Patterns of Software Construction: How to Predictably Build Results

Contents
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Patterns
    Not a Process
    System
    The Problem
        Craftsmanship Doesn’t Help
    Reality
    The Solution
        Rinse and Repeat
Chapter 2: Getting Started
    Prerequisites for Lowest Friction
        Or Not
    Must Haves
        Charter
    Architecture
    Mindset to Bring
    Definitions
    System Evolutions
Chapter 3: Plan
    Target
    Map It Out
    Development Strategy
    Big Rocks
    Write the Stories
    Build the Sequence
    Summary
        Activities Summary
Chapter 4: Build
    Anatomy of a Sprint
        Week 1
        Week 2
        Week 3
    Most Software...
    Non-Functional Requirements Pay the Bills
    Non-Functional Areas to Completely Own
        Defensive Programming
        Aggressive Logging
        Debuggable Software
            Small Functions
        Performance
            What Does Early Optimization Look Like in LIFT?
    Your Definition of Done
        Write Things Down and Document As You Go
    Eliminate Waste
        Beliefs
        Deploy
    Activities Summary
Chapter 5: Test
    The Problem and Possibility
        What do you really want from QA and testing?
    Possibility
    Principles
        Test Cases
        Acceptance Criteria
        Keep the QA Environment Clean
        Set and Enforce Exit Criteria
        Start Testing Before You Start Testing
    The Testing System
    Activities
        Prerequisites
            Acceptance Criteria
            A Build
            Environment Entry
            Exit Criteria
            Preparation
            Scope of Impact (SOI)
            Test Case Preparation
            Risk Analysis
            Execution
            Automated
            User Interface Testing
            API and Backend Testing
            Manual
            Realtime Reviews
        Conclude
            Test Summary and Reporting
            Performance
    Activities Summary
Chapter 6: Release
    The Problem and Possibility
        Problem #1 – The Act of Releasing Software Is Chaotic
        Problem #2 – You Lack a System to Predictably Deliver Solid Releases to Customers
        Possibility #1 – You Let Go of OK and Move to Great
        Possibility #2 – Releases Are Non-Events
    Principles
        Write It All Down
        Rely on Automated Tests
        Not Everyone Can Be in Charge
    The Release System
    Activities
        Ignition
            Release Summary
            Release Details
                Change List
                Release Date and Time
                Deployment Items
                Other Release-Related Links
            Roles
            Dependencies
            Risks and Mitigations
            Release Script
            Rollback Plan
            Ignition Summary
        Release Checklist
            Release Definition of Done
        Release Script
            Communication
            Play-by-Play
            Fallback vs. Rollback
        Production Validation
            Logs
            Monitoring and Synthetics
            Automated Tests
        Release Complete
    Activities Summary
Chapter 7: Operate
    The Problem and Possibility
        Problem #1 – You Have No Idea What Your Software Is Doing
        Problem #2 – There Are No Hooks to Observe Internal Behavior
        Problem #3 – Incidents and Accidents Just Happen with Little to No Consequence
        Possibility #1 – You Know What Your Software Is Doing
        Possibility #2 – When Incidents Happen You Know What to Do
        Possibility #3 – You Live in a World of Specifics
    Principles
        Measure Everything
        Test Everything
        Operating Procedures Drive Change
    Activities
        Standard Operating Procedures
        Create Observability and Monitoring
            Operational Tooling
                Infrastructure
                Logs
                Traffic
                Tracing
                Events
                Dependencies
        Responding to Problems
            Use Your SOP
            Restore Service First
            Respond Only to Synthetic Monitoring Alerts
            Rotations
            Long-Term Fixes and Mitigations
                Example 1 – Reoccurring
                Example 2 – Unpredictable
                Example 3 – Unreproducible
        Service Level Objectives
            Create Performance and Stability Improvements
        Manage Change
        Summary
        Activity Summary
Chapter 8: Manage
    The Problem and Possibility
        Problem #1 – Now What?
        Problem #2 – People, People, People
        Possibility #1 – It’s Easy to Make Improvements
        Possibility #2 – Skillsets and Mindsets Are Adaptable
    Principles
        Evolution Changes You for the Better
            Walk Then Jump
        Your Stories Are Currency
        Everything Is an Action Plan
    Activities
        Plan Short and Think Long
        You Shipped. Are You Winning?
            Win with Metrics That Matter
            Score Yourself
        Flatten the Ops Curve
        Shop at the Hat Store
        Guided Autonomy
        Baby Names for Projects
        Tell a Story
        People
            Development
        S-Curves and People
    Activities Summary
Chapter 9: Summary
Index