Business of Software Development

Software by Numbers is a significant new contribution to value-based, financially responsible software engineering.--Barry Boehm, Ph.D., Director, USC Center for Software Engineering, Creator of COCOMO and Spiral Model Link software development to value creation and optimize ROI. Ultimately, software development is about creating value--yet, all too often, software fails to deliver the business value customers need. This book will help you change that, by linking software development directly to value creation. You'll learn exactly how to identify which features add value and which don't--and refocus your entire development process on delivering more value, more rapidly. Software by Numbers shows you how to: Identify Minimum Marketable Features (MFs)--the fundamental units of value in software development Accelerate value delivery by linking iterative development to iterative funding Optimize returns through incremental architecture techniques Effectively involve business stakeholders in the development process Sequence feature delivery based on mini-ROI assessments Quantify financial risk at every step throughout the development process Manage intangibles throughout the software development process Whatever methodology you're already using--whether it's RUP or XP--this book shows how to achieve the goals that matter most to your business: reduced risk, better cash flow, and higher ROI.…