building better software by building better developers
DESCRIPTION
Developers and testers are, by their very nature, curious creatures. But when facing deadlines, they often become fixated on solving today's problem and miss the bigger picture. Over time and under pressure, they lose their motivation to learn new information and acquire new skills. Without a plan encouraging learning can be costly—and can backfire. A professional development plan should incorporate practical strategies and techniques for the entire team and managers. Fortunately many proven techniques exist for professional development: code katas, code dojos, workplace user groups, agile learning, and evaluation, as well as time management methodologies such as the prioritization matrix and Getting Things Done (GTD). Kick-start professional development by learning some of these opportunities and techniques, and see which can have the best return and long-term maintainability for your team’s developers, testers, and managers.TRANSCRIPT
Building Better Software by Building Better Developers
Iris Classon – software develoepr Evry
Microsoft MVP, MCSD, MCPD, MCTS
Microsoft Extended Experts Team
Software Developer, Evry
Pluralsight author
Iris Classon
Twitter: @irisclasson
Blog: http://irisclasson.com
Out of the frying pan, into the fire
100
1 000
100 000
0
1
10
100
1 000
10 000
100 000
Lines Of Code
LOC IN A TYPICAL GM CAR
1970 2000 2010
Lines of code
The Winter War
Comparing tools
Finland vs.Soviet
0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 1200000
Soldiers
Soldiers
Soviet Finland
32 114
6000
4000
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
Tanks Planes
TANKS & PLANES
Finland Soviet
Refusing to surrender
land
Sometimes tools do not
matter –when used
wrong
Autonomyand
Control
1.Self-government; freedom to act or function
independently.
2.(philosophy) The capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision.
3.(mechanics) The capacity of a system to make a
decision about its actions without the involvement of another system or operator
Competent
Related to others
Autonomous
To feel:
Motivation three
psychological needs
To feel:
Let’s cover three
important aspects.
Workplace learning opportunities and costs
Agile learning
Time management
Workplace learning
opportunities and costs
Online training
Classroom training
Conferences
On-job
Technical Content
Organized events, workshops, user groups
Easy to calculateSubscription price
* # developers
Additional cost (time)
Try to get 2-5 hours a week
Cost
Online training
Classroom
Expensive / opportunity loss
# developers * # days
Trainer, travel, venue, equipment
Between 10000-30000 USD depending
on the expert
Cost
Conference
Cost of conferenceTravel,
accommodation and food
Opportunity lost, risk
Opportunity gained (exposure)
Cost
On-job
Minimal costRequired to
some degree
Cost
Workplace training - the new guy/girlPair programmingCode reviewsBrown bagsWorkplace usergroupsMob programming
Tech. content
Minimal cost 2 hours a week
With informal lunches - the cost
of food
Cost
No guarantees
Agile learning
Vasa
Self-regulated learning
Plan
Practice / Monitor
Evaluate
MetacognitionStrategic
actionMotivation
Software and self-
regulated learning
Self-regulated learning strategies and software training
Jane Gravill *, Deborah Compeau 1The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Self-Directed Learning: stories from industry
Anna Eckerdal et. Al.
There's ROI in workplace training investmentsBrownlee, Jeff. Plant,
suppl. PLANT WEST 4.3 (May/Jun 2009): 14.
Timeless skills
Software design (SOLID)
Knowing tools (source control, build, editors,
servers)
Databases
Refactoring Debugging Testing
Networking Security
Iterations and evaluations
1.Break down into smaller
modules
2.Divide into small clearly scoped and
actionable tasks
3.Do them in iterations
Analyzing
Planning
Acting
Integrating
Evaluating learning
Time management
Time
Evaluate Act Invest
“We must use time as a tool,
not as a crutch” John F. Kennedy“
“
Where does my time go?
Rescue time – tracking tools
• Little effort
• Stats
Log
• Accurate
• Detailed
Reflection
• Fast
• Little effort
Efficiency - planning
Getting it out of your
head
Record tasks
Small actionable items
Day and weekly habits
Reviews
Action
Do
Defer
Delegate
Getting Things Done
GTD
Efficiency - planning
Prioritizing
Efficiency - planning
Goal setting
