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The ACCU passes on review copies of computer books to its members for them to review. The result is a large, high quality collection of book reviews by programmers, for programmers. Currently there are 1949 reviews in the database and more every month.
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Title:
Balancing Agility and Discipline
Author:
Barry Boehm&Richard Tumer
ISBN:
0-321-18612-5
Publisher:
Addison-Wesley
Pages:
266pp
Price:
£22-99
Reviewer:
Pete Goodliffe
Subject:
management
Appeared in:
16-2
This is a timely and authoritative software development book from well-respected authors. It stands in the chasm between the 'agile' and 'disciplined' software development approaches and pulls the two together. The authors contrast and compare methodologies, and explain how elements of both can be tailored into your most appropriate development style.

The content is certainly nothing new - development processes have recognised this overlap and begun to span the divide already. However, the authors provide a clear pragmatic viewpoint, explain how to gain the most from each methodology, and describe how to create a specific 'balanced' development process for a particular company/project.

Appendixes summarise the key agile and disciplined methodologies, although the reader does need a good prior understanding to fully appreciate the information.

The book is thoughtfully laid out, following the novel approach of Taylor's 'Object Technology: A Manager's Guide' - margin notes contain a 'fast track' summary of the text.

This is a highly recommended book for software team leaders and development managers.