Exploring Extreme Programming
Things that Make Us Smart, Donald A. Norman, Perseus Books, 1993. Similar in tone and scope to his other books (that’s an endorsement:), Things that Make Us Smart explores ways in which we use artifacts to improve our cognitive abilities. Continue reading Review – Things that Make Us Smart
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Charles Petzold, Microsoft Press, 2000. It’s safe to assume you will never be called on to build a computer out of relays. But if you were, this book would give you Continue reading Review – Code, by Charles Petzold
The Innovation Algorithm: TRIZ, Systematic Innovation and Technical Creativity, Genrich Altshuller, Technical Innovation Center, 1999 edition. Altshuller was an inventor who systematically studied patents to learn the principles behind them. He developed “algorithms” to take advantage of the principles of Continue reading Review – The Innovation Algorithm
Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, R.C. Bell, Dover, 1979. Last year, I got to play Nine-Men’s Morris, a more challenging relative of tic-tac-toe. (I lost consistently:( But that inspired me to find a book describing many old games: Continue reading Review – Board and Table Games
The Study of Games. Elliott M. Avedon & Brian Sutton-Smith. Wiley, 1971, ISBN 0-471-03839-3. This book looks at games (both ancient & relatively modern) from a variety of perspectives. Most of these didn’t do too much for me. I did Continue reading Review – The Study of Games
The Book of Card Games, Peter Arnold, Barnes and Noble, 1988. This compendium describes many (~150) card games, always explaining the rules and occasionally delving into strategy. There are a few solitaire games; the majority are for multiple players. There Continue reading Review – The Book of Card Games
JUnit is a tool for unit testing; Fit is a tool for system testing. Continue reading Tools – Especially JUnit and Fit
Test-Driven Development: A Practical Guide, Dave Astels. Prentice Hall PTR, 2003. This book is a natural complement to Kent Beck’s Test-Driven Development: By Example. Where Kent’s is focused on the background and theory, Dave’s book focuses on tools, GUI testing, and Continue reading Review – Test-Driven Development (Astels)
The Consultant’s Calling: Bringing who you are to what you do, Geoffrey E. Bellman, Jossey-Bass, 1990. This is a laid-back book, about meaning, not a how-to on the mechanics of business. Bellman uses an approach that encourages consultants to understand Continue reading Review – The Consultant’s Calling
Paper Prototyping, by Carolyn Snyder. Morgan Kaufmann, 2003. The “Scandinavian design” tradition in human-computer interaction says that people should be involved in creating the systems they will have to use. Electronic tools for rapid screen design may provide a high-fidelity Continue reading Review – Paper Prototyping