A-ha!

The Reverse Detective: Pragmatic Software Requirements & Analysis by Thomas A. Bullinger with Sandeep Mitra

We sometimes help our authors get the word out by featuring their WME Books projects here on A-Ha! We’re really excited about this new title, The Reverse Detective: Pragmatic Software Requirements & Analysis, written by software engineer Thomas A. Bullinger with Sandeep Mitra.

Edgar Allan Poe is recognized as the father of the mystery story, but would never have imagined becoming part of a software development manual in today’s world. However, his method of solving crime is the compelling foundation for The Reverse Detective.

The average business owner is as clueless about software development as most citizens are about crime solving, despite the popularity of TV shows such as CSI and Law and Order. While it’s fun to watch TV sleuths solve murder mysteries, when the crime is a breakdown in communications or software engineering in our offices, those of us who are computer literate but not computer savvy, have to admit defeat. We know we need solutions, and we know the answer is often found in specifically designed software—but how that software gets written is beyond the comprehension of many. The Reverse Detective turns that unknown upside-down, offering a peek into the successful creation of customized software solutions, from first need to final approval. “We think software failure is a crime,” says Bullinger. “And the key is to solve the crime before it happens. In other words, to do things in reverse. Using our method prevents mistakes by precisely determining and modeling the right requirements before you begin writing code.”

By utilizing Poe and Sherlock Holmes in the most unusual roles of their fictional lives, Bullinger and Mitra have removed the veil of mystery surrounding software development and created a way for the average non-geek to “figure out” how the average geek does it—and does it well. The authors believe that “when you put The Reverse Detective process to work, you’ll minimize the chance of blown budgets, missed deadlines, endless revision rounds, and other career-busting problems.” The success is in the “clues”—little steps taken that unravel the mystery and reveal the solution. While the role of the software engineer and the role of the detective seem to have no relationship, the authors of The Reverse Detective suggest that the relationship is based “not in what they each do, but rather in their methodology: how they go about doing it.”

The Reverse Detective: Pragmatic Software Requirements & Analysis is intended for anyone who has a stakehold in a company’s software development—including business managers, project managers, process owners and hands-on software engineers. The book would also be an excellent addition to the reading list for a course on software development.

Tom Bullinger is President and founder of Isotope28, a company devoted to software architecture and development practices and blogs here. Sandeep Mitra is currently an Associate Professor of Computer Science at SUNY Brockport and a Research Scientist at Isotope28. Dr. Mitra has over thirteen years of academic and industrial experience in large-scale software development, object-oriented development, and distributed computing.

WME Books is an Author Services company offering customized publishing assistance for the author in search of excellence. The Reverse Detective can be purchased at the WME Books’ online bookstore at www.wmebooks.com and Amazon.com, or contact Yvonne DiVita/Tom Collins at WME Books by calling 585.427.7596 or send an e-mail to [email protected].

In Women We Trust by Mary Clare Hunt

Post by Yvonne

As mentioned in our last post, we're devoting a few to helping our authors get the word out about their book projects. Mary Hunt's book, In Women We Trust, is in the final stages of production and part of why we're so busy. Read on and I'll bet you figure out why I'm so excited about this one!
(Hints: my own book and my "other" blog.)

For Immediate Release
contact: Yvonne DiVita/Tom Collins
585.427.7596 or [email protected]

Forget A Room of Her Own -
Today’s Women are Creating
a Whole New Culture Called:
In Women We Trust: A cultural shift
to the softer side of business

Watch out, folks, a new book on the women’s consumer culture, In Women We Trust, published by WME Books, is going to change the way you see the softer side of business, especially if you’re a woman.

Author Mary Clare Hunt is a marketer, as well as part of the “target market” today’s companies are trying to reach. In her life as a partner in Interpret-her she works with companies to help them understand how all departments in business affect the female consumer, not just the marketing department.

As a consumer, she’s purchased 11 cars, furnished 7 homes, and bought groceries for over 24,000 meals. During that time she’s listened to kudos and complaints from women at all levels. When she says the women’s consumer culture is shifting – she’s speaking from professional experience and from inside the female community.

Hunt’s influential new book, In Women We Trust, and its accompanying blog, reveal the secrets of the “women’s consumer culture” in an effort to give everyone an equal opportunity to meet the needs of this powerful group of spenders.

Ms. Hunt says, “One day, I realized that all of my professional dealings were with – women. I hadn’t consciously chosen to work only with women, it happened over time. They were providing more value than men…and I liked working with them. In a way I had switched from brand XY to brand XX,” she kidded. A quick survey of her friends revealed that they felt the same way – they, too, were electing to work with women, choosing to do business within their own “culture” primarily because of the service.

Smart business professionals know that in today’s marketplace women are controlling more and more purchasing decisions. Hunt’s book delves well beyond the usual marketing tools of fancy advertisements and catchy slogans. “Women are interested in building connections and relationships with those whose values and communication skills match their own. It speeds up the trust building and makes business more fun,” says Ms. Hunt, “The challenge for companies is identifying the characteristics of ‘trust’ from a women’s perspective and then incorporating them throughout a company. Fortunately, the feminine culture is just that, a culture – learning to work within it is just part of a learning curve. In today’s world, that’s business as usual.”

In Women We Trust: A cultural shift to the softer side of business is for marketers and business professionals who may be aware of this cultural shift but aren’t quite sure how to instill change. And, it’s for their employees who, in most instances, are in a position to influence customers to a greater extent than expensive advertising and marketing promotions. It’s also for female consumers who take their purchasing power seriously.

In a world of social computing and word-of-mouth sales, In Women We Trust identifies an important new purchasing trend guaranteed to change the way you do businesses today. Get your pre-publication copy at WME Books TODAY! Visit this link and save 20%.

Planned release date is in the last week of June - so get your discounted, pre-publication copy now!

Thunderbolt from a Clear Sky by Robert C. Stevens

In case anyone out there has been worrying we've fallen off the planet, we haven't. It's just that for the past few weeks we've had the wonderful problem of being swamped with work on both the book and blog

sides of our business. So, instead of writing about Authors helping Authors here at A-ha!, we've actually been very busy helping authors like Bob Stevens produce and publish his labor of love. We decided to devote a couple of posts to announcing the fruits of our recent labors, both to share with you and prove we're still at it. So check out the press release on Bob's book and stay tuned for more!

For Immediate Release
contact: Yvonne DiVita/Tom Collins
585.427.7596 or [email protected]

Thunderbolt from a Clear Sky

Historical letters and papers paint a picture of
“new rules, new maxims of trade”
on the iron rails of 19^th century America.

WME Books is proud to announce the release of Thunderbolt from a Clear Sky, by Robert C. Stevens. The book chronicles Robert W. S. Stevens days as a land speculator, a lawyer, and a railroad builder. Of special interest to history buffs is Robert W.S. Stevens' first person account of the infamous Quantrill rebel raid on Lawrence, Kansas, in 1863, a part of American history often left out of the history books.

Written with the help of editor Betty Adams, Stevens chronicles the life of his great-grandfather in the tumultuous frontier world of early America. The story is brought to life in vivid prose - accompanied by original black and white photographs. The author and his editor paid careful attention to the study of a man who was a pivotal figure in the industrialization and modernization of 19th century America. Their efforts have created a biographical account of an exceptional man whose works deserve to be remembered throughout history.

"I didn't write it to idolize my great-grandfather," Stevens' says. "My admiration and respect are obvious. But, I really wanted to share an important part of American history - especially a good deal of the early history of Missouri and Kansas, according to my great-grandfather's writings." Stevens' created much of the book from the diaries and letters he discovered in an attic, years ago.

This description of Robert W.S. Stevens, (as noted in the book) by his contemporaries, tells a story all in itself:

"New life, new energy, new enterprises, new rules and maxims of trade,
come with the advent of railroads. Bob Stevens has set things a-bobbing.
His railroad has fallen upon us like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. He is
everywhere all at once, omnipresent, ubiquitous, and irrepressible. He
launches his iron rails as Jove did his thunderbolts. The rapidity with
which he has built the railroad between here and Humboldt has no parallel
in the history of railroad construction." Chetopa, KS, Advance, June 1870.

Robert C. Stevens has written a fascinating biography and inspiring story of an American businessman, legislator (Kansas State and U.S. Congressman from N.Y.), and farmer. Woven through the biographical account of Robert W. S. Stevens' life are numerous colorful stories of the American west, the railroad industry, and a great (though previously unheralded) American family.

Thunderbolt from a Clear Sky is offered at WME Books' bookstore. History buffs, biography buffs, and all readers who value a good story, will find this book a fascinating read.