Book Review: The DevOps Handbook

Four of the biggest names in the DevOps industry have combined forces to create the first ever DevOps Handbook.

The six-part book walks the reader through a high-level implementation of DevOps operations and culture. While the authors describe it as following in the footsteps of The Phoenix Project, The DevOps Handbook is less a fictional story about an overwhelmed IT Manager and more about ringing in the next generation of software deployment. Created for all levels of education and industry, The DevOps Handbook is sure to turn even the most hesitant manager into a DevOps believer. Meet some of us from XebiaLabs and get your own free copy of The DevOps Handbook at the DevOps Enterprise Summit in San Francisco, Nov. 7-9.

6 Parts, 23 Chapters, 1 Idea

The DevOps Handbook, authored by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Dubois, and John Willis, breaks down into six distinct sections, three of which you might recognize as "The Three Ways" from The Phoenix Project. Although the majority of the book concentrates on Deployment Lead Time, the authors try to answer some of the most popular questions in the DevOps community today. What is DevOps?  How do I get started? Okay, so now what? The book hits on most of the major DevOps topics, but the underlying theme is simple--efficiency. How do IT departments revolutionize the way they operate to keep up with the ever-growing demand of business? Answer--Adopt DevOps philosophy. The DevOps Handbook is the first comprehensive guide mapping out the next generation of software deployment for up-and-coming software engineers.

Join us for a live discussion with Gene Kim on Thursday, October 27th. Register for "Behind The Book: Gene Kim's Top Takeaways From Researching and Writing The DevOps Handbook" and enter to win a free copy of The DevOps Handbook!

  A major theme throughout the book is the DevOps community. The authors include references, excerpts, and quotes from analysts, podcasts, surveys, and just about every other medium the DevOps community is involved in. The most impressive element is the fluid integration of case studies throughout each chapter, as if the authors are trying to say "don't take it from me, check out this real-world example."

The DevOps Handbook is a breath of fresh air and a practical guide for developers, operations and IT pros, at the same time DevOps is evolving and changing by the day. New technologies such as Containers or Microservices will influence new practices and industry-specific DevOps problems (e.g., security in the Financial Services sector) will bubble up more urgently in the future.

Overall The DevOps Handbook is a home run for any developer/manager who's ready to look at software deployments in a new light. Its high-level overview, community inclusion, and readability will help create a new standard for software deployment as DevOps begins its transition from early adopters to early majority. For these reasons and more, The DevOps Handbook is a must-read for anyone in the software industry.