Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
The Human Software 274 - Meet the Team
|
Just like "Parts Unlimited" in "The Phoenix Project" - a good tech story needs an interesting company to base its story upon. So over the last week I put together a little corporate website for Gerbach Inc. On it you can meet some of the leadership team and find out a little more about what Gerbach does and where it does business. Gerbach's head office is based in Sandport in the UK. Sandport is a fictional town based on Sandwich in Kent - my hometown. Since the 1950s there was a large firm based in Sandwich - Pfizer. Pfizer supports and supported the town in many ways economically until it gradually started to scale back operations. Over decades it's been both an economic lifeline and an economic worry for local residents. In places like Sandwich, businesses rely upon the money that particulalry international firms bring to the area - richer people from foreign places spend money in small towns. I've based some of the events in Human Software on what happens to those who rely on this money when it's suddenly threatened. Another thing happened this week, I received the edits back from my editor! I need to go through those over the next month, complete proofreading and then upload it to leanpub. We're almost there folks! As always, have a great Sunday and if I don't speak to you again before the end of August, have a great vacation period. You can browse the Gerbach website here. Cheers No one Knows How These Systems Are Supposed to WorkPublished on July 24, 2025 I’m on a call where it’s obvious that no one knows how to fix this system, because no one is confident in their understanding of it. How many times have you been on that call? When everyone is standing back, allowing someone to come forward naturally. So rather than someone steps forward, everyone else (audibly)… Read More »No one Knows How These Systems Are Supposed to Work
|
The Human Software
Software systems rule our world. My regular newsletter explores the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming.
I've spent the last two months (a short trip to Iceland aside) working on the next set of edits for HUMAN SOFTWARE. In all honesty, I thought I'd just be doing a little bit of light word work when it came to this round but as it transpired, I ended up changing about a third of the content. A few chapters were discarded, and numerous rewrites were made in the name of pacing and tension building. What I hope we've ended up with is a more intriguing and interesting journey for Beth and Chrissie...
Writers are terribly impatient. We are so fragile, we crave attention all the time. So, for us, writing into a vacuum and not getting anything back is the worst. We will happily take anything including "wow, it really sucked" or "how could you be so old and so feeble at writing?" At this point in the journey of Human Software, I'm so desperate for feedback, I'm even willing to pay for it! So that's what I did. In January, I hired an editor, and he's been great. He helped me with the...
Over the last week, I drew a map of Kent reimagined as if the 1286/7 floods hadn't happened. According to the history books, those large storms and tidal events significantly changed the coastline of eastern England. The former Wantsum Channel became blocked with alluvial mud and sand, turning the once important seaport of Sandwich into a landlocked town too far away from the sea to accept large boats. Further afield Dunwich in Suffolk suffered a similar fate: In the Anglo-Saxon period,...