The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying and mental illness.

Throughout the novel, Palmer’s laptop is a symbolic representation of the state of Parts Unlimited’s operations. Early in the transition from Palmer’s role in Midrange Operations to his role as VP of IT Operations, he receives a replacement laptop. The temporary laptop is old, bulky, and falling apart, and Palmer constantly complains about how useless it is for modern business and IT. The laptop in this state represents the disconnected Development, QA, IT Operations, and Information Security teams with which Palmer is working. Much like the laptop, these teams struggle to get anything started, often crash before completing the work, and operate in fickle conditions. Palmer’s laptop dies regularly, cannot load emails, and will only start at a specific point of the charge cycle. This dysfunction reflects the initial state of DevOps as a collection of parts barely functioning in unison, rather than a unified machine. Specifically, the fact that Palmer needs to consistently duct tape the battery to the laptop shows the increased need for maintenance and effort when operating ineffectively.

In the end, Palmer’s laptop is replaced as the team starts to function better.