Douglas Squirrel

It's a solid book on communication... in software development teams... for managers and executives.

Communication
It's a kind of a missing manual giving practical solutions to more theoretical books (e.g. Nonviolent communication or Radical candor). Authors use 5 dysfunctions of a team as a framework to propose 5 types of conversations to overcome each of the dysfunctions. Each type has some specific tools to use, examples, and a case study. The book is neatly organized and easy to jump to the specific section in case of emergency.

Technical audience
A lot of metaphors, tools, examples will be hard to digest for someone who hasn't been working in a software development team (e.g. TDD for people or a walking skeleton). Some practices like scoring schemes for different conversations also seem to be added to appeal to more analytical readers. All examples come from technical teams in start-ups and scale-ups. If you are a digital products builder, you'll easily recognize the situations described in the book. If you work in any other field, you might be wondering more about what the conversation is than how to make it better.

Leadership angle
As the book progresses it becomes more about leadership than about communication. It describes managerial practices and theories, provides examples of difficult conversations at the organization's top (highly unlikely at the dev team level)... and most solutions are not a result of the successful conversation as much as a change in attitude, leadership style, or development practices. This is not something bad... just a bit misleading considering the book premise (that transformation is not about processes and practices but how we communicate).

Overall I enjoyed the book but felt a bit underwhelmed when I finished it. At the beginning of the book, the authors build up expectations that don't seem to be met in the end. It's all good, but I was counting on more generic tools and solutions. The book is very specific for whom it is intended for and will work with technical leaders (4-5 stars). I'm afraid it may turn off anyone else (2-3 stars).… (mer)