This book is about ensuring project success for PHP teams. It explores technical as well as non technical aspects that matter when achieving project success. On the technical front, designing to divide complexity to conquer complex problems, keeping things simple in the design, choosing the right process, and monitoring and improving the process are important aspects. On the non technical front, making sure that they collaborate effectively, the team should be open to changes. The team should be open to user feedback. Having the right mindset about quality and other aspects related to project success are discussed.
Chapter 1, Software is Complex, explains the complexities that we face while working with today's software projects. PHP projects, some years ago, used to be small projects involving one or two people. However, today, we need teams of people for PHP projects. This chapter explores the need for teams for PHP projects. It also discusses how software engineering principles help with PHP projects. There is an increasing need to use a process for PHP projects. The complexity of having a team is figuring out how to divide the project's problem among team members and solve it. This chapter discusses how to divide and conquer projects. We will discuss how patterns help the PHP project to cope with complexity. Finally, we will explore how to use tools to manage the development and collaboration within the PHP team.
Chapter 2, MVC and Software Teams, discusses the MVC pattern in depth and how MVC can help in a PHP project. It also explores how to use the MVC pattern as the guiding principle to break down the complexity of a project, and how to implement MVC with a team. It also discusses the integration challenges that are faced in putting together all the pieces of MVC that are developed by different team members.
Chapter 3, Dealing with Complexity, discusses in depth how we can make use of software design patterns to cope with complexities in a software project. We will also discuss how PHP MVC frameworks simplify the complexity of a project. When using a PHP framework, there are a bunch of expectations; we will explore what to expect and what to look for in a PHP framework. The mere use of a PHP framework would not guarantee project success. Hence, we will discuss how to achieve team success with PHP frameworks in this chapter. We will also look at some leading PHP frameworks. Moreover, we will also learn how to make things simple while using a PHP framework.
Chapter 4, The Process Matters, explains the relationship between the process and the product. We will discuss, in depth, the consequences of ignoring the process and why the process must be respected. We will learn how to move from no process to having a process. We will explore the motivation that is required for a process, how a process helps, and does not hinder a PHP project. We will also study a simple process model that can be used for PHP projects.
Chapter 5, Agile Works Best, will introduce agile philosophy, including agile values and agile principles. We will discuss common problems and fears that developers face when developing a product, and see how agility can help to overcome them. We will discuss extreme programming principles, and also learn the advantages of agile process models. Finally, we will explore how we can achieve team agility.
Chapter 6, Ways of Collaboration, discusses the challenges faced while working with teams, and we explore the implications of assumptions made by team members. Then we will learn collaboration techniques for ensuring seamless integration of the various components and layers developed by the team members. We will dig into the details of source control, bug control, and configuration management, and learn how those relate to effective team collaboration. Moreover, we will discuss some tools that we can use for communication and collaboration.
Chapter 7, Continuous Improvement, will explain how to deal with change in PHP applications. In order to make sure the software that we develop is useful, we have to make sure that we are willing to embrace change and also be ready to evolve the system, as we move along. We also have to ensue that the process being used is effective. We will discuss how we can evolve the PHP application and also measure the effectiveness of our process. People development is also another important aspect of continuous improvement when ensuring success with teams. We will learn the team management and people development aspect in this chapter.
This book does not assume any prerequisites. If you have worked with a project team on a PHP application, it will make it easier to relate to your experiences. However, if you are a beginner, and want to learn what it takes to work with a team and be successful, this book will provide a wealth of knowledge.
This book is for PHP developers who work in complex PHP projects. Those who want to know the secrets of success for PHP projects that meet the complex demands of today's enterprise can benefit from this book.
This book can also be useful for project managers who are looking to be successful with PHP projects.
Those who are acting as stakeholders of PHP projects, such as clients, or those who want to sponsor PHP projects, can also learn what to expect and how to deal with PHP project team with this book.
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