In this book, the author mainly refers to the management aspects. That is why there is no deep theoretical or detailed technical material. There is an attempt to describe, in plain English, all related issues, and to introduce terminology, ideas, and techniques. The book contains a rich catalog of situations, practices, recommendations, and rules.

There is a classification of systems, applications, and frameworks. It also contains a historical perspective, a picture of goals evolution, and tools and practices in software development. The book introduces topics on new and emerging techniques such as distributed architecture, and it touches on the legacy system problem.