Interview with Ken Power

Software Crafts Podcast

Ken Power is challenged with the heuristic “Use a systematic mechanism of learning” from the Simon Wardley Doctrine repository (https://wardleypedia.org/mediawiki/index.php/Doctrine_Patterns#Use_a_systematic_mechanism_of_learning). He shares how he learns, with structure and unstructured approaches, and also how teams and organisations can learn. Our discussion goes into complex adaptive systems, different patterns, and how learning is one of the qualities present in resilient organisations. Last but not least how complexity and mapping can go hand-in-hand.

Ken recommends the following resources:

• Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime from Sean Carroll
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life from Mark Manson
• 7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change: Micro Shifts, Macro Results from Esther Derby
• The Heat of the Moment: Life and Death Decision-Making From a Firefighter from Sabrina Cohen-Hatton
• Lex Fridman Podcast (https://lexfridman.com/podcast/)
• Rasa Chats
  

Ken (@ken_power) is an engineering leader with more than 20 years’ experience in software engineering. His current focus is working with intelligent autonomous systems, including software for self-driving cars and edge devices.

His focus is the intersection of people, product development, strategy, architecture, leadership, agility, and engineering culture.

Ken is an independent consultant and product developer. In addition, he holds a research fellowship with Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre, where his current research focus is connected autonomous vehicles. He is also an associate lecturer with the National University of Ireland, Galway, where he teaches strategy & planning, systems analysis & design, and large-scale transformation.

Ken has held multiple technical and leadership positions in organizations, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. He was with Cisco for 11 years, where he served as Principal Engineer and Engineering Director with multiple global business units.

Ken has authored more than 35 peer-reviewed publications on software engineering topics, including winning the IEEE Software best paper award.

He is a speaker at leading international conferences on architecture, software engineering, agile, and lean product development, and regularly serves as a conference organizer and program committee member. He was co-editor of the 2019 IEEE Software special issue on Large-Scale Agile Development.

Ken has a B.Eng. in Software Engineering, a MSc in Artificial Intelligence, and a PhD in comple