Progressive Delivery: A New Approach to Modern Software Development

Today’s technology leaders face a critical challenge: Software is now embedded in nearly every aspect of our lives, from banking apps to home security systems to medical devices. Users expect these systems to work flawlessly while continuously evolving to meet their changing needs. Yet the gap between software delivery and genuine user value continues to widen.

IT Revolution is proud to announce Progressive Delivery: Build the Right Thing for the Right People at the Right Time arriving in Fall 2025. This book introduces a framework for delivering software that adapts to users’ needs while maintaining stability and control.

The authors—James Governor, Kim Harrison, Heidi Waterhouse, and Adam Zimman—argue that traditional software delivery methods aren’t keeping pace with modern requirements. When updates to a banking app frustrate older users while failing to deliver features younger users expect, or when critical business software changes faster than teams can adapt, we’re seeing symptoms of this growing disconnect.

Progressive Delivery builds on the foundations of continuous delivery and DevOps but focuses on matching delivery pace to user needs. Through extensive interviews with technology leaders at GitHub, Adobe, AWS, Disney, and Nike, the authors identify four key elements that enable successful progressive delivery:

• Abundance: Cloud computing and modern infrastructure provide unprecedented capacity for experimentation and scaling. However, abundance alone doesn’t solve delivery challenges—it needs to be channeled effectively.
• Autonomy: Teams need the freedom to make decisions and move at their own pace while maintaining alignment with broader organizational goals. The book shows how to balance team independence with coherent direction.
• Alignment: Technical capabilities must serve business objectives and user needs. The authors demonstrate how to create feedback loops that ensure development efforts deliver real value.
• Automation: While automation enables faster delivery, it must be implemented thoughtfully to maintain control and stability. The book provides frameworks for automating intelligently without creating new risks.

The authors bring distinct perspectives to these challenges. Governor, cofounder of RedMonk and originator of the term “progressive delivery,” has advised countless organizations on technology adoption. Harrison, a sociologist focused on technology development, provides insight into how teams and users adapt to change. Waterhouse draws on decades of experience communicating complex technical concepts, while Zimman contributes expertise from roles at VMware, GitHub, and various startups.

Through detailed case studies, the book shows how organizations are already implementing progressive delivery concepts:

• How a major retailer uses customer data to adjust feature rollout speeds for different user segments
• How a financial services company maintains stability while rapidly iterating on its mobile experience
• How a healthcare technology provider ensures critical systems remain reliable while evolving to meet new requirements

The book is written for technology leaders, engineering managers, product managers, and anyone responsible for delivering software in today’s complex landscape. Rather than presenting a rigid methodology, it provides a lens for evaluating delivery practices and adapting them to specific contexts.

For technology teams struggling to balance innovation with stability, user needs with technical constraints, and speed with reliability, Progressive Delivery offers a practical path forward. It acknowledges that software delivery isn’t just about moving faster – it’s about moving at the right pace for each user and use case.

Progressive Delivery will be available in fall 2025 through IT Revolution and major booksellers. 

- About The Authors

IT Revolution

Trusted by technology leaders worldwide. Since publishing The Phoenix Project in 2013, and launching DevOps Enterprise Summit in 2014, we’ve been assembling guidance from industry experts and top practitioners.

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