Project to Product: How to Survive and Thrive in the Age of Digital Disruption with the Flow Framework

By: Mik Kersten

Narrated by: Edward Bauer

Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the age of software, will your business dominate and maintain relevance? Or will it become a digital relic?

As tech giants and startups disrupt every market, those who master large-scale software delivery will define the economic landscape of the 21st century, just as the masters of mass production defined the landscape in the 20th. Unfortunately, business and technology leaders are woefully ill-equipped to solve the problems posed by digital transformation. At the current rate of disruption, half of the S&P 500 companies will be replaced in the next 10 years. A new approach is needed. 

In Project to Product, value stream network pioneer and technology business leader Dr. Mik Kersten introduces the Flow Framework - a new way of seeing, measuring, and managing software delivery. The Flow Framework will enable your company's evolution from project-oriented dinosaur to product-centric innovator that thrives in the age of software. If you're driving your organization's transformation at any level, this is the audiobook for you. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Mik Kersten (P)2018 Mik Kersten

Great book but missing the additional PDF material

The subject matter should concern anybody interested in how to link DevOps to the value generation in your business. Overall the author does a great job of advocating for the Flow Framework though details of how to implement in a large Enterprise are left out. The side-story of the authors visit to the Leipzig BMW plant and the insights gained from that contains more than a little echo of The Phoenix Project (and by implication, The Goal) and for those inspired by that book, this is one more piece of the puzzle on how business delivery needs to transform in the age of software.
However, the fact that the additional material referenced by the narrator is missing from the Audible version greatly reduces the value of the audio version.

Additional pdf material can be found elsewhere

The additional pdf material referenced in the audio book by the author can be found here:
https://itrevolution.com/book/project-to-product/

If it was Easy Everyone Would be Doing it

It is not hard to find blog posts and articles that chronicle failed digital transformations. This book explains why there seem to be so many examples. To the extent it can, the book also does a reasonable job in pointing the way. But it also makes the point that it is culture, processes and people all aligning to the way the business accrues value that will allow you to possibly transfer from project to product. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it ... successfully. It is not easy.

Author should have waited a year or two

The successful companies outlined by the author are Boeing and BMW. If the author had waited it would be apparent that other companies should have been chosen.

mostly buzzwords, almost no insight

I struggled on to the end of the book, which I regret. The 'new framework' never came. No epiphanies. All the content in this book could be summarized by 'visualize your work' and ' integrate your tools' as possible by scale.
The whole book uses examples of companies that already are successful in value flow, yet the author claims his ideas are new. Author continually says the old management/production frameworks won't work, but lean and agile underpin all his ideas.
All delivered by the voice of a dramatic used car salesman.

Next step for any transforming organization

Great book !

Being in agile development for more than 10 years, i think this is the next step for any organization trying to manage software development and align initiatives with the business value stream.

The book paint a complete view from theory to framework and tying it back to tools.

Next step for is the implementation

A sales pitch for consulting

While this book contains some substance, it ultimately feels like a sales pitch for consulting services. It provides some high level thoughts and measures on improving software development productivity, relies too heavily on manufacturing for examples (and approach that's been beaten to death in similar books), and doesn't really get into practical implementation.

A must read for agile practitioners

Loved it. So much knowledge and one will find so much value to put to work right away

Great vision

Id recommend this book, and the primary audience should be business leadership, not technologists.

Calming when your company moves this way

My company is making this move, and leadership isn't communicating well. This book helped to calm me down by seeing that things are going in the right direction, even if the change management isn't being handled well, or at all.

The most important thing to remember that there's very few leaders who do change well, and they'll get components right. Just try to judge things stoically, pragmatically and holistically.

Missing link

The missing link between agile models and business models. So many useful concepts. Narrate the next version yourself Mik?

Must read by anyone involved in product delivery

This is one of those books where in every chapter you can relate it to one of your previous product deliveries. Ithere’s so much to Take Away and apply to successful product delivery. Will definitely recommend it other product delivery professionals who are interested in successfully scaling delivery.

Missing a chapter

The book has some great points about the metrics for product teams along with finding and showing the different types of work. where the book falls flat is the lack of case studies or strategies on aligning product teams when focusing on a business initiative.

Some great concepts, but over complicated

Some good stories, and I like focus on e2e flow, flow metrics, and ultimately busines value. This was good. However I found much of the book a bit uneasy to follow. Terms are interchanged and not consistent; and he almost applies full ok object oriented development concepts to his flow framework. Clearly it's the mind of a developer however it doesn't make the full flow framework very accessible.

Sounds gamechanging but lacks details

The problem and need are convincing, but I found that it is very vague in terms of implementation for software development. It would have helped to have some examples of how this has successfully been applied to several differing software products, with enough detail to understand how it was implemented in each case.

Key book for the software age

I was lucky enough to see Mik’s presentation at DOES2019 together with the book it helped clarify something that had been at the back of mind for awhile.

If like me, you have read Kim’s Phoenix Project and realised the importance of DevOps thinking, but your business doesn’t have the catalyst for change that Parts Unlimited does - read this book.

This details why there is a catalyst for change for scores of businesses and the potential consequences for those that done.

While Mik could sometimes be accused of hyperbole with his writing style. Don’t let that put you off. Stick with this book.

My hope is that this book re-ignites the DevOps movement and takes it beyond the “tools” explosion.

A masterpiece on creating Business value via IT

I really enjoyed reading product to project and will highly recommend it. First, the book clearly and elaborately discuss the important of business value driven IT organisation using value stream architecture. Second, the flow system and flow metric for end to end business and technical value delivery was a game changer for me at work as it meant my team created more value for the clients. lastly, I enjoyed the use of practical case studies to driven home key and valuable lessons. It is a book that requires more than one read and running application exercises based on the concepts proposed.