I have been lucky enough to get a copy of George Stepanek's "Software Project Secrets: Why Software Projects Fail" published by APress. This is the first book ever that manages to clearly and concisely show how software engineering is different from other engineering fields and to enumerate the key factors that usually make software projects derail. My only problem with this book is that it was wayyyy too short. I could have swallowed at least double the size of the book. I would have liked to see certain areas handled in more details. These are the main reasons why it missed the ten horseshoes mark.

My 9-horseshoes review follows (also available at Javaranch.com):

How many times have you asked yourself what went wrong in the various software development projects in which you have participated? How many times have you successfully managed to identify the key factors that made these projects derail? Have you noticed anything wrong at all while the project was running? Have you asked yourself why software development projects are so difficult to manage and so hard to bring to successful completion?

To answer these questions, Stepanek first enumerates twelve fundamental facts (software is complex, change is inevitable, etc.) that make software development look so different than any other engineering fields. Secondly, the author lists ten wrong assumptions (scope can be completely defined, all developers are equivalent, etc.) that are often made by software project managers. Building on this, Stepanek analyzes three modern project management methodologies (Crystal, XP and RUP) and shows how they can be used for solving some of the identified issues as well as how they fail to address some of the problems. To cope with this, Stepanek delivers seven techniques to help you finish your projects on time and on budget. Finally, the author introduces a case study (made up of real facts) that demonstrates how things can usually go bad and how to make them go well.

If you have already found yourself helpless when answering any of the above questions, this book will definitely provide you with clear and definite answers as well as a couple useful techniques. Armed with that knowledge and your past experience, you will become a successful and highly respected project manager.

I'm very thankful to Manning for sending me the ebook version of "Ajax in Action" a couple of days before it comes out of press. Having participated in the technical review and proofreading process of this much awaited book, I'm very pleased to announce that the final result is of very high quality. Moreover, it is one of the very first books on Ajax released on the market.

My 9-horseshoes review follows (also available at Javaranch.com):

Over the past months, the Ajax commando has been actively pursuing its little revolution on the web war field petitioning for a richer and more standardized interaction model. Everyday, the commando manages to substantially increase its headcount by enrolling a growing number of frustrated, yet admittedly lucid, web developers who were promised to an unavoidable execrable future.

With "Ajax in Action" finally out of press, the commando will now be able to drastically accelerate its evangelization process. The word is spreading that this book is a tremendously useful field guide specifically written for developers down in the trenches who are waiting for the killer solution that will help them build cutting-edge web applications of unprecedented quality. After showing how to switch from old-fashioned to Ajax web development, the authors present the core techniques underlying Ajax as well as a couple design patterns and how these fit into the Ajax development model. Furthermore, the book also contains a fair amount of tricks and best practices that can be used to considerably enhance the user experience and that teach you how to design Ajax applications with security and performance in mind. The second part of the book is fully dedicated to presenting five hardcore examples (type-ahead suggest, live search, double combo, etc.) whose main goal is to provide developers with ready-to-use off-the-shelf Ajax components that can be seamlessly integrated into any new or existing web application.

Whether you are frustrated by low tech web development or you are willing to discover why the potential of Ajax is greater than the sum of its parts, swallow this 600 pages bible and join the commando now. You won’t regret it!!