A book about how to be a ‘professional programmer’. I was a bit worried that this book would be a bit ‘dry’ like other techy books I’ve read, but it was written in a way that kept me really engaged. The author added lots of personal anecdotes in his writing which made it easy to relate to, and I’m really glad I was lent/recommended it by my colleagues.

I felt like I learnt quite a lot from this book – even though most of it felt like common sense after I’d read it, some of it I’d never even considered before.  Things like how you should tailor your language when you speak to people to make sure you’re actually on the same page and not just assuming that they know what you mean – saying “I’ll try” for instance means two different things to the sayer and the listener. I’m definitely guilty of using that phrase a little too much in the past.

The book gives tips on how to manage your time, how to deal with conflict, how to avoid burnout, and how to create ‘thriving’ teams. I found the chapter about estimating quite fascinating, I’ve never even considered some of the techniques for estimating that he discussed – much better than a finger in the air!

I’m a little torn between giving this book 4 or 5 stars. For me, the book seemed to end quite abruptly which left me feeling a bit disappointed. One minute I was reading about the authors current choice of ‘tools’, and then I turned the page and it was over. I kind of expected some sort of conclusion perhaps.

At points, some of the recommendations the author makes seem a bit ambitious, but with the way that processes have changed for me at work in the last year or so, the sky is the limit!