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> Can anyone give me a reference or two (or more) for software distribution
> controls, quality, stuff like that?
I'd say Fred Brooks "The Mythical Man-Month" was required reading. It was
the first book, about 1970, to deal seriously with the question of how
projects, particularly software projects, and particularly large ones,
go wrong. Brooks had been a senior IBM manager, in charge of operating
system development for the 360, and was definitely writing from experience.
The book has been in print ever since, and a 25th anniversary issue with
a few new chapters came out a few years back.
> I understand that very few companies are in the business of manufacturing
> and distributing software (MS being the largest), but we're looking for
> production guidelines, distribution guidelines, ... we're looking for a
> "How To" or a cookbook so to speak, understanding that of course this is a
> very specialized area and there may not be anything out there. Anyone
> with experience in this area is invited to respond.
Kernighan and Pike "The Practice of Programming" is excellent. I haven't
read "Code Complete" or other books by that author, but often see them
recommended.
There's a whole literature on software quality control and project
management. A starting points is: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/
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