Continuous Delivery eBook from Zend – views from 29 authors

I was recently asked to contribute to an eBook from Zend about moving to Continuous Delivery (CD). The 29 authors in the book share a wide range of experience with CD, and there is plenty of useful advice;  the contributions from Mathias Meyer (@roidrage), Kate Matsudaira (@katemats), and Jamie Ingilby (@jamiei) are particularly worth reading, I think.

In my section of the book I explain how using ThoughtWorks GO to model the testing and release steps (effectively part of the value stream) we won trust from several different people and teams during a move to CD. Using a prototype also helped us to validate the activities undertaken:

We tried to empathize with their situation and, using role-based security in the deployment pipeline, uncovered enough information to give them a sense of visibility and control.

Without being able to visualise and communicate easily the activities we were automating, progress would have been slow or even blocked.

Get a free copy of the eBook here: http://bit.ly/ZendCDbook

Zend eBook CD

Early version of our book ‘Build Quality In’ now available to buy

I am very pleased that the first version of the Build Quality In book has been published on LeanPub, with contributions from Chris O’Dell and Dave Farley (co-author of the book Continuous Delivery). The book is edited by me and Steve Smith.

In the spirit of  ‘lean’, we’re publishing a new version of the book whenever one or two additional contributions are ready; you can see the expected publication schedule on the LeanPub page. Buyers of the book receive free updates for life, so buy your copy now at the early bird price!

Build Quality In - book cover

Operability: a DevOps cornerstone – new eBook from HighOps

HighOps operability eBook - coverOne of the driving forces behind DevOps is the increasing prevalence of complex, distributed software systems which calls for a substantially different approach to building ‘business’ software systems: an approach that anticipates and expects failures, transient behaviour, emergent states, and unpredictability; and ensures that failure responses are gradual, graceful, and graphable.

‘Making software work well’ in this dynamic, interconnected world is the focus of Software Operability, a subject I have been writing and speaking about for some time.

I recently began working with IT operations experts HighOps (@gotHighOps) and we have published a free eBook Operability: a DevOps Cornerstone. The book covers the fundamentals of operability, why it’s relevant, how to build and sustain a focus on operability,and how operability relates to both DevOps and IT service management approaches such as ITIL.

If you lead the Technology division, head up a software development department or IT operations department, or lead a development or operations team, and want to understand why and how to make your software systems work better, then this book is for you. If you are involved in Service Transition or Service Operation, this eBook will help you to make the case for a strong focus on the operational aspects of the software being delivered. Similarly, if your role is a Software Architect, you will find here sound practical guidance for improving how your software works
in Production.

Download the HighOps eBook ‘Operability: a DevOps Cornerstone’ here.