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.
The period after the summer holiday is always a busy one. What have you been up to? A lot of what has been on my mind is my mind. And not only my mind but the minds of those around me. There is an increasing neurodivergent component in my family, so for me, it's been really hard to think or read or write about anything else! Against this backdrop, I've been back to working as a DevOps engineer, writing Terraform, Python and Ansible and having design discussions. While I still enjoy it, I...
September took me to London to attend a couple of conferences. The first was the Team Topologies-aligned Fast Flow conference , preceded by a workshop with the Team Topologies core team. I also popped into the Design Museum when I was in the area, an inspirational space if you're ever in London. The Design Museum in Kensington, London. As part of the work I do, I sometimes bump into like-minded folks. While I didn't catch up with them at Fast Flow Conf, a few days ago I enjoyed chatting with...
How was your summer? Does it feel like it's still happening, or are you already back in the thick of things? It's been a bit of both for me over the last few weeks. I've been in and out of holiday mode. The weather is still hot, but the office is in action. Next week, I'm off to London, where I'll be attending the second edition of the Fast Flow Conference with the Team Topologies organisation and heading to SaaS CTO Conference to meet with tech leaders and find out what's got them worried...