The Psychology of Computer Programming: Silver Anniversary eBook Edition

by Gerald Weinberg

Overview

This landmark 1971 classic is reprinted with a new preface, chapter-by-chapter commentary, and straight-from-the-heart observations on topics that affect the professional life of programmers.
Long regarded as one of the first books to pioneer a people-oriented approach to computing, The Psychology of Computer Programming endures as a penetrating analysis of the intelligence, skill, teamwork, and problem-solving power of the computer programmer.
Finding the chapters strikingly relevant to today's issues in programming, Gerald M. Weinberg adds new insights and highlights the similarities and differences between now and then. Using a conversational style that invites the reader to join him, Weinberg reunites with some of his most insightful writings on the human side of software engineering.
Topics include egoless programming, intelligence, psychological measurement, personality factors, motivation, training, social problems on large projects, problem-solving ability, programming language design, team formation, the programming environment, and much more.

The author says, "On an inspired eight-week vacation in Italy, I wrote the first draft of The Psychology of Computer Programming. . . . the book quickly became a best-seller among technical titles, running through more than twenty printings and staying in print for twenty-five years. . . .
This landmark 1971 classic is reprinted with a new preface, chapter-by-chapter commentary, and straight-from-the-heart observations on topics that affect the professional life of programmers.

Long regarded as one of the first books to pioneer a people-oriented approach to computing, The Psychology of Computer Programming endures as a penetrating analysis of the intelligence, skill, teamwork, and problem-solving power of the computer programmer.

Finding the chapters strikingly relevant to today's issues in programming, Gerald M. Weinberg adds new insights and highlights the similarities and differences between now and then. Using a conversational style that invites the reader to join him, Weinberg reunites with some of his most insightful writings on the human side of software engineering.

Topics include egoless programming, intelligence, psychological measurement, personality factors, motivation, training, social problems on large projects, problem-solving ability, programming language design, team formation, the programming environment, and much more.

Sue Petersen, in Visual Developer, wrote:
"In this new edition, Jerry looks at where we were 30 years ago, where we are now and where we might be in the future. Instead of changing the original text, he's added new comments to each chapter. This allows the reader to compare and contrast his thinking over the decades, showcasing the errors and omissions as well as the threads that bore fruit.
". . . one issue -- communication -- has been at the core of Jerry's work for decades. Unknown to him at the time, Psychology was to form the outline of his life's work. . . . Psychology is valuable as history in a field that is all too ready to repeat the errors of its past. Read Psychology as a picture of where we've been, where we are now, and where we need to go next. Read it as an index to the thinking of one of the most influential figures in our field."

The author says, "On an inspired eight-week vacation in Italy, I wrote the first draft of The Psychology of Computer Programming. . . . the book quickly became a best-seller among technical titles, running through more than twenty printings and staying in print for twenty-five years. . . .

"For this Silver Anniversary Edition, I decided to take my own advice and not try to hide my errors, for they would be the source of the most learning for my readers. I decided to leave the original text as it was—antiques and all—for your illumination, and simply to add some 'wisdom of hindsight' remarks whenever the spirit moved me. I hope you find the perspective brought by this time-capsule contrast as useful to you as it has been to me."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940012212450
Publisher:	Gerald Weinberg
Publication date:	03/08/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

I've always been interested in helping smart people be happy and productive. To that end, I've published books on human behavior, including Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method, The Psychology of Computer Programming, Perfect Software and Other Fallacies, and an Introduction to General Systems Thinking. I've also written books on leadership including Becoming a Technical Leader, The Secrets of Consulting (Foreword by Virginia Satir), More Secrets of Consulting, and the four-volume Quality Software Management series.


I try to incorporate my knowledge of science, engineering, and human behavior into all of my writing and consulting work (with writers, hi-tech researchers, software engineers, and people whose life-situation could require the use of a service dog). I write novels about such people, including The Aremac Project, Aremac Power, Jigglers, First Stringers, Second Stringers, The Hands of God, Freshman Murders, Earth's Endless Effort, and Mistress of Molecules—all about how my brilliant protagonists produce quality work and learn to be happy. My books may be found as eBooks at <http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JerryWeinberg>; on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B000AP8TZ8; and at Barnes and Noble.


Early in my career, I was the architect for the Project Mercury's space tracking network and designer of the world's first multiprogrammed operating system. I won the Warnier Prize, the Stevens Award, and the first Software Testing Professionals' Luminary Award, all for mu writing on software quality. I was also elected a charter member of the Computing Hall of Fame in San Diego and chosen for the University of Nebraska Hall of Fame.


But the "award" I'm most proud of is The book, The Gift of Time (Fiona Charles, ed.) written by my student and readers for my 75th birthday. Their stories make me feel that I've been at least partially successful at helping smart people be happy.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a book that stimulates the reader. . . . There is a wealth of knowledge here for anyone involved in Process Improvement.

"There is much to gain from this book even if the reader is not a programmer, and even if the reader does not know how to program, because its focus is software development staff and the relationships that exist between them."

Alan Richardson

". . . many of the lessons about managing and leading people are as timely as they were today as they were when the book first appeared."

C.J. Van Wyck

"Whether you're part of the generation of the 1960's and 1970's, or part of the current generation of the 1980's and 1990's, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this wonderful book. Once you've digested it, you should then track down all of the other Weinberg books. . . . Every one of them is a jewel."

Ed Yourdon

"The Psychology of Computer Programming . . . was the first major book to address programming as an individual and team effort, and became a classic in the field. . . . Despite, or perhaps even because of, the perspective of 1971, this book remains a must-read for all software development managers."

J.J. Hirshfelder

"I recently reread parts of The Psychology of Computer Programming that seemed very radical to me when I first read them in 1971. As I look around at today's programmers, I can see what a large, beneficial effect that work has had."

Richard Mateosian