Secrets of Software Success: Management Insights from 100 Software Firms Around the World

As I read through the book, I kept waiting for the authors to unveil a secret to software success. As I reached the halfway point it occurred to me that there would be none. At least not for anyone that is already in the business. To set expectations, this book would be better suited to a reader from outside the industry.For these readers, this well-written report adeptly summarizes knowledge gained from previously printed materials and personal interviews with the people that matter. Unfortunately, this access may have come at a price. The authors gloss over failures and accent the positive moves by these companies to such an extent that the reader may come away with a success-biased view of the software development business.

This book was exactly what I was waiting for. I good addition to my software industry book collection. I read the whole book in one go, easy to read and good examples

Secrets of Software Success goes beyond the dry research papers that appear in the McKinsey Quarterly. Several consultants took upshots from 450 executives and laid them out in a concise and applicable manner. The authors reveal traits that could be implemented at any industry. Software consulting firms lead the industry in customer service and spend 78% of their advertising budget marketing their company name. We see so many software start ups as 95% is intangible capital. Partnerships are used to make up for gaps. Most companies make decisions quickly as they are based on a flat team-based organizational structure. Besides stock options, their culture has successfully overcome factors such as a variety of work styles and high turnover. Almost all companies do daily builds as stress causes 40% of all software errors and late fixes in design could cost 200 times an immediate fix. To conclude, a must read for anyone who wants to be a part of the digitized future.

Written by a team from McKinsey following several man years interviews and analysis, `Success' highlights business success factors through 100s of facts, quotes and anecdotes.The positively presented chapters span:* It's like riding a bull- some historical innovation, software in aerospace, cars & health, software industry overview, and research scope & methodology.* A new business called "software"- IT segmentation & evolution (mass products, enterprise solutions and professional services), volume vs productization chart, and market issues.* Exceptional software leaders are the rule- characteristics (visionaries, risk-takers, dynamic, create teams with talent).* Winning the war for software talent- recruiting (partner with universities, hiring workshops, internal referrals, freebies, learning), and issues of staff churn.* Software development: completing a mission impossible- good processes (clarify requirements, structured approach, quality control, reusable components, daily build, communication)* Marketing gods make software kings- law of increasing returns for being leader, good processes (customer segmentation, aggressive adventurist PR, value rather than technical approach), building trust for services (host conferences, discussion circles, online communities, trade & white papers/books), risk-sharing contracts, and life-time customer value.* Grow your partners to grow yourselves- webs of 100s/1000s credible partners (train, pamper & certify them, with incentives rather than controls to manage), shapers (set standards/foundations) & adapters, and great expansion when >60% benefits to adapters of web* The landscape of the future- growth- Internet applications, unbundelling of embedded software, digitized business system, convergence, component brokering, and market consolidation.* Staying on the bull- services priority areas (people, resource assignment, development, marketing, partnering), enterprise solutions priority areas (partnering, service strategy, marketing, people, development), mass-market priority areas (marketing, partnering, globalization, people, development).`Success' is a fact-filled & referenced, positive, timely global review of mass products, enterprise solutions and professional services.Weaknesses include: the overwhelming positive (non-objective) viewpoint; factual inconsistency, omissions (e.g. Booch, Rumbaugh, Jacobsen, UML etc when taking about object-oriented analysis/design/implementations) & errors when discussing the technology; superficiality due to a lack of wider knowledge of technology & industry; poor use of sidebars/bullet charts/summaries & figures for effective communication; and a lack of interactivity for the reader or tools to use (beyond mimicking other success factors).Overall, this book is an enjoyable entertaining easy-read, which ultimately fails the "so what" test- there is little of direct use (beyond standard management texts) for the reader to launch or improve companies. As such, `Success' is most suitable for newcomers to technology industries & service companies, job-seekers, and students.

What does it take to thrive in an industry where "more than 60% of companies that make it to IPO eventually go bankrupt or create very little value"? Five young German business consultants decided they needed to know urgently, and have come up with some original conclusions. Not only are the winners significantly different from the also-rans, they are significantly different from successful companies in other industries. The book reads as though the the five authors split up the task of the book between them, and some sections are stronger than others. Whoever did the hard research and formed the major conclusions did a thorough and superb job - the reason for the five stars. The chapter on the technical aspects of producing good products were mostly derivative of Steve McConnell (" Software Project Survival Guide") and Fred Brooks ("Mythical Man Month"). The section on what it takes to attract good employees bordered on the silly, and the thumbnail sketches of such corporations as SAP, Baan and Platinum were uncritical to the point of reading like recruiting brochures. Who would I recommend the book to? Certainly, anybody who's thinking of starting a software company. I'd also recommend it to anyone wanting to invest in hi-tech, and any software professional who's job-hunting. Personally, I'm going to mail my copy to Judge Penfield Jackson.

For such a critical area of business there are very few good books written on the software industry. 'Secrets' gives some annecdotal insights, a decent point-of-view, but is by no means a great overview of the industry. It very much feels like this book was thrown together by a team and lacked editorial or conceptual focus. Nonetheless, it deserves a relative four stars because there is nothing else better (if you know of something, please email me [email protected].