The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim
The Phoenix Project is a book about a large public company, Parts Unlimited, which sells car parts. Parts Unlimited is facing several technical and managerial problems that are making it difficult for the firm to cohesively work in teams to make projects succeed and become better than their competitors. The culture of blame games is common in the organization and the employees are over dependent on individual managers to achieve project goals.
The first ten chapters has real-life examples of the many opportunities that the company missed only because there was a significant lack of communication among the workers. It highlights the problems organizations face because of their IT and technology’s incapability of supporting their company’s needs.
Some of the examples and scenarios Kim presents in his book are so real and relevant and that it is easily comprehendible. The book describes how Bill Palmer, the VP of IT operations starts learning about and implementing DevOps and other efficient IT operations. Gradually, he realizes that IT impacts all departments of the company and he also learns the procedures of operations, product development, marketing, and sales.
According to the book, DevOps is a software development method that emphasizes on having strong and consistent communication, collaboration and integration between developers and IT professionals.” According to this book, this approach uses the agile method and forces the production of more frequent releases of code which, ultimately, increases the ROI on the code. From the IT’s perspective, DevOps requires that the test and production environments are standardized. It also asks that packaging codes and troubleshooting techniques are also automated. Many professionals agree that, in these days, automation may be vital to improve efficiency in IT departments in all sizes of companies. Automation coupled with having effective management policies, can make any IT department function smoothly.
Although this book is more relatable to companies that are heavily dependent on highly complicated technology, it is easy applicable to any company that has an IT department in it. The certainty of experiencing unexpected situations and unplanned circumstances are so high that it is impossible to not face challenges as an individual or as a company. This book helps the reader think beyond the box and perceive business operations from a larger perspective. It shows how to promote an organizational culture of continuously learning and providing feedback is encouraged.
The book concludes with a reminder that DevOps doesn’t guarantee hundred percent success in process management, or that project deliverables and objectives will be met flawlessly. However, the book, after critical research and analysis, confirms that with sincere teamwork and constructive collaboration, everyone are motivated to perform their best at resolving problems. This approach encourages employees to adopt an agile approach and control the organizational environment without reducing to accusations and blames.
In summary, Bill Palmer used the tool DevOps to make his employees break down functional barriers work in order to collectively achieve the set business goals. By gradually changing their organizational culture and the way his team looks at their job’s role and responsibilities, Bill was able to increase Parts Unlimited’s productivity throughout the company.
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