Working in software you get to see some pretty stupid stuff. And I mean crazy, stupid stuff. Decisions that float down from on high from multiple disparate spheres of influence - sales teams, other business units or just vice-presidents with a Great New Idea[tm] or a pet project. The narrative goes a little like this - the important people get to make choices and us techies have to live with consequences them. Sometimes these decisions are on a whim, an industry hype, a desperate attempt to...
18 days ago • 2 min read
If you happen to be in London next week then I'll be having a little launch party on Wednesday October 15th. It's not just any pub as well, it's the pub that I used to go to when I was working in my first job in software development thirty years ago in 1995. The famous "Wheatsheaf" just off Oxford Street in London. This was the pub where many conversations got technical and many times got heated. I feel that Peter and Dominic would approve of the location. If you're in the area, please drop...
21 days ago • 1 min read
When I first started working in software, I discovered that were some battles you could win and some you couldn't. There were some decisions that no matter how logically you argued against you them, would occur anyway because that's just the way it is. Some people think this is a naive way of being; arguing against the status quo. I believe it's hopeful and humanistic to question our environment. Naivety in the form of hope lasts throughout life. I believe ultimately that people want to do...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Hello there, I've just posted this announcment on LinkedIn - please like and share. Thank you! Two years ago, I started writing a novel about IT and Software Development. Why? Well, I'd loved reading "The Phoenix Project" and "The Unicorn Project", and I wanted something a little more realistic, a bit grittier. I wasn't writing a business book; I was writing a story set in the IT and Software Development world. A story where agile transformations don't work, a story where we cut corners to...
30 days ago • 1 min read
Special announcement! Human Software: A Life in I.T. the novel is now available on Amazon for pre-order. If you would like to pre-order and have it available immediately on your Kindle on release next Thursday 25th September then you can pre-order here. The first preview copy I received from Amazon The paperback version will be published around the same time, September 26th-27th. Unfortunately Amazon does not allow pre-orders for physical books plus availability online is within a 72 hour...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
We're in to the last days of summer here in Amsterdam. This morning, out on the Amstel, there were plenty of joggers, cyclists and rowers taking full advantage of it. And just like them, next week I'll be busy starting the promotion for "Human Software: A Life in I.T." I've had to make a slight change to the publication date due to some extra changes needed on the layout, but I hope you'll agree it'll be worth the wait. I was fortunate enough to receive lovely reviews this week and I'm...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
I hope you've had a good summer and are re-energised and looking forward to lowering yourself back into the tepid pool of work for the remainder of the year. Here's a view from a charming street market in Aix-en-Provence. Shortly afterwards, I made it to the Paul Cezanne exhibit at the Museé Granet where I was inspired to think about new ideas for the cover of HUMAN SOFTWARE. Sweltering on a sunny day in Provence The big news is, HUMAN SOFTWARE has a release date! e-pub will be available on...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Just like "Parts Unlimited" in "The Phoenix Project" - a good tech story needs an interesting company to base its story upon. So over the last week I put together a little corporate website for Gerbach Inc. On it you can meet some of the leadership team and find out a little more about what Gerbach does and where it does business. The Gerbach Logo Gerbach's head office is based in Sandport in the UK. Sandport is a fictional town based on Sandwich in Kent - my hometown. Since the 1950s there...
3 months ago • 1 min read
I've spent the last two months (a short trip to Iceland aside) working on the next set of edits for HUMAN SOFTWARE. In all honesty, I thought I'd just be doing a little bit of light word work when it came to this round but as it transpired, I ended up changing about a third of the content. A few chapters were discarded, and numerous rewrites were made in the name of pacing and tension building. What I hope we've ended up with is a more intriguing and interesting journey for Beth and Chrissie...
4 months ago • 1 min read