Japan's Software Factories: A Challenge to U.S. Management Review

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Japan's Software Factories: A Challenge to U.S. Management ReviewThis is one of the earliest in a series of books that Cusumano has written on software technology. In this book he cries "Wolf!": the Japanese are so much better at industrial strength software development than Americans, they have a "software factory", etc., etc.
In his subsequent books, especially those on Microsoft and Netscape, Cusumano slowly discovers that the traditional software development process, requirements/specifications/code, etc., e.g. the waterfall model, is *NOT* the model adopted by successful software companies (and, indeed, not the model adopted by many hardware companies). He learns that designs are not something to be churned out by a factory - indeed, if they can be churned out, then they should be reusing exactly the same software.
In some ways the packaged software industry, e.g. Microsoft, supplanted the custom software industry in this timeframe, the time of the PC; Microsoft's process, which Cusumano calls "synchronize and stabilize", may be considered to be JIT (Just In Time) software specification and development. Or, if not Just In Time, As Soon As Possible and No Earlier than Necessary.
While I cannot agree with the conclusions of this book, it is interesting to have on one's bookshelf, to see the evolution of the author's thought over time.Japan's Software Factories: A Challenge to U.S. Management OverviewThough Japan has successfully competed with U.S. companies in the manufacturing and marketing of computer hardware, it has been less successful in developing computer programs. This book contains the first detailed analysis of how Japanese firms have tried to redress this imbalance by applying their skills in engineering and production management to software development. Cusumano focuses on the creation of "software factories" in which large numbers of people are engaged in developing software in cooperative ways--i.e. individual programs are not developed in isolation but rather utilize portions of other programs already developed whenever possible, and then yield usable portions for other programs being written. Devoting chapters to working methods at System Developing Corp., Hitachi, Toshiba, NEC, and Fujitsu, and including a comparison of Japanese and U.S. software factories, Cusumano's book will be important reading for all people involved in software and computer technology, as well as those interested in Japanese business and corporate culture.

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The Business of Software: What Every Manager, Programmer, and Entrepreneur Must Know to Thrive and Survive in Good Times and Bad Review

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The Business of Software: What Every Manager, Programmer, and Entrepreneur Must Know to Thrive and Survive in Good Times and Bad Review---> To swing for the fence, entrepreneurs must avoid the shark-infested red water and sail into the deep blue sea.
If you're even thinking of creating a software startup, I highly recommend you read The Business of Software as soon as possible. Doing so will save you much pain and suffering from senseless mistakes. When there is such a large body of existing knowledge, there is no cause for trial and error mentality. There's plenty of other opportunities for trailblazing. Read this book as a bare minimum before starting your venture.
Cusumano, offers an in depth study of what it takes to succeed in software. Of particular value are critical questions to contemplate:
1) Do you want to be mainly a Products company, or a Services company?
2) Do you want to sell to Individuals, or Enterprises | Mass market, or Niche market?
3) How horizontal (broad) or vertical (specialized)is your product or service?
4) Can you generate a recurring revenue stream that will endure both good and bad times?
5) Will you target mainstream customers, or do you have a plan to avoid the chasm?
6) Do you plan on being a Leader, Follower, or Complementor?
7) What kind of character do you want your company to have?
Cusumano also offers eight Critical Success Factors that are necessary for Software Start-ups to succeed as a business and raise investor money:
1) Strong Management Team
2) An Attractive Market
3) A Compelling New Product, Service, or Hybrid Solution
4) Strong evidence of Customer Interest
5) A Plan to Overcome the "Credibility Gap"
6) A Business Model Showing Early Growth and Profit Potential
7) Flexibility in Strategy and Product Offerings
8) The Potential for Large Payoff to Investors
Don't reinvent the wheel. Read this book as soon as possible, preferably "before" you create that software venture you so boldly dreamed.
Michael Davis, ByvationThe Business of Software: What Every Manager, Programmer, and Entrepreneur Must Know to Thrive and Survive in Good Times and Bad OverviewThe world's leading expert on the global software industry and coauthor of the bestseller Microsoft Secrets reveals the inner workings of software giants like IBM, Microsoft, and Netscape and shows what it takes to create, develop, and manage a successful company -- in good times and bad -- in the most fiercely competitive business in the world. In the $600 billion software industry it is the business, not the technology, that determines success or failure. This fact -- one that thousands of once glamorous start-ups have unhappily discovered for themselves -- is the well-documented conclusion of this enormously readable and revealing new book by Michael Cusumano, based on nearly twenty years of research and consulting with software producers around the world. Cusumano builds on dozens of personal experiences and case studies to show how issues of strategy and organization are irrevocably linked with those of managing the technology and demonstrates that a thorough understanding of these issues is vital to success. At the heart of the book Cusumano poses seven questions that underpin a three-pronged management framework. He argues that companies must adopt one of three basic business models: become a products company at one end of the strategic spectrum, a services company at the other end, or a hybrid solutions company in between. The author describes the characteristics of the different models, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, and shows how each is more or less appropriate for different stages in the evolution of a business as well as in good versus bad economic times. Readers will also find invaluable Cusumano's treatment of software development issues ranging from architecture and teams to project management and testing, as well as two chapters devoted to what it takes to create a successful software start-up. Highlights include eight fundamental guidelines for evaluating potential software winners and Cusumano's probing analysis, based on firsthand knowledge, of ten start-ups that have met with varying degrees of success. The Business of Software is timely essential reading for managers, programmers, entrepreneurs, and others who follow the global software industry.

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The Micro-Script Rules: It's not what people hear. It's what they repeat... Review

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The Micro-Script Rules: It's not what people hear. It's what they repeat... ReviewIn The Micro-Scripts Rules, Bill Schley identifies the salient point if you want to have a salient message--it has to tell a story, and it was to be in very few words. A well-designed message is memorable and repeatable--like a script, a "micro-script." Schley explores the public's fascination with messages that are so good they get repeated over and over again, and then he explains why. After dissecting what makes a winning Micro-Script, he also offers strategies for making effective ones of your own. This is a refreshing and readable book. Finally someone is talking about how you install an actual message into all this social media. Every communicator should read it.
The Micro-Script Rules: It's not what people hear. It's what they repeat... OverviewKnow how to make 5 words beat 5,000? Or tell your whole story in a sentence of less? For communicators now, it's critical. And the secret's in The Micro-Script Rules: It's not what people hear. It's what they repeat'
Call it survival of the simplest: That's the bottom line if you're in branding, politics, teaching, a business owner or advertiser-anyone who communicates in this hyper-connectedworld. Because with 300 billion messages going by each second, we can't break through by delivering more data. Human brains want less. They want to make snap judgments on the least bit of info. They want us to package it for them--in Micro-Scripts. That's why:
A new product seizes 50% of the market in two years using 7 perfect words. A lawyer won the murder trial of the century with 8 simple words.Ernest Hemingway thought his greatest story ever was 6 words long.The fate of millions was changed by a war, based on a 2 word policy.A presidential election turned on a 4 word phrase.
Imagine the power of magic words like these on your brand, your website, your business plan, your career. They're not just sound bites. They're story bites. Written the way we love to remember and repeat. Used by great communicators for 1,000 years. Now they're yours in a smart and entertaining book: The Micro-Script Rules.
'The Micro-Script Rules is dead on-it's how to verbalize a point of difference."--JACK TROUT, co-author of the legendary Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
'The missing ingredient in most marketing is memorability'Micro-Scripts solve that problem." -- AL RIES, co-author of the legendary Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
'As Bill Schley shows, Micro-Scripts are big marketing. Now, anyone can dominate a market with a few well-placed words. Especially you. So what are you waiting for?"-- DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT, bestselling author, The New Rules of Marketing & PR
'This should be required reading for every candidate and campaign consultant."--JIM KITCHENS, Ph. D., President of The Kitchens Group
'WOW, one of the most important books you will read in your lifetime!" --JASON JENNINGS, bestselling author, Less is More, Think BIG-Act Small--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer Review

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Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer ReviewRoy Peter Clark invites aspiring writers "to imagine the act of writing less as a special talent and more as a purposeful craft." In his "Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer," Clark urges the reader to "think of writing as carpentry, and consider this book your toolbox." The goal is to take away the fright and nausea that accompanies writer's block, and to make every writer more proficient at expressing himself.
Clark divides his book into four sections: "Nuts and Bolts," "Special Effects," "Blueprints," and "Useful Habits." Within these divisions, the author clearly and concisely presents his tools; he also includes excerpts from the works of outstanding writers to illustrate each point. For instance, Tool 22 is "Climb up and down the ladder of abstraction." The writer should know when to use concrete examples and when to reach for "higher meaning." Avoid the treacherous middle rungs of the ladder where "bureaucracy and technocracy lurk," and where euphemisms and meaningless phrases abound. Clark cites Updike and a baseball writer named Thomas Boswell to show the reader how it's done. Tool 38 exhorts us to "Prefer archetypes to stereotypes." We should beware of heavy-handed symbols and strive for subtlety. Although it is tempting to fall back on familiar phrases and well-worn ideas, a writer should aspire to cultivate his own distinctive voice. To get his message across, Clark cites a passage from James Joyce's tale "The Dead." Each tool is followed by a "workshop," with several practice exercises.
Some of the tools mentioned in this book are far from unique--most writing handbooks encourage us to make every word count and vary sentence length--but there are a few noteworthy tips that stand out. For example, Clark discusses how to "establish a pattern, then give it a twist," and how to "mix narrative modes" using the broken line technique. A clever writer knows when to move his lens back to broaden his perspective and when to zoom in for a close-up on his subject.
There is no shortage of excellent books on the art of writing. Along with "On Writing Well," by William Zinsser, and Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style," I recommend "Spunk and Bite," by Arthur Plotnik, "How Not to Write," by Wiliam Safire, and "A Dash of Style," by Noah Lukeman. All of these guides, as well as Roy Peter Clark's "Writing Tools," take some of the mystery out of writing and make it a craft accessible to all.Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer Overview

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