Software delivery has never been more critical — or more complex. Every organization is under pressure to ship faster, improve quality, reduce risk, and magically predict the future. Tools change, architectures evolve, and buzzwords come and go. Yet the same stubborn problems keep coming back: delivery takes too long, solutions fail to meet business objectives, costs are too high, or quality is too low.
Why haven’t we solved these problems yet? Because they’re systemic. They defy simple explanations or simple solutions. Instead, the only way to address systemic problems is by deeply understanding the system.
Signals & Levers gives technology leaders the tools to finally see — and influence — the hidden system dynamics that make software delivery either joyful or maddening. Through a relatable case study and practical, proven techniques from systems thinking, statistical process control, and options economics, Elisabeth Hendrickson and Joel Tosi show how to:
- Separate signal from noise in data and decision-making
- Identify the levers that truly shift outcomes — and stop pulling the ones that don’t
- Reveal hidden loops, bottlenecks, and unintended consequences before they strike
- Use system analysis tools like U-curves and causal models to make smarter strategic bets
- Build a culture that learns faster than the world changes
Each chapter includes an exercise you can do in under 30 minutes to apply the concepts in your own organization — immediately.
Once you learn to see what’s really happening in your software delivery system, you’ll never be able to unsee it. That’s the point. When your team deals in reality instead of illusion, delivery becomes clearer, faster, and far more resilient.
Stop fighting your software delivery system. Start shaping it.
