Technology – especially social media – has made our communication more accessible over the last ten years. But has it enhanced the quality of our conversation? In this book, Phillips contends that empathy has lost out in the transition to digital technology. She cites events like the 2016 US election as proof of how we are unable to have a civilized conversation in the digital world. Thus far (in the first couple chapters in the…
This book helped change the way that software development is generally practiced, from the leadership to the programmers, from the business to the design. It is important to note that this book has been delivered in two very different editions. The first edition in 1999 set the direction while the second edition in 2005 brought insight out of several years of experience in an updated text. What’s so “extreme” about Extreme Programming? First, it advocates…
This work, written about four decades ago, tells the true tale of how a team of computer engineers built a new computer. In an era contemporaneous to Apple Computer’s founding, Data General computers built affordable new computers for the masses. A group of engineers built a new circuit board that eventually pushed itself to the forefront of the market. This book is about engineers and the culture of engineering more than anything else. It’s about…
This work is a sequel to Kim’s other novel The Phoenix Project. Although the books fit together, they need not be read together. In other words, both books are self-standing. This work – essentially about dealing with the software industry in an age of constant change – does an even better job than The Phoenix Project at highlighting how businesses can adapt to and thrive in the digital era. The book is set in an…
Colin Ware directs a Data Visualization Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire. His education is broad and interesting: He holds degrees both in computer science and the psychology of perception. He is a (the?) leading expert on integrating neuroscience and psychology with computer graphics. Most computer graphics books teach how to make things that look cool. This book takes a different tact and discusses why things look cool in terms of the brain’s…
Computers – and particularly the Internet – have opened up new avenues for crime to occur. To programmers (like myself), they pose a new option of choosing good over evil. In this work, Poulsen documents and depicts the work of Max Vision, a hacker who ended up conducting a cybercrime ring of illegal credit cards. This ring duped financial institutions of hundreds of millions of dollars. Fortunately, the feds busted this ring and decimated the…
This work was published in 2004 – a lifetime ago for the field of software design. It tackles issues relevant in 2004 but are standard practice today. Its basic message – learn not just the software but also the domain – is an important one, but most of the insights has been absorbed into computer-programming praxis over the last fifteen years. Its strength is in delineating how the programmer is to relate to the domain…
For those in the software industry, DevOps is a word we have encountered in the past few years without knowing precisely what it means. It’s generally a movement to break down silos in between Development teams and Operations teams within organizations – all with an eye to enhance the business. In this work, Viktor Farcic interviews a bunch of people with the primary question, “What is DevOps?” They all center around this same definition. To…
Techniques called “agile” comprise a more iterative approach to developing software. In many ways, it treats software as an open text instead of a fixed product. Agile development is used in most leading software shops around the world. This book treats a specific element of agile development – the retrospective. After each iteration or release, the team is gathered to discuss the last period of time and to seek improvement for the next time. This…
I’m reading this book to be prepared for a software launch that might happen in the next few months. I read a book like this to ensure that I am on top of my IT game when it comes to responding to life forces. Stories like this tell how powerful information technology can be at transforming organizations when coupled with a simple desire to learn from each other. Too often, those in IT keeps their…