Wirfs-Brock and her co-worker McKean outline a set of software development practices she devised to design objects with specific roles, known as responsibility-driven design. Her approach involves selecting candidate objects for the design model, defining the responsibilities of an object, and designating the control centers of an application. Later chapters in the book explore options for documenting a design, present strategies for handling exceptions and recovering from errors, and discuss how to characterize software variations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)