Insightful and applicable, detracted only by a couple of outliers

The chapters on project management, commitment, values, communication, and people growth are worth the price of admission. He clearly calls out best practices and warning signs for software projects big and small, and also brings a bit of hard-nosed reality where many people are afraid to do so today. Understanding where to stand fast and where to be flexible is a hard line, especially in crowds that push the "this is an art" or "big projects have variables you can't control" buttons. Much of what he said resonated with my experiences of what goes well and what can go horribly wrong in projects with large numbers of people.

The book did have a few oddball bits in there, though. The "how to sell UML" chapter felt like it was out of a Rational marketing manual. Additionally, the data and numbers focus in several chapters made it a bit unweildy if you're in an organization like mine where COCOMO estimates are an item of jokes and ridicule, not the serious measurement tools of this book. The chapters on random numbers and software-batteries felt like the "in-between" posts you see on some blogs - just space fillers until you get back to the regularly scheduled programming.

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• Insightful and applicable, detracted only by a couple of outliers