Rapid development
by Steve McConnell · first published 1996
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Broad guide to managing software projects and schedules: catalogs classic mistakes, compares development approaches and their trade-offs, and covers estimation pressure. Suits developers and managers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…productivity is different than what is needed for complex cognitive tasks. The more demanding the cognitive task, the more important sleep and relaxation are. That is why in Steve McConnell's classic Rapid Development he advocates a 35 hour week. And the real limit for a lot of people may be less. For instance read http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/05/18/kalzumeus-podcast-ep-2-w... to find out that patio11 thinks that…
on “Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work” ↗…positions have heard of them, let alone read them. For example, the Microsoft Press books form the 90s are great. Debugging the Development Process, Software Project Survival Guide, Writing Solid Code, Rapid Development, and then books like The Mythical Man-Month, and Peopleware. Just a passing familiarity is all I ask. But no. Favored people and 'can't be hit by a bus' people get away with anything, great people with…
on “Get Shit Done: The Worst Startup Culture” ↗…low throughput, the last accepts the issues but lets you tackle problems that the small team couldn't. Another random suggestion. If you're interested in productivity, pick up a copy of Peopleware and Rapid Development, read them, and pick a set of best practices to try.
on “Paying Developers Like Sales People” ↗I disagree with points of this article, and I'm not sure about the premise. I think Software Engineering is not as well defined as it could be but I think it is getting better. The book Rapid Development by Steve McConnel goes a long way in that regard. The article states that to spend vast sums of money and end up with nothing, you must be paying for software development. But if you follow the principles…
on “Why writing software is not like engineering” ↗Have you considered reading some software engineering classics as well? Code Complete, Rapid Development, The Mythical Man-Month, The Pragmatic Programmer, Peopleware and A Discipline for Software Engineering? (The last one is controversial).
on “Ask HN: How to grow as a Software Engineer?” ↗…& Teams http://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-S... Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose http://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-P... Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules http://www.amazon.com/dp/1556159005/?tag=stackoverfl08-20 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable http://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fabl...…
on “Ask HN: Best practices when working with teams” ↗Get these two http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Development-Taming-Software-Sche... and http://www.amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Demystifying-Devel... If you want to get deeper into project management I suggest that you become a member of the PMI and possibly…
on “Ask HN: Taking on Some Product Manager Responsibilities: Book Recommendations?” ↗https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Development-Taming-Software-Sch... https://www.amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Demystifying-Deve...
on “Ask HN: Project planning books written by devs” ↗The unappreciated key to rapid software development is having a realistic plan: https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Development-Taming-Software-Sch... "Point the boat in the right direction and row" is the dominant paradigm in the industry. The concept of "technical debt" is I think harmful because it is a two word phrase that…
on “Ask HN: Does any body work on a huge (and old) code base that is not a mess?” ↗…extensive time spent doing the estimation, like sure - you can be more precise, but the more precise you need to be, the longer it takes you to frame the estimate. Two books help with methods of doing this. Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules: https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Development-Taming-Software-Sch... Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art https://www.amazon.com/Software-Estimation-Demystifying-Deve...…
on “How fair do you think time estimate within 30% is? Plus/minus 20% if over 3 days” ↗…enjoyed Advanced Swift. In fact, I was inspired to write a collection utility, based on it. He knows his stuff; especially when teamed with the wizards at objc.io. But the classics are never out of date. Rapid Development, along with other McConnell classics, is a "must-read," as far as I'm concerned. But the book that probably has had more impact on me, than any other, was The Design of Everyday Things, by Don Norman.…
on “My Favorite Books 2020” ↗Heck, I still use stuff I picked up from Writing Solid Code. That book hasn’t aged as well, but it had some parts that are still quite relevant, today. I always thought that Rapid Development was better than Code Complete. I’ve probably read all of McConnell’s stuff (and I’ve taken a lot of Construx courses). At one time, I was quite the fanboi. A lot of folks around here don’t seem to like…
on “Ask HN: Is "Code Complete" by Steve McConnell still a recommended read?” ↗…communicate that to the people you work with. What most people don't know/accept/believe is that most teams would control cost best if they tried to control risk first, see: https://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Development-Taming-Software-Sch... As for your other issues, this is what I am going to say. Short term there are two things that really matter: (1) getting data, and (2) developing the basic interfaces between…
on “ASK: HN how to deliver machine learning results under startup pressure?” ↗…the younger people to bring fire into their endeavors. Finally, there is but one bible of software development to be followed, despite the many other publications on the subject; the 1996 edition of "Rapid Development" by Stephen McConnell, which is still in its first edition printing. Every young professional should get a copy of this venerable book that is based upon 35 years of project analysis and research as…
on “We Hire Old People” ↗Steve McConnell of Code Complete and Rapid Development fame also wrote a book about estimating software development -- Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art. It's a great read and as usual McConnell is an absolute master at distilling vast reams…
on “Why Programmers Are Bad at Estimating Time” ↗