★★★★☆ (4 / 5)
Most online criticism I see about this book revolves around the fact that this an IT textbook disguised and advertised as a novel. So let’s get this out of the way first: yes, this is a textbook about IT and Devops written in novel form. Be aware of this before you start reading it; this book contains ZERO entertainment value! If you aren’t interested in IT, Devops, or organizational processes, this book is not for you.
Once you get past that, the book is great! The novel format is much more effective at convincing you of its main argument: that IT and Devops is not just a department, but a cross-department skill that is essential to the success of any organization.
It does get preachy at times. At the beginning, there are bankruptcy-threatening fires happening several times a week. Once the characters start to adopt Devops principles, suddenly everything starts to get better. Within a month, they have no more fires happening. It’s like the authors never learned that there is no silver bullet.
Just keep that in mind when reading this book, and you’ll walk away with a new consideration for the importance of IT and Devops to your organization. Highly recommended.
Fact Sheet
- Title: The Phoenix Project
- Authors: Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford
- Publisher: IT Revolution Press
- ISBN: 978-0988262591