Adrenaline junkies, dead fish, project sluts, true believers, Lewis and Clark, template zombies . . .

Most developers, testers, and managers on IT projects are pretty good at recognizing patterns of behavior and gut-level hunches, as in, I sense that this project is headed for disaster.

But it has always been more difficult to transform these patterns and hunches into a usable form, something a team can debate, refine, and use. Until now.

In Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies, the six principal consultants of The Atlantic Systems Guild present the patterns of behavior they most often observe at the dozens of IT firms they transform each year, around the world.

The result is a quick-read guide to identifying nearly ninety typical scenarios, drawing on a combined one-hundred-and-fifty years of project management experience. Project by project, you'll improve the accuracy of your hunches and your ability to act on them.

The patterns are presented in an easy-reference format, with names designed to ease communication with your teammates. In just a few words, you can describe what's happening on your project. Citing the patterns of behavior can help you quickly move those above and below you to the next step on your project. You'll find classic patterns such as these:

News ImprovementManagement By Mood RingPiling OnRattle Yer DagsNatural AuthorityFood++Fridge Doorand more than eighty more!

Not every pattern will be evident in your organization, and not every pattern is necessarily good or bad. However, you'll find many patterns that will apply to your current and future assignments, even in the most ambiguous circumstances. When you assess your situation and follow your next hunch, you'll have the collective wisdom of six world-class consultants at your side.

Review

«Another masterpiece from the folks who brought you Peopleware. Anyone who has survived a software project or two will surely recognize many of these patterns and will be able to learn from most of them. Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies is a real joy.» --Joel Spolsky, author of Joel on Software

«Who else but these particular authors could mine 150 years of software team experience to capture memorable names for oft-encountered situations? I suspect you will start using these phrases in your work--I already have.» --Alistair Cockburn, author of Agile Software Development

«utterly delightful collection of essays about 86 'project patterns' … These 'patterns' are grimly familiar to anyone who has worked in project-related organizations; and unfortunately, they can be found in small companies as well as large ones. Fortunately, some of the patterns ('Rattle Yer Dags' and 'Nanny,' for example) are good ones, and should be encouraged. Sadly, though, far too many of them ('Dead Fish,' 'Project-Speak') are not only depressingly familiar, but astonishingly destructive to productivity, quality, and the morale of the project team. … I really love this book, not the least because each pattern can be read and understood in a moment or two, since they take only 2–3 pages to explain. … If Adrenaline Junkies and Template Zombies gets the attention it deserves, Scott Adams may have to return to Corporate America and get an honest job as a project manager.» --Ed Yourdon, author of Death March

About the Author

If your organization builds systems of any kind, chances are that some of the methods and approaches that it uses came originally from the Atlantic Systems Guild. Collectively, the authors have published nearly twenty previous books, including Peopleware, Mastering the Requirements Process, The Deadline, Essential Systems Analysis, Waltzing With Bears, and Process for System Architecture and Requirements Engineering.

Том Демарко