Review By: Gerry Thompson, Perforce Software
09/08/2003The author's writing style is fluid and easy to follow. His first task in introducing problem frames is to reorient the reader away from the typical developer focus on hardware and software issues to the arena of real world problems. His solution to software development is to properly define the actual real world domain in which software functions. Each chapter is organized into a concise description of the topic at hand, followed by a question and answer session that answers questions that may arise in the reader’s mind.

The author uses the Q&A sections to provide rich reference material for further reading on each topic. His examples are believable situations. He adds more complexity with each chapter, peeling away the layers of an onion to give a progressively more detailed look at the problem. In the first four chapters he defines the structure of problem frames. He presents the basic tools required to express a problem in a frame context.

The book provides a useful conceptual framework successful software development. The author reorients the software developer to think in terms of the real world problems that software code addresses. The computer platform becomes simply a single component in the problem description. His examples draw from familiar examples such as a hospital monitoring station. He reuses his examples throughout his book. What at first glance may seem like a simple solution is revisited as he describes more complex analytical techniques.

Problem Frames is useful as an aid to get developers "out of the box" in conceptualizing software development problems. The author includes an informal question and answer section at the end of each chapter that helps stimulate thinking on the subject. He includes many references for more in-depth exploration of each topic discussed in the book. He uses the Q&A format to introduce other pertinent material without distracting from the concise description of the topic in the body of each chapter.

The author provides an easy to read methodology for conceptualizing software development problems. He reorients the reader away from hardware and software concerns to focus upon the real world problems that software programs solve. He includes an informative Q&A section at the end of each chapter without distracting the reader. Problem Frames is a handy resource book for software developers, requirements experts, and process improvement managers who wish to improve their software development efforts.