“There’s a saying, those who can’t do, teach. Unfortunately, the same can often be said of management. (And those who can’t manage, consult? But let’s leave that for another essay…) In any case, I’ve often complained long and bitterly about software project management, and a coworker once responded, ‘Phil, you’re always right’. I don’t know if he was serious, but in the spirit of that encouraging or sarcastic endorsement, here are my recommended practices for managing software projects.”

“Some of those on the list are well-known names from very large companies, who have made decisions that bring the mass customization model to their existing customers. Others will be well known among the ‘mass customization community’ (those people who carry out research relating to mass customization, in the same way that early management writers studied ’scientific management’ and the then-newfangled idea of ‘mass production’), but perhaps are not well-known in the wider business world. And there are those who, simply by virtue of their work or position, are opening up new possibilities for products and services based around the individual, inverting the conventional wisdom of making a product and then trying to find customers that fit.”