Travels in Software: the idea
I’ve altered and made more specific the idea behind Travels in Software. People without experience can’t get by with only facts: they need stories. Stories teach them values—habits and reactions they can put to use when they have a thorny dilemma. Stories also give them a mental picture of an achievable way of working. People can say, “What we’re doing here just doesn’t feel right. Story planning [or test-driven design, or standups] seemed so smooth in that story. Let’s move toward that way of working.”
So the book will be largely made up of stories told by people who are proud of their work, their team, how they handled some problem or seized some opportunity. The stories will describe how to be or become a team that works with ease.
I plan to present these stories as oral histories. I’ll record people, ask questions, help them tell their story, then edit the story down—removing my promptings, any redundancies or un-useful digressions. The goal is to produce the most compelling possible version of the teller’s words. My model is Studs Terkel. (To see this style, look inside Hard Times.)
I’ll post the stories in a blog. In the book version, stories or groups of stories will be preceded or followed by explanatory text and essays on the topics covered.
The first interview is tomorrow. For now, I plan to conduct them in person. Mail me if you have a story to tell.
March 16th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
You should make a list of people who you know will be or should be included.
March 18th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Sounds like an brilliant idea, and I’m looking forward to the results.
The people who already disregard agile as being too much of a “cult” or “religious” system won’t care much for it. Their loss.
May 14th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
[…] going to Portland April 16 to work on Travels in Software. If you’re a person I should interview, mail me. I’m also interested in observing teams who do something well that they’d like […]