Becoming a Software Company: Accelerating Business Success through Software

Description

There is a call to action reverberating in company boardrooms, earnings calls, technology conferences, and IT departments: every company should be a software company. The call makes intuitive sense. Software, when done right, creates infinite business leverage. It is not a coincidence that 7 out of 10 largest companies in the world are software companies. But how does a company become a software company? This book will​ help enterprises transform into a software company. The software-driven future that Marc Andreessen predicted in his now-famous 2011 essay is here but unevenly distributed. While enterprises, and teams within, grasp the software technologies, they lack the context to leverage them ― much less understand the fundamental principles that drive the business value from software: What is the real essence of the software-based transformation? If every enterprise is implementing the same technologies, what is the source of differentiation? How do you manage the inherent complexity of software such that it doesn't destroy software's value? How do you build and nurture talent so that it is empowered to create the best solutions for your customers' problems? This book will answer all of that and more. The boundary between enterprise and consumer software is rapidly blurring. IEEE reports that 40% of the cost of a new car comes from software . Elsewhere, software is becoming synonymous with medical devices and therapeutics . FinTech and EdTech trends are primarily about personalization through software at an internet-scale. The struggling enterprises are up against it. They have no choice but to figure out how to ship consumer-grade software. It is an existential problem for them. This book compiles the timeless principles of building good software, yet often disregarded while building and deploying software products for enterprises. What You'll LearnLeverage people to build creative software solutionsManage development complexity so that we keep software focused on user problemsUnderstand software technology as a means of producing valueWho This Book Is ForEnterprise Executive Management, Enterprise IT Management Professionals, Software Practitioners within Enterprise Table of Contents About the Author Introduction Part 1: Understanding Software as a Medium of Producing Value Chapter 1: Don’t Pursue Transformations; Make the Software Shift How Software Ate the Enterprise (IT Stack) The Twin Problem of Complexity and Differentiation What Leveraging Software as an Innovation Paradigm Looks Like Why Software Represents a Paradigm Shift The Missing Socio-institutional Shift “Best Practice Common Sense” to Become a Software Company References Chapter 2: Create Value Through Customer Progress, Not by  Meeting Requirements The Only Test of Value That Matters Bureaucratic Visions, Mediocre Products The Distraction of Fast Galloping Horses A Short Case Against Gathering Requirements Focus on Progress, Not on Meeting Requirements Always Be Looking to Close the Value Deficit References Chapter 3: To Multiply Value, Mitigate System Complexity Complexity Ensures That There Is No Silver Bullet Building Systems Is Like Navigating Tar Pits The Holy Trinity Problem Stop Wasting Time on “Build vs. Buy” Optimize Your Software Stack for Agility Think Big, Iterate Small Allow Your People to Create Mitigating Complexity Multiplies Value References Part 2: Creating Business Agility from Software Agility Chapter 4: Don’t Procure Software; Create a Dynamic Stack Instead Recognizing and Avoiding the Ritualistic Tribal Bloodletting The Urgent Need for Better “Sense-Making” The Problem Domains of Enterprise Software: What Makes Sense? How to Think About a Dynamic Software Stack Creating and Continuously Improving Your Software Stack Get Technical And Ask Your Developers A Dynamic Stack Avoids Rituals and Prioritizes Value Agility Doesn’t Come in a Vacuum References Chapter 5: Implement a Strategy of Business Agility, Before the Agile Methods A Random Walk Down Agile Street Maneuver Warfare and the Philosophy of Business Agility The (Un-Agile) Vignettes of Enterprise Software How to Implement a Strategy of Agility (Powered by Software) Agile Culture Begets (Rapid) Flow of Value References Chapter 6: Manage Development Flow, Not Project or Product Software Development Lifecycle and Business Value Know Thy Queues First (Long) Queues Hinder the Flow of Value The Levers for Optimizing Flow Managing Flow to Avoid Queues References Part 3: Transitioning from Good to Great Chapter 7: Teams Build Good Software, Not Resources “Team = Software”: Team as a Management Deliverable What Do You Want to Ship? Is That in Your Org Chart? Aligning With, Within, and Across Teams: The Need for a Writing Culture as a Good Software Practice The Challenge of Communicating “Higher Purpose” The Real Value of a Team (That Is Gelling) Embracing the Ideal of Team Building in Enterprise Software References Chapter 8: Practice the Art of Creative Management A Brief Exploration into the Origins of Management Control Mechanistic to Organic: The Evolving Nature of Management Control Paradoxes, Contexts, and Attractors The Case of Attractor Confusion Trust Your Teams to Deliver on Their Mission Self-Organization Is Mandatory for Agile Decision Making Continuous Learning and Embracing Emergent Outcomes The Art of Creative Management References Conclusion Index