Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers

Donald J. Reifer

Making the Software Business Case: Improvement by the Numbers

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商品描述

"Just the understanding and insights you will pick up about how people encounter and cope with combinations of technical, social, political, and economic opportunities and challenges make the book a joy to read and worth much more than the price of it alone."
--Barry Boehm, from the Foreword

This practical handbook shows you how to build an effective business case when you need to justify--and persuade management to accept--software change or improvement. Based on real-world scenarios, the book covers the most common situations in which business case analyses are required and explains specific techniques that have proved successful in practice. Drawing on years of experience in winning the "battle of the budget," the author shows you how to use commonly accepted engineering economic arguments to make your numbers "sing" to management.

The book provides examples of successful business cases; along the way, tables, tools, facts, figures, and metrics guide you through the entire analytic process. Writing in a concise and witty style, the author makes this valuable guidance accessible to every software engineer, manager, and IT professional.

Highlights include:
  • How and where business case analyses fit into the software and IT life cycle process
  • Explanations of the most common tools for business case analysis, such as present-value, return-on-investment, break-even, and cost/benefit calculation
  • Tying the business process to the software development life cycle
  • Packaging the business case for management consumption
  • Frameworks and guidelines for justifying IT productivity, quality, and delivery cycle improvement strategies
  • Case studies for applying appropriate decision situations to software process improvement
  • Strategic guidelines for various business case analyses

With this book in hand, you will find the facts, examples, hard data, and case studies needed for preparing your own winning business cases in today's complex software environment.

Table of Contents

Foreword.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.

I: FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

1. Improvement Is Everybody's Business.

Viewing Software as a Business.
Change Is the Nature of Software.
Making the Giant Leap Forward.
Success Is a Numbers Game.
Improvement Cycles and Tricycles.
Improvement by the Numbers.

Business Versus Technical Cases.
Why Change?
Are You Ready to Change?.
Getting Your Boss to Commit.

How This Book Can Help You.
Summary.


2. Making a Business Case.

The Whats, Whys, and Whens of Business Cases.
Relating Improvement Goals to Metrics Via Questions.
Developing Business Cases: The Front-End Process.
Tying the Business Process to the Software Development Life Cycle.

Business Cases: Stepping Through the Life Cycle.
Summary.


3. Making the Business Case: Principles, Rules, and Analysis Tools.

Tooling the Process.
Business Case Principles.
Present Value and Future Worth.
A Smorgasbord of Analysis Techniques.

Tools of the Trade.
Packaging the Business Case for Management Consumption.
Avoiding Taxes and Tax Revolts.
Summary.


4. Business Cases That Make Sense.

The Parable of the Chinese Emperor.
Improving the Process.
Cost Avoidance.
Capitalizing Software.
Quick-to-Market Strategies.

Architecting Products.
Make Versus Buy Analysis.
Moving to a Web-Based Economy.
Summary.

II: THE CASE STUDIES.


5. Playing the Game of Dungeons and Dragons: Process Improvement Case Study.

Setting the Stage.
Current Business Climate.
Developing a Game Plan.

Process Maturity: Are the Investments Justified?.
Quantifying the Return-on-Investment.
Getting Everyone Involved in Playing the Game.
Reinventing and Refreshing the Organization.
Summary.


6. Quantifying the Cost/Benefits: Capitalizing Software Case Study.

You've Got a Problem.
Organization Profile.
Initial Operational Concept.

Capital Decision-Making Process.
Make-Versus-Buy Analysis.
Putting Software Cost Models to Work.
Performing Risk Analyses.
Addressing "What If" Questions.

Making Your Numbers Believable.
Summary.


7. Making Your Numbers Sing: Architecting Case Study.

The Grand Proposal.
Developing a Strategy.
Readying the Financials.
Determining the Numbers.
Trimming the Fat.
Justifying Your Recommendations.

Why Pursue Architecture in the First Place?.
Summary.


8. Maneuvering the Maze: Web-Based Economy Case Study.

For Openers.
Finding a Likely Candidate.
Determining the "Value" of a Firm.

Computing How Much to Pay.
To Buy or Not to Buy.
Avoiding the Traps.

Going Global.
Timing Is Strategy.
Summary.

III: FINALE.


9. Overcoming Adversity: More Than a Pep Talk.

The Wary Traveler.
You Can Be Successful.
Change Tactics Abound.
Avoid the Many Bear Traps.
Focus on the Things That Count.

Other Interesting Uses of Numbers.
Where's the Technology Heading?.
Summary.


Appendix A: Recommended Reading List.
Appendix B: Compound Interest Tables.
Acronyms.
Glossary.

商品描述(中文翻譯)

「這本書所提供的理解和洞察力，關於人們如何面對和應對技術、社會、政治和經濟機遇和挑戰的組合，使得這本書讀起來非常愉快，價值遠遠超過價格本身。」- Barry Boehm，引言中的話。

這本實用手冊向您展示了如何在需要證明並說服管理層接受軟體變更或改進時建立有效的商業案例。根據實際情境，本書涵蓋了商業案例分析所需的最常見情況，並解釋了在實踐中證明成功的具體技巧。作者基於多年在「預算之戰」中的經驗，向您展示如何使用廣泛接受的工程經濟論點，使您的數字對管理層有說服力。

本書提供了成功商業案例的示例；在此過程中，表格、工具、事實、數據和指標將引導您完成整個分析過程。作者以簡潔幽默的風格寫作，使這些寶貴的指導對每個軟體工程師、經理和IT專業人員都易於理解。

重點包括：
- 商業案例分析在軟體和IT生命週期過程中的位置和作用
- 解釋商業案例分析的最常用工具，如現值、投資回報率、損益平衡和成本效益計算
- 將商業流程與軟體開發生命週期相結合
- 將商業案例打包供管理層使用
- 為證明IT生產力、質量和交付週期改進策略提供框架和指南
- 將適當的決策情境應用於軟體流程改進的案例研究
- 不同商業案例分析的戰略指南

有了這本書，您將找到在當今複雜的軟體環境中準備自己的成功商業案例所需的事實、示例、硬數據和案例研究。

目錄：
- 引言
- 前言
- 致謝
- 第一部分：基本概念
- 第1章：改進是每個人的事業
- 第2章：制定商業案例
- 第3章：制定商業案例：原則、規則和分析工具
- 第4章：有意義的商業案例

（以下省略）

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