I found this book in a cafe, on the borrow-and-return shelf, and it looked interesting, so I borrowed. A quick read, it falls somewhere between the Big Idea in Software book and the Daring Adventures in Coding book. Rosenberg spent several years following a software development project, and this experience is used as a stalking horse for his discussion of the way software development is done, what common assumptions and the Big Ideas are, why they're accepted and where some of their weaknesses lie. It is quite important to note that Rosenberg at no time claims to have solved any problems about the development of software. He tells a piece of the story, then he goes off and finds some ideas which relate, and discusses those. Rinse, repeat. This is not The Soul of a New Machine, but that might be the best example of the sort of book this is: understanding the technology by watching its development like a fly on the wall.
I don't suggest anyone plan on having their life changed by this book, but if you're in Somerville, Mass, there's a copy on the shelf at True Grounds in Ball Square, you can have a look. ( )

Within the context of the development of a single software package (a personal information management package named Chandler; developed by the Open Source Applications Foundation, which was established by Lotus developer Mitch Kapor), the author presents a highly readable discussion of the perils and pitfalls of computer programming. It's often argued that if carpenters built houses the way that programmers write software, the first woodpecker would destroy civilization. Scott Rosenberg investigates why this truism is true and why systematic efforts to address the inherent problems in team programming have been unsuccessful. He also explores the open software paradigm in some depth. ( )

As a product manager, SW development is an interesting topic but I was hoping for more focus and a conclusion.
The book's 2007 release misses the fact that Kapor pulled his funding in the 6th year (Jan 2008). I would hope that the final chapter was available online.

There are many side bar discussion which most readers should be aware of but in the end my take aways are
1. These guys don't have a clue about what that are doing and
2. They may have been deluded by past successes that they can work their magic again.

In some respect "Black Swans" failed to come home to roost. ( )

Rosenberg expected to spend a year following a software project and then write a book about the experience. Ultimately the story of Chandler continues but publishing deadlines couldn't wait.

Enjoyed the nostalgia the book provoked but it was also like watching a train wreck. ( )

It's been a long time since I read The Soul of a New Machine, but I don't remember that book getting quite so far into the weeds of hardware development as this one gets into software development. I think Rosenberg's book is great for anyone interested in the process of creating software, but probably not so much outside of that narrow demographic. ( )