The Laws of Software Process

xv

Preface

Knowledge, if it does not determine action, is dead…

—

1st Ennead,

Plotinus, 205–270 C.E.

Software is knowledge.

I have spent over 30 years in software — all my professional life. In some

ways I have “grown up” with software. From it being an arcane topic known

to only a few, this “artifact” has now become one of the driving engines of

the modern world. From its isolation in the payroll departments of larger

companies, it has become as ubiquitous as electricity. From a subject

whose bibliography could be covered in a few pages, it has come to domi-

nate acres of bookstores. From a few thousand professionals, the number

of people who can ...