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.
Friday 14th April - Back in the Real World
Whether you are a start-up or a long-established business, it’s easy to get distracted by technology hype. I’ve found a good technique is to dream beyond the hype - don’t let the hype define your dreams for you.
Yesterday the JUICE mission was supposed to launch to Jupiter to search for signs of life in the oceans of moons of Jupiter - they will try again this afternoon. I attended a talk by Professor Brian Cox a few weeks ago where he mentioned this mission and painted a picture where by looking back in time to the universe, and looking around us at our nearest neighbours, we make some sense of our own purposes.
We might think that we have some challenges when it comes to deploying software and IT solutions - but this is nothing in comparison to an 8 year, EUR1.6 billion mission.
Are you worried that Kubernetes is too much for your organisation to handle? Have you thought about serverless?
Perhaps you want to use services like AWS Lambda or Azure functions but you're worried about the development experience? Here are a few serverless workflows including SST which is supported by an ex-k8s consultant. Perhaps the mood is changing?
https://arc.codes/docs/en/get-started/quickstart
And here's a nice snippet of a discussion about moving from k8s to serverless from someone who has been there: https://overcast.fm/+X7f58FUHU/23:07
Thanks to Paul Swail for the link!
This week I've been wrapping up a review of some important books in the digital transformation space - check out the latest Lovin' Legacy episode below and the linked article featuring a navigable map of the books below that. Whether you're curious about how to improve software delivery flow or whether you want to understand why software delivery is so complicated and expensive - this is a list of important books which can help you take control of your processes.
Have a great weekend and until next week.
-- Richard
Lovin’ Legacy Podcast: The Business of Legacy – Making Software Change Successful
Published on April 13, 2023
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In this episode I talk about how we make change successful. Because we are bombarded with the need for business change – this means systems change. At the same time, we need to be faster, safer and more secure than ever. How can you learn to make software delivery effortless, and how can you use… Read More »Lovin’ Legacy Podcast: The Business of Legacy – Making Software Change Successful
How Does Ability to Innovate Impact Bottom Line?
Published on April 9, 2023
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…and what to do about it… I wanted to map some classic business efficiency and software delivery books to derive meaning for a given business context. In other words, what book should you read when and why? Coming from a tech/software angle, I’m keen to understand for my business (as well as for my client’s… Read More »How Does Ability to Innovate Impact Bottom Line?
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.
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...
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...
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,...