This Post Has 10 Comments

1. A wonderful introduction to Theory of Constraints and how to apply it
   This book is a fun read that helped me understand and apply Theory of Constraints to my own work and life. It starts with a practical, tangible example, then segues into using TOC in knowledge work. As a non-programmer knowledge worker, I found this book very accessible as well as a fun and interesting read. I think I’ve read it 3 times now, and listened to the audiobook twice. Each time I read it I learn something new.I also recommend Clarke’s marvelous short how-to book “The Bottleneck Rules” for its clear explanation of how to apply what you’ll learn reading this novel.

   Reply

2. Engaging read: software development in a nutshell
   Sometimes it takes fictional narrative (cleverly written to all too closely resemble the realities within which we all live) to drive home not the “how” of new ways of doing things – but the “why”. Why continuing down the path of practices that repeatedly yield bad quality and missed deadlines is madness. Why the only sensible thing to do is (if somehow you don’t know about them already) to invent agile and lean practices. Frankly, the first half of the novel is too long. But the rest – once our hero finally realizes he has no choice but to change paths – is superb: highly engaging, fast paced, and close to the truth of software development and corporate life in almost every way. And it illustrates that changing paths can be done in a step-by-step way. Other tech novels in the genre worth reading: Goldratt’s “The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement” (Goldratt, who wrote for manufacturing, is a major source for Clarke Ching), Steve Bockman’s “Predictability: A simple approach to creating reliable project schedules by Steve Bockman (2013-02-14)”, Tom DeMarco’s “The Deadline: A Novel about Project Management”, and the DevOps focused “The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win”.

   Reply

3. Inspiring, Thought Provoking, Insightful, A Gem
   Mr Ching obviously understands that one of the best ways to have people understand, remember and internalise ideas and principles is to give them a conceptual framework to hang them on.In this business-novel he teaches us the principles of Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints by taking us on a journey with a set of endearing characters caught in a crisis. We understand their predicament, we walk hand-in-hand with them as they learn the ideas that enable them to save themselves from crisis, and at the end we’re left with the feeling that, if placed in a similar position, we’d be able to avert the crisis.Beyond that, we learn that these tools aren’t just to be used to dig ourselves out of holes, they’re general purpose thinking processes that help us improve teams, projects an organisations in any state of health: good, bad or mediocre. Overall, the reader is left with a pervasive and energizing sense of “I know what I need to do, how, and why, to make things better”.

   Reply

4. Easy to read, and you’ll get a better instinctive grasp of agile/lean than you’ll get from dipping into reference books.
   Rolling Rocks Downhill is a parable about using agile techniques in a modern software development context. This isn’t a textbook or a reference book, it’s a novel, it’s a story. This makes it much easier to read cover to cover. A typical reference book tends to be dipped into for specific answers, which isn’t a good format for “understanding agile”.Ching gets around the resistance to agile by simply giving the characters no choice, he sets up an impossible project then keeps making things worse. This helps explain that almost complete lack of questioning of the techniques that are proposed. It was a little sleight of hand that I can understand. It’s not a bad message. You can’t impose Agile. People have to be ready for it, open to it. To accelerate that journey for a book, you make them desperate.Another slightly unrealistic aspect of the book is that there isn’t the initial “dip” in performance/productivity, and the inevitable temptation to revert to old habits. That felt like a pretty glaring plotline to omit since I suspect it’s one of the biggest challenges. Given the newness of the principles to all involved and the pressure they were under, it felt a little too easy. Maybe a sequel will cover that ground.One thing I did like is that the TCQ expert who planted the initial seed, isn’t overused. He’s sent on vacation for the critical part of the book leaving the team to figure things out on their own. He pops up occasionally in emails asking just the right question or pointing to just the right book but the overriding theme is you have to find your own solutions.Another noticeable aspect of the story was that the team didn’t adopt a methodology, or a framework like Scrum or Kanban. They looked at the problems they had and devised their own solutions. They picked up ideas from each other. This notion of solving your own problems is central to the story and to agile, but Ching doesn’t beat you over the head with it, nor does he tell you that Scrum or other practices are bad.What will this book give you?If you have no idea what people are talking about when they talk about agile, this book will go a long way to explaining that. If you have already bought into the agile philosophy this book will probably reinforce some of what you know, give you some nice metaphors, and maybe give some pointers to other areas of study.This book isn’t going to win a Booker Prize for fiction, that isn’t it’s purpose. It’s purpose is to keep you turning the pages so you that you learn about agile and the theory of constraints in a broader context. It absolutely succeeds, I really found it hard to put down, despite all the misgivings I had about how neatly things were working out for the characters.It really is an incredibly easy book to read, and you will come away with a better understanding than you’ll get from dipping to to pages of a reference book.One final note, If you do decide to read the book, try not to think about small batches.

   Reply

5. Valuable lessons… and a good read.
   Like The Goal, Andy and Me and other business novels, Clark Ching applies the operations lessons of Eli Goldratt in a great novel. If the best lessons are taught through experience, you get the benefit of ups & downs and real to life situations… likely cribbed from Clark’s real world life as a consultant. Although I am not a software developer, I read this book to help me see opportunities in non-factory situations. They key lessons you will learn are how to see what is affecting or limiting your capacity… great examples on how to get more from your team by how they are managed. Find time for your teams by taking the time to read or listen to this book.

   Reply

6. Concetti vaghi ed intangibili diventano finalmente reali con questa business novel alla “The Goal” di Goldratt.Al di là dell’ottima scrittura del testo, i punti chiave sono pochi e concisi:Tagliare lo scopo del progetto è il modo migliore per rispettare le scadenze.Cercare il collo di bottiglia prima di ottimizzare il sistema.Concentrarsi sul flusso delle funzionalità finite che vengono rilasciate.Grandioso!

   Reply

7. Es la novela de un jefe de equipo de desarrollo que se enfrenta a una pesadilla y cómo avanza paso a paso para mejorar la forma de trabajo del equipo usando principios de Agile. Se lee muy bien, incluso engancha.

   Reply

8. Best book on “agile” management, that I have read so far.

   Reply

9. Coming from more depth in the Theory of Constraints (ToC), I’d started using Agile outside software development. I was attracted to this book, written in the style of a business novel like “The Goal”, to understand Agile better. Reading this, the penny really dropped for me on the why and how of Agile, and why it’s consistent with the ToC. Although the subject is a software development project, its very relevant to business more broadly.I’m grateful to Clarke for creating this book, and I highly recommend it.

   Reply

10. Beside being a great business novel, this is a truly touching story. The characters are detailed and come alive, which is rare for this genre. Even rarer, it’s often hilarious, sometimes emotionally gripping and, never breaking pace, keeping you on the edge, making it hard to put it down.If you’re not working in or with IT, it gives you a glimpse in how Lean and Agile concepts and methods are changing the work. If you do work in or with IT, it makes important concepts, especially the Theory Of Constraints, approachable.Clarke Ching is a master in finding metaphors that make such concepts easy to explain and for that alone, this novel is a fantastic treasure trove.

    Reply