Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application

by Matthew Linderman, Heinemeier David Hansson, Jason Fried, et al.

Book Overview

Getting Real details the business, design, programming, and marketing principles of 37signals. The book is packed with keep-it-simple insights, contrarian points of view, and unconventional approaches to software design. This is not a technical book or a design tutorial, it's a book of ideas.Anyone working on a web app '? including entrepreneurs, designers, programmers, executives, or marketers '? will find value and inspiration in this book.37signals...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0578012812
• ISBN13: 9780578012810
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: 37signals
• Length: 194 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

nice one

I wish I read this book 2 years ago. I would be 1 year ahead with my project :)

Amazing, Perfect!

This book has completely changed my way of thinking and working. Go away from the hassle of never doing anything that good and start doing less and simple, yet extremely useful and valuable things. It changes everything about traditional business and biz gurus. Well, my professional life now is split after and before Getting Real. Already bought Rework, can't wait until it get to my hands!

Great!

This is a fantastic piece of work! certainly read it. (note: the digital version is available for free off 37signals web site).

Must Read for Product Management and Marketing Professionals

Getting Real is a must read for all marketing professionals - especially those in product management! The impact Agile Development is having on product management is as revolutionary as the changes that social media are having on marketing communications. In my opinion, an alternative title for Getting Real could have been "The New Rules of Software Development," because the strategy outlined is such a radical paradigm shift. The book takes about 2-3 hours from cover-to-cover. I read the free online HTML version first, but now have purchased several copies of the hardcover for myself and colleagues. The essence of the 37 Signals design principles can be summed up nicely in a quotation by Steve Jobs' who stated about iTunes - "We don't want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features." The book is chalked full of sage advice about how to optimize productivity in the software design and development process. Examples include avoid meetings; don't write functional specs; public betas are b*****t; and use real words in design prototypes instead of the typical lorem ipsum garbage. My favorite essay was how to conduct a Hollywood Style launch of a new web application by previewing and teasing users with social media.