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The Human Software

Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.

Human Software 279 - Meet The Resistance
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Human Software 279 - Meet The Resistance

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...

Human Software 278 - Available Now in Paperback, Kindle, Leanpub and Elsewhere

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...

Human Software 277 - Amazon E-Book Preorders are NOW LIVE

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...

The Human Software 276 - Dotting the 'i's, Crossing the 't's

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...

The Human Software 275  - HUMAN SOFTWARE: A Life in IT - Coming in September!

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...

The Human Software 274 - Meet the Team

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...

Human Software 273 - Taking a Trip

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...

Human Software 272 - Impatient, Needy Writers

Writers are terribly impatient. We are so fragile, we crave attention all the time. So, for us, writing into a vacuum and not getting anything back is the worst. We will happily take anything including "wow, it really sucked" or "how could you be so old and so feeble at writing?" At this point in the journey of Human Software, I'm so desperate for feedback, I'm even willing to pay for it! So that's what I did. In January, I hired an editor, and he's been great. He helped me with the...

Human Software 271 - Drawing Inspiration from History

Over the last week, I drew a map of Kent reimagined as if the 1286/7 floods hadn't happened. According to the history books, those large storms and tidal events significantly changed the coastline of eastern England. The former Wantsum Channel became blocked with alluvial mud and sand, turning the once important seaport of Sandwich into a landlocked town too far away from the sea to accept large boats. Further afield Dunwich in Suffolk suffered a similar fate: In the Anglo-Saxon period,...

Human Software 270 - Finding Something to Say

Three years ago, I started a podcast without much idea of its future. Before that, I'd started writing, wandering through automation, programming techniques, infrastructure, DevOps, and thoughts about management, leadership, and how companies are organised. Where was I going? While I'd read a few books, it was clear that I was searching for something. Was I just talking for the sake of it? It sometimes certainly seemed that way. And then, about eighteen months ago, I started writing a novel....