Here’s ten I-Statements about change, in the geek trades, and beyond. My hope is that it will give you a richer sense of where I’m coming from in my blogs, talks, videos, and courses. Before we begin, though these statements are about the geek trades, I am actually far more concerned with change in the world. We can change this. We’re the only thing that possibly can. Stay safe, stay strong, stay angry, stay kind. Black Lives Matter. A little …
I’ve oft mentioned how the twin cost-revolutions in geekery warped & nearly destroyed our trade. Then wondered if we’ll get to a place where it’s no longer profitable for most companies to write bad software poorly. This morning I wonder if I’m seeing the beginning of it. I don’t have any facts & figures for you. But it feels like I’m seeing more and more companies wonder if the gravy train’s caboose will soon pass the station. It won’t happen …
When I was a wee lad, 28, 29, 30, I knew the C Windows API by heart. I had, in my bathroom, both the technical docs and a copy of Petzold, and I knew it cold, stone cold. Every one of the ~500 calls, all of the arguments, and for most of them, the order of the arguments. I was a good programmer because I was a terrific memorist: I could learn things by heart, and I could organize them …
On the cover of Hofstadter’s famous Godel, Escher, and Bach, there’s a photo of an artifact he made, called a "trip-let". The trip-let, when lit from three different angles, produces shadows that spell out "G", "E", and "B". Let’s talk about software design. Before we dig in: I love to think & talk about geekery, but it’s comfort food, not my most important story. Take a break, enjoy this thread, but please stay in the larger game with me, which …
True story: Eighteen or so years ago, I had a gig rolling code at an engineering company. We were writing a windows app using Microsoft Foundation Classes to drive a TTY interface to a box of various radio hardware junk. I was gigged in by a guy I’d taught a c;ass (in MFC) to, because he liked that I knew my shit, and he loved that I spoke openly about joy, right in the classroom. right in front of God …
In our efforts to optimize the Many More Much Smaller Steps (MMMSS) path, we’ve tried and rejected the "shortest-distance" floptimization. Today, let’s take up the "pin-making" floptimization, in which we create specialists, stations, and hand-offs. Many More Much Smaller Steps – First Sketch | GeePawHill.org The first plank of my take on fixing the trade is MMMSS: If you want more value faster, take Many More Much Smaller Steps. Today I want to start laying this out for folks. This …
We’ve built ourselves a positive case for "Many More Much Smaller Steps" (MMMSS). There’s a counter-case, tho, based in a trio of proposed optimizations. Sadly, those optimizations usually flop. Today, let’s take up the "Shortest Distance" floptimization. Many More Much Smaller Steps – First Sketch | GeePawHill.org The first plank of my take on fixing the trade is MMMSS: If you want more value faster, take Many More Much Smaller Steps. Today I want to start laying this out for …
We’ve covered the MMMSS idea a couple of times now. This time we want to consider the key element of the case in favor: the remarkable intrinsic value we receive from Many More Much Smaller Steps. It’s not immediately obvious, so let’s take our time. Many More Much Smaller Steps – First Sketch | GeePawHill.org The first plank of my take on fixing the trade is MMMSS: If you want more value faster, take Many More Much Smaller Steps. Today …
As a person who has been successfully coaching software development teams for twenty years, let me throw out a few ideas to chew over. With luck, maybe one of them will jiggle the frame enough for you to find a next step. Nothing, absolutely nothing, always works. There are thousands of forces in play in a typical team or organization, and many of them are inherently or ontogenetically anti-change. I vary my game a lot, and I have a lot …
Earlier, we sketched out MMMSS, Many More Much Smaller Steps, laying out the bare bones. Cool, cool, but now we need to thicken our sense of the idea. Today, let’s close in a little more on what "step" means to us. Many Much More Smaller Steps – First Sketch | GeePawHill.Org The first plank of my take on fixing the trade is MMMSS: If you want more value faster, take Many More Much Smaller Steps. Today I want to start …
