When comparing Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams vs Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules, the Slant community recommends Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams for most people. In the question“What are the best books for Developers?” Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams is ranked 5th while Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams is:
This book does not just discuss the technical aspects of leadership, but delves into human nature and communication.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Eloquently explains the sociological aspects of leadership
This book does not just discuss the technical aspects of leadership, but delves into human nature and communication.
Pro Very to the point writing style
The author has a clear and no-nonsense approach to teaching the different techniques discussed through the book.
Pro Covers everything from physical working arrangements to motivation techniques
Pro Covers improving development schedules in detail
The author discusses how haste and unrealistic schedules will negatively impact a project. Causing the deadline to extend well past what it could have, had a realistic time frame been put in place initially.
Pro Focused on implementable lessons
Rather than discuss only the theory behind leadership, and author focuses on providing real examples and lessons that can be applied.
Pro Lists out "Best Practices" to summarize the lessons
This is a large book at 680 pages, so having the lessons summed up is quite beneficial. 27 "Best Practices" are discussed, including the pros and cons of them.
Cons
Con Quite repetitive
Much of the book is dedicated to getting the main point across (don't micromanage, let people do their job). This can make it feel repetitive and dull at times.
Con Outdated methodologies
This book was published in 1996 and discusses methodologies that were popular at the time (such as the waterfall model).