Under Development

Author: matt

  • What got you here won’t get you there

    What got you here won’t get you there

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    by

    matt
    in

    There is a point in the career of every up and coming engineer at which they will be writing more code than they ever have, and more than they ever will again. Turning this corner is an important milestone in the career of an engineer and facilitating this transition is a key skill for any…

  • Start with curiosity

    Start with curiosity

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    by

    matt
    in

    Imagine that someone on your team comes to you with a story about conflict with another engineer – they cannot come to an agreement on what technical approach to take, every design session boils over into an argument, code reviews turn into bickering, they cannot stand working on the same team anymore; they would like…

  • Organizational Case Law

    Organizational Case Law

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    by

    matt
    in

    The collection of decisions an organization makes form a sort of case law that governs future decisions. Being aware of, and actively managing this organizational case is a useful tool for influencing how an organization operates.

  • Leadership as a Service

    Leadership as a Service

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    by

    matt
    in

    Servant Leadership is a topic that I’ve seen frequently discussed and just as infrequently defined in the context of Software Engineering Management. I’ve seen practitioners of the craft lead extremely effective teams, but nearly as often, I’ve seen self-proclaimed servant leaders use that mantle as a justification for neglecting their team and abdicating responsibility for…

  • Debate your values

    Debate your values

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    by

    matt
    in

    Nobody wakes up in the morning deciding to be wrong, even though it can feel like someone did when you wade into a technical debate. Even in professional development organizations, debates about architecture, technology or technical design can feel like internet flame wars, with people on both sides of the conversation making their points with…

  • Use your data

    Use your data

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    by

    matt
    in

    Data you don’t use is like a car you don’t drive, collecting rust, parked out on the front lawn. Maybe the last time you took it out for a spin, it turned over and got you from point A to point B, it sounded a bit rough, and there was a weird smell. It probably…

  • Did you hear what I said?

    Did you hear what I said?

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    by

    matt
    in

    I went snowboarding for the first and only time when I was in College. I spent my day on the easy slopes, and over the course of the morning, got to the point where I would only fall down two or three times between the top of the lift and the base. Just before lunch,…

  • Moving to Management

    Moving to Management

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    by

    matt
    in

    Every time an engineer becomes a manager it is a loss to the company. Why do we still do it?

  • Like a Viking Funeral
    Viking Ship Remains at Roskilde by Chad Kainz licensed under CC BY 2.0

    Like a Viking Funeral

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    by

    matt
    in

    Some projects get shipped like a Viking Funeral: say a prayer and push it out to prod, without support and without continued development. Why does it happen and how do you manage it?

  • Have you tried talking to them?

    Have you tried talking to them?

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    by

    matt
    in

    Don’t assume your manager, or anyone else, knows what you want, what your goals are, or what you are feeling at that moment. If you share your goals with your manager, you give them the ability to help you out and make choices that benefit everyone