Hello World! This is usually the first computer program developers learn to write. But here its a way to just say hi to you, whoever you are! I am an independent developer, coach and mentor who worked for almost 20 years in the industry for large organisations worldwide. Now I have family with 2 kids, my wife and a house in small town, doing consulting gigs remotely in roles such as software architect, developer experience consultant and mentor other people in tech/software development teams. Here I'd like to meet new mentors and mentees, opening my experience to a much wider audience, I hope ;)
My Mentoring Topics
- Starting and advancing your career in tech
- Understanding the needs of Developers from a Stakeholder perspective
- Organising your life working from home
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Team Topologies - Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow
Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais
Key Insights from the Book: Four Fundamental Team Topologies: The book introduces four types of team structures: Stream-aligned, Enabling, Complicated-Subsystem, and Platform teams. These structures play a crucial role in improving software delivery performance. Interaction Modes: The book outlines three modes of interaction: Collaboration, X-as-a-Service, and Facilitating. These modes help to create clear and efficient communication pathways between different teams. Cognitive Load: The authors discuss the concept of cognitive load and its impact on team performance and productivity. They emphasize the need to consider cognitive load while designing team structures. Fracture Plane: The book introduces the concept of a fracture plane – a logical boundary that separates different areas of the system. This concept helps to organize teams around the system's natural boundaries. Team-first Approach: The authors suggest a team-first approach where the team topology is designed first, and then the work is assigned. This approach ensures that the team’s structure aligns with the overall business strategy. Evolutionary Change: The book discusses the importance of evolutionary change in the team structure, explaining that teams should evolve as the system grows and changes. Team APIs: The authors introduce the concept of Team APIs, a set of expectations and agreements that guide how teams interact with each other. This concept promotes consistency and efficiency in team interactions. In-depth Summary and Analysis: "Team Topologies - Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow" by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais is a revolutionary book that offers a fresh perspective on team structure and interactions in the context of business and technology. The book presents a compelling argument for rethinking the conventional wisdom about team organization in favor of a more flexible, adaptive approach. At the core of the book are the four fundamental team topologies: Stream-aligned, Enabling, Complicated-Subsystem, and Platform teams. Each team structure serves a specific purpose and is designed to maximize efficiency in software delivery. The Stream-aligned team is responsible for a particular product or service stream, enabling teams to provide temporary support to overcome obstacles, Complicated-Subsystem teams handle parts of the system that require specialized knowledge, and Platform teams provide a self-service API to other teams. The authors also identify three modes of interaction between teams - Collaboration, X-as-a-Service, and Facilitating. By defining clear modes of interaction, teams can better understand their roles and responsibilities, thereby reducing friction and increasing productivity. A crucial concept introduced in the book is that of cognitive load. The authors argue that the efficiency of a team is directly related to the cognitive load it carries. They recommend designing team structures that consider each team member's cognitive capacity, thereby improving overall performance and productivity. The book also introduces the idea of a fracture plane, a logical boundary within a system where it can be split into different areas. This concept provides a useful tool for organizing teams around the natural boundaries of the system, promoting autonomy and reducing coordination needs. The authors advocate for a team-first approach to work assignment. They argue that by designing the team topology first and then assigning the work, businesses can ensure alignment between the team’s structure and the overall business strategy. The book also recognizes the importance of evolutionary change in team structures. As the system grows and changes, so should the teams. This approach ensures that the team structure remains relevant and effective. Lastly, the book introduces the concept of Team APIs - a set of expectations and agreements that guide how teams interact with each other. This concept promotes consistency and efficiency in team interactions, reducing the potential for misunderstandings and conflicts. In conclusion, "Team Topologies - Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow" offers valuable insights and practical strategies for improving team structure and interactions. By applying these insights, businesses can significantly enhance their software delivery performance, leading to improved productivity and better business outcomes.
ViewAccelerate - The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations
Nicole Forsgren PhD, Jez Humble, Gene Kim
Key Facts or Insights from the book Lean Software Development and DevOps practices have a direct impact on IT performance and organizational performance. Building quality into products is more efficient than inspecting at the end of production. High-performing organizations decisively outperform their lower-performing peers. They have more frequent code deployments, faster lead time from commit to deploy, faster time to recover from downtime, and lower change failure rate. The right culture is a critical aspect of IT performance. The book introduces the concept of a generative culture, which emphasizes learning and continuous improvement. Automation is a key factor in improving both deployment frequency and lead time for changes. Continuous delivery and lean management practices drive higher IT and organizational performance. Measurement and monitoring are crucial for improving performance. The book introduces four key metrics that matter for DevOps: lead time, deployment frequency, mean time to restore (MTTR), and change fail percentage. Transformational leadership is essential for achieving high performance in technology organizations. DevOps is not just for startups or tech companies - it can generate significant value in large, complex organizations. High performers make use of loosely coupled architectures and teams, enabling them to make changes more effectively and efficiently. Investing in DevOps capabilities can deliver powerful competitive advantage. Summary and Analysis The book, co-authored by Nicole Forsgren PhD, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim, is an invaluable resource for understanding the principles and practices that drive high performance in technology organizations. It presents a rigorous, data-driven argument for why DevOps and Lean principles matter, backed by four years of research and data from more than 2000 data points. Lean Software Development and DevOps are presented as vital methodologies for any organization that seeks to improve its performance and competitiveness through software. The authors argue that software development should not be seen as a cost center but as a strategic capability that can provide a competitive advantage. One of the key insights from the book is the importance of building quality into products rather than inspecting at the end of production. This is a core principle of Lean Manufacturing, applied here to software development. The authors argue that this approach reduces waste, speeds up delivery, and leads to better products. The book makes a compelling case that high-performing organizations significantly outperform their lower-performing peers, with more frequent code deployments, faster lead times, lower change failure rates, and quicker recovery from downtime. These performance advantages translate to organizational benefits, such as increased profitability, market share, and customer satisfaction. A central theme is the role of culture in IT performance. The authors introduce the concept of a generative culture, which values learning and continuous improvement. Such cultures foster innovation, collaboration, and high performance. Automation is another key factor in improving performance. The authors demonstrate how automation in testing, deployment, and other areas can improve deployment frequency and lead time for changes. The book emphasizes the importance of continuous delivery and lean management practices. Continuous delivery enables organizations to get changes of all types into production safely and quickly in a sustainable way. Lean management practices, such as visual management and a culture of continuous improvement, contribute to higher IT and organizational performance. Measurement and monitoring are identified as crucial for improving performance. The authors propose four key metrics that matter for DevOps: lead time, deployment frequency, mean time to restore (MTTR), and change fail percentage. By focusing on these four metrics, organizations can drive improvements in their DevOps practices. The book stresses the importance of transformational leadership in achieving high performance in technology organizations. Leaders must inspire and motivate their teams, promote a clear vision, intellectually stimulate their followers, and provide supportive leadership. Finally, the authors dispel the myth that DevOps is only for startups or tech companies. They argue that DevOps can generate significant value in large, complex organizations. They also point out the benefits of loosely coupled architectures and teams, which enable organizations to make changes more effectively and efficiently. In conclusion, the book provides a comprehensive and evidence-based guide to the principles and practices that drive high performance in technology organizations. It makes a compelling case that investing in DevOps capabilities can deliver powerful competitive advantage. The book's insights and recommendations align well with my own experience and observations as a professor dealing with these topics. I believe it is an essential read for anyone involved in software development or IT operations.
ViewLifelong Kindergarten - Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play
Mitchel Resnick
Key Facts and Insights from the Book Resnick emphasizes the importance of cultivating creativity from an early age, and the need to infuse this in education systems. He proposes the four P’s of creative learning – Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play. The book introduces the concept of the "Creative Learning Spiral", a process involving imagining, creating, playing, sharing, reflecting, and imagining again. Resnick highlights the role of technology as a powerful tool to express and nurture creativity. The book discusses the importance of learning through doing, experimenting, and making mistakes. Resnick critically assesses the current education system, highlighting its focus on standardized tests and memorization rather than creativity and innovation. He presents a strong case for the adoption of a “Lifelong Kindergarten” model in our education system. The book is filled with several real-life examples of children who have benefitted from the Lifelong Kindergarten approach. Resnick discusses the constructionist theory of education, a learning theory pioneered by Seymour Papert that emphasizes the importance of learners actively constructing knowledge. Resnick presents the Scratch programming language as an embodiment of the Lifelong Kindergarten philosophy. The book concludes with a call for action to educators, parents, and policymakers to embrace the principles of Lifelong Kindergarten, to help children develop the skills and mindsets needed in today's rapidly changing world. An In-Depth Analysis of the Book In "Lifelong Kindergarten - Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play", Mitchel Resnick presents a compelling argument for the need to reimagine our education system. He puts forth a strong case for fostering creativity and innovation in learners from an early age, setting a foundation for lifelong learning. The core of Resnick’s proposal lies in the four P’s of creative learning – Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play. He advocates for a project-based learning approach, where learners embark on creative projects that they are passionate about. This approach enables learners to learn by doing, actively constructing knowledge rather than passively receiving it. They also learn from their peers, fostering a culture of collaboration and shared learning. Play is a crucial component of this approach, as it encourages experimentation and learning from failure. The book introduces the concept of the "Creative Learning Spiral", a cyclical process that begins with imagining what you want to do, creating a project based on your idea, playing with your creation, sharing it with others, reflecting on the experience, and then imagining new ideas based on your reflections. This iterative process fosters a culture of creativity and continuous learning. Resnick presents technology as a powerful tool to express and nurture creativity, citing the example of the Scratch programming language. Developed by his team at the MIT Media Lab, Scratch allows children to create their own interactive stories, games, and animations, embodying the principles of the Lifelong Kindergarten approach. Resnick critically assesses the current education system, highlighting its focus on standardized tests, memorization, and conformity. This approach, he argues, fails to equip learners with the skills and mindsets needed in today's rapidly changing world. He presents a strong case for the adoption of a “Lifelong Kindergarten” model in our education system, a model that values creativity, curiosity, and collaboration over rote memorization and standardization. The book is filled with several real-life examples of children who have benefitted from the Lifelong Kindergarten approach. These examples serve to illustrate the potential impact of this approach in fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, and lifelong learning. Resnick's work is grounded in the constructionist theory of education, a learning theory pioneered by Seymour Papert. This theory emphasizes the importance of learners actively constructing knowledge, and views learning as a deeply personal and social process. It echoes the principles of the Lifelong Kindergarten approach, underscoring the importance of projects, passion, peers, and play in the learning process. The book concludes with a call for action to educators, parents, and policymakers to embrace the principles of Lifelong Kindergarten. Only by doing so, Resnick argues, can we equip our children with the skills and mindsets they need to thrive in today's rapidly changing world.
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