issues while building an application.
The reality is that the concerns of maintenance and support are
just as important, if not more so, than those of development. The
OOSP explicitly includes both maintenance and support as part of
the project life cycle, so as to put it in the face of everyone
involved in the development process. There is a saying in the
computer industry: A good developer knows that there is more to
development than programming, a great developer knows that there
is more to development than development. The Maintenance and
Support phase is discussed in detail in More Process
Patterns.
Fourth, I hope that this book disproves the myth that processes
only result in needless paper work. My experience has been that
process patterns, when applied intelligently, increase the
productivity of developers. My experience has also been that when
process patterns are applied less-than-intelligently, that when
the paper pushers have too much influence in an organization, can
decrease your productivity. The process patterns presented in the
book have been proven to work in practice, how you choose to
implement them will determine how successful you are.
Organizations that keep the end goal in mind – that of
developing, maintaining, and supporting software that fulfills
the needs of their user community – will be successful with
process patterns. Those that follow processes simply for the sake
of following processes are likely to fail.
So what does this book cover? First of all, it is organized by
the first two serial phases of OO development: Initiate and
Construct. Second, each phase is then divided further into its
iterative stages. As a result, the book is organized into the
following chapters:
As I describe each serial phase and iterative stage throughout the book I address a series of project and cross-project tasks that are crucial to your success. These tasks are:
For the most part this book is geared towards senior object developers, project managers, information technology executives. Senior object developers will find that process patterns provide a framework for organizing their work and for increasing their productivity. Project managers will find this book an excellent reference for managing a large-scale development effort, and information technology executives will find it an excellent source of insight as to how to make long-term development successful.
By reading Process Patterns you will gain a thorough understanding of how the entire object-oriented development process works. Furthermore you will gain a detailed understanding of the Initiate and Construct phases of OO development, the phases where software is built, in a coherent and consistent manner.
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Amazon Canada |
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Other:
1. Five stars. The feature that sets this book apart is the way
established OO principles and methods are seamlessly integrated
into a complete and coherent development process. Chris
Neatby-Smith, Computer Bulletin.
2. ComputerWorld
Canada Review
I maintain a list of typos of all my books so that they can be addressed in future reprints. I'd really appreciate hearing about anything that you find.
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Copyright
© 1998-2007
Scott W. Ambler Last updated: March 31, 2007 |
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