Tactical Solutions

While developing a tactical solution, consider following best practices,

1. Define the scope of the solution clearly especially what is not included.
2. Choose the simplest solution option
3. Document the solution, rationale, assumptions and constraints, and deviation from the EA blueprint.
4. Define the ownership and potential timeframe to retire the tactical solution
5. Communicate, Communicate, and Communicate Solution to all stakeholders

Don't Make Me Think? - Usability Guidelines

I was able to finish the book Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug in 3 day. It is an easy to read and short book with lots of practical usability guidelines. Author's web site has some more usability tips and a sample chapter of the book at http://www.sensible.com/.
Some of the usability guidelines are following,

1. Don't make user think even for a fraction of millisecond with irrelevant details.
2. Make things obvious in page design. If you can't make a page self evident then at least make it self explanatory.
3. Page Design
   Create a clear visual hierarchy on each page using prominence, grouping, or nesting techniques
   Take advantage of the common conventions as it reduces users learning curve.
   Break pages into clearly defined areas
   Make obvious what is clickable
   Minimize visual clutter & noise
4. For Navigation, putting navigational elements at standard places helps to find quickly.
5. For Page Names,
   Every page needs a name
   Name needs to be at the right place
   Name needs to be prominent
   Name needs to match what the user clicked
6. Use Visual indicator and Breadcrumbs to highlight where the user is. The difference between them is that Visual indicator points out the user location in the context of the site hierarchy while breadcrumbs points out the location from the home page.

10 Must Have Books for Architects

1. Software Architecture in Practice by Len Bass, Paul Clements, and Rick Kazman
2. Software Systems Architecture: Working With Stakeholders Using Viewpoints and Perspectives by Nick Rozanski and Eoin Woods
3. Evaluating Software Architectures: Methods and Case Studies by Paul Clements, Rick Kazman, and Mark Klein
4. Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler
5. A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture by James McGovern, Scott W. Ambler, Michael E. Stevens, and James Linn
6. Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions by Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolf
7. Documenting Software Architectures: Views and Beyond by Paul Clements, Felix Bachmann, Len Bass, and David Garlan
8. IT Architecture Toolkit by Jane Carbone
9. Enterprise Architecture Planning: Developing a Blueprint for Data, Applications, and Technology by Steven H. Spewak
10. Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, and John M. Vlissides

10 Best Software Development Books

1. Dynamics of Software Development by Michele McCarthy and Jim Mccarthy
2. The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P. Brooks
3. Rapid Development by Steve Mcconnell
4. Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit by Mary Poppendieck and Tom Poppendieck
5. Debugging the Development Process: Practical Strategies for Staying Focused, Hitting Ship Dates, and Building Solid Teams by Steve Maguire
6. Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas by Mary Lynn Manns and Linda Rising
7. Agile Adoption Patterns: A Roadmap to Organizational Success by Amr Elssamadisy
8. Agile Software Development: The Cooperative Game by Alistair Cockburn
9. Software Project Survival Guide by Steve Mcconnell
10. The Unified Software Development Process: The Complete Guide to by Ivar Jacobson, Grady Booch, and James Rumbaugh

10 Must Read books for Developers

1. Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction by Steve McConnell
2. Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules by Steve McConnell
3. Writing Secure Code, Second Edition by Michael Howard and David LeBlanc
4. Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael Feathers
5. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin
6. The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas
7. Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices (Alan Apt Series) by Robert C. Martin
8. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications (3rd Edition) by Grady Booch
9. Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code by Martin Fowler
10. Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler