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

Absolutely JAM-PACKED with useful, practical insights. The "value per page" ratio of this book is off-the-charts. It's written using very simple, concise language that just distills a ton of great ideas down to their essence. Zero filler, zero BS -- there's basically not a single page in this book that feels like "that was boring / a waste of my time." You'll legitimately get good, solid, usable, practical ideas from basically every page of this book. Additionally, while the focus is for a software business, many of the ideas / points made can be mapped onto many other business models and even many other areas of life. Absolutely worth reading + re-reading in the future.

This book is a great read. First of all, its very efficient, sub 200 pages and a very sparse 200 pages, you can read it in a couple hours. There are a host of conventions about product development processes that are just outdated for today's tools and this book does a great job in articulating how we should be changing our processes and why. It just sounds right to prepare a spec up front to have a clear step by step process, but the reality is thats just not sensible in today's world. The more chaotic, iterative method will get you to the finish line while the spec writers are still debating section 1.2. Today's tools just make it possible (and necessary) to get in front of customers quickly, whether comfortable or not. There's just not much excuse for not investing a couple hours in this book if you are writing web apps or the like. Even if you already do things this way, you will surely encounter objections and this book will arm you with an articulate, credible voice to counter those objections.

I recently purchased both this book and Rework (a slightly newer version of this book) from Amazon.Both books contain invaluable information about business and development that is critical for anyone who loves excelling at their work, running their own business, or thinking of starting their own business.The book is broken up into short chapters, each only a few pages in length, that contain practical advice regarding the chapter topic.Bits of information like:- Be honest and open with your customers.- Infuse your personality into your software.- Build only the most essential features for your product.Are prevalent throughout the book, and presented in an entertaining and insightful way that really makes you question the way you work, the way your business works, and ways to do your work better.I can't recommend that you read both this AND Rework, as the material in both books is very similar, but you should definitely read one of them as they will change your perspective, and help you become better at your job.This book is getting 5 stars because it offers amazing information, and has changed the way I look at development.The best way I can describe the way I felt while reading this book is: it felt like I was reading the Hacker's Manifesto for the first time.If you're wondering whether or not you should get this book or Rework, the answer is yes. Get it. Now.Amazing stuff.

The book is decent for giving common sense advice on how to not let too many distractions effect your business. However, there is way too much content from their other book to justify this book as being separate.

As a big fan of the book  Rework  and as a member of a team that develops web applications, this book seemed like just the thing for my team members and managers to read. I was not disappointed.The principles in Getting Real match what I've learned over years of successful software development. I've shared my copy with team members and it was very well received. One of my coworkers is the sort that has to plan everything out in advance - so much so that he often becomes paralyzed because he can't determine the ideal way to accomplish what he wants. After reading Getting Real, he said he needs to work on adopting more of the practices in the book so he can become more productive. Another coworker, who teaches programming at a local university and at a local college on the side, recommended this book to a fellow teacher to be used as a textbook.Not everything in this book will apply to every situation. Our team works for the government as contractors; we are required to produce a lot of documentation to fulfill our contractual obligations. Outside of our paper deliverables, though, this book is spot on with software development. Getting Real isn't full of theories - it's full of techniques that work. I know this from my experience...the book was a great help in giving that knowledge to my coworkers as well.

Everything about this book is great.The book itself is simple, easy to read and broken up into bite-sized chunks.I can really appreciate this because many authors go on and on talking about topics that aren't relevant and telling long-winded stories.Jason Fried and DHH put their egos aside when they wrote this book. They share what has worked for them and why.Building a software app used to seem daunting to me now, and no doubt, it's hard and complex. But, by making improvement daily over a long period of time, you can really build something special.This is not only about building software but also a common sense approach to building a business. I would give this 6 stars if I could.

Gostei da primeira à última palavra. Um livro que todo empreendedor que quer criar um web app ou startup deveria comer de garfo e faca.

Getting Real is the first book put out by the founders of Basecamp (then called 37 signals). In it you can see all the distinctive qualities of their writing. The language is forceful, the type is large, each idea is given its own loving, brief treatment. The story is simple: Work is about creating things that people will use. To do this you need to have the right people working together in the right way. That’s it. However, presented without any fluff, this can be a counterintuitive thing. To give a flavour of how this manifests here are two chapter headings with their summary:*Fix Time & Budget, Flex Scope*: time and budget seem infinite until they are not, while what you create is definitively finite. If you don’t shift on time and budget it will force you to do the best you can with what you have.*Hire Less & Hire Later*: Every hire without certainty of fit offers more risk than opportunity. Too many hires too quick harms culture. If you have a problem see if you can ignore it before hiring for it. When you do hire take as long as you need.The distinctive aspect of Getting Real compared to other Basecamp books is that it has specific ideas to offer for building a web app not just running a business. If you want to learn how to run an effective business and gain a bag of tricks for app development, this is a good place to start.

I loved the tips and insights for building a web app in this book. I now think this is a must-read for someone building a SaaS.

The content is good, but the print quality of the text is low: the type is pixelated (see picture: unfortunately my phone cam isn't the best).

When I read it several years ago, it definitely influenced the way I work.By the way, you can get the PDF version of it for free, by joining the *37signals's mailing list. Just Google "37signals getting real" or something similar, and you'll find the book's landing page.*although they now call themselves "Basecamp", the book's landing page still calls them 37signals