A book on software development with the subtitle Results are not the point? Is that just attention-grabbing provocation or are the authors on to something?
This is one of the first books on the management and organization of software development that I read, so take the following notes with a grain salt due to my lack of perspective.
The Poppendiecks have been consulting on applying lean principles to software development for years, and they have written on it before in Lean Software Development and Implementing Lean Software Development (see their website). The “Leading …” book builds on these two. A colleague recommended and lent this book to me, so I read it out of order. That, and the fact that I’m not familiar with the whole “lean” concept beyond some rudimentary basics, made the book somewhat difficult to digest. Each chapter made sense to me, but my brain is still struggling to assemble the content into a coherent whole.
Lacking the foundations of Lean, I had to look at the book at a generic guide on best practices in management, organization, and communication. Maybe that’s not a bad way of approaching such a book. Its structure certainly makes sense from that point of view. Six chapters address major factors in successful product design and delivery: Systems Thinking, Technical Excellence, Reliable Delivery, Relentless Improvement, Great People, Aligned Leaders.
In the introduction, the authors note that since everyone sees the world through a particular “frame”, different people and thus organizations might see their surroundings in vastly different ways. This limits the questions you ask and the alternatives you consider. When things don’t work out, your frame of reference may have been off. Building on this observation, the book’s chapters are composed of frames, that is different views on the development process. Real-world examples introduce and connect the frames. This structure allows the authors to focus on individual aspects of success while keeping the full range of software projects in view.
With 24 frames, the book packs a surprising amount of content into 250 pages. Fully summarizing it would be time-consuming and pointless--the book itself is readable and without filler content. Nevertheless, a few chapters or frames stood out for me.
In Technical Excellence, the authors make a strong point for emphasizing quality, for instance through test-driven development and evolutionary iterations, and excellence, through valuing expertise and avoiding the senseless “promotion” of the best developers to managers. These points are not new to developers, but it’s great to see them put forth so strongly in a management book.
Aligned Leaders contains several nuggets of insight into teams and leadership that I found fascinating. I’ve never lead a team larger than two part-time programmers, so I’m sure someone with experience would read these chapters through a different frame. The authors state that knowledge workers must necessarily be independent and self-directed; if their job doesn’t allow that, they cannot do their best work. Therefore, the role of a manager can only be to set the tone and to otherwise focus on making people better--through caring, respect, and coaching.
Overall, the book impressed me with its combination of insightful content, clear and natural writing, and constant referral to real-world examples. You might want to start with the authors’ introductory Lean Software Development, though, to better understand the underlying ideas.
Leading Lean Software Development by Mary and Tom Poppendieck. Addison-Wesley, 2010.