Accelerate

The research backbone behind modern software delivery practices. Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim spent four years conducting the State of DevOps surveys, collecting data from thousands of technology professionals to determine what actually drives high performance in software organizations. Accelerate presents those findings with statistical rigor that sets it apart from opinion-driven management books.

Why This One

If Team Topologies gives you the “how” of team structure, Accelerate gives you the “what” and “why” of delivery performance. The book identifies 24 key capabilities that predict software delivery speed and organizational performance, grouped into continuous delivery, architecture, product and process, lean management, and culture. The research shows that these capabilities drive not just technical outcomes but also business results: profitability, market share, and productivity.

What makes Accelerate compelling is that it replaces gut feelings with data. Arguments about whether trunk-based development is better than long-lived branches, or whether you should invest in deployment automation before monitoring, become answerable questions. The book gives leaders evidence they can use to prioritize investments and push back on practices that feel productive but are not.

What to Expect

A 288-page book in two parts. Part one presents the research findings in accessible prose, covering what the authors measured and what they found. Part two goes deeper into the methodology, explaining how they validated their survey instrument and statistical models. Most readers will get the most value from part one. The writing is straightforward and avoids jargon. Winner of the Shingo Publication Award.