Praise for Beyond Software Architecture

“Luke Hohmann is that rare software technologist who views software development from the viewpoint of the end user. He passionately believes that one hour spent with an end user is worth many hours making software architectural choices or days documenting perceived user requirements. Most of what is written about software development focuses on methods used to design and develop robust software. Luke’s latest effort, Beyond Software Architecture, illuminates the more mundane aspects of creating true business solutions by supporting the user throughout the lifecycle of the software product. By concerning himself with creating business value, Luke tightens the connection between a software application and the business function it performs.”

         &#8212Bruce Bourbon
             General Partner, Telos Venture Partners

“There are two kinds of people that read the Dilbert comic strip: folks that take a moment to marvel at how accurately it reflects life at their company before moving on to the next comic strip, and folks that think Dilbert is an amusing reminder that high tech companies can and should be better than Dilbert’s world. Anyone in the first group should stick to reading comics. This book is for people in the latter group.”

         —Tony Navarrete
             Vice President, Diamondhead Ventures

“Luke brings a proven methodology to the challenge of software development. In Beyond Software Architecture, Luke provides practical and proven techniques that all development executives can employ to improve the productivity of their software organization.”

         —G. Bradford Solso
             CEO, Taviz Technology

“Beyond Software Architecture is the first book I have read which contains an insider’s perspective of both the business and technical facets of software architecture. This is a great book to get marketers and software managers on the same page!”

         &#8212Damon Schechter
             CEO, LOC Global
             author of Delivering the Goods

“There are books on technical architecture and books on product marketing, but few, if any, on how architecture and marketing information must be integrated for world class product development. Beyond Software Architecture provides this valuable bridge between technology and marketing&#8212it explains how to deliver quality products that are profitable in the marketplace.”

         &#8212Jim Highsmith
             Director, Cutter Consortium
             author of Adaptive Software Development

“Product development managers, marketing managers, architects, and technical leads from all functions should read this book. You’ll see a pragmatic view of how to define and use a product architecture throughout a project’s lifecycle and a product's lifetime.”

         &#8212Johanna Rothman
             Rothman Consulting Group, Inc.

“Luke Hohmann has captured the essence of product creation in his latest book. He cleverly discusses the need for both the marketing and engineering roles in product creation and ties the two together building a good foundation for understanding and executing successful product creation.”

         &#8212Lee Sigler
             Principal, 360 Market View, Inc.

“Finally a book that deals with those often ignored but critical operational issues like licensing, deployment, installation, configuration and support. Beyond Software Architecture is the “What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School” book for anyone who develops software products&#8212or buys them.”

         &#8212Mary Poppendieck
             Managing Director, Agile Alliance
             President, Poppendieck LLC

“Luke Hohmann delivers a passionate, articulate wake-up call to software architects: it ain’t just technical any more! Technical architectures have profound business ramifications, and ignoring the business ramifications of portability, usability, configuration, upgrade and release management, security, and other architectural choices can not only lead to project failures, but ultimately to nasty lawsuits from disappointed customers. Beyond Software Architecture is a must-read for successful software product managers!”

         &#8212Ed Yourdon
             Author of numerous books and articles on software development

“Beyond Software Architecture is not just for software engineering professionals! Executives and product managers will find that the book provides the necessary background to make informed decisions about the software that their companies build. I have found that the book is a useful tool for building consensus between management and engineering, because it discusses business and customer-related issues without delving too deeply into implementation details.”

         &#8212David Chaiken
             Vice President, Systems Architecture
             AgileTV Corporation

“Product marketing influences product architecture. This shouldn’t be a surprise, yet most texts on software architecture are silent on this fact. This may be because we lack the language for distinguishing between the technical aspects of an architecture and the marketing aspects. Beyond Software Architecture provides the language to draw this important distinction, and provides strategies for overall architectural success.”

         &#8212Dave W. Smith

“Beyond Software Architecture, as the title implies, successfully addresses the often neglected aspects of developing total solutions. Hohmann demonstrates both passion and depth for the broad set of topics discussed.”

         &#8212Craig Priess
             Director Product Management, Resonant Software

“Looking through my technical library, it’s apparent that many books are obsolete, casualties of technical innovation and change. There are a few, however, that remain and continue to be relevant. Adding Luke Hohmann’s new book, Beyond Software Architecture: Creating and Sustaining Winning Solutions expands that selection and fills an important gap. It is the first book that I recall presenting a holistic approach to software creation. Going beyond the technical aspects by weaving together and linking critical business and marketing development in such a way to elevate and show how both technical and marketing processes must coalesce to create a winning solution. The topic's importance extends beyond programmers, designers and other technical staff, just as does its content. For marketing professionals, it shows how their decisions and strategies can impact technical decisions. For consumers, it can give them insight on the best ways to work with software manufacturers. For the software entrepreneur, it offers a plan for creating a successful venture. The content, at just the right amount of detail, is presented in easy-to-understand language and in such a way that the information is easy to retain and apply. The topics are timeless. The book will be relevant for a long time.”

         &#8212Clay Miller

“I highly recommend this book. As a former software company CEO and founder I have worked with many software engineers and had a number of VPs of engineering report to me. Luke was and is one of the best. He is not only a great engineer, but has a keen grasp of the strategic business issues that must drive good code and architectural decisions. I consider Beyond Software Architecture required reading for anyone building software systems.”

         &#8212Kevin Rivette
             Executive Advisor, BCG Consulting
             author of Rembrandts In The Attic

“Perhaps you’ve met, or worked with, or heard speak at events, or read the writings of someone who expects reverence because he commands academic knowledge of the latest software patterns, technologies, or development processes and tools. So what, you say. Suppose you take such knowledge for granted. Suppose that knowledge is the minimum qualification for a member of your team. Then what? What separates a real contributor to the success of your project and organization, from the average bookish expert of the day? In Beyond Software Architecture, Luke Hohmann writes of the stuff that makes up those answers. Installation and upgrade. Configurability and customization of your software. Integration with other software. Usability. Logging. Interdepartmental processes and release management. Business models, licensing, and deployment choices. The stuff that makes software development much bigger, and much messier, than UML diagrams of some pattern implemented with components. The stuff that makes software development real. Luke knows because he’s been in the trenches, trying to make businesses successful. He spends his time doing it more than writing and talking about it. But now he distills his insights and shares the benefit of his experience. If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself nodding your head and underlining passages as you read this book. Luke’s observations will resonate with you. Your organization, and the software development profession as a whole, can benefit from using the vocabulary and ideas in this book. So you’ll want to recommend it to others, which is exactly what I’m doing here.”

         &#8212Randy Stafford
             Chief Architect, IQNavigator, Inc.

“Hohmann’s book provides a unique perspective on how the many and subtle technology decisions shape the economic and strategic landscape. Corporate strategists in many industries will find these insights enormously valuable.”

         &#8212Martha Amram
             Strategic Advisor and Consultant
             author of Value Sweep and co-author of Real Options

“Luke put his tremendous experience to good use by eliminating the us versus them approach of marketing and engineering departments. This book is a must for every senior engineer, software architect, and product manager. With the practical advice in this book they can concentrate on beating the competitors.”

         &#8212Heinrich Gantenbein

“I once was a QA manager for Luke Hohmann. I can tell you the guy knows competitive software development. He was in the trenches with us, working through technical problems and sweating the difficult business decisions. He’s uniquely qualified to write about both the business and technical side of software architecture, and this book successfully bridges both worlds. The result is a seminal handbook for product managers and directors of software engineering.”

         &#8212James Bach
             Founder, Satisfice, Inc.

“Too many times my firm is asked to resolve a dispute that could have been avoided had the companies involved with the dispute more clearly defined their business and licensing models before the contract was signed. In Beyond Software Architecture, Luke Hohmann clearly explains how to avoid unnecessary and costly disputes regarding business and licensing models. This is a must read book for senior product managers and technical executives.”

         &#8212Rob Sterne
             Founder, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein and Fox
             International Authority in Intellectual Property

“Luke Hohmann’s excellent BSA communicates essential hard-won insights from a rare individual&#8212both architect and business leader&#8212who shows us that architecture is more than describing layers; it’s about creating winning solutions through understanding, and resolving the market, business, and technical forces.”

         &#8212Craig Larman
             author, Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to OOA&D and the Rational Unified Process

“By stepping back and evaluating the interaction between business drivers and software development, Beyond Software Architecture provides the perspective to create a winning solution. This book is a practical guide for achieving quick time to market solutions through the identification of pitfalls and suggests pragmatic alternatives to effective solution development. Real life examples provide an instructional view of the life cycle phases, including clear roles and responsibilities, as seen by the entire project team. Knowing when to give up the ghost, seek the help of others, or simply leverage a proven model, Beyond Software Architecture explores the alternatives and identifies key decision points. A must read for software architects and product managers seeking an understanding of the challenges and dynamics of a successful software development effort, and a winning solution&#8212the first time.”

         &#8212Mark Welke
             High Availability Marketing Manager, Hewlett Packard

“The thing you need to consider when creating a great application is “Everything.” Great applications do not usually come from a single great idea, great architecture, or great appreciation of the customer’s need. Instead they come out of a unique confluence of a large number of factors encompassing marketing, technology, psychology, support, economics, legal factors, and more. While many books address individual aspects of software application development, Luke Hohmann’s book, Beyond Software Architecture, addresses a very broad range of topics, all of which should be addressed in the creation of every application, but often aren’t. I would recommend that anyone involved in the creation of a software application read this book as a guide to the things that need to be considered in the process. No book can cover “everything,” but this one is a laudable attempt.”

         &#8212Jim Gay
             One Jump Consulting

“A successful software product’s technical architecture must align with the realities of the marketplace. While the goal is obvious, marketers and technologist often find themselves in two warring camps, separated by a chasm of incompatible attitudes and expectations. If you want to close this gap and focus on product success, this book is required reading for both sides.”

         &#8212Dave Quick
             Architect, Integrated Solutions Development Group, Microsoft, Inc.

“As a technologist who has transitioned to product team leadership, this book distils many of the lessons I’ve learned through study, trial, and error. As someone who still bridges the gap between software development and executive management, I found this book a great refresher and filled with little “oh yeah!” insights. And, as I continue to work with teams to manage and develop new products, I’m sure I’ll use it as a reference and a teaching resource, bringing the “big picture” into view and avoiding costly pitfalls. Anyone managing product development or marketing, aspiring to manage, or unhappy with current management should definitely read Hohmann’s work.”

         &#8212Todd Girvin
             President, Optiview Inc.

“Over the years, I’ve seen many projects that have failed, or struggled, to cross the bridge between new product invention and creating a winning solution. This book provides a practical set of guidelines—it’s a useful, and usable, book.”

         —Dan'l Lewin
             Corporate Vice President of Microsoft .NET Business Development

“The real magic happens where business and technology ideas meet. This book will help you make the connection.”

         —David A. Lancashire
             CEO, Geniant

Successfully managing the relationship between business and technology is a daunting task faced by all companies in the twenty-first century. Beyond Software Architecture is a practical guide to properly managing this mission-critical relationship. In our modern economy, every software decision can have a significant impact on business; conversely, most business decisions will influence a software application's viability. This book contains keen insights and useful lessons about creating winning software solutions in the context of a real-world business.

Software should be designed to deliver value to an organization, but all too often it brings turmoil instead. Powerful applications are available in the marketplace, but purchasing or licensing these technologies does not guarantee success. Winning solutions must be properly integrated into an organization's infrastructure.

Software expert Luke Hohmann teaches you the business ramifications of software-architecture decisions, and further instructs you on how to understand and embrace the business issues that must be resolved to achieve software success. Using this book as a roadmap, business managers and development teams can safely navigate the minefield of important decisions that they face on a regular basis. The resulting synergy between business and technology will allow you to create winning technology solutions, and ensure your organization's success--now and in the future.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 27 Ratings

AND? - 2005-08-13
Reviewer Rating:
Perhaps I'm missing something, but it seems that while this book might provide a nice skeleton for managers straddling the line between development (techitecture) and business strategy (marketecture), the meat is simply not present. So many opportunities for REAL examples went either unaddressed completely, or worse, were answered with meaningless little 2-paragraph sidebars filled with sentences like, "then we sat down to talk about things and we decided to approach things from a different angle, blah, blah, blah." Thanks. I can't say this book was a complete waste of time but it certainly wasn't the best use of my time, either, sadly. And the coining of these ridiculous terms like "techitecture" were truly hard to take.

Reinventing the wheel - 2006-05-08
Reviewer Rating:
I had great hopes for this book, but for any industry veteran it is basically a repackaging of what many other "experts" have written before. The book is needlessly verbose, but yet glosses over key points with literary hand waving. The lack of significant examples, business cases, and real world process development gives one the feeling the book is merely the presentation of a thesis or philosophy devoid of concrete real world application.

For someone just starting out in the industry they may glean some basic concepts, but there are so many more publications that do a better job and do it cleaner.

Very unique, yet not gripping - 2006-01-24
Reviewer Rating:
One of the first things authors are asked by their agents, editors, or prospective publishers is to present an analysis of the other books in the genre that cover the same material as their books. Here, Luke must have had it very easy. He addresses a truly unique market niche (the interaction between technical architecture and marketing) in a way that really no one has done before or attempted to do since.

A book that handles both market segmentation and software product management in 300 odd pages is going to cover a whole lot of real estate and risks spreading the information pretty thin. Things important to folks in product management are not always the same things that are interesting to marketers. This facet of writing a book, target audience identification, is also frequently the subject of discussion with editors and publishes. Not having a clear target audience is where this book comes up a bit short.

Luke attempts to address such a breadth of software product concerns that it's hard for any one target group (technical architects or marketers) to get really interested. Although this book might be good for an entrepreneur or someone new to the field of software product management, it is, at best, a catalog of knowledge for tarchitects and marchitects and is unlikely to include anything that they haven't stumbled across in the field. A number of my colleagues have agreed with my final assessment that this is an easy book to peruse and become familiar with, yet a tough book to dive into and love.

News you can use, but a bit annoying - 2006-08-28
Reviewer Rating:
Hohmann presents a fair amount of useful folk wisdom on enterprise software architecture. IMHO, this information is useful enough to try to struggle beyond the annoyances that Hohmann needlessly creates: (a) inventing annoying buzzwords like "tarchitecture" and misusing perjorative slang like "marketecture" (synonym: vaporware); (b) politocorrectoid smarm (all people in positions of responsibility are "she" and all low-level drones are "he"); and (c) Hohmann's very high opinion of himself.

I wish this book was on softcopy so that I could edit this stuff out. I'd have had an easier time reading it. As it is, I've had to take the book in small doses.

Useful book for Software Product Management - 2008-04-03
Reviewer Rating:
I'm not the kind of person who burns through business books or even likes reading them at all. I do, however, actively pursue information that will help me do my job better and more efficiently, which presents a bit of a problem when the information I need is stuck in a book somewhere. That's one of the reasons I like this book.

Being fairly new to software product management, I've read a couple of books on the topic but they all seem to be very far removed from what I actually do every day. Hohmann's book is different; it actually contains information about things that I find myself making decisions about every day. It's also written in such a way that I can jump to whichever chapter covers what I'm mulling over that day, like pricing or licensing third party technologies, without feeling like I've lost context. In almost every case, he writes about topics that I'm familiar with but covers them in more breadth than I've been able to have personal experience with. I've already found myself referencing the book to help in either my own day-to-day activity or when someone else asks for my advice. Hohmann sort of treats the reader like you're smart enough to go off and make your own decisions if he just outlines your options and potential pitfalls, which is nice because that sort of how I think of myself too.

Overall, he presents a very practical mix of marketing and technical information that I've found very useful as a software product manager.

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