The Phoenix Project
by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford · first published 2013
61% recommend33% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Novel about an IT department in crisis that makes DevOps, lean flow, and limiting work in progress concrete through story. Suits engineers, ops people, and managers dealing with firefighting and team silos.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win is the third book by Gene Kim. The business novel tells the story of an IT manager who has ninety days to rescue an over-budget and late IT initiative, code-named The Phoenix Project.
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I just read The Phoenix Project, the book mentioned at the end of the article. It's an entertaining look at what DevOps is supposed to be like, based on things happening at various real enterprises. The main character takes over an…
on “Karojisatsu – Leaving the DevOps Community” ↗Some general recommendations (these are not new books): - The Phoenix Project. An easy read that is a good introduction to modern Dev Ops culture [1]. - Designing Data Intensive Applications. A technical introduction to distributed systems. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17255186-the-phoenix-pro...…
on “Ask HN: Book Recommendations” ↗…implement what they talk about, it is an easy read too. On the tools site: puppet [2]. Puppet allows you to bake these controls into your infrastructure and monitor if things change. p.s. I also read "The Phoenix Project" [3] a couple days ago and it give some good ideas on how to stop in insanity. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Visible-Ops-Handbook-Implementing-Prac... [2] https://puppetlabs.com/ [3] http://www.amazon.ca/The-Phoenix-Project-Business-ebook/dp/B...
on “Ask HN: Frustrations with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOX compliance?” ↗I'd recommend the Phoenix Project - very easy read. http://www.amazon.com/The-Phoenix-Project-Helping-Business/d...
on “Ask HN: What books should I read as a software manager?” ↗…(proven) engineers(ing) and teams or they need to be clearly taught the value add of a fast release cycle and practising quick (hopefully automated) patching. That's where I think books like Gene Kim's - The Phoenix Project and his soon to be released book - The DevOps Handbook which may in fact be more useful to people performing PM/PO tasks.
on “ZFS, BTRFS, XFS, EXT4 and LVM with KVM – A Storage Performance Comparison (2015)” ↗When I was getting into ops 10 years ago the book "The Practice of System and Network Administration" by Thomas Limoncelli was a great overview (very high level and not specific) that we all read. The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim is kind of a more modern uptake on it, but both can be read easily by people outside of the field and I doubt the first one will ever not be relevant. Both are more about establishing proper…
on “Software Developers Should Have Sysadmin Experience” ↗I'd highly recommend The Phoenix Project: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0988262509/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_pxm... The story they've wrapped around the shift to Agile for this company was extremely entertaining and kept me coming back to read more!…
on “Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read recently?” ↗Kim, Behr and Stafford's "The Phoenix Project" isn't half-a-bad start. Follow it up with everything referenced.
on “Ask HN: What books can teach me engineering management skills?” ↗That book is next on my reading list, but also worth checking out is "The Phoenix Project". It applies the concepts of "The Goal" to IT (operations to start, but it gets extended to development through the book). https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Busine...
on “The Cost Center Trap” ↗For getting into DevOps, I believe The Phoenix Project (by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford) is pretty good.
on “Ask HN: Which books are “must-read” for anyone trying to learn about your field?” ↗…person who didn’t actually make many direct contributions to the world of physics, but was extremely well read and knew everyone in the industry. And you know, lead development of the atomic bomb. The Phoenix Project - Gene Kim - Great CI/CD book disguised as a novel, inspired me to push heavily for an improved build/release pipeline at work. Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow - Yes, the book the play is based on,…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗No matter you want to become a manager or architect, you need to know how to run a project. The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Busine...
on “Ask HN: What books should I read to forward my career as a engineer?” ↗Extreme Ownership https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs-eboo... How to Win Friends and Influence People https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People-eboo... The Phoenix Project https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Busine... Don't worry about "tech specific". Core leadership principles are universal. The first two books on the list show the principles, and the…
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗…Humble, and Gene Kim) * Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow (Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais) * Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products (Marty Cagan) * The Phoenix Project (Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford) General: * The Goal (Eliyahu Goldratt) * Turn the Ship Around! (L David Marquet) * Just Culture (Sidney Dekker) * Leadership on the Line (Ronald Heifetz, Marty…
on “A reading list for new engineering managers” ↗"The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win" by Gene Kim et. al.
on “Ask HN: What's some great fiction for founders and entrepreneurs?” ↗