Software-Technology - Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause & New Solution for Cybersecurity

By Scott J. Pearson | October 1, 2023October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

A career in technology requires acumen in a specific domain. However, as one’s career builds, people skills (so-called “soft skills”) come more to the fore. Suddenly, being the “smartest person in the room” is of limited benefit. Indeed, it can be a handicap because that means that you don’t have anyone to counterbalance your ideas and to collaborate with. Cybersecurity CEO Christian Espinosa tries to guide those in technology how to transition from someone proficient…

Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools & Insights for Managing Software People & Teams

By Scott J. Pearson | September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Many books on managing software development focus on small subsets of the management process. For example, many books on agile fill bookstores; others propose a well-studied answer to a particular problem; still others provide anecdotes and inspiration to often-overtaxed managers. This book fits into none of those categories. Instead, it seeks to provide a comprehensive treatment on how to manage software development by managing individuals instead of processes. This modern approach fits more in line…

Society Software-Technology

The Age of AI: And Our Human Future

By Scott J. Pearson | August 15, 2023August 15, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Public fascination with artificial intelligence (AI) has only increased since this book was published in 2021. AI technologies, such as Chat GPT, have entered mainstream society and are being used in everyday business work. Publicly, however, leaders from philosophy, business, and government do not appear yet ready to grapple with the deep human questions involved. For example, when do we defer to AI bots over human agency? Are we ready for AI tools of war…

Management-Business Software-Technology

Building Great Software Engineering Teams: Recruiting, Hiring & Managing Your Team from Startup to Success

By Scott J. Pearson | August 3, 2023August 13, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Building excellent software is an intricate task that requires a great deal of technical expertise. Managing people who build software is also an intricate task, but the required skillset is different. A manager has to be a good enough developer to be respected, but she/he must also have “soft skills” to finesse interpersonal situations. Instead of a technical challenge, management becomes a way of life and leading. With a particular focus on software engineering, Josh…

Indie Software-Technology

Software Quality Assurance 101: Best Practices Made Easy

By Scott J. Pearson | July 25, 2023October 20, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Quality assurance (QA) is an essential part of software development. It helps ensure that newly developed software actually does what it’s intended to. This seems like a deceptively easy task at first, but testing is, in truth, a skilled art-form. In this book, Rachelle Rood and Jessica Parker attempt to orient those just entering the field how to approach their work. They break down complex topics while pointing practitioners how to add value to software…

Management-Business Software-Technology

World Class IT: Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs

By Scott J. Pearson | July 24, 2023July 24, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

In the years following this 2009 book, the central place of information technology (IT) in the business world has only become recognized more and more. The COVID pandemic accelerated trends whereby IT plays a critical role in global business culture. Peter High’s book fixed the paradigm for how successful IT might be leveraged for business success. Almost 15 years later, the question then becomes: Is it still relevant? Yes, I argue. This classic helps us…

Management-Business Software-Technology

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing & Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers

By Scott J. Pearson | July 14, 2023July 14, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Most technology products begin with technologists playing in their environments. They then pick up steam when early visionaries figure out how to use it to expand their individual platforms and gain a competitive edge. However, many, if not most, products die there and never find their way to mainstream use. In this classic book, Geoffrey Moore explains why. The motives that drive these first two groups are different than the motives of mainstream customers, whom…

Management-Business Software-Technology

Product Management In Practice: A Real-World Guide to the Key Connective Role of the 21st Century

By Scott J. Pearson | June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Product management is a new role in the world of business. Mainly centered around building and deploying technology, product managers began to spring up in early-21st-century corporations. They have been pioneered by organizations around computer technologies, like Intel, Google, or Microsoft. As common with most new roles, figuring out how to meet the challenge on day one can be daunting. To fill that need, Matt LeMay provides a book filled with sage advice from somewhere…

Society Software-Technology

Is the Algorithm Plotting Against Us? A Layperson’s Guide to the Concepts, Math & Pitfalls of AI

By Scott J. Pearson | June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Post-pandemic, perhaps no STEM topic has gripped the news quite like Artificial Intelligence (AI). For almost a century (since Isaac Asimov), science-fiction writers have dreamed of computers gaining consciousness, but now, some propose those possibilities near fruition. Often, people who write about AI in the news focus solely on social aspects; those developing the technology, in contrast, focus solely on technical details. Few individuals can provide a balanced look that relates both levels. Kenneth Wenger’s…

Biography-Memoir Software-Technology

The Philosopher of Palo Alto: Mark Weiser, Xerox PARC & the Original Internet of Things

By Scott J. Pearson | May 18, 2023August 13, 2023 by Scott J. Pearson

Palo Alto sits at the center of Silicon Valley as the world capital of technological development. In the final decades of the twentieth century, Xerox’s PARC labs held an eminent place within its culture and helped expand ideas like Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) and “ubiquitous computing.” The man who coined the latter phrase is Mark Weiser, a late scholar whose work I was not intimately acquainted with until reading this work. In this biography of…