Who Should Read This Book

Many software organizations have trouble delivering high-quality software on time. Most of them have talented team members; almost all of them realize that there is a problem. People in these organizations may have already read books about management, quality, and programming. What all of these people have in common is a need to change the way a software organization works. They may not always recognize the nature of the problem, or what is causing delays or bugs. What they do know is that something needs to change.

We wrote this book for anyone in a software organization where there are chronic problems producing software on schedule and without defects. The intended readers of this book include:

• A project manager responsible for a software development project and/or team

• A programmer, designer, business analyst, architect, tester, or other member of a software team looking to improve the product he is working on

• A quality assurance manager or team member who is attempting to implement defect prevention, or is responsible for establishing or improving an organization's software process

• A consultant hired to improve project management practices, software process, or overall software quality in an organization

• A project manager who has been put in charge of a project that has been outsourced