About the Author​


Steve Maguire is a software engineer and author known for applying engineering discipline to complex, real-world systems.

He began his career in the early days of personal computing and became a Senior Developer at Microsoft, where he worked on Macintosh applications and early versions of Microsoft Excel before Windows existed. After leaving Microsoft, he wrote the award-winning books Writing Solid Code and Debugging the Development Process, both of which became best-sellers and were used in university courses for years.

Maguire spent the next 15 years in sales while simultaneously building software to help salespeople do their jobs more effectively. That dual perspective—selling and engineering at the same time—led him to online marketing and web-based tracking.

He later joined the ClickMagick team, where he spent eight years helping make accurate, real-time tracking accessible to solopreneurs and small business owners. This book reflects the through-line of his career: understanding systems well enough to measure what matters—and ignore what doesn’t.

Maguire lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Beth.
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Other Books​

Software Development Books

What the Hell is ROAS? is Steve’s third book. His first two books are on advanced software development and also filled gaps that weren’t covered at the time he wrote them in the early ’90s. They both became instant best-sellers, won numerous awards, and were used as college texts for years.