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.
Human DevOps: Friday 15th March - How to be a Happier Software Engineer
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As a lifelong coder and professional software geek, I've always been interested in the systems we use to build software. Lately, I've realised that these systems are often social — much more so than technical. Consequently, I've connected with the great and the good in the world of what I'm calling "humane software development". For me, this work is spearheaded by the work that Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais have done with Team Topologies. Since the end of last year, I've been an official Team Topologies advocate, and since then I've started working with the core team on bringing the message of Team Topologies to a wider audience. A key part of what makes Team Topologies so useful is the notion that Conway's Law is unavoidable. In other words, we build what our organisation, to some extent, allows us to build. Therefore, we can influence not only what we build but also how we build it by paying close attention to the teams we use to build the software and sensing how much stress they are under. Therefore, part of my work is to understand, at an individual level, how I can improve my team's situation every day. Part of it is through hosting talks such as next week's Amsterdam Fast Flow Meetup. Some of it for me is through writing and connection. Therefore, I've been exploring the social, organizational, and emotional side of building software. What makes us want to build it, and how can we do it together more effectively? When reading about this, it's easy to get very theoretical and as a practical, engineering type, I want solutions. Therefore, this week I wrote "How to be a Happier Software Engineer". This post summarises where I'm going with this newsletter better than anything and hopefully gives you some practical tips on how we can have more fun and get more done at work. If you're interested in how to be a happy software engineer, or how to make those around you happier, or basically looking to get more done and have more fun at work - then stick with me. If not, please click unsubscribe below and you won't hear from me again! Many thanks and have a great weekend. -- Richard How to be a Happier Software EngineerPublished on March 12, 2024 It is incredibly powerful to realise that a single engineer can influence a team’s overall happiness and, by extension, their own happiness. But it can be frustrating sometimes can’t it? Sometimes, people just don’t get it, and sometimes, they don’t get you. Do you remember when you just built stuff? That feeling you get when… Read More »How to be a Happier Software Engineer
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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.
“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...