“This is going to be an incredible and kick-butt book for every DevOps leader…guaranteed to be in every MBA curriculum in 10 years.” —Gene Kim, co-author The Phoenix Project, The DevOps Handbook
The wait is over – Project To Product und the Flow Framework™ is finally here! Following the exciting pre-launch of our CEO and co-founder Dr. Mik Kersten’s book at DevOps Enterprise Summit in Las Vegas last month, the official launch took place at Tasktop HQ in Vancouver on Tuesday night. There was sparkling wine, a magnificent cake – and an exuberant Mik! And there was certainly cause for celebration – the book was number four bestseller in “Business Management” and number one for Kindle in “Production and Operations” on Amazon as the day came to a close.
A new movement: Project to Product
Von Projekten zu Produkten arrives at a crucial time in the Age of Software. As startups disrupt every market and tech giants continue to pull further ahead of entrenched businesses, the majority of traditional enterprises are facing an existential crisis. Either they quickly become much better at software delivery and extract more business value from IT, or they risk becoming a digital relic.
https://blog.tasktop.com/blog/project-product-stories-scenius/
In the age of digital disruption, survival is dependent on an organization’s ability to deliver software products and digital experiences. This doesn’t just mean delivering software faster – it’s about continuously delivering software that is reliable, predictable, flexible and, crucially, tied to business outcomes. And, last but least, it’s about ensuring that the people who help plan, build and deliver the software are empowered and motivated.
“My goal for Von Projekten zu Produkten ist to provide a common language and framework that helps us meet Gene Kim’s goal of elevating our impact to improve the happiness and productivity of 40 million IT workers worldwide.” Mik Kersten, CEO and co-founder of Tasktop, author of Project to Product
With a deeper cross-organizational understanding of software’s value and role in helping the business to transform and thrive in the Age of Software, organizations can begin to address the chasm between IT and the business. By adopting product-centric thinking and focusing on how business value flows from customer request to operation, IT can transition from an outdated “cost model” to a profit centre. In other words, IT can become the heartbeat of the business in the same way that has enabled tech giants like Amazon and co to become market disruptors and leaders.
The Turning Point
Von Projekten zu Produkten kicks off by outlining where we are in the current technology revolution. “Each technological revolution has required existing businesses to master a new means of production, such as steam or the assembly line” Mik expounds. “For the digital revolution, the means of production is software.”
Citing Carlota Perez’s Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, Mik outlines the two key distinct periods in each revolutionary cycle. First is the Installation Period, where new tech and financial capital combine to create a “Cambrian explosion of startups” that disrupt entire industries from a previous age. The second half is the Deployment Period, where “the production capital of new industrial giants starts taking over.”
Between these two periods is what Perez calls “the Turning Point” – where businesses either master the new means of production, or they will be left behind. Von Projekten zu Produkten has arrived at just the right time in the Turning Point, providing readers with a new framework – the Flow Framework™– to master the means of production of this age. It provides a common language and framework for business leaders and technologists to work together to achieve long-term business strategies.
For more on genesis of the book, be sure to check out Mik’s Project to Product series of articles und sign up to book’s newsletter for more insights and optimization opportunities for your business.
The Flow Framework™
The Flow Framework™, created by Mik Kersten, CEO of Tasktop, is designed to work at the largest of organizational scales and to support stringent regulatory requirements where needed. Even the most traditional, complex, or safety-critical organizations can apply the concepts to drive software innovation at the right pace for their business. The Value Stream Metrics you can derive from this framework allow organizations to track the flow of business value in software delivery, in a way that both the software delivery organization and the business can understand. They correlate the investment in flow for each product’s value stream with the business results for that value stream.
The social mission of Project to Product
At Tasktop, we have been trying to lead by example, with our long-standing core value around “diversity in thought” and support of programs for women and socio-economic diversity in tech. But that’s only a drop in the bucket. To help the bigger cause, all of Mik’s author proceeds from the book will go towards helping support the brilliant minds of people who are underrepresented in technology delivery and leadership. Read on.
Grab your copy today and begin your journey from Project to Product
The book is available now in print, for Kindle und audio.
Reaction to Project to Product
Project to Product, a breakthrough book from @mik_kersten , is now available along with a companion guide I had the pleasure of working on with Mik and @dominicad . #ProductToProduct #vsm #Devops #lean https://t.co/1dYLFJBxUB
— Carmen DeArdo (@carmendeardo) November 21, 2018
Wow, https://t.co/ibkp8q5SV1 has hit #1 Best Seller on the Kindle store in the Production & Operations on its first day! Thank you all for your support! I think I may just go and either celebrate or collapse now… pic.twitter.com/2HzvWc2UpP
— Mik Kersten (@mik_kersten) November 20, 2018
Excited to start reading “Project to Product” by @mik_kersten. If other @ITRevBooks are to go by, it will be excellent! https://t.co/oZjRhEw3OH
— Jon Vines (@_jonvines) November 20, 2018
This is one of my favorites books that I’ve read this decade.
Congrats to @mik_kersten on completing this book that I think is incredibly important to our profession: “Project to Product”
Now available!!! https://t.co/EIbDPMzXAd
— Gene Kim (@RealGeneKim) November 20, 2018
Reading an excerpt of Project to Product by @mik_kersten from a colleague at #DOES18 Riveting. Comes out Tuesday. Seriously, peeps at large companies need to read this. Align your measures to what matters to business. Look @ whole value stream #noprojects #productpeople
— Em from Cleveland (@EmFromCleveland) November 18, 2018
Starting reading Project to Product by @mik_kersten. Definitely recommend this book if you’re trying to survive this Age of Software or bring a new startup life into it.
— ummahrican (@ummahrican) November 19, 2018
Loved #ProjectToProduct by @mik_kersten. If you haven’t read it you should. Focus on flow and learn how your work contributes to the business.
— Low Gravity DevOps (@LowGravDevOps) November 21, 2018
Learn more about the creation of Project to Product and the Flow Framework™
Meet the author at Tasktop Connect 2018
To learn more about how to apply the teachings of Von Projekten zu Produkten and getting under the hood of the Flow Framework™, join us at Tasktop Connect next month (6th December, Washington, DC). Not only can you meet and hear from Mik, you will learn – from industry leaders including Carmen DeArdo, Dominica DeGrandis and visionaries from Deloitte, Nationwide, Scrum.org, Lockheed Martin, TIAA, Select Medical and Northrup Grumman – about ways to achieve end-to-end visibility and traceability across your software development and delivery value stream. You will also find out how the Flow Framework™ will enable your company’s evolution from project-oriented dinosaur to product-centric innovator that thrives in the Age of Software
Interest is high – to avoid missing out, register today using code NOVEMBER for 30% off registration! Check out the day’s agenda.
