A software engineer can go a long way without understanding how their company really works. There are certainly advantages in focusing on the code and ignoring the politics and processes that go on around the office. At some point, if you want more control over the work that comes your…
When you went to school, boot camp or learned to code on your own, there is a good chance that supporting production code in the middle of the night was not something you dreamed about. Yet, here we are. When I started my career, I was handed a pager and…
Companies have a variety of alternative work options that allow folks to work from home, if only just occasionally. Developers, with their need for deep work, can appreciate avoiding the distractions of the work place. Home makes it much harder for a co-worker to “fly by” your desk to interrupt…
<- previous post in this series on planning My favorite ritual is the retrospective. The retro is a look back on the previous sprint with a specific focus on actions to take in the future. What I enjoy so much about retro is that it aims to give every person…
<- previous post in this series on refinement In theory, the planning ritual could be automated. Look at everyone’s calendar for the upcoming sprint, estimate velocity and grab the things from the backlog that will fit. In the middle of a well-known project, it may be that simple and only…
<- previous post in this series on stand-ups While refinement may not be in the handbook of scrum rituals, it is still a prescribed practice. Argue if you want, but I am taking the liberty of calling it a ritual for this series. It took me years to accept…
Stand-up is a microcosm of your team. Show me your team’s stand-up and I can diagnose the effectiveness of your team. While there are plenty of articles on how a stand-up should be run, this post is about how you, as an individual, should represent yourself in stand-up. Be on…
Why I read (listened to) it Written in 1937, this is book is a classic. Still referenced today by many successful folks like Warren Buffet. Yet, yours truly, had never heard of it until recently. I listened to the audio version read by Andrew MacMillan. Andrew MacMillan’s voice brought to…
A new job, new role, new team, new boss or a new framework..they can cause a lot of anxiety. Impostor syndrome can sneak up on the most confident of people. If you are less than confident, you might feel.. Why is something new so hard? The simple answer is…
You have built some things, have ideas on how to code the “right way” and you may have held a job or two. But there is more to being an engineer than code. If you are on a technical track or a management track, you need to develop and ship…
