Living in the Tech Avalanche Generation

I had the pleasure of recently listening to one of the most entertaining podcasts I have heard in a while where Scott Bellware was the guest in question. Scott is a captivating speaker and always prompts you to challenge your own beliefs and ideas as a developer. The podcast was intended to be centred around a discussion on BDD however Scott points out that he practices “Context Specification” and that it differs somewhat to BDD.

Something that has stayed with me in the weeks passed since listening the to discussion, is Scott’s description of developers as ‘high functioning autistics’. The context in which Scott makes the observation is one where he expresses a desire for developers to speak more fluently in the language of the business and desist in articulating implementation details or information of no business value. I’m sure that most people will find that idea logical and reasonable (as I do) however I feel that it’s worth throwing some attention onto the business and how it communicates in the reverse direction.

Any relationships success relies on the mutual respect and determination of all parties to participate in functioning cohesively to achieve a common goal. Yes developers should aim to achieve communicating more effectively with the business but it should be said that business people must take an equal position of responsibility for the success of communication between the parties. I’m pretty sure that most developers have worked in environments with little structure or discipline, where ad-hoc is the methodology of the day and expectations are generally unreasonable. I am sorry to say that I have seen developers purposefully communicate in an abstract way with business people, in an attempt to shield themselves from the kind of environment I just described.

I find it curious that we even speak of ‘developers’ and the ‘business’ as separate entities almost as though they exist in different dimensions; surely we developers work for the very same business as do those in HR, Sales or Warehousing? By definition we must also be considered part of the business. Seriously though, I understand the distinction when we speak about ‘software’ and the ‘business’ in terms that express a notion of separation, but I guess I am starting to think that it’s a consequence of the inadequacy of language that helps in promoting exactly some of the problems that Scott wants to see eradicated.

I think it’s worth making the observation that whilst developers should take responsibility for themselves in communicating more effectively across the organisation they serve, it’s incumbent on all parties to create environments designed for successful communication that travels in all directions. There have been plenty of occasions where I have seen ‘business people’ behave in a fashion that demonstrated a lack of respect and understanding of those sitting on the IT side of the fence. Respect is a two way street.

One thing I often remark is my preference for developers who exhibit habits that identify them as being ‘invested in their careers’. One such habit (in my humble opinion) is regular listening to pod casts however I should say that if a developer doesn’t listen to pod casts does not mean that they are not invested, perhaps they have other such ‘invested’ habits. Anyway, this post wasn’t meant to be a discussion of what are and aren’t the habits but rather a list of pod casts that I listen to and think are worth checking out if you weren’t aware of them previously.

THE LIST:

• Alt.Net Podcast
• .Net Rocks
• Deep Fried Bytes
• Hanselminutes
• Herding Code
• Polymorphic Podcast
• Rubiverse (seems to have gone quiet)
• SE Radio
• Spaghetti Code from Jeff Brand
• The Thirsty Developer
• Ask Udi (Dr Dobbs sponsored and by Udi Dahan)

There was a compiled list of pod casts knocking around recently that is more complete (I will post a link when I can find it) but these are the ones I listen too regularly.

What do you look for when interviewing developers. It’s a question that every manager needs to consider when hiring new staff and there are always a number of questions to ask, on both the technical and cultural aspects. I am not going to talk about the ‘culture fit’ (gratuitous HR terminology) here at all and the only technical aspect under consideration in this post is to do with how much effort I can see the candidate putting into self improvement and what level of interest they have in their profession.

How it works.

The idea behind ’semi invested’, revolves around only being interested enough to do the absolute (or close enough to) minimum in self development, or in harbouring a belief system that requires personal growth be the responsibility of the anyone else but yourself. I am not making excuses here for employers who do not invest in the their staff’s growth through training, but I don’t believe that it’s entirely the purview of the employer to be responsible for individual learning and growth.

So what is self development and how does it manifest? I usually start the quest in understanding how career invested developers are by asking, what was the last programming book you read? And quickly followed by when did you read the book? Here is a more complete list of questions that I ask (under interview and from time to time with staff) to get a feel for how much thought is going into self improvement.

How to find out.

• What Technology or Development newsletters do you subscribe to?
• Whose blogs do you follow?
• What magazines do you buy?
• Which Podcasts do you listen to?
• Which Webcasts do you watch?
• What user groups do attend?

When I get a positive answer to one of these questions, it can quite often lead to a good discussion as to where the perceived and or real value is in utilizing the content found on or in the method chosen and how each individual turns the exercise into a positive learning experience. If I get a negative response on all fronts and that is to say that the individual in question apparently has no interest and invests no time in the professional world around them (given that they proffer no alternatives), then it’s generally a pretty short interview.

Life wasn’t meant to be easy (who said that?)

Now if I sound as though I am being a little harsh on your average Joe or Joanne developer, well then so be it, I make no apologies. Its my goal to ensure that I have encouraged my teams to be as interested as possible in what they and their colleagues do for a living and my experience tells me that groups of ‘invested’ individuals flourish together and grow into great teams and this leads to great software.