Exploring the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming. Learning to work with the systems, not against them.
The Human Software 276 - Dotting the 'i's, Crossing the 't's
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We're in to the last days of summer here in Amsterdam. This morning, out on the Amstel, there were plenty of joggers, cyclists and rowers taking full advantage of it. And just like them, next week I'll be busy starting the promotion for "Human Software: A Life in I.T." I've had to make a slight change to the publication date due to some extra changes needed on the layout, but I hope you'll agree it'll be worth the wait. I was fortunate enough to receive lovely reviews this week and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you! This coming week I'll be out and about in Amsterdam at the Fall Writer's Night at the American Book Centre talking to publishers, authors and industry experts and next month I'll be attending to Fast Flow Conference in London to again talk with some of people are firmly in my target demographic - techies, consultants and managers! Despite my best intentions, it behooves me to at least try to have a profile on some of the more popular social media! If you haven't already please like my new Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram to keep up with the latest updates and I'll be running a competition over the next few weeks too. Also, please follow me or connect on LinkedIn and I'm quite active in the writers community on Bluesky. Here are some bookmarks I've had made - what do you think of them?! That's it for the moment. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are today. Below you'll find links to a couple of blog posts, one giving an excerpt from the book chapter "The Consultants" and another explaining how I created the cover art and map for the book. Until next time, have a great Sunday! Book Excerpt: The ConsultantsPublished on September 13, 2025 “Way back when I started out, there were a couple of new products coming online, and they had hired our team in to take on specific responsibilities. The team I worked on was a blend of ages and experiences. Some of the old timers…” He chuckles to himself. “They were probably in their late thirties… Read More »Book Excerpt: The Consultants The post Book Excerpt: The Consultants appeared first on HUMAN SOFTWARE: A Life in I.T.. Using AI in Combination With Drawing to Make Book IllustrationsPublished on September 2, 2025 Human Software is a book about the importance of people working together to overcome the machinations of evil corporations. It’s a story about how humans are blamed for mistakes that computers make. A human story set in the modern world of software development, where engineers and managers are often pulled in competing directions simultaneously. For… Read More »Using AI in Combination With Drawing to Make Book Illustrations The post Using AI in Combination With Drawing to Make Book Illustrations appeared first on HUMAN SOFTWARE: A Life in I.T.. |
The Human Engineer
Exploring the human factors that make software engineering so unique, so difficult, so important and all consuming. Learning to work with the systems, not against them.
January is over. The longest month! I managed to get a break in Chamonix, nominally to do some skiing, but for the most part it was marvelling at the beauty of it all. The world around us. So, I'm in the alps taking a break from the uncertainty of the present and facing my own mortality on the gentlest slopes near Mont Blanc. It's wonderful being up there with friends, I feel very lucky, and I also don't feel any real need to push myself like I would have done in the older days. I went out...
A few weeks before Christmas I asked ChatGPT a series of questions along the lines of "ok, so what next?" I was out of ideas. I was tired. My freelance contract was coming to an end so I was already looking for a new one. Launching Human Software had been exhilarating but exhausting. I'd burned the candle at both ends on social media plus done some podcasts (a few of which are yet to see the light of day) and also put myself in front of bookshops and chased reviews and talked talked talked...
REBRAND ALERT!! So it's been a while since I renamed this newsletter but I feel it's due a slight sidestep following the launch of my book. So welcome to episode 286 overall, but episode #1 of The Human Engineer. Despite me constantly rename this newsletter, over these years the subject has never really varied too much. I talk about software systems and how they relate to human systems. I find my work increasingly focusses on the human side of the this divide - because it is a divide right?...