Rob Cowell is the author of Salesforce DevOps for Architects, 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)?
Rob: Salesforce Development, Architecture and DevOps.
Q: How did you become an author for Packt?
Rob: Shortly after transitioning my career from Salesforce Developer to Salesforce DevOps Advocate, Packt reached out to me to ask if I’d be interested in writing a book on the topic.
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Rob: My day job means I’m immersed in the world of Salesforce DevOps every day, so my research is drawn on my existing knowledge, with some support from my peers.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process?
Rob: The biggest challenge is always making time for the writing process, when you have work and family commitments. Thankfully, the team at Packt have been enormously supportive in helping me get through the process.
Q. Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Rob: This book brings the subject up to date and takes the wide, strategic view that architects need, while still retaining some implementation details.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Rob: The key takeaways are that DevOps isn’t just for Devs, that it’s an incremental process, and that it’s really not hard if you plan well and get culture established.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Rob: The best advice I can give as you start your DevOps journey is to get the team culture of collaboration in place first, and the tech implementation will follow much smoother.
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites, and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Rob: Here you go- https://devopslaunchpad.com/blog/, https://gearset.com/blog/
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt?
Rob: It’s been a long journey, but a worthwhile one that’s been well supported.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Rob: Yes, London Salesforce Developers Group (and equivalent Admin and Architect groups).
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Rob: DevOps Digest, TechstrongTV, but mostly social media (X, LinkedIn, Reddit)
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Rob: I have a per-chapter list to tackle. I prioritize writing drafts over editing based on feedback, as it keeps the pipeline moving for my editors and tech reviewers.
Q. What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Rob: As more and more teams take on the challenge of Salesforce DevOps, we’ll start to see something we’ve seen in every other facet of technology recently the adoption of AI to guide and achieve automation.
Q. What is the one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Rob: The most crucial thing I found was to deliberately carve out time to spend writing. Make it a plan, not a hobby.
Q. Would you like to share your social handles? If so, please share.
Rob: Here is my LinkedIn and X.
You can find Rob’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
