Book Reviews

Future of Thinking (John D. and Catherine T. Macarthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning)

by Cathy N Davidson, David Theo Goldberg

"The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age" gives a very interesting analysis of the how social media and web 2.0 could and should change the way that learning institutions structure and run their learning. The book is aimed at universities, but is equally applicable to any organisation concerned with learning or knowledge, particularly professional membership institutions, such as the British Computer Society or Royal College of General Practitioners.

The book was itself developed collaboratively, with an early draft being posted for comment and a couple of seminars to discuss the main points.

Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit

by Mary Poppendieck, Tom Poppendieck

This is a book of thinking tools for software development leaders. It is a tool kit for translating generally accepted lean principles into effective agile practices that fit your unique environment. Lean thinking has a long history of generating dramatic improvements in fields as diverse as manufacturing, health care and construction.

RecrEAtion: Realizing the Extraordinary Contribution of Your Enterprise Architects (Take It With You)

by Chris Potts

RecrEAtion: Realizing the Extraordinary Contribution of Your Enterprise Architects (Take It With You) is another very engaging book by Chris Potts.

It takes the same narrative style as his first book fruITion: Creating the Ultimate Corporate Strategy for Information Technology which makes it an easy read. (See also: blog post on FruITion).

Freedom from Command and Control: A Better Way to Make the Work Work

by John Seddon

This is a management book that challenges convention and aims to appeal to a wide target audience. Seddon argues that while many commentators acknowledge command and control is failing us, no one provides an alternative. His contention is the alternative can only be understood when you see the failings of command and control by taking the better - systems - view.

The Best Service is No Service: How to Liberate Your Customers from Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs

by Bill Price, David Jaffe

This is an excellent book that ought to be compulsory reading for all companies with a customer service element, mostly because so many of them are so very far from providing even reasonable service.

The book gives clear, practical advice and loads of examples of where service has gone wrong and of best practice (plenty of examples from Amazon and first direct for instance in this category).

Also available: ebook version of The Best Service is No Service: How to Liberate Your Customers from Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs

Leading Lean Software Development: Results are Not the Point (Addison-Wesley Signature)

by Mary Poppendieck, Tom Poppendieck

Building on their breakthrough bestsellers Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit and Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash (Addison-Wesley Signature) Mary and Tom Poppendieck’s latest book shows software leaders and team members exactly how to drive high-value change throughout a software organisation - and make it stick.

They go far beyond generic implementation guidelines, demonstrating exactly how to make lean work in real projects, environments, and companies.