Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Modern Software Engineering: Doing What Works to Build Better Software Faster

Top positive review

Engineering > Development - nice work, Dave.

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2022

About 1/2 way through Dave Farley’s book at this point. I had an item in my ready column related to improving the performance of a query that is core to my new product. After reading the chapter on #empiricism and #experimentation I sat down this morning and set up an experiment with code that generated clear measures as a baseline. Then I set about #refactoring and ensuring I wasn’t more than a few undos from green tests. As I progressed I continued to compare my new measures.

After about 2 1/2 - 3 hours of refactoring I had achieved a 15x improvement and the queries are now “fast enough” to please my future customers. I was planning on doing this work anyways, but I think that what I had just read the night before pushed me towards a very disciplined, more scientific approach. I doubt that with a looser approach that I would have achieved that much improvement in such a short time.

I was prepared to #git reset and toss the work. I had no presupposition that it would be successful. It turned out to be completely worthwhile and an improvement to the codebase, to boot.

There is a difference between #development and #engineering.

Thanks, Dave.

#softwareengineering #softwaredevelopment #science #engineering

3 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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Gary

Very repetitive

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2021

He says the same things over and over again but in different chapters. Very little code shown. Though anyone can gain some value, it seems to be more for a larger team. I got the big picture but very few practical examples.

I agree with most things he says. It is easy for someone to say what to do. But how to do it? Someone needs to write a book on how to find a job/company that does all those things he suggests.

10 people found this helpful

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From the United States

Gary

Very repetitive

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2021

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10 people found this helpful

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RowanG

Repetitive, not that modern

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2021

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There are only a few concepts in this book:
TDD, Continuous delivery (for regular feedback to learn fast), Abstraction, cohesion, modularity, separation of concerns, microservices (just the basic idea), work iteratively, approach things scientifically (observe, hypothesis, experiment, control the variables), make decisions based on data.

I don't think this material should have been a book. This appears to be a monetization vehicle for the Youtube channel.

7 people found this helpful

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Jim Speaker

Engineering > Development - nice work, Dave.

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2022

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3 people found this helpful

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Cliente Kindle

Puts engonerrong back into software development!

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022

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Recently, I finished reading this great book by Dave Farley. It immediately was added to my "zero B.S. readings", along with Team Topologies and a few others. Those books I would take to a desert island if someone asked me to build up a software facility from zero. :)

What I really liked of the book is that it retakes the often discussed concept of software "engineering" and refines it to suit today's needs. I always felt we need an "engineering approach", but after the (gone) CMMI days, the term was always used more as a synonym to development rather than something to describe a professional, disciplined way to produce better software. I feel Dave's book puts back engineering into development, but with a very pragmatic and realistic approach, derived from actual experience.

When reading it, I felt a similar sensation to that I felt when I read Steve McConnell's Code Complete and Rapid Development, many years ago. Though very different books, I think Dave's also has that "handbook" nature. A book that you read once, but come back very often to look for ideas, concepts, etc. I hope Dave does not mind about my comparison.

Thanks Dave!

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Brilliantly written, very thorough

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2022

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This books starts with the obvious existential question: what IS engineering, and does it even really apply to contemporary software development? Is our industry more akin to bridge-building or factory line production? It's extremely well written with a ton of asides and countless externally-cited works. It's a very good read.

2 people found this helpful

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Timothy J. Stewart

Provides a helpful model for Software Engineering

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2022

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I consider this book to be especially targeted at intermediate developers. Having said that, it will offer the more advanced developers a helpful model that can be used to develop and assess software systems.

2 people found this helpful

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Riad Assir

Interesting but lacks examples and pointed proof

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2022

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Loved the perspective and insights
Hoped for more concrete examples
Missed the whole people aspect that generally causes 90% of problems

One person found this helpful

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Henrique Santana de Miranda

This is the fundamentals that anybody working with software in any level should try to master

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2022

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It covers the principles very well and multiple times. The examples are simple and clear. This is the book I wish I could have written.

One person found this helpful

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DAT

A Must Have Software Engineering Book!

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2021

– Modern Software Engineering by Dave Farley

The title says it all. Modern - It describes the practices tools and technology used today to build working software with a productive cadence. Software Engineering - provides a reader with a clear understanding of the field of software engineering and why it is indeed engineering.

In this book, Dave Farley shares his wisdom and experience as an outstanding software engineer and leader. The reader is fortunate to see the world of software design through the eyes of a master designer.

Dave explains the essential aspects of software engineering concisely from the perspective of a software engineer. Unlike many books which focus on one right way, he stresses the importance of good judgment, experimentation, and measurement. Many authors discuss the goodness of cohesion, coupling, and separation of concerns but Dave illustrates concepts clearly, while discussing the natural tensions between them which are part of the art of software design. His passion and discussion for Test Driven Design and perspective on how and why it works, provide fresh motivation to improve one’s is of this important design practice.

Throughout the book, Dave presents concrete examples of design choices, where creative experimentation, measure, and iterative development are essential. He presents a series of courteous engineering conversations about software product design and implementation. It is a book that professionals will return to often to reread and think about these important design conversations.

This is an excellent book that belongs on the self of every software engineer be they new or leading large teams.

5 people found this helpful

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Eric P.

Essential Reading!

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022

Dave Farley's new book, Modern Software Engineering, proposes a holistic view of software engineering, admittedly a young and fragmented field. Dave defined ten broad principles he uses as lenses to analyze how well-known approaches, methods, processes, and tools contribute to achieving higher stability and throughput.

Despite a slow start, the book's pace quickly picks up in chapter 3, only to keep accelerating throughout. Near the end of the book, chapter 14 is a fantastic 15-page summary that just blew my mind!

My main takeaway is that TDD and Continuous Delivery are foundational practices that contribute to most of the ten principles (see attached mind map).

At the time of writing and despite its short 225-page count, I consider this work to be the closest thing to a unified theory of Software Engineering. Essential reading!

4 people found this helpful

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