SourceMaking

AntiPatterns: The Survival Guide

Whereas patterns are good ideas that can be re-applied to new situations, AntiPatterns: The Survival Guide To Software Development Processes looks at what goes wrong in software development, time and time again.

Most software projects fail

This enlightening and often entertaining text defines what seasoned developers have long suspected: despite advances in software engineering, most software projects still fail to meet expectations and about a third are cancelled altogether.

Our deadliest hit list begins with the Blob, where one object does most of the work in a project, and proceeds to Continuous Obsolescence, where technology changes so quickly that developers can’t keep up. Some of the more entertaining antipatterns include the Poltergeist (where do-nothing classes add unnecessary overhead), the Boat Anchor (a white elephant piece of hardware or software bought at great cost) and the Golden Hammer (a single technology that is used for every conceivable programming problem).

Also, we have defined antipatterns oriented toward management problems with software (including Death by Planning and Project Mismanagement, along with several other antipatterns, that help define why so many software projects are late and over budget).

Learn how to avoid a crash

In this book we suggest ways to overcome antipatterns and improve software productivity in “refactored solutions” that can avoid some of these obstacles.

This is a realistic book, a mix of “Dilbert” and software engineering. A clever antidote to getting too optimistic about software development, this book should be required reading for any manager facing a large-scale development project.

Other opinions about AntiPatterns

John Vlissides, IBM Research

The AntiPatterns authors have clearly been there and done that when it comes to managing software development efforts. I resonated with one insight after another, having witnessed too many wayward projects myself. The experience in this book is palpable.

Kyle Brown, Author of The Design Patterns Smalltalk Companion

This book allows managers, architects, and developers to learn from the painful mistakes of others. The high-level AntiPatterns on software architecture are a particularly valuable contribution to software engineering. Highly recommended!

Gerard Meszaros, Chief Architect, Object Systems Group

AntiPatterns continues the trend started in Design Patterns. The authors have discovered and named common problem situations resulting from poor management or architecture control, mistakes which most experienced practitioners will recognize. Should you find yourself with one of the AntiPatterns, they even provide some clues on how to get yourself out of the situation.

The book will be available to you in PDF format immediately upon purchase, so you can easily print out pages as needed. Besides, it’s great for reading on portable devices.

For $29.95 $9.95 limited offer you will get:

  • The book
  • Most effective anti-crisis practices in the software development industry
  • And all of this with a 90-day money-back guarantee.