In July 2002, a new book about software engineering was published. Author is Hans Sassenburg, Managing Director of SE-CURE AG. The book describes the process of building and maintaining a house in the Swiss Alps. This analogy is used to make a comparison between the mature construction world and immature software engineering discipline. In each chapter, describing one of the project phases, an integrated set of engineering rules is deducted using a multi-dimensional perspective (project, people, process, technology). Further, many practical examples and anecdotes are used to stress again the importance of described issues.

Target audience for this book includes experienced software engineers, (project) managers. The book is also successfully used in academic programs, as the book contains many assignments. 

Click here to order the book (ISBN 90-72194-64-0).

A relatively unexplored area in the field of software management is the implementation or release decision, deciding whether or not a software product can be transferred from its development phase to operational use. It is a trade-off between an early release, to capture the benefits of an earlier market introduction, and the deferral of product release, to enhance functionality, or improve quality. In this research project, this problematic area was explored in-depth from different perspectives, both from a theoretical and from an empirical point of view, by studying practical examples. The results are used in a proposed methodology to improve strategic software release decisions, characterized by the existence of large prospective financial loss outcomes, including the presence of high costs for reversing a decision.

This work was awarded with the 2007 Aart Bosman Prize for best IT research. Link.

An electronic version is available for free, click here (ISBN 90-367-2425-2).