🚧 Book, Work in Progress: How Tech works - web app development for everyone

To develop great software with developersand deliver quickly, product people need to understand technical concepts.

As I have been translating between engineering and business for more than 20 years, I feel I can help with making these technical concepts even more accessible and holistic to non-technical people.

That's why I started writing a book on it in my summer vacations 2023.

Writing a book while having a busy work and private life means I will not promise a launch date. But I can keep you in the loop if you're interested:

Inform when preorder starts / Become alpha/beta reader

Reviews for the draft (Early 2025). I asked for blunt, Amazon-style reviews.

★★★★★ Finally, Someone Explained Tech in Plain English!

Review by: Reviewer A, Product Manager

I've been working in tech for 3 years but never understood what our developers actually do. This book changed everything! The pizza shop analogy is brilliant - I now understand how APIs work because Martin explained it through pizza orders between the shop and delivery service. The Alex and Luca characters feel real, and their conversations mirror my actual workplace discussions.

The book never gets too technical - each concept builds on the pizza analogy, and the minimal code examples are just enough to see the pattern without being overwhelming. I finally understand why we need databases, what deployment means, and why security matters. This should be required reading for every non-technical person in a tech company!

★★★★☆ Good but Could Go Deeper

Review by: Reviewer B, Developer

As someone learning to code, I found the pizza analogies helpful for basic concepts. The frontend/backend explanation using the pizza shop layout (front counter vs kitchen) was actually pretty clever. The code examples are simple and well-commented, which is good for beginners.

However, I wish it went deeper into some topics. The database chapter covers the basics but stops right when it gets interesting. The Git section is too simplified - you'll need more resources to actually use it. Good for absolute beginners, but you'll outgrow it quickly if you're serious about development.

★★★★★ Perfect for My Team!

Review by: Reviewer C, Product Owner

I manage a team of developers and this book finally gave me the language to understand their work. The structure is brilliant - each chapter starts with Alex asking questions that I've literally asked my team! The "Challenges with [topic] in daily work life" sections are spot-on.

The business decision frameworks helped me understand tradeoffs in technical discussions. I can now participate in planning meetings without just nodding along. My developers noticed the difference - last sprint planning I actually suggested a caching strategy for our API calls! The pizza analogy might seem silly, but it works surprisingly well for complex concepts like microservices.

★★★★☆ Unique Approach That Actually Works

Review by: Reviewer D, Technical Writer

I've read many "tech for non-tech" books and this is one of the few that delivers on its promise. The consistent pizza shop analogy creates a mental model that actually helps understanding. By the end, I wasn't just learning about tech concepts - I had a complete working model of how a web application fits together.

The writing style is clear and conversational. Each chapter builds on the previous one, and the Alex-Luca dialogues feel natural. The humor keeps it engaging without being forced. My only complaint is that some diagrams are referenced but missing (marked with TODO notes in my copy), which breaks the flow occasionally.

★★★★★ Exactly What I Needed!

Review by: Reviewer E, Head of Product

I've been avoiding technical conversations for years because I never understood the basics. This book changed that in one weekend. The chapter on version control finally helped me understand why our developers are always talking about branches and merges.

The best part is how it connects technical concepts to business decisions. I now understand why security isn't just "something the IT team handles" and why performance matters for our users. The troubleshooting guides are practical - I used the deployment chapter to help diagnose why our last release failed. My team is shocked at how much I've learned!

★★★☆☆ Good Concept, Mixed Execution

Review by: Reviewer F, Software Engineer

I bought this to see if I could recommend it to non-technical coworkers. The pizza analogy is creative and mostly works for explaining core concepts. The progression from frontend to backend to deployment follows a logical path that mirrors actual development.

However, some analogies feel forced, and the technical accuracy occasionally suffers for the sake of the metaphor. The security chapter is good but oversimplifies important concepts. The code examples are clean but sometimes don't represent real-world patterns. Still, it's one of the better attempts at making tech accessible to beginners.

★☆☆☆☆ Too Simplistic, Even for Beginners

Review by: Reviewer G, Developer

The title promises to explain tech to non-technical people, but it's so dumbed down it's almost insulting. The pizza analogy gets stretched beyond belief - comparing a CDN to pizza delivery drivers? Seriously?

If you want to understand how tech works, just watch YouTube videos or read free articles online. This book doesn't teach you anything practical. The code examples are so basic they're useless. Save your money and time. There are better resources out there that don't treat you like a child.

★★★★★ Finally, I Get It!

Review by: Reviewer H, Sales

Our company builds tech solutions but I could never explain what we do to clients. This book gave me the vocabulary and understanding I needed. The YummyPizzaApp example follows a real business scenario from start to finish - I can now walk clients through how web applications work using their own business as an example.

The minimal code examples were perfect - just enough to see the logic without getting lost in syntax. The troubleshooting sections helped me understand why things break and what questions to ask our technical team. I feel confident in client meetings now instead of just smiling and nodding!