The Unicorn Project is the successor to The Phoenix Project, written by Gene Kim. It’s a successor and not a sequel as you don’t need to read The Phoenix Project before reading this book. It introduces new characters in the story of Parts Unlimited. The story is told from the viewpoint of Maxine, a senior lead developer.
The story starts with Maxine being exiles to work on The Phoenix Project and there she is crippled by the way things work and she cannot even get her dev environment at the beginning and is stuck in a cycle of approvals and tickets. The book goes over familiar situations that developers and even Data Scientists or ML Engineers often come across where lack of proper infrastructure or planning of services hinder our development and delay things for weeks which can be done in hours had the design or processes been designed in a better manner.
It’s not just a story of the issues we face in our daily work life but also about overcoming those challenges, what best practices to follow and how leaders inspire and handle pressure situations. The novel coveys some essential skills that everyone should aspire to achieve in a fun story about the struggles of working on the behemoth that is The Phoenix Project and how Maxine with her friends of rebels creates The Unicorn Project. It is a story of failure and success, of how even a senior lead developer can learn from her peers and grow despite the hurdles imposed on her by the organisation. It also showcases how it is very important to know how your customers are using the product you’re building and whether the features you are introducing will help them or not.
The Unicorn Project is a must read for anyone working in the tech industry, whether you’re a software engineer, a DevOps or a Machine Learning Engineer, this book is for everyone.
ML EXPLAINED 