For many years I have used a very simple model to explore personal development, both for myself and for my engineers. The foundation is the core belief I have: Great products and quality software are made by people having fun. The above diagram shows the entire model. The whole idea is to look at what you do on a daily basis and identify the things you truly enjoy and have … [Read more...] about A Model for Personal Development in Software Engineering
Leadership
Don’t Try to Innovate on Your Entire Business Model in The Existing Organisation
Much is written about how to innovate in tech. Still, it boils down to the simple ability of individuals to focus on and prioritise the right things on a day to day basis, and that other people in other functions prioritise not only the same right things but also at the SAME TIME! This is where most organisations fail. In Are You Lost in All the Priorities, I wrote about a … [Read more...] about Don’t Try to Innovate on Your Entire Business Model in The Existing Organisation
Five Basic Skill Sets Needed to Become A Senior Software Developer
Before junior software developers can start advancing their career, there are some fundamental skills they need to have in place. This seems to be sort of magic for most, so I share here a way of thinking about developing yourself based on the expectations I have to my teams. By understanding the expectations we have to the more senior engineers in five key areas, as well as … [Read more...] about Five Basic Skill Sets Needed to Become A Senior Software Developer
Are You Lost In All The High Priorities?
As software product organisations grow, they can become the victims of their own sales success. Many high-priority customers and features put pressure on the engineering organisation to deliver, but even when using all the traditional ways to prioritise and optimise execution, you feel progress is slow and the overall "delightfulness" of your product is not what it should … [Read more...] about Are You Lost In All The High Priorities?
The Three Deadly Sins of Scale-Ups
So, you managed to pull it through. You found your product-market fit (or at least partially), got customers to pay, and secured your funding to expand. Your tight-knit team where everybody knows what everybody is doing will now double and triple in size as you add more people to the team to support your growth. Congratulations! Make sure you take time to celebrate because you … [Read more...] about The Three Deadly Sins of Scale-Ups