Imagine how much simpler building software would be if we didn’t have to deal with other people. As Gerald Weinberg said, “It’s always a people problem.” Unfortunately, sometimes the problem is us!
Believe it or not, the skills you need to be successful aren’t the skills you learn in the classroom. The skills you need to be successful come with experience and on-the-job training. Lucky for you, Derek and Jeremy have made a lot of these mistakes and learned them the hard way, so you don’t have to.
In this episode, we discuss all the really important things they didn’t teach you in computer science class.
On asking and answering questions:
• 03:42 – Know when to ask questions
• 04:20 – Learning how to search for an answer is a skill
• 04:42 – Show them how you figured it out
• 05:09 – Don’t give them the fish, teach them how to fish
• 05:28 – Give them 30 min to find the answer, then come back
• 05:48- Don’t send them the lmgtfy website.
• 08:11 – Tell people what you’ve done to find the answer
• 08:26 – When you’re stuck, talk to the duck!
• 09:25 – Ping someone before you go to their desk to ask a question
On getting what you need:
• 12:31 – Be persistent
• 12:48 – CC a stakeholder on the email request
• 13:02 – When you need something, make friends
• 14:55 – When asking for something weird, show the value
• 15:37 – Be specific with what you need
On Communication:
• 16:00 – Don’t be short, keep your emails short
• 17:08 – Understand how your team wants you to communicate with them
• 18:20 – Try to not have so many meetings
• 18:49 – If your email explains how to do something in the system, it should be in your documentation.
On meetings:
• 19:54 – Make meetings 30 min or it should be a bigger workout
• 21:45 – Check calendars before sending invites
• 22:05 – Be respective of everyone’s time, plan an agenda
• 22:49 – Schedule meetings to end 5 min before the half-hour or hour
• 23:59 – Be aware of time zones and schedules
• 26:05 – Be respectful of your team’s personal lives
On your workspace:
• 27:23 – Be cognizant of your space. Keep it clean.
• 31:41 – Know the people you work with, set the right expectations, and live up to those expectations.
On code/design reviews:
• 32:56 – Before you do a code review, talk to the developer
• 33:31 – Does the code solve the right problem?
• 33:49 – Don’t say their idea is bad – tell them what you’d do instead
• 34:28 – Don’t get tied to your work personally
• 35:30 – Welcome critique
On complaining:
• 39:19 – Don’t
Helpful Links:
• letmegooglethat.com
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