Herding Cats: A Primer for Programmers Who Lead Programmers is a comprehensive guide-think of it as a field manual-to the management challenges of supervising and leading programmers. J. Hank Rainwater introduces new and not-so-new managers to concepts that will encourage them and help them become a strong leaders for their teams. You'll learn about the varieties of programmer personality traits and be able match personnel to projects for maximum productivity. You'll also learn how to manage your strengths and weaknesses as you improve your leadership skills, which will result in dramatic improvements to your teams success.

In this "how-to" manual that's both practical and thought-provoking, you'll find several chapters devoted to administrative aspects of your job, such as managing meetings, hiring and firing, and principles of organizing your job for success. Rainwater also describes task management software he built that you can use to organize project assignments. (The source code for this software is available for download once you own the book). The chapter on technical leadership, which highlights the importance of architecture, design, and code reviews, also illustrates practical applications of leadership and concrete methods useful to any workplace.

Rainwater shows why things can go wrong for a leader and how to correct career-derailing problems as they arise. One chapter is devoted to the working relationship that you as a manager have with your boss, and it guides you into the best way to respond to the pressures of software project deadlines. Numerous other topics are discussed that are a necessity for anyone seeking to manage the "peopleware" aspects of software development. Herding Cats: A Primer for Programmers Who Lead Programmers is the definitive guide to the challenges and obstacles facing anyone who manages programmers.

About the Author
Hank Rainwater leads programmers who build software for the insurance industry at Risk Sciences Group in Atlanta, Georgia. His career in science and engineering has spanned over three decades and has included writing Fortran programs on punch cards; teaching college mathematics; conducting research in radio astronomy, missile guidance systems, and remote sensing technologies; and managing the building of embedded digital control systems. As a software professional, Hank has served as a consultant, mentor, and teacher of programming languages and has led development teams in several industries.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"The book deals with the difficulties of making a number of independently minded programmers work together as a team - a task that has been likened to herding cats. ... This is a very readable textbook and touches on many aspects of management. Once you've read it you should feel better equipped to cope with all those cats ... . If you happen to hate cats, keep an open mind and just accept the phrase as the amusing analogy it is intended to be." (LINUX Magazine, Issue 21, 2002)

Book Information
ISBN 9781590590171
Author Hank Rainwater
Format Paperback
Page Count 252
Imprint APress
Publisher APress