9780201545975

This book contains best-selling author Watts Humphrey's practical insights on how to lead technical professionals. In this new book, he demonstrates the overriding importance of people to the success of any software project. He focuses particularly on the critical role of innovative people, and gives concrete advice on how to identify, motivate, and organize these people into highly productive teams.

Known as “the father of software quality,” Watts S. Humphrey is the author of numerous influential books on the software-development process and software process improvement. Humphrey is a fellow of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University, where he founded the Software Process Program and provided the vision and early leadership for the original Capability Maturity Model (CMM). He also is the creator of the Personal Software Process (PSP) and Team Software Process (TSP). Recently, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology—the highest honor given by the president of the United States to America's leading innovators.

Each chapter concludes with Notes
The Manager as Leader
Technical Leadership
The Leaders Goals
The Leaders Conviction
Leaders and Their Followers
Transformational Leadership
Transactional Leadership
Leading from Below
The Leaders Vision
Leading Technical Professionals
The Commitment Ethic
The Elements of Commitment
Making Responsible Commitments
Commitments or Crusades?
Overcommitment
Managing Commitments
Changing Commitments
Doing a Thorough Job
Building the Commitment Ethic
Commitment Ownership
The Importance of Professionalism
The Elements of Professionalism
Reinventing the Wheel
The Benefits of Awareness
Managing Awareness
Knowledge: Only the Beginning
Doing the Job the Right Way
The Discipline of Visibility
The Hard Work of Visibility
Pride of Authorship
The Benefits of Visibility
Professionalism and Performance
The Managers Role in Professionalism
Respect for the Individual
The Standard of Respect
The Open Door Policy
Peer Review Programs
Establishing a Respectful Environment
Managing Technical and Professional People
The Goals of Engineers and Scientists
Work Assignment
Hierarchy of Needs
Locals versus Cosmopolitans
The Need for Influence
The Changing Professional Career
Evolving Professional Goals
Age and Creativity
Age and Performance
Age and Motivation
Burnout
The Management-Employee Partnership
Career Risks and Age
Managing the Older Professional
Motivating Technical and Professional People
The Power of Motivation
Motivation and Technical Competence
The Evolution of Management
Building Task Maturity
Building Relationship Maturity
Building Motivation
Motivating Technical Professionals
The Managers Style
Professional Discipline
The Need for Discipline
Examples of Disciplined Behavior
Intellectual Disciplines
The Importance of Discipline
The Personal Software Process
The Managers Role in Professional Discipline
More Guidelines for Managers
The Identification and Development of Talented People
Identifying Talented Professionals
The Importance of Talent
The Availability of Talent
Characteristics of Technically Talented People Identifying
Managerial Talent
The Tamed Rebel
Recognizing Talent
The Assessment Center
Developing Technical Talent
Professional Development
Career Moves
Technical Development Needs
Continuing Management Contact
Career Counseling
Steps in Technical Development
Developing Managerial Talent
Management Development Objectives
Starting the Development Process
The Executive Personality
Alternating Assignments
The Product Development Executive
The Manufacturing Executive
The Development Plan
Temporary Assignments
Management Development Reviews
Supp
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Have you ever noticed how one project will succeed and another fail? On my first management job, I was assigned to a partially completed project. A small crew of inexperienced engineers was developing a complex cryptographic communications system for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Even though none of them had previous development experience, they completed the work on time and met all the government's specifications. From the very beginning, I could sense that this was a winning team. They were energetic, enthusiastic, and excited about their work. What causes some teams to have this winning quality, and how can managers help their teams to achieve it? This book has grown from my years in technical management. It captures my experiences as well as lessons I have learned from the many fine people I have worked with in nearly 50 years as an engineer, manager, and executive. During my 27 years with IBM, I was involved in developing the enormously successful IBM 360 and 370 systems. I also managed much of IBM's commercial software development for both the 360 and 370 systems and spent several years in IBM corporate finance. I was also Director of IBM's Glendale Development Laboratory and the 2000 engineers who developed IBM's intermediate-range computing systems, printers, banking products, and software systems. Since retiring from IBM, I have worked for another 10 years at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University. Here, I founded and led the Process Program and have been named an SEI Fellow. During this time, I have been fortunate to participate in many innovative hardware and software projects and have been exposed to both successful and unsuccessful projects at many development organizations throughout the world. Although some of the experiences described in this book happened many years ago, their lessons are as true today as they were then. History is a marvelous teacher as long as we are willing to learn. In this book, I have captured some of the lessons that I have found most helpful. I hope you will find them helpful as well. The Importance of Commitment It has long been recognized that the dedication which produces superior performance is best obtained through deep personal commitment. Truly outstanding achievements generally result from a dedicated drive to meet defined goals. The foundation for such a commitment is belief in the goal and a strong desire to achieve it. When people want to accomplish something so deeply that they put everything else aside, they often perform at their very best. In fact, they occasionally go far beyond what they thought possible. That is the kind of dedication that breaks the four-minute mile, invents the electric light bulb, or deciphers the structure of the DNA molecule. Such deeds are not done casually or by people who don't care. They come from hard work and from the dedication of people who are deeply and personally committed. Commitment is the first step in achieving superior performance. This is as true for modern technology as it is in any other field. Suppose, for example, you needed a new computer program. You would want the programmers to give this work high priority and to dedicate their energies to its success. Although no simple procedure can ensure they do this, there are some methods that usually work. Many managers can achieve such dedicated performance occasionally, and some managers seem to do it almost at will. The key is to understand and respect the employees and to follow sound management principles. This knowledge and these principles are the subjects of this book. The Manager's Role in Innovation Among the many factors that can improve professional performance are self-confidence, skill, and respect. Negatives that can block creativity include boredom, resentment, or simple misunderstandings. Some conditions are constant, while others are positive at one moment and negative at another

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Managing Technical People Innovation, Teamwork, and the Software Process

Managing Technical People Innovation, Teamwork, and the Software Process

0201545977

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Excerpts

Write a Review