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Rating: 
Summary: A Lot to Offer ANY Reader!
Review: "Artful Making" is a great book. Before reading it, and even into its first few chapters, I was under the impression the book was aimed mainly at midlevel management of medium-to-large corporations:a large group, to be sure, but one to which I do not happen to belong. But I was mistaken . . .
I soon realized that the key qualities of release-collaboration-ensemble-play can fit any setting where individuals or groups of people want to create something valuable. What Austin and Devin are talking about is developing a process and a result that unite in a never-ending productive cycle, where each "iteration" is different, but yet a necessary prelude to what follows. We can all benefit, because we all have the same need to stay away from the "staleness" and complacency that can be so deadly to personal and professional growth. "Artful Making" will help you find the way.
I recommend the book completely. Read it over and over and keep a pencil handy for special passages!
Rating:
Summary: A Lot to Offer ANY Reader!
Review: "Artful Making" is a great book. Before reading it, and even into its first few chapters, I was under the impression the book was aimed mainly at midlevel management of medium-to-large corporations:a large group, to be sure, but one to which I do not happen to belong. But I was mistaken . . .
I soon realized that the key qualities of release-collaboration-ensemble-play can fit any setting where individuals or groups of people want to create something valuable. What Austin and Devin are talking about is developing a process and a result that unite in a never-ending productive cycle, where each "iteration" is different, but yet a necessary prelude to what follows. We can all benefit, because we all have the same need to stay away from the "staleness" and complacency that can be so deadly to personal and professional growth. "Artful Making" will help you find the way.
I recommend the book completely. Read it over and over and keep a pencil handy for special passages!
Rating:
Summary: Reliable Innovation
Review: For those who need to innovate in a world of change, reduced cycle times, and demanding customers. Austin and Devin provide a management framework for delivering innovation reliably and effectively. Concepts in the book--Artful Making, Reconceiving, Low cost iteration, and working on the Edge--all resonate with my experiences in the Agile Software Development movement. "Artful Making" will go on my must read list!
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, unique and groundbreaking.
Review: I have had the privilege of studying under Prof. Rob Austin, and I this book continues the dialogue that has always informed Rob's intellectual search--how do two seemingly disparate disciplines, in this case theater production and knowledge based business, converge to inform processes that are virtually identical thus providing a path where each can improve the results of the other. Both he and Lee Devin have written a concise, powerfully convincing narrative that offers a new approach on how to manage complexity, embrace ambiguity and uncertainty and innovate reliably under strict deadlines. Managing "release", rapid iterative development, and creating the right "ensemble" are some of the key concepts explored in the book. Highly recommended for anyone presented with the challenges of how to innovate and perform reliably under deadlines.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing new here
Review: The book goes into great lengths into comparing business and theatre. Concepts of rapid iteration, small groups and "playing" are mentioned in the book.
No new concepts... they just went deep into the comparisons. The read is a bit boring.
Rating:
Summary: The Art of Adaptable Software Teams
Review: The principles that this book discusses: Release, Collaboration Ensemble and Play are extremely relevant to creating effective software teams. The principles are inspired by observing how theatre companies work, but they also have a basis in lean manufacturing. If you work as a software developer or manager and have ever worked on a theatre production (community theatre or at school) a light will go on immediately. If you haven't The data that the authors provide about lean manufacturing practices and software development will convince you that there is a lot that we can learn from this metaphor. The theatre examples will be helpful in explaining how the principles work if you need to communicate them to a manager who does not understand software development. Buy this book and place it along side your books on agile software development; you will want to read it and refer back to it frequently.
Rating:
Summary: The Art of Adaptable Software Teams
Review: The principles that this book discusses: Release, Collaboration Ensemble and Play are extremely relevant to creating effective software teams. The principles are inspired by observing how theatre companies work, but they also have a basis in lean manufacturing. If you work as a software developer or manager and have ever worked on a theatre production (community theatre or at school) a light will go on immediately. If you haven't The data that the authors provide about lean manufacturing practices and software development will convince you that there is a lot that we can learn from this metaphor. The theatre examples will be helpful in explaining how the principles work if you need to communicate them to a manager who does not understand software development. Buy this book and place it along side your books on agile software development; you will want to read it and refer back to it frequently.
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