Stephane Eyskens is the author of Software Architecture for Busy Developers, we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.
Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?
Stephane: Software and Cloud Architecture
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Stephane: I have always liked sharing my knowledge and experience with others. When it comes to books, I wrote a few books in French about 12 years ago. I then switched to online recordings and simple blog posts/walkthroughs. Lately, I had the opportunity to work with Packt on an Azure Architecture Mapbook, which is a multi-disciplinary book on Azure architecture. We then decided to focus on a more developer-oriented book, for developers who want to bring their career to the next level, by understanding the global software architecture landscape. As always, my books are inspired from my real-world job, which is my passion at the same time for the past 22 years.
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Stephane: I researched a little bit on the literature about enterprise architecture (TOGAF) and ATAM, which I both have practical experience with, but it’s always good to double-check things. The hardest piece in writing such a book, is to transform theoretical concepts into actionable and tangible examples. I also reviewed some of the historical development design patterns.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Stephane: I must say that it was rather straightforward.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Stephane: Except the last chapter, this book is timeless. Frameworks and methodologies I discuss are here to stay. The last chapter is more oriented towards serverless and microservices, which will for sure evolve over time. I think that the Cloud era is still just at its start and revamps the way we build software. I shed some light on this in the book.
Q. Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Stephane: The promises of this book are: no fluff and actionable guidance, out of real-world experience. I think that this only is already a valid reason to buy the book.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Stephane: Readers will learn that critical thinking is always the way to go. There are many frameworks, methodologies and concepts, and you can quickly get lost in translation. I think that critical thinking is the guideline of this book.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Stephane: Well, I’d say, try to focus. Do not disperse yourself too much.
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
Stephane: Yes, you can find here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-developer-community-blog/bg-p/AzureDevCommunityBlog
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites, and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Stephane: There are too many concepts but useful links are provided in the book itself.
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Stephane: Journey is ok so far and yes, I definitely encourage others to join the party!
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Stephane: As an Azure MVP, I belong to a few groups. The MS tech community is one of them (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-developer-community-blog/bg-p/AzureDevCommunityBlog)
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Stephane: I like channel9 for Azure-related things. I also love cloud-native blogs and conferences.
You can find Stephane’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
