You think you can solve your human error problem by telling people to be more careful, by reprimanding the miscreants, by issuing a new rule or procedure. These are all expressions of 'The Bad Apple Theory', where you believe your system is basically safe if it were not for those few unreliable people in it. This old view of human error is increasingly outdated and will lead you nowhere. The new view, in contrast, understands that a human error problem is actually an organizational problem. Finding a 'human error' by any other name, or by any other human, is only the beginning of your journey, not a convenient conclusion. The new view recognizes that systems are inherent trade-offs between safety and other pressures (for example: production). People need to create safety through practice, at all levels of an organization. Breaking new ground beyond its successful predecessor, The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error guides you through the traps and misconceptions of the old view. It explains how to avoid the hindsight bias, to zoom out from the people closest in time and place to the mishap, and resist the temptation of counterfactual reasoning and judgmental language. But it also helps you look forward. It suggests how to apply the new view in building your safety department, handling questions about accountability, and constructing meaningful countermeasures. It even helps you in getting your organization to adopt the new view and improve its learning from failure. So if you are faced by a human error problem, abandon the fallacy of a quick fix. Read this book.

    Inspired by forensic psychology methods, you'll learn strategies to predict the future of your codebase, assess refactoring direction, and understand how your team influences the design. With its unique blend of forensic psychology and code analysis, this book arms you with the strategies you need, no matter what programming language you use.Software is a living entity that's constantly changing. To understand software systems, we need to know where they came from and how they evolved. By mining commit data and analyzing the history of your code, you can start fixes ahead of time to eliminate broken designs, maintenance issues, and team productivity bottlenecks. In this book, you'll learn forensic psychology techniques to successfully maintain your software. You'll create a geographic profile from your commit data to find hotspots, and apply temporal coupling concepts to uncover hidden relationships between unrelated areas in your code. You'll also measure the effectiveness of your code improvements. You'll learn how to apply these techniques on projects both large and small. For small projects, you'll get new insights into your design and how well the code fits your ideas. For large projects, you'll identify the good and the fragile parts.Large-scale development is also a social activity, and the team's dynamics influence code quality. That's why this book shows you how to uncover social biases when analyzing the evolution of your system. You'll use commit messages as eyewitness accounts to what is really happening in your code. Finally, you'll put it all together by tracking organizational problems in the code and finding out how to fix them. Come join the hunt for better code!

    Whether you use Linux, Unix, or Windows, this newly revised edition describes the essential practices previously handed down only from mentor to protege. This wonderfully lucid, often funny cornucopia of information introduces beginners to advanced frameworks valuable for their entire career, yet is structured to help even the most advanced experts through difficult projects.The book's four major sections build your knowledge with the foundational elements of system administration. These sections guide you through better techniques for upgrades and change management, catalog best practices for IT services, and explore various management topics. Chapters are divided into The Basics and The Icing. When you get the Basics right it makes every other aspect of the job easier--such as automating the right things first. The Icing sections contain all the powerful things that can be done on top of the basics to wow customers and managers.Inside, you'll find advice on topics such asThe key elements your networks and systems need in order to make all other services run better Building and running reliable, scalable services, including web, storage, email, printing, and remote access Creating and enforcing security policies Upgrading multiple hosts at one time without creating havoc Planning for and performing flawless scheduled maintenance windows Managing superior helpdesks and customer care Avoiding the -temporary fix- trap Building data centers that improve server uptime Designing networks for speed and reliability Web scaling and security issues Why building a backup system isn't about backups Monitoring what you have and predicting what you will need How technically oriented workers can maintain their job's technical focus (and avoid an unwanted management role) Technical management issues, including morale, organization building, coaching, and maintaining positive visibility Personal skill techniques, including secrets for getting more done each day, ethical dilemmas, managing your boss, and loving your job System administration salary negotiation It's no wonder the first edition received Usenix SAGE's 2005 Outstanding Achievement Award!This eagerly anticipated second edition updates this time-proven classic:Chapters reordered for easier navigationThousands of updates and clarifications based on reader feedbackPlus three entirely new chapters: Web Services, Data Storage, and Documentation

    Boasting a full-color interior packed with design and layout examples, this book teaches you how to understand a user's needs, divulges techniques for exceeding a user's expectations, and provides a host of hard won advice for improving the overall quality of a user's experience. World-renowned UX guru Eric Reiss shares his knowledge from decades of experience making products useable for everyone...all in an engaging, easy-to-apply manner.Reveals proven tools that simply make products better, from the users' perspective Provides simple guidelines and checklists to help you evaluate and improve your own products Zeroes in on essential elements to consider when planning a product, such as its functionality and responsiveness, whether or not it is ergonomic, making it foolproof, and more Addresses considerations for product clarity, including its visibility, understandability, logicalness, consistency, and predictability Usable Usability walks you through numerous techniques that will help ensure happy customers and successful products!

    Mastering large-scale software delivery will define the economic landscape of the 21st century, just as mass production defined the landscape in the 20th. Unfortunately, business and technology leaders outside of the tech giants are woefully ill-equipped to solve the problems posed by digital transformation. A new approach is needed.In Project to Product, value stream network pioneer and technology leader Dr. Mik Kersten introduces the Flow Framework. This new way of building an infrastructure for innovation will change the way enterprises think about software delivery, enabling every organization the opportunity to win a portion of the $18.5 trillion (IDC) that will be created annually through better software delivery.Project to Product provides leaders the missing framework needed to create the technology equivalent of an advanced manufacturing line, across thousands of IT professionals, and enables optimizing value creation across the entire organization. This book is ideal for C-suite leadership and IT management at every level.

    In this one-of-a-kind text, author V. Anton Spraul breaks down the ways that programmers solve problems and teaches you what other introductory books often ignore: how to Think Like a Programmer. Each chapter tackles a single programming concept, like classes, pointers, and recursion, and open-ended exercises throughout challenge you to apply your knowledge. You'll also learn how to:Split problems into discrete components to make them easier to solve Make the most of code reuse with functions, classes, and libraries Pick the perfect data structure for a particular job Master more advanced programming tools like recursion and dynamic memory Organize your thoughts and develop strategies to tackle particular types of problems Although the book's examples are written in C++, the creative problem-solving concepts they illustrate go beyond any particular language; in fact, they often reach outside the realm of computer science. As the most skillful programmers know, writing great code is a creative art—and the first step in creating your masterpiece is learning to Think Like a Programmer.

    Cracking the Sales Management Code reveals that science and gives practical steps to identify the metrics you must measure to manage toward success."--Arthur Dorfman, National Vice President, SAP"Cracking the Sales Management Code is a must-read for anyone who wants to bring his or her sales management team into the 21st century."--Mike Nathe, Senior Vice President, Essilor Laboratories of America"The authors correctly assert that the proliferation of management reporting has created a false sense of control for sales executives. Real control is derived from clear direction to the field--and this book tells how do to that in an easy-to-understand, actionable manner."--Michael R. Jenkins, Signature Client Vice President, AT&T Global Enterprise Solutions"There are things that can be managed in a sales force, and there are things that cannot. Too often sales management doesn't see the difference. This book is invaluable because it reveals the manageable activities that actually drive sales results."--John Davis, Vice President, St. Jude Medical"Cracking the Sales Management Code is one of the most important resources available on effective sales management. . . . It should be required reading for every sales leader."--Bob Kelly, Chairman, The Sales Management Association "A must-read for managers who want to have a greater impact on sales force performance."--James Lattin, Robert A. Magowan Professor of Marketing, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University"This book offers a solution to close the gap between sales processes and business results. It shows a new way to think critically about the strategies and tactics necessary to move a sales team from good to great!"--Anita Abjornson, Sales Management Effectiveness, Abbott LaboratoriesAbout the Book: There are literally thousands of books on selling, coaching, and leadership, but what about the particulars of managing a sales force? Where are the frameworks, metrics, and best practices to help you succeed?Based on extensive research into how world-class companies measure and manage their sales forces, Cracking the Sales Management Code is the first operating manual for sales management. In it you will discover:The five critical processes that drive sales performanceHow to choose the right processes for your own teamThe three levels of sales metrics you must collectWhich metrics you can "manage" and which ones you can'tHow to prioritize conflicting sales objectivesHow to align seller activities with business resultsHow to use CRM to improve the impact of coachingAs Neil Rackham writes in the foreword: "There's an acute shortage of good books on the specifics of sales management. Cracking the Sales Management Code is about the practical specifics of sales management in the new era, and it fills a void."Cracking the Sales Management Code fills that void by providing foundational knowledge about how the sales force works. It reveals the gears and levers that actually control sales results. It adds clarity to things that you intuitively know and provides insight into things that you don't. It will change the way you manage your sellers from day to day, as well as the results you get from year to year.

    Each lesson is followed by list of key concepts and sample questions to help you study for your ITIL(R) Foundation certification exam. Chapter review questions, modeled after the real exam questions, reinforce your learning for each unit.Written by an ITIL(R) Expert trainer who has taught thousands of students and hundreds of organizations, "Foundations of IT Service Management with ITIL(R) 2011" provides a reader with the introduction to this approach to IT services without the expense of a formal classroom course. While the focus is primarily on providing information required to pass the ITIL(R) Foundations exam, this book goes beyond those basics to also provide a real understanding of ITIL(R) to further your knowledge and abilities as a valuable part of IT/business alignment. Using a case-study approach, real issues are discussed that represents challenges experienced by almost every IT organization.Everyone prepares for the ITIL(R) Foundation certification exam in different ways. Accompanying the book are numerous study aids to support your study preparation on the supporting web site. Whether you are new to IT or a seasoned professional, this book is one you need to aid in your quest for certification.Included in your purchase is access to the online study resources including:- Exercise guide- Audio "learn while you drive" reviews- Sample exams- Exam syllabus- PDF version of the "100 ITIL Exam Questions" bookCompanies in all industries are requiring ITIL(R) Foundation as a minimum requirement for their staff. Whether you are entering IT for the first time or switching jobs, ITIL(R) Foundation certification is a step toward your desired career.

    It also includes interviews with successful virtual assistants, interviews with clients who utilize a virtual assistant, resources at the end of most chapters, a 30-day reading guide and action plan, and access to The Bootstrap VA Facebook Group where readers can bounce ideas off of each other, ask Lisa questions, and get the support needed no matter where they are in the process of becoming and working as a virtual assistant.If you want to get started as a virtual assistant, and you're a go-getter looking to bootstrap your way to success, this is an eBook you can't afford to miss.ABOUT THE AUTHORLisa Morosky is the author of "The Bootstrap VA: The Go-Getter's Guide to Becoming a Virtual Assistant, Getting and Keeping Clients, and More!" and is a premier virtual assistant in the blogging, Internet marketing, social media, and online business realms. As the founder of VAforBloggers.com, Lisa worked with dozens of clients from 2009-2011, received mentions by and recommendations from top experts, spoke at the BlogWorld conference in Las Vegas, and built a business from the ground up. In 2011, Lisa made the decision to cut back, reposition her services and her client base, and spend more time on personal projects. She moved her services to her new, centralized home at The Home Life {and Me}, lowered her rates (to pass on her new savings to her clients), and changed her title to "blog helper". In 2012, Lisa launched her virtual assistant coaching services.In addition to being a virtual assistant and a virtual assistant coach, Lisa is a Christ follower, a proud wife to her amazing husband, a homemaker, a real foodie, and a lover of all things simple and natural. You can find her blogging about creating a simple, natural, faith-inspired home life at http://www.thehomelifeand.me.

    The PADI Open Water Diver course leads to two possible certifications: PADI SCUBA Diver and PADI Open Water Diver. This book covers basic diving certification topics and techniques including:Choosing, using, maintaining, and storing equipment.Basic training, from pool to open waterDiving physiology, including buoyancy, behavior of gases, the bends, and hypothermia.Dive planning, including decompression dives.Safety and first aid.

    To create a successful web product that's as large as Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest-or even as small as a tiny app-you need to know more than just HTML and CSS. You need to understand how to create meaningful online experiences so that users want to come back again and again.In other words, you have to stop thinking like a web designer or a visual designer or a UX designer or an interaction designer and start thinking like a product designer.In this breakthrough introduction to modern product design, Etsy Creative Director Randy Hunt explains the skills, processes, types of tools, and recommended workflows for creating world-class web products. After reading this book, you'll have a complete understanding of what product design really is and you'll be equipped with the best practices necessary for building your own successful online products.

    Scrum recognizes this -- but unfortunately, many companies, agile resources, and training curricula focus primarily on the mechanics of product ownership. Mechanics are important, but only as a means to an end: value. The Professional Product Owner will help product owners and their organizations refocus on value as the primary objective. The authors offer detailed practices for identifying where value can be found, measuring it, and maximizing it throughout the entire product lifecycle. Drawing on their combined 40+ years of experience in using agile and Scrum in product delivery, the authors show how to go beyond merely writing requirements and managing product backlogs, to take accountability and drive the process from vision to value.

    It's a beautifully written tutorial that begins with the basic steps to get your first Ruby program up and running and goes on to explore sophisticated topics like callable objects, reflection, and threading. Whether the topic is simple or tough, the book's easy-to-follow examples and explanations will give you immediate confidence as you build your Ruby programming skills.The Well-Grounded Rubyist is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of the best-selling Ruby for Rails. In this new book, expert author David A. Black moves beyond Rails and presents a broader view of Ruby. It covers Ruby 1.9, and keeps the same sharp focus and clear writing that made Ruby for Rails stand out.Starting with the basics, The Well-Grounded Rubyist explains Ruby objects and their interactions from the ground up. In the middle chapters, the book turns to an examination of Ruby's built-in, core classes, showing the reader how to manipulate strings, numbers, arrays, ranges, hashes, sets, and more. Regular expressions get attention, as do file and other I/O operations.Along the way, the reader is introduced to numerous tools included in the standard Ruby distribution--tools like the task manager Rake and the interactive Ruby console-based interpreter Irb--that facilitate Ruby development and make it an integrated and pleasant experience.The book encompasses advanced topics, like the design of Ruby's class and module system, and the use of Ruby threads, taking even the new Rubyist deep into the language and giving every reader the foundations necessary to use, explore, and enjoy this unusually popular and versatile language.It's no wonder one reader commented: "The technical depth is just right to not distract beginners, yet detailed enough for more advanced readers."Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

    Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making "slide presentations" in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.--back cover

    In Making Numbers Count, Chip Heath argues that it's crucial for us all to be able to interpret and communicate numbers and stats more effectively so that data comes alive. By combining years of research into making ideas stick with a deep understanding of how the brain really works, Heath has discerned six critical principles that will give anyone the tools to communicate numbers with more transparency and meaning. These ideas - including simplicity, concreteness and familiarity - reveal what's compelling about a number and show how to transform it into its most understandable form. And if we can do this when we're using numbers, Heath tells us, then the idea of data won't drive people to panic. We're not hungry for numbers - there's an unfathomable amount of information being generated each year - but we are starved for meaning. The ability to communicate and understand numbers has never mattered more.