Nicole has authored two books on DevOps that have become industry guidebooks on using technology to drive business value, resulting in success—and even a little bit of joy. She has also contributed to books on topics essential to how we ship software today and into the future.

In addition to her groundbreaking, industry-shaping work on DORA metrics and the State of DevOps Reports, she has changed the way the industry thinks about developers and their work. She was the lead author on the SPACE productivity framework (used by Gartner, McKinsey, Forrester, Bain, and other global titans) and has published papers on DevEx, why it matters, how to measure it, and how to improve it. These are top papers at ACM, and are shaping the way the industry thinks about developer productivity and DevEx.

Writing

The Science of Lean Software and Devops. Accelerate: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations by Nicole Forsgren, PhD. Jez Humble, and Gene Kim

Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software

This best-selling, Shingo Publication Award-winning book explores the idea of applying technology to drive business value.

We’ve always wondered if software delivery can provide a competitive advantage. This book provides a compelling overview of four years of groundbreaking research, including a way to measure software delivery performance—and what drives it—using rigorous statistical methods. Readers will learn how to measure the performance of their teams, and what capabilities they should invest in to go further. This book is ideal for practitioners and management at every level.

  • 2018 Software Book of the Year.

    — Martin Fowler, software expert, speaker, and author of Refactoring

  • A must read! In a sea of books about technology approaches, Accelerate stands out in its clarity and practicality.

    — Karen Martin, author of Clarity First and The Outstanding Organization

  • Excellent! As well as conclusively showing that DevOps outcomes are faster, cheaper, AND safer, this book is an excellent case study for robust survey design and analysis.

    — Adrian Cockroft

  • We strongly recommend this book to anyone involved in a digital transformation for solid guidance about what works, what doesn't work, and what doesn't matter.

    — Tom and Mary Poppendieck, co-authors of the Lean Software Development series

The DevOps Handbook: How to create world-class agility, reliability, & security in technology organizations. by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Debois, and John Willis. Featuring new foreward and updated material by Nicole Forsgren, PhD.

The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability & Security in Technology Organizations

With technology at the core of every company, it’s essential to understand how we can harness it by taking DevOps out of the IT department and applying it across the business. Now in its second edition, this version includes 15 new case studies, including stories from Adidas, American Airlines, Fannie Mae, Target, and the US Air Force, as well as Nicole’s updated material and research.

  • [The DevOps Handbook] remains a must-read for any organization seeking to scale up its IT capability and expand DevOps practices across multiple departments or lines of business.

    — Mike Perrow, TechBeacon

  • There are a lot of DevOps books, but very few that offer concrete, practical, and implementable advice and a roadmap for not just adopting DevOps practices and principles, but for also measuring their success. The DevOps Handbook is the definitive long-form guide for achieving success with DevOps methodologies.

    — Nigel Kersten, Field CTO, Puppet

  • The DevOps Handbook is an amazing guide for anyone trying to improve their DevOps kung-fu in their companies. It literally covers everything you may need to know, and is filled with interesting case studies and real-life examples of how people have achieved success in their DevOps transformations.

    — Ross Clanton, chief architect and managing director, American Airlines

  • We strongly recommend this book to anyone involved in a digital transformation for solid guidance about what works, what doesn't work, and what doesn't matter.

    — Tom and Mary Poppendieck, co-authors of the Lean Software Development series

Highlights from Nicole’s public writing and white papers

These papers have shaped the industry’s thoughts on software engineering, developer productivity, and developer experience (DevEx).

State of the Octoverse Reports, GitHub. 

State of the Octoverse 2021, GitHub.