Book title needs refactoring, 27 Oct 2008
This is a great book, and one which any developer will learn a great deal from. In most respects, it is a five-star book, but... the title is misleading. By rights it should be called "Clean Java Code".

Let me explain: I am an ActionScript developer, and bought this book to improve my code style and structure. For the most part, it has done that: the chapters on naming, comments, functions and classes are absolutely superb. But then, huge swathes of the book are devoted exclusively to Java, and use some fairly complex (and, in my opinion, not very well formatted) code to convey their intention.

I don't generally have a problem with using Java-oriented books to learn more general programming concepts (Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" and O'Reilly's Head-First Design Patterns are both books I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their language-of-choice), but around 1/3rd of Bob Martin's book is virtually impenetrable to anyone who does not already have significant Java experience.

That said, I should re-iterate that this book will be hugely valuable to any programmer. I just wish that they had tried to use a little more pseudo-code and a little less real-world examples, with all of the complexities entailed, and I think a lot could have been done to make the Java code more readable for users of other languages.

The bible for writing high quality software, 09 Sep 2008
Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin) is a recognized expert in todays world of software development. His books "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices" and "Agile Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#" should by now be well known by the majority of serious java and C# developers. I read the latter last year, and I was blown away by Uncle Bob's insight into the process of writing software in a manner, that more or less guarantees success for both the customer and the development company.

When "Clean Code" was published I rushed to buy it, and again I am in awe!

This book book hits the nail on why so many software development projects ends up in pain for the developers as the code rots and becomes unmaintainable. Not only are the symptoms cleary described and analyzed, Uncle Bob also provides the remedy. By breaking down the process of cleaning up code into detecting very specific "smells" and heuristics, and by supplying the reader the tools to fix the problems in the software, the reader automatically becomes empowered, inspired and motivated to go and clean up his or her mess.

I strongly believe, that if all developers were to read this book and start living by the rules stated within, life would improve for every single developer, customers would be able to purchase very high quality software products a lot cheaper, and everyone would benefit.

My applause to Uncle Bob - Thank you for this fantastic work of art!

Book title needs refactoring, 27 Oct 2008
This is a great book, and one which any developer will learn a great deal from. In most respects, it is a five-star book, but... the title is misleading. By rights it should be called "Clean Java Code".

Let me explain: I am an ActionScript developer, and bought this book to improve my code style and structure. For the most part, it has done that: the chapters on naming, comments, functions and classes are absolutely superb. But then, huge swathes of the book are devoted exclusively to Java, and use some fairly complex (and, in my opinion, not very well formatted) code to convey their intention.

I don't generally have a problem with using Java-oriented books to learn more general programming concepts (Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" and O'Reilly's Head-First Design Patterns are both books I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their language-of-choice), but around 1/3rd of Bob Martin's book is virtually impenetrable to anyone who does not already have significant Java experience.

That said, I should re-iterate that this book will be hugely valuable to any programmer. I just wish that they had tried to use a little more pseudo-code and a little less real-world examples, with all of the complexities entailed, and I think a lot could have been done to make the Java code more readable for users of other languages.

The bible for writing high quality software, 09 Sep 2008
Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin) is a recognized expert in todays world of software development. His books "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices" and "Agile Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#" should by now be well known by the majority of serious java and C# developers. I read the latter last year, and I was blown away by Uncle Bob's insight into the process of writing software in a manner, that more or less guarantees success for both the customer and the development company.

When "Clean Code" was published I rushed to buy it, and again I am in awe!

This book book hits the nail on why so many software development projects ends up in pain for the developers as the code rots and becomes unmaintainable. Not only are the symptoms cleary described and analyzed, Uncle Bob also provides the remedy. By breaking down the process of cleaning up code into detecting very specific "smells" and heuristics, and by supplying the reader the tools to fix the problems in the software, the reader automatically becomes empowered, inspired and motivated to go and clean up his or her mess.

I strongly believe, that if all developers were to read this book and start living by the rules stated within, life would improve for every single developer, customers would be able to purchase very high quality software products a lot cheaper, and everyone would benefit.

My applause to Uncle Bob - Thank you for this fantastic work of art!

To understand this company's success, first understand its DNA, 31 Jul 2008
I read this book when it was first published in 2004 and recently re-read it, curious to know how well Jeffrey Liker's explanation of Toyota's management principles and lean production values have held up. My conclusion? Very well.

No good purpose would be served by merely listing the 14 management principles, out of context. Liker devotes a separate chapter to each, carefully explaining not only what it is but also how it guides and informs everyone at all levels and in all areas of the Toyota organization. What Liker also accomplishes, and what cannot be adequately summarized in a review such as this, is to explain how all 12 principles are interdependent. Together, they serve as the company's DNA. In the Preface, he recalls asking Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motor Company) what was unique about his company's remarkable success. His answer was quite simple: "The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner." To understand Toyota's success, therefore, it is important to understand that lean production is not a methodology, it is literally a way of life.

The 14 principles are divided into four sections:

Having a long-term philosophy that drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization

Absolute faith that the right process will produce the right results

Adding value to the organization by developing its people and partners

Continuously solving root problems to drive organizational learning

As Liker points out, it is important to understand that the Toyota Production System is not the Toyota Way. TPS is the most systematic and highly developed example of what the principles of the Toyota Way can accomplish. The Toyota Way consists of the foundational principles of the Toyota culture, which allows the TPS to function so effectively.

How does lean improvement differ from traditional process improvement? "Briefly, wheras the traditional approach to process improvement focuses on local efficiencies, in a lean improvement initiatuve, most of the progress comes from a large number of non-value steps being squeezed out. For example, overproduction, delays, and wasted motion. In fact, the ultimate goal of lean manufacturing is to apply the ideal of one-piece flow to all business operations, from product design to launch, order taking, physical production, and shipment."Some of the differences are subtle but no less significant.

To repeat, anyone can read this book and then uncerstand what the Toyota Way is. Possessing a gourmet chef's recipe, however, does not ensure that a gourmet meal will be prepared. Toyota has its own way. Other companies must develop theirs based on their own "roots." In other words, lead from their traditional strengths but not be limited by them. In fact, companies may need to re-invent themselves, not once but several times. That is what Toyota did...and continues to do. Use operational excellence as a strategic weapon and the rewards and results will far outweigh the great effort required.

That said, Liker does provide 13 "general tips." The first is to begin with action in the technical system and then follow quickly with cultural change. Other suggestions include learning by doing first and training second, using value stream mapping to develop future state visions to help "learn to see," and being opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impacts. They are provided with brief but precise explanations on Pages 302-307.

It remains for each person who reads this book to determine which of the 14 management principles are most relevant to her or his own enterprise, and then to determine how to translate each into effective action. Presumably Liker agrees with me that most companies have 3-5 areas in which "lean" initiatives are urgently needed. Developing an execution plan can be tricky, however, because all business transaction involve a process of some kind and improvement of one process inevitably has a direct impact on several others. Here's one possibility, suggested to me by a COO to whom I gave a copy of this book: Read the final chapter, Chapter 22, first. It's title is "Build Your Own Lean Learning Enterprise, Borrowing from the Toyota Way." He thinks that will provide an appropriate framework within which to proceed from Gary Convis' Foreword and Liker's Preface to the conclusion of Chapter 21. That suggestion is worth consideration.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Liker's Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way as well as Matthew Mays' The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation, David Magee's How Toyota Became Toyota: Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car company, and What Is Lean Six Sigma? co-authored by Michael L. George, David Rowlands, and Bill Kastle.

Andrew Scotchmer, 24 Aug 2007
Takes you through the evolution of the Toyota Production System and introduces the reader to the 14 points of the lean philosophy. Excellent, as is the followup "field-book) for implementation of lean in your workplace.

Something to continuously reflect on , 03 Jul 2007
The Company That Invented Lean The 14 Management Principles

Being totally uninterested in cars I did not realise that Toyota is one of the worlds greatest manufacturers.

I was listening to In Business on Radio4. It was all about how Toyota has revolutionised management to create what they call lean production.

It is a fascinating read by Jeffrey K Liker. MC Graw-Hill (2004) pp 330 The Japanese have learnt in the last forty years how to make top quality cars. The 14 principles can be applied to any business and are not exclusive to manufacturing.

It is a whole way of life and a way of thinking.

Principles 1: Base your management decision on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals

Principle 2 Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface

Principle 3 Use" pull" systems to avoid overproduction

Principle 4 Level out the workload( heijunka)

Principle 5 Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.

Principle 6 Standards task are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment

Principle 7 Use visual control so problems are hidden

Principle 8Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes

Principle 9 Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work,live the philosophy and teach it to others.

Principle 10 Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy

Principle 11 Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers y challenging them and helping them improve.

Principle 12 Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situations(genchi genbutsu)

Principle 13 Make decision slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all the options implement decisions rapidly ( nemawashi)

Principle 14 Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement ( kaizen)


Recently it was announced that Toyota had overtaken General Motors. How Toyota had done it was common knowledge and they have been happy to tell pople the theory but obviously General Motors had not done the practical.

I particularly like continuous reflection which works whether you are succeeding or not. If you are a succes which General Motors has been for years they obviously have not learnt to reflect on their success and maintain it.
Maybe they thought their way was the only way. Many once mighty companies have fallen from a great height,

A good read

THE book on the Toyota Production System!, 17 Jun 2007
Everyone in the auto industry is familiar with Toyota's dramatic business success and, of course, consumers are demonstrably aware of the company's world-renowned quality. In fact, Toyota has done so well that, as Liker points out, many consider the company to be "boring." For, after all, steadily growing sales, consistent profitability, huge cash reserves, operational efficiency (combined with constant innovation--not an easy complement to pull off), and top quality, year after year, are not the stuff of breaking news. But, despite this reputation as the best manufacturer in the world, and despite the huge influence of the lean movement, most attempts to emulate and implement lean production have been fairly superficial, with less than stellar results over the long term. "Dabbling at one level--the `Process' level," U.S. companies have embraced lean tools, but do not understand what makes them work together in a system.

This integration is precisely what The Toyota Way examines, explaining how to create a Toyota-style culture of quality, lean, and learning that takes quantum leaps beyond any superficial focus on tools and techniques. Suffice it to say, there are hundreds of books out there explaining, analyzing, and advocating lean--providing details and insight into the tools and methods of TPS. The two most noted among this treasure trove are, of course, the contributions of The Machine That Changed the World (Womack, Jones, Roos, 1991) and Lean Thinking (Womack and Jones, 1996), and both stand as excellent resources on the subject. The first introduced the world to the tools and techniques of lean manufacturing by extracting its principles from their initial Japanese application and examining them in detail. And, the second explained how "to make value flow smoothly at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection."

The Toyota Way is, however (according to Liker), the first business book in English to provide a blueprint of Toyota's management philosophy for general business readers, dispelling the misconceptions that TPS is merely a collection of tools that lead to more efficient operations. Of course, there is no way of ascertaining the validity of this claim, without an extensive and time consuming exploration of the literature, but that truly doesn't matter. The Toyota Way is an approach of such breadth, depth, and significance to the world of business that it has yet to be fully understood; thus, the subject has not yet been fully exhausted. Liker's keen sense of the subtleties of TPS intrepidly challenges conventional understanding and transforms it with eloquent simplicity. He takes the reader deeply and comprehensively into the "heart and intelligence" of Toyota's "way," giving businesses in diverse industries some very practical and effective ideas that they can use to develop their own unique approach to TPS.

Brilliant and well written!, 12 Jan 2007
Jefferey Liker's well reasoned book explains the management principles that enable TOYOTA to outperform its piers - and explains why western managers pre-occupied with `management techniques' can't `go lean', without changing the culture of their organisation

Book title needs refactoring, 27 Oct 2008
This is a great book, and one which any developer will learn a great deal from. In most respects, it is a five-star book, but... the title is misleading. By rights it should be called "Clean Java Code".

Let me explain: I am an ActionScript developer, and bought this book to improve my code style and structure. For the most part, it has done that: the chapters on naming, comments, functions and classes are absolutely superb. But then, huge swathes of the book are devoted exclusively to Java, and use some fairly complex (and, in my opinion, not very well formatted) code to convey their intention.

I don't generally have a problem with using Java-oriented books to learn more general programming concepts (Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" and O'Reilly's Head-First Design Patterns are both books I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their language-of-choice), but around 1/3rd of Bob Martin's book is virtually impenetrable to anyone who does not already have significant Java experience.

That said, I should re-iterate that this book will be hugely valuable to any programmer. I just wish that they had tried to use a little more pseudo-code and a little less real-world examples, with all of the complexities entailed, and I think a lot could have been done to make the Java code more readable for users of other languages.

The bible for writing high quality software, 09 Sep 2008
Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin) is a recognized expert in todays world of software development. His books "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices" and "Agile Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#" should by now be well known by the majority of serious java and C# developers. I read the latter last year, and I was blown away by Uncle Bob's insight into the process of writing software in a manner, that more or less guarantees success for both the customer and the development company.

When "Clean Code" was published I rushed to buy it, and again I am in awe!

This book book hits the nail on why so many software development projects ends up in pain for the developers as the code rots and becomes unmaintainable. Not only are the symptoms cleary described and analyzed, Uncle Bob also provides the remedy. By breaking down the process of cleaning up code into detecting very specific "smells" and heuristics, and by supplying the reader the tools to fix the problems in the software, the reader automatically becomes empowered, inspired and motivated to go and clean up his or her mess.

I strongly believe, that if all developers were to read this book and start living by the rules stated within, life would improve for every single developer, customers would be able to purchase very high quality software products a lot cheaper, and everyone would benefit.

My applause to Uncle Bob - Thank you for this fantastic work of art!

To understand this company's success, first understand its DNA, 31 Jul 2008
I read this book when it was first published in 2004 and recently re-read it, curious to know how well Jeffrey Liker's explanation of Toyota's management principles and lean production values have held up. My conclusion? Very well.

No good purpose would be served by merely listing the 14 management principles, out of context. Liker devotes a separate chapter to each, carefully explaining not only what it is but also how it guides and informs everyone at all levels and in all areas of the Toyota organization. What Liker also accomplishes, and what cannot be adequately summarized in a review such as this, is to explain how all 12 principles are interdependent. Together, they serve as the company's DNA. In the Preface, he recalls asking Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motor Company) what was unique about his company's remarkable success. His answer was quite simple: "The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner." To understand Toyota's success, therefore, it is important to understand that lean production is not a methodology, it is literally a way of life.

The 14 principles are divided into four sections:

Having a long-term philosophy that drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization

Absolute faith that the right process will produce the right results

Adding value to the organization by developing its people and partners

Continuously solving root problems to drive organizational learning

As Liker points out, it is important to understand that the Toyota Production System is not the Toyota Way. TPS is the most systematic and highly developed example of what the principles of the Toyota Way can accomplish. The Toyota Way consists of the foundational principles of the Toyota culture, which allows the TPS to function so effectively.

How does lean improvement differ from traditional process improvement? "Briefly, wheras the traditional approach to process improvement focuses on local efficiencies, in a lean improvement initiatuve, most of the progress comes from a large number of non-value steps being squeezed out. For example, overproduction, delays, and wasted motion. In fact, the ultimate goal of lean manufacturing is to apply the ideal of one-piece flow to all business operations, from product design to launch, order taking, physical production, and shipment."Some of the differences are subtle but no less significant.

To repeat, anyone can read this book and then uncerstand what the Toyota Way is. Possessing a gourmet chef's recipe, however, does not ensure that a gourmet meal will be prepared. Toyota has its own way. Other companies must develop theirs based on their own "roots." In other words, lead from their traditional strengths but not be limited by them. In fact, companies may need to re-invent themselves, not once but several times. That is what Toyota did...and continues to do. Use operational excellence as a strategic weapon and the rewards and results will far outweigh the great effort required.

That said, Liker does provide 13 "general tips." The first is to begin with action in the technical system and then follow quickly with cultural change. Other suggestions include learning by doing first and training second, using value stream mapping to develop future state visions to help "learn to see," and being opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impacts. They are provided with brief but precise explanations on Pages 302-307.

It remains for each person who reads this book to determine which of the 14 management principles are most relevant to her or his own enterprise, and then to determine how to translate each into effective action. Presumably Liker agrees with me that most companies have 3-5 areas in which "lean" initiatives are urgently needed. Developing an execution plan can be tricky, however, because all business transaction involve a process of some kind and improvement of one process inevitably has a direct impact on several others. Here's one possibility, suggested to me by a COO to whom I gave a copy of this book: Read the final chapter, Chapter 22, first. It's title is "Build Your Own Lean Learning Enterprise, Borrowing from the Toyota Way." He thinks that will provide an appropriate framework within which to proceed from Gary Convis' Foreword and Liker's Preface to the conclusion of Chapter 21. That suggestion is worth consideration.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Liker's Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way as well as Matthew Mays' The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation, David Magee's How Toyota Became Toyota: Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car company, and What Is Lean Six Sigma? co-authored by Michael L. George, David Rowlands, and Bill Kastle.

Andrew Scotchmer, 24 Aug 2007
Takes you through the evolution of the Toyota Production System and introduces the reader to the 14 points of the lean philosophy. Excellent, as is the followup "field-book) for implementation of lean in your workplace.

Something to continuously reflect on , 03 Jul 2007
The Company That Invented Lean The 14 Management Principles

Being totally uninterested in cars I did not realise that Toyota is one of the worlds greatest manufacturers.

I was listening to In Business on Radio4. It was all about how Toyota has revolutionised management to create what they call lean production.

It is a fascinating read by Jeffrey K Liker. MC Graw-Hill (2004) pp 330 The Japanese have learnt in the last forty years how to make top quality cars. The 14 principles can be applied to any business and are not exclusive to manufacturing.

It is a whole way of life and a way of thinking.

Principles 1: Base your management decision on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals

Principle 2 Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface

Principle 3 Use" pull" systems to avoid overproduction

Principle 4 Level out the workload( heijunka)

Principle 5 Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.

Principle 6 Standards task are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment

Principle 7 Use visual control so problems are hidden

Principle 8Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes

Principle 9 Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work,live the philosophy and teach it to others.

Principle 10 Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy

Principle 11 Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers y challenging them and helping them improve.

Principle 12 Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situations(genchi genbutsu)

Principle 13 Make decision slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all the options implement decisions rapidly ( nemawashi)

Principle 14 Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement ( kaizen)


Recently it was announced that Toyota had overtaken General Motors. How Toyota had done it was common knowledge and they have been happy to tell pople the theory but obviously General Motors had not done the practical.

I particularly like continuous reflection which works whether you are succeeding or not. If you are a succes which General Motors has been for years they obviously have not learnt to reflect on their success and maintain it.
Maybe they thought their way was the only way. Many once mighty companies have fallen from a great height,

A good read

THE book on the Toyota Production System!, 17 Jun 2007
Everyone in the auto industry is familiar with Toyota's dramatic business success and, of course, consumers are demonstrably aware of the company's world-renowned quality. In fact, Toyota has done so well that, as Liker points out, many consider the company to be "boring." For, after all, steadily growing sales, consistent profitability, huge cash reserves, operational efficiency (combined with constant innovation--not an easy complement to pull off), and top quality, year after year, are not the stuff of breaking news. But, despite this reputation as the best manufacturer in the world, and despite the huge influence of the lean movement, most attempts to emulate and implement lean production have been fairly superficial, with less than stellar results over the long term. "Dabbling at one level--the `Process' level," U.S. companies have embraced lean tools, but do not understand what makes them work together in a system.

This integration is precisely what The Toyota Way examines, explaining how to create a Toyota-style culture of quality, lean, and learning that takes quantum leaps beyond any superficial focus on tools and techniques. Suffice it to say, there are hundreds of books out there explaining, analyzing, and advocating lean--providing details and insight into the tools and methods of TPS. The two most noted among this treasure trove are, of course, the contributions of The Machine That Changed the World (Womack, Jones, Roos, 1991) and Lean Thinking (Womack and Jones, 1996), and both stand as excellent resources on the subject. The first introduced the world to the tools and techniques of lean manufacturing by extracting its principles from their initial Japanese application and examining them in detail. And, the second explained how "to make value flow smoothly at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection."

The Toyota Way is, however (according to Liker), the first business book in English to provide a blueprint of Toyota's management philosophy for general business readers, dispelling the misconceptions that TPS is merely a collection of tools that lead to more efficient operations. Of course, there is no way of ascertaining the validity of this claim, without an extensive and time consuming exploration of the literature, but that truly doesn't matter. The Toyota Way is an approach of such breadth, depth, and significance to the world of business that it has yet to be fully understood; thus, the subject has not yet been fully exhausted. Liker's keen sense of the subtleties of TPS intrepidly challenges conventional understanding and transforms it with eloquent simplicity. He takes the reader deeply and comprehensively into the "heart and intelligence" of Toyota's "way," giving businesses in diverse industries some very practical and effective ideas that they can use to develop their own unique approach to TPS.

Brilliant and well written!, 12 Jan 2007
Jefferey Liker's well reasoned book explains the management principles that enable TOYOTA to outperform its piers - and explains why western managers pre-occupied with `management techniques' can't `go lean', without changing the culture of their organisation

Another good reference guide from the HSE, 14 Feb 2008
This book is mandatory reference material for people involved with electrical safety in the workplace. We use it here at PPL Training for the Part P courses both defined and full scope. For those that are invloved in Part P electrics we would highly recommend this book as reference material for Part P approval vists from Part P competent persons schemes. Teh book is clearly laid out and is not a sparkie read only as other non electrical readers will find it useful.

Book title needs refactoring, 27 Oct 2008
This is a great book, and one which any developer will learn a great deal from. In most respects, it is a five-star book, but... the title is misleading. By rights it should be called "Clean Java Code".

Let me explain: I am an ActionScript developer, and bought this book to improve my code style and structure. For the most part, it has done that: the chapters on naming, comments, functions and classes are absolutely superb. But then, huge swathes of the book are devoted exclusively to Java, and use some fairly complex (and, in my opinion, not very well formatted) code to convey their intention.

I don't generally have a problem with using Java-oriented books to learn more general programming concepts (Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" and O'Reilly's Head-First Design Patterns are both books I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their language-of-choice), but around 1/3rd of Bob Martin's book is virtually impenetrable to anyone who does not already have significant Java experience.

That said, I should re-iterate that this book will be hugely valuable to any programmer. I just wish that they had tried to use a little more pseudo-code and a little less real-world examples, with all of the complexities entailed, and I think a lot could have been done to make the Java code more readable for users of other languages.

The bible for writing high quality software, 09 Sep 2008
Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin) is a recognized expert in todays world of software development. His books "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices" and "Agile Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#" should by now be well known by the majority of serious java and C# developers. I read the latter last year, and I was blown away by Uncle Bob's insight into the process of writing software in a manner, that more or less guarantees success for both the customer and the development company.

When "Clean Code" was published I rushed to buy it, and again I am in awe!

This book book hits the nail on why so many software development projects ends up in pain for the developers as the code rots and becomes unmaintainable. Not only are the symptoms cleary described and analyzed, Uncle Bob also provides the remedy. By breaking down the process of cleaning up code into detecting very specific "smells" and heuristics, and by supplying the reader the tools to fix the problems in the software, the reader automatically becomes empowered, inspired and motivated to go and clean up his or her mess.

I strongly believe, that if all developers were to read this book and start living by the rules stated within, life would improve for every single developer, customers would be able to purchase very high quality software products a lot cheaper, and everyone would benefit.

My applause to Uncle Bob - Thank you for this fantastic work of art!

To understand this company's success, first understand its DNA, 31 Jul 2008
I read this book when it was first published in 2004 and recently re-read it, curious to know how well Jeffrey Liker's explanation of Toyota's management principles and lean production values have held up. My conclusion? Very well.

No good purpose would be served by merely listing the 14 management principles, out of context. Liker devotes a separate chapter to each, carefully explaining not only what it is but also how it guides and informs everyone at all levels and in all areas of the Toyota organization. What Liker also accomplishes, and what cannot be adequately summarized in a review such as this, is to explain how all 12 principles are interdependent. Together, they serve as the company's DNA. In the Preface, he recalls asking Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motor Company) what was unique about his company's remarkable success. His answer was quite simple: "The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner." To understand Toyota's success, therefore, it is important to understand that lean production is not a methodology, it is literally a way of life.

The 14 principles are divided into four sections:

Having a long-term philosophy that drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization

Absolute faith that the right process will produce the right results

Adding value to the organization by developing its people and partners

Continuously solving root problems to drive organizational learning

As Liker points out, it is important to understand that the Toyota Production System is not the Toyota Way. TPS is the most systematic and highly developed example of what the principles of the Toyota Way can accomplish. The Toyota Way consists of the foundational principles of the Toyota culture, which allows the TPS to function so effectively.

How does lean improvement differ from traditional process improvement? "Briefly, wheras the traditional approach to process improvement focuses on local efficiencies, in a lean improvement initiatuve, most of the progress comes from a large number of non-value steps being squeezed out. For example, overproduction, delays, and wasted motion. In fact, the ultimate goal of lean manufacturing is to apply the ideal of one-piece flow to all business operations, from product design to launch, order taking, physical production, and shipment."Some of the differences are subtle but no less significant.

To repeat, anyone can read this book and then uncerstand what the Toyota Way is. Possessing a gourmet chef's recipe, however, does not ensure that a gourmet meal will be prepared. Toyota has its own way. Other companies must develop theirs based on their own "roots." In other words, lead from their traditional strengths but not be limited by them. In fact, companies may need to re-invent themselves, not once but several times. That is what Toyota did...and continues to do. Use operational excellence as a strategic weapon and the rewards and results will far outweigh the great effort required.

That said, Liker does provide 13 "general tips." The first is to begin with action in the technical system and then follow quickly with cultural change. Other suggestions include learning by doing first and training second, using value stream mapping to develop future state visions to help "learn to see," and being opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impacts. They are provided with brief but precise explanations on Pages 302-307.

It remains for each person who reads this book to determine which of the 14 management principles are most relevant to her or his own enterprise, and then to determine how to translate each into effective action. Presumably Liker agrees with me that most companies have 3-5 areas in which "lean" initiatives are urgently needed. Developing an execution plan can be tricky, however, because all business transaction involve a process of some kind and improvement of one process inevitably has a direct impact on several others. Here's one possibility, suggested to me by a COO to whom I gave a copy of this book: Read the final chapter, Chapter 22, first. It's title is "Build Your Own Lean Learning Enterprise, Borrowing from the Toyota Way." He thinks that will provide an appropriate framework within which to proceed from Gary Convis' Foreword and Liker's Preface to the conclusion of Chapter 21. That suggestion is worth consideration.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Liker's Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way as well as Matthew Mays' The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation, David Magee's How Toyota Became Toyota: Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car company, and What Is Lean Six Sigma? co-authored by Michael L. George, David Rowlands, and Bill Kastle.

Andrew Scotchmer, 24 Aug 2007
Takes you through the evolution of the Toyota Production System and introduces the reader to the 14 points of the lean philosophy. Excellent, as is the followup "field-book) for implementation of lean in your workplace.

Something to continuously reflect on , 03 Jul 2007
The Company That Invented Lean The 14 Management Principles

Being totally uninterested in cars I did not realise that Toyota is one of the worlds greatest manufacturers.

I was listening to In Business on Radio4. It was all about how Toyota has revolutionised management to create what they call lean production.

It is a fascinating read by Jeffrey K Liker. MC Graw-Hill (2004) pp 330 The Japanese have learnt in the last forty years how to make top quality cars. The 14 principles can be applied to any business and are not exclusive to manufacturing.

It is a whole way of life and a way of thinking.

Principles 1: Base your management decision on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals

Principle 2 Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface

Principle 3 Use" pull" systems to avoid overproduction

Principle 4 Level out the workload( heijunka)

Principle 5 Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.

Principle 6 Standards task are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment

Principle 7 Use visual control so problems are hidden

Principle 8Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes

Principle 9 Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work,live the philosophy and teach it to others.

Principle 10 Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy

Principle 11 Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers y challenging them and helping them improve.

Principle 12 Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situations(genchi genbutsu)

Principle 13 Make decision slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all the options implement decisions rapidly ( nemawashi)

Principle 14 Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement ( kaizen)


Recently it was announced that Toyota had overtaken General Motors. How Toyota had done it was common knowledge and they have been happy to tell pople the theory but obviously General Motors had not done the practical.

I particularly like continuous reflection which works whether you are succeeding or not. If you are a succes which General Motors has been for years they obviously have not learnt to reflect on their success and maintain it.
Maybe they thought their way was the only way. Many once mighty companies have fallen from a great height,

A good read

THE book on the Toyota Production System!, 17 Jun 2007
Everyone in the auto industry is familiar with Toyota's dramatic business success and, of course, consumers are demonstrably aware of the company's world-renowned quality. In fact, Toyota has done so well that, as Liker points out, many consider the company to be "boring." For, after all, steadily growing sales, consistent profitability, huge cash reserves, operational efficiency (combined with constant innovation--not an easy complement to pull off), and top quality, year after year, are not the stuff of breaking news. But, despite this reputation as the best manufacturer in the world, and despite the huge influence of the lean movement, most attempts to emulate and implement lean production have been fairly superficial, with less than stellar results over the long term. "Dabbling at one level--the `Process' level," U.S. companies have embraced lean tools, but do not understand what makes them work together in a system.

This integration is precisely what The Toyota Way examines, explaining how to create a Toyota-style culture of quality, lean, and learning that takes quantum leaps beyond any superficial focus on tools and techniques. Suffice it to say, there are hundreds of books out there explaining, analyzing, and advocating lean--providing details and insight into the tools and methods of TPS. The two most noted among this treasure trove are, of course, the contributions of The Machine That Changed the World (Womack, Jones, Roos, 1991) and Lean Thinking (Womack and Jones, 1996), and both stand as excellent resources on the subject. The first introduced the world to the tools and techniques of lean manufacturing by extracting its principles from their initial Japanese application and examining them in detail. And, the second explained how "to make value flow smoothly at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection."

The Toyota Way is, however (according to Liker), the first business book in English to provide a blueprint of Toyota's management philosophy for general business readers, dispelling the misconceptions that TPS is merely a collection of tools that lead to more efficient operations. Of course, there is no way of ascertaining the validity of this claim, without an extensive and time consuming exploration of the literature, but that truly doesn't matter. The Toyota Way is an approach of such breadth, depth, and significance to the world of business that it has yet to be fully understood; thus, the subject has not yet been fully exhausted. Liker's keen sense of the subtleties of TPS intrepidly challenges conventional understanding and transforms it with eloquent simplicity. He takes the reader deeply and comprehensively into the "heart and intelligence" of Toyota's "way," giving businesses in diverse industries some very practical and effective ideas that they can use to develop their own unique approach to TPS.

Brilliant and well written!, 12 Jan 2007
Jefferey Liker's well reasoned book explains the management principles that enable TOYOTA to outperform its piers - and explains why western managers pre-occupied with `management techniques' can't `go lean', without changing the culture of their organisation

Another good reference guide from the HSE, 14 Feb 2008
This book is mandatory reference material for people involved with electrical safety in the workplace. We use it here at PPL Training for the Part P courses both defined and full scope. For those that are invloved in Part P electrics we would highly recommend this book as reference material for Part P approval vists from Part P competent persons schemes. Teh book is clearly laid out and is not a sparkie read only as other non electrical readers will find it useful.

Introduction to Health and Safety at Work, 11 Apr 2006
This book was supplied at my recent NEBOSH general certificate course and was invaluable in passing said course.
However its use beyond that has also been invaluable, it gives good clear information on most Health and Safety issues to be found in a manufacturing unit. It is not over complicated by legalise, is written in plan English and has a user-friendly index. If I had a criticism it would be that sometimes a subject is spread through out the book but not sure if you can avoid that.

Great for NEBOSH Certificate Students, 04 Feb 2005
This is a great introduction for anyone to health and safety and is an ideal text for anyone studying the NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health. www.SafetyServicesDirect.com

Experience learning made easy - and quickly teach yourself how tomanage your projects with Project 2007. With Step By Step you setthe pace - building and practicing the skills you need just whenyou need them!

Book title needs refactoring, 27 Oct 2008
This is a great book, and one which any developer will learn a great deal from. In most respects, it is a five-star book, but... the title is misleading. By rights it should be called "Clean Java Code".

Let me explain: I am an ActionScript developer, and bought this book to improve my code style and structure. For the most part, it has done that: the chapters on naming, comments, functions and classes are absolutely superb. But then, huge swathes of the book are devoted exclusively to Java, and use some fairly complex (and, in my opinion, not very well formatted) code to convey their intention.

I don't generally have a problem with using Java-oriented books to learn more general programming concepts (Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" and O'Reilly's Head-First Design Patterns are both books I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their language-of-choice), but around 1/3rd of Bob Martin's book is virtually impenetrable to anyone who does not already have significant Java experience.

That said, I should re-iterate that this book will be hugely valuable to any programmer. I just wish that they had tried to use a little more pseudo-code and a little less real-world examples, with all of the complexities entailed, and I think a lot could have been done to make the Java code more readable for users of other languages.

The bible for writing high quality software, 09 Sep 2008
Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin) is a recognized expert in todays world of software development. His books "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices" and "Agile Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#" should by now be well known by the majority of serious java and C# developers. I read the latter last year, and I was blown away by Uncle Bob's insight into the process of writing software in a manner, that more or less guarantees success for both the customer and the development company.

When "Clean Code" was published I rushed to buy it, and again I am in awe!

This book book hits the nail on why so many software development projects ends up in pain for the developers as the code rots and becomes unmaintainable. Not only are the symptoms cleary described and analyzed, Uncle Bob also provides the remedy. By breaking down the process of cleaning up code into detecting very specific "smells" and heuristics, and by supplying the reader the tools to fix the problems in the software, the reader automatically becomes empowered, inspired and motivated to go and clean up his or her mess.

I strongly believe, that if all developers were to read this book and start living by the rules stated within, life would improve for every single developer, customers would be able to purchase very high quality software products a lot cheaper, and everyone would benefit.

My applause to Uncle Bob - Thank you for this fantastic work of art!

To understand this company's success, first understand its DNA, 31 Jul 2008
I read this book when it was first published in 2004 and recently re-read it, curious to know how well Jeffrey Liker's explanation of Toyota's management principles and lean production values have held up. My conclusion? Very well.

No good purpose would be served by merely listing the 14 management principles, out of context. Liker devotes a separate chapter to each, carefully explaining not only what it is but also how it guides and informs everyone at all levels and in all areas of the Toyota organization. What Liker also accomplishes, and what cannot be adequately summarized in a review such as this, is to explain how all 12 principles are interdependent. Together, they serve as the company's DNA. In the Preface, he recalls asking Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motor Company) what was unique about his company's remarkable success. His answer was quite simple: "The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner." To understand Toyota's success, therefore, it is important to understand that lean production is not a methodology, it is literally a way of life.

The 14 principles are divided into four sections:

Having a long-term philosophy that drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization

Absolute faith that the right process will produce the right results

Adding value to the organization by developing its people and partners

Continuously solving root problems to drive organizational learning

As Liker points out, it is important to understand that the Toyota Production System is not the Toyota Way. TPS is the most systematic and highly developed example of what the principles of the Toyota Way can accomplish. The Toyota Way consists of the foundational principles of the Toyota culture, which allows the TPS to function so effectively.

How does lean improvement differ from traditional process improvement? "Briefly, wheras the traditional approach to process improvement focuses on local efficiencies, in a lean improvement initiatuve, most of the progress comes from a large number of non-value steps being squeezed out. For example, overproduction, delays, and wasted motion. In fact, the ultimate goal of lean manufacturing is to apply the ideal of one-piece flow to all business operations, from product design to launch, order taking, physical production, and shipment."Some of the differences are subtle but no less significant.

To repeat, anyone can read this book and then uncerstand what the Toyota Way is. Possessing a gourmet chef's recipe, however, does not ensure that a gourmet meal will be prepared. Toyota has its own way. Other companies must develop theirs based on their own "roots." In other words, lead from their traditional strengths but not be limited by them. In fact, companies may need to re-invent themselves, not once but several times. That is what Toyota did...and continues to do. Use operational excellence as a strategic weapon and the rewards and results will far outweigh the great effort required.

That said, Liker does provide 13 "general tips." The first is to begin with action in the technical system and then follow quickly with cultural change. Other suggestions include learning by doing first and training second, using value stream mapping to develop future state visions to help "learn to see," and being opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impacts. They are provided with brief but precise explanations on Pages 302-307.

It remains for each person who reads this book to determine which of the 14 management principles are most relevant to her or his own enterprise, and then to determine how to translate each into effective action. Presumably Liker agrees with me that most companies have 3-5 areas in which "lean" initiatives are urgently needed. Developing an execution plan can be tricky, however, because all business transaction involve a process of some kind and improvement of one process inevitably has a direct impact on several others. Here's one possibility, suggested to me by a COO to whom I gave a copy of this book: Read the final chapter, Chapter 22, first. It's title is "Build Your Own Lean Learning Enterprise, Borrowing from the Toyota Way." He thinks that will provide an appropriate framework within which to proceed from Gary Convis' Foreword and Liker's Preface to the conclusion of Chapter 21. That suggestion is worth consideration.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Liker's Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way as well as Matthew Mays' The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation, David Magee's How Toyota Became Toyota: Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car company, and What Is Lean Six Sigma? co-authored by Michael L. George, David Rowlands, and Bill Kastle.

Andrew Scotchmer, 24 Aug 2007
Takes you through the evolution of the Toyota Production System and introduces the reader to the 14 points of the lean philosophy. Excellent, as is the followup "field-book) for implementation of lean in your workplace.

Something to continuously reflect on , 03 Jul 2007
The Company That Invented Lean The 14 Management Principles

Being totally uninterested in cars I did not realise that Toyota is one of the worlds greatest manufacturers.

I was listening to In Business on Radio4. It was all about how Toyota has revolutionised management to create what they call lean production.

It is a fascinating read by Jeffrey K Liker. MC Graw-Hill (2004) pp 330 The Japanese have learnt in the last forty years how to make top quality cars. The 14 principles can be applied to any business and are not exclusive to manufacturing.

It is a whole way of life and a way of thinking.

Principles 1: Base your management decision on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals

Principle 2 Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface

Principle 3 Use" pull" systems to avoid overproduction

Principle 4 Level out the workload( heijunka)

Principle 5 Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.

Principle 6 Standards task are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment

Principle 7 Use visual control so problems are hidden

Principle 8Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes

Principle 9 Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work,live the philosophy and teach it to others.

Principle 10 Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy

Principle 11 Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers y challenging them and helping them improve.

Principle 12 Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situations(genchi genbutsu)

Principle 13 Make decision slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all the options implement decisions rapidly ( nemawashi)

Principle 14 Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement ( kaizen)


Recently it was announced that Toyota had overtaken General Motors. How Toyota had done it was common knowledge and they have been happy to tell pople the theory but obviously General Motors had not done the practical.

I particularly like continuous reflection which works whether you are succeeding or not. If you are a succes which General Motors has been for years they obviously have not learnt to reflect on their success and maintain it.
Maybe they thought their way was the only way. Many once mighty companies have fallen from a great height,

A good read

THE book on the Toyota Production System!, 17 Jun 2007
Everyone in the auto industry is familiar with Toyota's dramatic business success and, of course, consumers are demonstrably aware of the company's world-renowned quality. In fact, Toyota has done so well that, as Liker points out, many consider the company to be "boring." For, after all, steadily growing sales, consistent profitability, huge cash reserves, operational efficiency (combined with constant innovation--not an easy complement to pull off), and top quality, year after year, are not the stuff of breaking news. But, despite this reputation as the best manufacturer in the world, and despite the huge influence of the lean movement, most attempts to emulate and implement lean production have been fairly superficial, with less than stellar results over the long term. "Dabbling at one level--the `Process' level," U.S. companies have embraced lean tools, but do not understand what makes them work together in a system.

This integration is precisely what The Toyota Way examines, explaining how to create a Toyota-style culture of quality, lean, and learning that takes quantum leaps beyond any superficial focus on tools and techniques. Suffice it to say, there are hundreds of books out there explaining, analyzing, and advocating lean--providing details and insight into the tools and methods of TPS. The two most noted among this treasure trove are, of course, the contributions of The Machine That Changed the World (Womack, Jones, Roos, 1991) and Lean Thinking (Womack and Jones, 1996), and both stand as excellent resources on the subject. The first introduced the world to the tools and techniques of lean manufacturing by extracting its principles from their initial Japanese application and examining them in detail. And, the second explained how "to make value flow smoothly at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection."

The Toyota Way is, however (according to Liker), the first business book in English to provide a blueprint of Toyota's management philosophy for general business readers, dispelling the misconceptions that TPS is merely a collection of tools that lead to more efficient operations. Of course, there is no way of ascertaining the validity of this claim, without an extensive and time consuming exploration of the literature, but that truly doesn't matter. The Toyota Way is an approach of such breadth, depth, and significance to the world of business that it has yet to be fully understood; thus, the subject has not yet been fully exhausted. Liker's keen sense of the subtleties of TPS intrepidly challenges conventional understanding and transforms it with eloquent simplicity. He takes the reader deeply and comprehensively into the "heart and intelligence" of Toyota's "way," giving businesses in diverse industries some very practical and effective ideas that they can use to develop their own unique approach to TPS.

Brilliant and well written!, 12 Jan 2007
Jefferey Liker's well reasoned book explains the management principles that enable TOYOTA to outperform its piers - and explains why western managers pre-occupied with `management techniques' can't `go lean', without changing the culture of their organisation

Another good reference guide from the HSE, 14 Feb 2008
This book is mandatory reference material for people involved with electrical safety in the workplace. We use it here at PPL Training for the Part P courses both defined and full scope. For those that are invloved in Part P electrics we would highly recommend this book as reference material for Part P approval vists from Part P competent persons schemes. Teh book is clearly laid out and is not a sparkie read only as other non electrical readers will find it useful.

Introduction to Health and Safety at Work, 11 Apr 2006
This book was supplied at my recent NEBOSH general certificate course and was invaluable in passing said course.
However its use beyond that has also been invaluable, it gives good clear information on most Health and Safety issues to be found in a manufacturing unit. It is not over complicated by legalise, is written in plan English and has a user-friendly index. If I had a criticism it would be that sometimes a subject is spread through out the book but not sure if you can avoid that.

Great for NEBOSH Certificate Students, 04 Feb 2005
This is a great introduction for anyone to health and safety and is an ideal text for anyone studying the NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health. www.SafetyServicesDirect.com

Very Useful Instruction, 27 May 2008
As the title suggests, the book is a step by step guide to Office Project 2007. It walks you through all of the different aspects of Project that a new or intermediate user could be expected to know or benefit from. It also provides a number of "tips" where a more advanced or enquiring user may want to find further information. The layout and structure of the book is very good, which could reasonably be expected, with "Chapters at a Glance", "Summaries of topics covered", "Key points" and very clear formatting to help the reader/user.

As a previous user of an older version of Project, I bought the book as both a refresher to Project and an introduction to the new 07 version. It has certainly delivered on both these counts. However, I would imagine that if I need to develop a more detailed level of knowledge about the software I would probably end up buying a supplemental book as well.

I will be using Project professionally and will need to share my project plans with other stakeholders, in light of this I found the following chapters particularly useful:
*Organising and Formatting Project Details
*Printing Project Information
*Sharing Project Information with Other Programs


Top drawer, 06 Jun 2007
Exceptionally well-written book which almost falls over itself to be helpful, with the Chapter At A Glance page at the start of each chapter and the Quick Reference pages at the beginning.

I've got three other books on Project 2007 and this is easily the most readable and enjoyable. It keeps you interested with the well-worked examples on disc for you to follow along with and imparts a very good depth and breadth of information.

I was uncomfortable with Project before reading this book and tried a lot of tinkering with the software in an attempt to ease my uncertainties. This book takes a lot of the donkey-work out of that process by giving solid exercises to guide you each step of the way.

It gets you up and running in no time and leaves you keen to explore even deeper. The last 50 pages introduce Server but the main thrust is with the desktop application; perfect for my working requirements.

One of the few books which takes the frustration out of the learning process - no hesitation in giving it a maximum 5 out of 5.

Book title needs refactoring, 27 Oct 2008
This is a great book, and one which any developer will learn a great deal from. In most respects, it is a five-star book, but... the title is misleading. By rights it should be called "Clean Java Code".

Let me explain: I am an ActionScript developer, and bought this book to improve my code style and structure. For the most part, it has done that: the chapters on naming, comments, functions and classes are absolutely superb. But then, huge swathes of the book are devoted exclusively to Java, and use some fairly complex (and, in my opinion, not very well formatted) code to convey their intention.

I don't generally have a problem with using Java-oriented books to learn more general programming concepts (Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" and O'Reilly's Head-First Design Patterns are both books I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their language-of-choice), but around 1/3rd of Bob Martin's book is virtually impenetrable to anyone who does not already have significant Java experience.

That said, I should re-iterate that this book will be hugely valuable to any programmer. I just wish that they had tried to use a little more pseudo-code and a little less real-world examples, with all of the complexities entailed, and I think a lot could have been done to make the Java code more readable for users of other languages.

The bible for writing high quality software, 09 Sep 2008
Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin) is a recognized expert in todays world of software development. His books "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices" and "Agile Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#" should by now be well known by the majority of serious java and C# developers. I read the latter last year, and I was blown away by Uncle Bob's insight into the process of writing software in a manner, that more or less guarantees success for both the customer and the development company.

When "Clean Code" was published I rushed to buy it, and again I am in awe!

This book book hits the nail on why so many software development projects ends up in pain for the developers as the code rots and becomes unmaintainable. Not only are the symptoms cleary described and analyzed, Uncle Bob also provides the remedy. By breaking down the process of cleaning up code into detecting very specific "smells" and heuristics, and by supplying the reader the tools to fix the problems in the software, the reader automatically becomes empowered, inspired and motivated to go and clean up his or her mess.

I strongly believe, that if all developers were to read this book and start living by the rules stated within, life would improve for every single developer, customers would be able to purchase very high quality software products a lot cheaper, and everyone would benefit.

My applause to Uncle Bob - Thank you for this fantastic work of art!

To understand this company's success, first understand its DNA, 31 Jul 2008
I read this book when it was first published in 2004 and recently re-read it, curious to know how well Jeffrey Liker's explanation of Toyota's management principles and lean production values have held up. My conclusion? Very well.

No good purpose would be served by merely listing the 14 management principles, out of context. Liker devotes a separate chapter to each, carefully explaining not only what it is but also how it guides and informs everyone at all levels and in all areas of the Toyota organization. What Liker also accomplishes, and what cannot be adequately summarized in a review such as this, is to explain how all 12 principles are interdependent. Together, they serve as the company's DNA. In the Preface, he recalls asking Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motor Company) what was unique about his company's remarkable success. His answer was quite simple: "The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner." To understand Toyota's success, therefore, it is important to understand that lean production is not a methodology, it is literally a way of life.

The 14 principles are divided into four sections:

Having a long-term philosophy that drives a long-term approach to building a learning organization

Absolute faith that the right process will produce the right results

Adding value to the organization by developing its people and partners

Continuously solving root problems to drive organizational learning

As Liker points out, it is important to understand that the Toyota Production System is not the Toyota Way. TPS is the most systematic and highly developed example of what the principles of the Toyota Way can accomplish. The Toyota Way consists of the foundational principles of the Toyota culture, which allows the TPS to function so effectively.

How does lean improvement differ from traditional process improvement? "Briefly, wheras the traditional approach to process improvement focuses on local efficiencies, in a lean improvement initiatuve, most of the progress comes from a large number of non-value steps being squeezed out. For example, overproduction, delays, and wasted motion. In fact, the ultimate goal of lean manufacturing is to apply the ideal of one-piece flow to all business operations, from product design to launch, order taking, physical production, and shipment."Some of the differences are subtle but no less significant.

To repeat, anyone can read this book and then uncerstand what the Toyota Way is. Possessing a gourmet chef's recipe, however, does not ensure that a gourmet meal will be prepared. Toyota has its own way. Other companies must develop theirs based on their own "roots." In other words, lead from their traditional strengths but not be limited by them. In fact, companies may need to re-invent themselves, not once but several times. That is what Toyota did...and continues to do. Use operational excellence as a strategic weapon and the rewards and results will far outweigh the great effort required.

That said, Liker does provide 13 "general tips." The first is to begin with action in the technical system and then follow quickly with cultural change. Other suggestions include learning by doing first and training second, using value stream mapping to develop future state visions to help "learn to see," and being opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impacts. They are provided with brief but precise explanations on Pages 302-307.

It remains for each person who reads this book to determine which of the 14 management principles are most relevant to her or his own enterprise, and then to determine how to translate each into effective action. Presumably Liker agrees with me that most companies have 3-5 areas in which "lean" initiatives are urgently needed. Developing an execution plan can be tricky, however, because all business transaction involve a process of some kind and improvement of one process inevitably has a direct impact on several others. Here's one possibility, suggested to me by a COO to whom I gave a copy of this book: Read the final chapter, Chapter 22, first. It's title is "Build Your Own Lean Learning Enterprise, Borrowing from the Toyota Way." He thinks that will provide an appropriate framework within which to proceed from Gary Convis' Foreword and Liker's Preface to the conclusion of Chapter 21. That suggestion is worth consideration.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Liker's Toyota Culture: The Heart and Soul of the Toyota Way as well as Matthew Mays' The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation, David Magee's How Toyota Became Toyota: Leadership Lessons from the World's Greatest Car company, and What Is Lean Six Sigma? co-authored by Michael L. George, David Rowlands, and Bill Kastle.

Andrew Scotchmer, 24 Aug 2007
Takes you through the evolution of the Toyota Production System and introduces the reader to the 14 points of the lean philosophy. Excellent, as is the followup "field-book) for implementation of lean in your workplace.

Something to continuously reflect on , 03 Jul 2007
The Company That Invented Lean The 14 Management Principles

Being totally uninterested in cars I did not realise that Toyota is one of the worlds greatest manufacturers.

I was listening to In Business on Radio4. It was all about how Toyota has revolutionised management to create what they call lean production.

It is a fascinating read by Jeffrey K Liker. MC Graw-Hill (2004) pp 330 The Japanese have learnt in the last forty years how to make top quality cars. The 14 principles can be applied to any business and are not exclusive to manufacturing.

It is a whole way of life and a way of thinking.

Principles 1: Base your management decision on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals

Principle 2 Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface

Principle 3 Use" pull" systems to avoid overproduction

Principle 4 Level out the workload( heijunka)

Principle 5 Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time.

Principle 6 Standards task are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment

Principle 7 Use visual control so problems are hidden

Principle 8Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes

Principle 9 Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work,live the philosophy and teach it to others.

Principle 10 Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company's philosophy

Principle 11 Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers y challenging them and helping them improve.

Principle 12 Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situations(genchi genbutsu)

Principle 13 Make decision slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all the options implement decisions rapidly ( nemawashi)

Principle 14 Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvement ( kaizen)


Recently it was announced that Toyota had overtaken General Motors. How Toyota had done it was common knowledge and they have been happy to tell pople the theory but obviously General Motors had not done the practical.

I particularly like continuous reflection which works whether you are succeeding or not. If you are a succes which General Motors has been for years they obviously have not learnt to reflect on their success and maintain it.
Maybe they thought their way was the only way. Many once mighty companies have fallen from a great height,

A good read

THE book on the Toyota Production System!, 17 Jun 2007
Everyone in the auto industry is familiar with Toyota's dramatic business success and, of course, consumers are demonstrably aware of the company's world-renowned quality. In fact, Toyota has done so well that, as Liker points out, many consider the company to be "boring." For, after all, steadily growing sales, consistent profitability, huge cash reserves, operational efficiency (combined with constant innovation--not an easy complement to pull off), and top quality, year after year, are not the stuff of breaking news. But, despite this reputation as the best manufacturer in the world, and despite the huge influence of the lean movement, most attempts to emulate and implement lean production have been fairly superficial, with less than stellar results over the long term. "Dabbling at one level--the `Process' level," U.S. companies have embraced lean tools, but do not understand what makes them work together in a system.

This integration is precisely what The Toyota Way examines, explaining how to create a Toyota-style culture of quality, lean, and learning that takes quantum leaps beyond any superficial focus on tools and techniques. Suffice it to say, there are hundreds of books out there explaining, analyzing, and advocating lean--providing details and insight into the tools and methods of TPS. The two most noted among this treasure trove are, of course, the contributions of The Machine That Changed the World (Womack, Jones, Roos, 1991) and Lean Thinking (Womack and Jones, 1996), and both stand as excellent resources on the subject. The first introduced the world to the tools and techniques of lean manufacturing by extracting its principles from their initial Japanese application and examining them in detail. And, the second explained how "to make value flow smoothly at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection."

The Toyota Way is, however (according to Liker), the first business book in English to provide a blueprint of Toyota's management philosophy for general business readers, dispelling the misconceptions that TPS is merely a collection of tools that lead to more efficient operations. Of course, there is no way of ascertaining the validity of this claim, without an extensive and time consuming exploration of the literature, but that truly doesn't matter. The Toyota Way is an approach of such breadth, depth, and significance to the world of business that it has yet to be fully understood; thus, the subject has not yet been fully exhausted. Liker's keen sense of the subtleties of TPS intrepidly challenges conventional understanding and transforms it with eloquent simplicity. He takes the reader deeply and comprehensively into the "heart and intelligence" of Toyota's "way," giving businesses in diverse industries some very practical and effective ideas that they can use to develop their own unique approach to TPS.

Brilliant and well written!, 12 Jan 2007
Jefferey Liker's well reasoned book explains the management principles that enable TOYOTA to outperform its piers - and explains why western managers pre-occupied with `management techniques' can't `go lean', without changing the culture of their organisation

Another good reference guide from the HSE, 14 Feb 2008
This book is mandatory reference material for people involved with electrical safety in the workplace. We use it here at PPL Training for the Part P courses both defined and full scope. For those that are invloved in Part P electrics we would highly recommend this book as reference material for Part P approval vists from Part P competent persons schemes. Teh book is clearly laid out and is not a sparkie read only as other non electrical readers will find it useful.

Introduction to Health and Safety at Work, 11 Apr 2006
This book was supplied at my recent NEBOSH general certificate course and was invaluable in passing said course.
However its use beyond that has also been invaluable, it gives good clear information on most Health and Safety issues to be found in a manufacturing unit. It is not over complicated by legalise, is written in plan English and has a user-friendly index. If I had a criticism it would be that sometimes a subject is spread through out the book but not sure if you can avoid that.

Great for NEBOSH Certificate Students, 04 Feb 2005
This is a great introduction for anyone to health and safety and is an ideal text for anyone studying the NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health. www.SafetyServicesDirect.com

Very Useful Instruction, 27 May 2008
As the title suggests, the book is a step by step guide to Office Project 2007. It walks you through all of the different aspects of Project that a new or intermediate user could be expected to know or benefit from. It also provides a number of "tips" where a more advanced or enquiring user may want to find further information. The layout and structure of the book is very good, which could reasonably be expected, with "Chapters at a Glance", "Summaries of topics covered", "Key points" and very clear formatting to help the reader/user.

As a previous user of an older version of Project, I bought the book as both a refresher to Project and an introduction to the new 07 version. It has certainly delivered on both these counts. However, I would imagine that if I need to develop a more detailed level of knowledge about the software I would probably end up buying a supplemental book as well.

I will be using Project professionally and will need to share my project plans with other stakeholders, in light of this I found the following chapters particularly useful:
*Organising and Formatting Project Details
*Printing Project Information
*Sharing Project Information with Other Programs


Top drawer, 06 Jun 2007
Exceptionally well-written book which almost falls over itself to be helpful, with the Chapter At A Glance page at the start of each chapter and the Quick Reference pages at the beginning.

I've got three other books on Project 2007 and this is easily the most readable and enjoyable. It keeps you interested with the well-worked examples on disc for you to follow along with and imparts a very good depth and breadth of information.

I was uncomfortable with Project before reading this book and tried a lot of tinkering with the software in an attempt to ease my uncertainties. This book takes a lot of the donkey-work out of that process by giving solid exercises to guide you each step of the way.

It gets you up and running in no time and leaves you keen to explore even deeper. The last 50 pages introduce Server but the main thrust is with the desktop application; perfect for my working requirements.

One of the few books which takes the frustration out of the learning process - no hesitation in giving it a maximum 5 out of 5.

Extremely Recommended, 09 Apr 2008
Anyone doing any kind of interface design, or in any way interested in the way people interact with technology should read this book.

Industrial design in a nutshell, 11 Jan 2008
Dome-headed engineering professors call it "human factors engineering," "interaction design" or "usability engineering," but the purpose of this strangely-named discipline is far simpler than these appellations suggest: to make everyday items do what users expect them to do. Donald Norman has been thinking about usability issues longer than almost anyone and has insights commensurate with his experience. Norman knows how both people and machines work (he has degrees in psychology and engineering). More importantly, he knows how to bridge the gulf between the human mind and the devices the mind wants to use, from toasters to telephones to teapots. In this classic, he provides a few simple precepts and many wonderful examples showing how to design the most important component of any technology - the user's experience. While some of Norman's examples are a little long in the tooth (he discusses VCRs, not DVDs), we find that the principles he describes in this friendly book are still sprightly almost 20 years after their initial publication.

Nice Argument for Usability, But Misses the Application , 26 May 2007
"The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald A. Norman is said to be one of those great usability books. I bought mine at a major usability conference, believing the hype. My conclusion: Useful, but overhyped.

Norman takes a theme that says, "Look at history and you will see how the objects we use daily are sensible and functional. Now, design websites and software likewise," and develops a complete book.

Rats. I gave it all away. Now you do not need to buy the book, nor read any its 257 pages.

Really, that's more or less all there is to the book.

It is easy to read, but, in the end, becomes repetitive and is deficient in assisting the reader with application. It points out a problem we need to understand, but offers no solution. It is worth reading, but lacks as an instructional tool.

For the dense-headed, or for someone who has never considered the arguments for thinking about function before form, the book is tremendously useful. Example after example is presented is simple terms so that readers will see that merely having a cool website is not enough.

Where the book does not meet the mark is in the transferring the ideas into something modern, practical, and, in the case of we communications people, websites. What starts with a brilliant exposition about devices being useful ends where it started.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Very good, but dated, 19 Apr 2006
It's an exceptional book, so why have I given it only 4 stars?

Certainly not the books fault, but this book does tend to get recommended to students as the definitive book for software interface design.

The book is quite dated, being just a renamed reprint of 1989 book "The Psychology of Everyday Things", identical content, except with a new foreword.

The insight into the flawed design of everyday objects is amazing, but could have been so much better if instead of just updating the foreword new chapters were added dealing with modern issues (computers, satellite tv, mobile phones, etc).

Reading this book will still make high tech designers better, but don't expect it to be as relevant to you as it was to your lecturer who read it 17 years ago.

Finding Problems with Everyday Things, 22 Dec 2003
This book was a required textbook for design module in my BSc course. It's a very interesting read, and you'll enjoy Mr Norman's examples and explanations of why some things work well and others don't. He explains many design principles such as 'mapping' and 'feedback', and their importance is made made apparent though his many examples and case studies. In general the content of the book is very relevant.

The tone of the book, unfortunately, is very negative. Admittedly, it is easier to find problems than impart praise. It is nevertheless better to teach via good examples. Mr Norman seems to get great pleasure from pointing out when some appliance doesn't meet one of his principles. Perhaps he's still bitter about a bad childhood experience with a badly designed toaster...

Although the content is revelant, it is not well organised. There should at least be a distinct section of the book dedicated to each principle. Instead, the author introduces some principles in point form, and others elsewhere in the text. This makes studying especially difficult, as you spend much of your time making sure you've found all the revelant principles.

For a book on design, I am dissapointed to see that it is more difficult to use than it should be. Mr Norman, as per your request on the last line of the book, here's a weed 0>-,'--

Book title needs refactoring, 27 Oct 2008
This is a great book, and one which any developer will learn a great deal from. In most respects, it is a five-star book, but... the title is misleading. By rights it should be called "Clean Java Code".

Let me explain: I am an ActionScript developer, and bought this book to improve my code style and structure. For the most part, it has done that: the chapters on naming, comments, functions and classes are absolutely superb. But then, huge swathes of the book are devoted exclusively to Java, and use some fairly complex (and, in my opinion, not very well formatted) code to convey their intention.

I don't generally have a problem with using Java-oriented books to learn more general programming concepts (Martin Fowler's "Refactoring" and O'Reilly's Head-First Design Patterns are both books I would recommend to anyone, regardless of their language-of-choice), but around 1/3rd of Bob Martin's book is virtually impenetrable to anyone who does not already have significant Java experience.

That said, I should re-iterate that this book will be hugely valuable to any programmer. I just wish that they had tried to use a little more pseudo-code and a little less real-world examples, with all of the complexities entailed, and I think a lot could have been done to make the Java code more readable for users of other languages.

The bible for writing high quality software, 09 Sep 2008
Uncle Bob (Robert C. Martin) is a recognized expert in todays world of software development. His books "Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns and Practices" and "Agile Principles, Patterns and Practices in C#" should by now be well known by the majority of serious java and C# developers. I read the latter last year, and I was blown away by Uncle Bob's insight into the process of writing software in a manner, that more or less guarantees success for both the customer and the development company.

When "Clean Code" was published I rushed to buy it, and again I am in awe!

This book book hits the nail on why so many software development projects ends up in pain for the developers as the code rots and becomes unmaintainable. Not only are the symptoms cleary described and analyzed, Uncle Bob also provides the remedy. By breaking down the process of cleaning up code into detecting very specific "smells" and heuristics, and by supplying the reader the tools to fix the problems in the software, the reader automatically becomes empowered, inspired and motivated to go and clean up his or her mess.

I strongly believe, that if all developers were to read this book and start living by the rules stated within, life would improve for every single developer, customers would be able to purchase very high quality software products a lot cheaper, and everyone would benefit.

My applause to Uncle Bob - Thank you for this fantastic work of art!

To understand this company's success, first understand its DNA, 31 Jul 2008
I read this book when it was first published in 2004 and recently re-read it, curious to know how well Jeffrey Liker's explanation of Toyota's management principles and lean production values have held up. My conclusion? Very well.

No good purpose would be served by merely listing the 14 management principles, out of context. Liker devotes a separate chapter to each, carefully explaining not only what it is but also how it guides and informs everyone at all levels and in all areas of the Toyota organization. What Liker also accomplishes, and what cannot be adequately summarized in a review such as this, is to explain how all 12 principles are interdependent. Together, they serve as the company's DNA. In the Preface, he recalls asking Fujio Cho (President of Toyota Motor Company) what was unique about his company's remarkable success. His answer was quite simple: "The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements...But what is important is having all the eleme