This was a real slog. The book leans heavily on stereotypes and cliches, and talks a lot about (awful) people's (awful) feelings, and needed a lot more editing. There are interesting ideas in there, but I think I would've been better off just reading the appendices (or maybe the DevOps Handbook, which is up next). ( )

Could relate every page of the book as I was once a configuration and release manager. ( )

This is a superb fictional book about a recently promoted VP of IT Operations, the challenges he encounters in the dysfunctional organisation he is in and how he turns IT around to be efficient and flexible. There are lots of great pearls of wisdom throughout with lots of manufacturing analogies. An easy read. ( )

This was recommended at work and as a newbie to the IT world I can easily see why.

Coming into the 2020s in IT and it seems like a lot of these processes outlined are the norm (i.e. Kanban boards, CI/CD pipelines, Agile etc) but I found it instructive to understand the original problems these processes were trying to solve. It certainly seems like a nightmare in many respects and you end up relating with Bill a lot with his current predicament. I am especially glad that I read this book after joining an actual mid-sized company because otherwise a lot of the insights would've been wasted on me. I just wouldn't have much relevancy for them in my mind if I was working alone or in a very small company.

The book's novelised format was the other main selling point for me. Just like with The Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll, I find that books like these are rare - an accurate portrayal of an insightful real life scenario packaged in an enjoyable novel (and novel!) format. You're learning a lot by seeing these principles actually applied by a protagonist.

I have already set aside Goldratt's The Goal in my TBR after seeing it recommended in this book, and I'm excited for it! ( )

If you work in IT you need to read it. ( )