Learning Systems Thinking: Essential Non-Linear Skills and Practices for Software Professionals

Welcome to the systems age, where software professionals are no longer building software; we're building systems of software. Change is continuously deployed across software ecosystems coordinated by responsive infrastructure. In this world of increasing relational complexity, we need to think differently. Many of our challenges are systemic. This book shows you how systems thinking can guide you through the complexity of modern systems. Rather than relying on traditional reductionistic approaches, author Diana Montalion shows you how to expand your skill set so we can think, communicate, and act as healthy systems. Systems thinking is a practice that improves your effectiveness and enables you to lead impactful change. Through a series of practices and real-world scenarios, you'll learn to shift your perspective in order to design, develop, and deliver better outcomes. You'll learn: • How linear thinking limits your ability to solve system challenges • Common obstacles to systems thinking and how to move past them • New skills and practices that will transform how you think, learn, and lead • Methods for thinking well with others and creating sound recommendations • How to measure success in the midst of complexity and uncertainty