Software Delivery Club Newsletter 2023-01-27


We're almost at the end of January - deep breath.

Another busy week as I prepare for an upcoming talk all about Rosegarden: A Slumbering Giant at FOSDEM '23 in Brussels in just over a week's time. In the talk I'll be exploring the motivations that a couple of young coders had for starting a project that is somehow going over 20 years later - despite neither of them now being involved in the development of it at all. Should be fun - if you're in the area then it's free to go to FOSDEM - I believe no registration is required either. Come and say hi!

Alongside that I released a new episode of the Lovin' Legacy podcast. I talked to Jacob Lafors about his Verifa's approach to implementing Continuous Delivery, the use of Value Stream Mapping and what it means to build a developer platform. A really nice chat with Jacob and I think we'll need to do it again at some point in the future as we covered a lot!

I've also been working on the Legacy Workshop - I'll be doing a trial run in a couple of weeks and will aim to run it as a webinar after that. Want to stay informed? You can subscribe to the list here:

https://legacycoding.org/workshops/

In preparation for this workshop, I've been writing React and Java all week - it also gives me the excuse to do it really badly as that's kind of the point.

Hope you enjoy the content below, and as always, drop me a line to let me know how you're getting on.

Have a great weekend,

Richard​


Defining the Bounded Context is the Key to Flow

Published on January 27, 2023

One of the core concepts of Domain Driven Design (Eric Evans) is the Bounded Context. Here’s an excellent summary of the Bounded Context in DDD and a specification of how it should relate to source code organisation and team structure. The summary states that: This ties in with the notation of what Team Topologies says… Read More »Defining the Bounded Context is the Key to Flow

Read more...

Building Software in a Post-Agile World

Published on January 26, 2023

At the moment, especially in tech, there appears to be so little time to think. Reacting seems to be the order of the day. This means people are getting fired. People are getting scared, and those still in a job are rightly worried. How can we make sense of the tech world and where it’s… Read More »Building Software in a Post-Agile World

Read more...

What is Product Engineering?

Published on January 25, 2023

When I was a Head of Engineering for a SaaS. I was notionally (and nominally) working in Software Product Engineering. My take on this was that it meant that we should focus on the product – which meant in turn, focusing on the customer. However, it never really felt like we were looking at products… Read More »What is Product Engineering?

Read more...

Learning to Fight Complexity

Published on January 24, 2023

If we acknowledge that we live in a software engineering world where complexity is inevitable, you may ask, what’s the point in trying to change anything about how we work? Additionally, with so many clamouring voices around us trying to make us see sense, how can we go from day to day, making a difference… Read More »Learning to Fight Complexity

Read more...

2023: So Where Now?

Published on January 21, 2023

This has been a tough week for many in tech. Mass layoffs announced by Google, Facebook and Microsoft total over 30,000. Many commentators seem to think that Elon Musk’s approach to his takeover has given carte blanche to tech leaders to swing the axe with the year-end review process. Also, there is evidence further down… Read More »2023: So Where Now?

Read more...

Human DevOps

DevOps at is the heart of modern software systems. In my regular newsletter, I dive into the human factors that make successful engineering organizations where teams and platforms thrive at the heart of your socio-technical systems. From leadership to team setup, maximizing performance, tools and techniques.

Read more from Human DevOps

“Through the years, I have learned there is no harm in charging oneself up with delusions between moments of valid inspiration... Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.” – Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life You're receiving this because you subscribed to receive updates about "Human Software" or you're on my Human DevOps mailing list. The summer season is upon us. Originally I was aiming to have some early chapters of my debut novel "Human Software" available to...

It has not by any means been a good summer in the Netherlands. It's been very wet and the last few days have also been extremely windy. At work, on the streets and on the roads, there is a tension. I try to take the time to go out for a lunchtime walk at least a couple of times a week and took this photo last week during a gap in the rain. The Middelpolder And we head towards the summer break, make sure to take some time to relax before you face the serious business of relaxation. I'm taking...

I lived in London in 1997 when the Tony Blair "New Labour" government swept into power. It was a time of great hope and audacity. It felt like "we" could do anything, but then I was 25 years old and living in London, and indeed, anything did, in fact, feel possible because I was at the dawn of my career without responsibilities or the weight of history behind my thoughts and actions. So perhaps older and wiser, we are here. The UK has been (according to some) bitten down by 14 years of Tory...