Books
Here is a list of some of the books related to software development that I read in the last 10 years. This list contains books that taught me a lot to become the (hopefully decent) cloud engineer I am today. Some of those books are purely technical while others are about social interactions, arguably the most important part of the job.
I may take the time to write proper reviews of those books someday, although I am not sure it will add much value as there are tons of reviews for all those books already.
For now, I just wanted to list them here for anyone who might be curious what my professional influences and values look like.
Cloud
Cloud Strategy
Whether you are migrating to the cloud or need to rethink your strategy, this book is a must read. I like in particular how it very well makes the point and explains why using the cloud is not simply about migrating workloads there, but about rethinking the way or working to fully take advantage of what it can offer.
Platform Strategy
After I read Cloud Strategy, I immediately started with Platform strategy. Again, Hohpe does a great job at explaining the challenges that many companies overlook when building internal platforms, which is definitely no easy task. I now look forward to API Strategy that Hohpe kind of announced on LinkedIn.
Microservices
Building Microservices
With this book, Sam Newman does a great job at explaining what microservices are, when they are the right choice and when they are not. He also gives lots of practical advices.
I have seen several projects where microservices are used but the ins and outs are not well understood. This book should help avoid typical mistakes. A must-read for software architects and lead engineers.
Note that there is a 2nd edition available (I haven't read it yet).
I have seen several projects where microservices are used but the ins and outs are not well understood. This book should help avoid typical mistakes. A must-read for software architects and lead engineers.
Note that there is a 2nd edition available (I haven't read it yet).
bla bla microservices bla bla
Not a book, but I still wanted to have it in my list. To me, this keynote by Jonas Bonér is a classic and an essential read when working with microservices. It is from 2016 but still totally relevant.
Data
Designing Data-Intensive Applications
Amazing book to understand the internals, pros and cons of different tools and technologies typically used to build data-intensive applications. This will allow you to make the best decisions and trad-offs to build highly reliable, scalable and maintainable systems.
AI
Generative AI for Cloud Solutions
The latest addition to the list, and I am actually not done reading it as of 8.10.2024. The beginning provides a good intro to Gen AI and quickly jumps into concrete decisions that need to be made when building cloud solutions leveraging Gen AI. Probably something that will be quite useful in the months and years to come.
Enterprise Architecture
The Practice of Enterprise Architecture
As we were establishing a formal Enterprise Architecture team at my company, I needed a pragmatic and concrete resource that would be more actionable than the TOGAF theory for example (although there is of course a lot of valuable resources in TOGAF). The Practice of Enterprise Architecture offered exactly that.
DevOps
Accelerate
An absolute classic.
State of DevOps reports
Still today (in 2023), I like to use the State of DevOps reports from a few years ago to explain and evangalize the devops mindset (I recommend the 2017 report in particular).
Sociology in software engineering
Team Topologies
Great resource on how to organize technology teams for fast flow. Highly recommended.
Peopleware
Oldie but godie.
"The major problems of our work are not so much technological as sociological in nature".
Indeed...
"The major problems of our work are not so much technological as sociological in nature".
Indeed...
The Psychological Safety Playbook
I am a strong believer that it is possible to be a great professional and a nice and relaxed person at the same time. The concept of psychological safety is also related to this in my opinion.
My former VP of Engineering at Autodesk, Minette Norman, co-authored this playbook which is packed with concrete things to do and improve to make the workplace a better place. In turn, this will lead to higher-performing teams as studies show.
My former VP of Engineering at Autodesk, Minette Norman, co-authored this playbook which is packed with concrete things to do and improve to make the workplace a better place. In turn, this will lead to higher-performing teams as studies show.
People management
The Manager’s Path
Excellent resource if you (aspire to) manage engineers. And still a lot to learn if you are an individual contributor.