I have read a lot of books over the years and thought a good place to start with my blog would be to share some of the best ones I found recently. Here is a list of books I have found useful in my career and personal life. I hope you find them useful too. The books are in no particular order.

There were enough books that I will create a part 2 to this post. Save everyone from the wall of text.

I may one day to individual posts about some of these books, but for now, I will give a small look into each one here.

Books

The Phoenix Project

Author: Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

This book is a fiction book about a company that is struggling to deliver software. Using this story framing the author is able to explain a concept called the three ways. The Three Ways are principles that can be applied to any organization to help them deliver software faster and with fewer errors. It also touches on Kanban and DevOps. This book uses the fictional Parts Unlimited company to show how these principles can be applied in a real world setting.

This book is a good option for anyone who is looking to implement DevOps in their organization.

The Three Ways

• Flow and Systems Thinking
• Amplifying Feedback Loops
• A Culture of Continual Experimentation and Learning

The Unicorn Project

Author: Gene Kim

This book is a fiction book about a company that is struggling to deliver software. The book is a follow-up to The Phoenix Project. The story once again takes place at the fictional Parts Unlimited company but this time the main character is a senior software developer who has gotten shoved onto the Phoenix Project team. It goes into more detail about the technical side of things than The Phoenix Project. It also touches on the concept of the Five Ideals. There is a group in the book called the rebellion who are trying to build an engineering culture that gives the freedom, safety and tools to be at their productive best to the developers. Through this journey, many of the key concepts of DevOps are explained.

This book is a good option for anyone who is looking to implement DevOps in their organization.

The Five Ideals

• Locality and Simplicity
• Focus, Flow, and Joy
• Improvement of Daily Work
• Psychological Safety
• Customer Focus

The DevOps Handbook

Author: Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Dobois, John Willis, Nicole Forsgren (2nd Edition)

This book follows on from The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project but this time it is a non-fiction book that goes into more detail about the concepts of DevOps. It is packed with case studies and real-world examples of various DevOps concepts and transformations. It goes into a lot more detail about the Tree Ways and deep dives into each one.

This is a great book to read if you are looking to implement DevOps in your organization.

Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track

Author: Will Larson

This book is a be-all guide to the world of Staff Engineering. It goes into detail about what a Staff Engineer is and what they do. It expands it with the concept of the Staff Plus Engineer, Staff, Senior Staff and Principal Engineer being the most common. It gives practical advice on how to get a Staff Plus Engineering role and what to do once you get there. It also contains several interviews with Staff Engineers from various companies to give you an idea about the differences that are experienced in the role across the industry.

This is a great book for anyone who is looking to move into a Staff Engineering role or who is looking to employ Staff Engineers.

An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management

Author: Will Larson

This book is a hands-on perspective on engineering management from someone who has worked at several large companies. Will does a great job of framing all of his advice as what worked for him, not as the best solution.

This should be a mandatory book for anyone entering engineering management at a fast-paced company and a good read for anyone who manages a large team of engineers.

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