Description
Book SynopsisYou should not overlook the potential genius in this concept.
--Geoffrey Moore, consultant and author, Dealing with Darwin
Since he first identified ''information systems as mirrors of the people who build them'' for me, I have seen it operate in many ways. It is a fascinating idea, and a completely new way of thinking about technology.
--Sean Moriarty, Chief Operating Officer, Ticketmaster
This book makes for compelling reading--it''s easy to become immersed in the stories, and the insights gradually grow in the reader''s mind as they take root in the character''s minds. This is quite a useful work. The ideas presented here could be quickly put to practical use in any organization.
--Mohamed Muhsin, VP and CIO, The World Bank
A breakthrough exploration of information systems as mirrors of the people who build them.
Packed with truer-than-life stories, stimulating characters, and unique IT analysis,
Lessons in Gri
Table of Contents
Foreword by Geoffrey Moore. Foreword by Thornton May.
Acknowledgments.
Chapter 1: The Prime Theorem
Information Systems Mirror the People that Build Them.
Chapter 2: Interfaces
How They Work and What Happens When They Are Broken.
Chapter 3: Relationship Management
We Can No Longer Manage the Systems as Single Nodes.
Chapter 4: Virtualization
A Natural Stage in the Maturity Cycle of Technologies
Chapter 5: Orchestration
Finding a Sensible Order amid too Many Complications to Count.
Chapter 6: Complexity
Databases, Passwords, Collaboration, Funding, Smashed Atoms, and a Professor.
Chapter 7: Distributed Resources
Two Types of Diffusion—Compute Resources and Human Capital.
Chapter 8: Flash Teams
Analysis of New Organizational Groups from Several Perspectives.
Chapter 9: Network as Narrative Form
Basic Building Blocks Connected to Create Various Structures.
Chapter 10: Identity
Finding the Needle in the Haystack and Giving It a Name.
Chapter 11: Organizational Architecture
How We Organize Ourselves Is as Important as What We Say and Do.
Chapter 12: (Theory of) Resonant Usability
Everything Is Moving to the Presentation Layer, Where Humans Interact.
Chapter 13: Turbulence
Creating Stability in the Face of Chaotic Disruption.
Chapter 14: Libraries
Two Lives, Two Windows, and the Search for Information.
Chapter 15: Abstraction
Lift Yourself above the Conflicting Details and Look for Similarity.
Chapter 16: Insubordination as an Asset
Why You Must Allow Employees to Disagree with Your Decisions.
Chapter 17: The Consortium
The Multisourced IT Organization and a Software Commons—Our Future.
Chapter 18: The Everysphere
An Example of Synchronous Events between “Unrelated” Objects.
Chapter 19: Q Narratives
Understand the Story and You Will Understand the Business Process.
Chapter 20: Leaving Flatland
To Adjust Somehow after Learning That Your World Has Another Dimension.
Chapter 21: We Are the Platform
Some Final Observations about the System and the Mirror.
Index.
