245: The Importance of Self-Directed Learning in the Workplace

Use tech debt to your advantage and preventing incident chaos by defining an incident management process

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Unrelated: How to Prepare for New Projects as a Software Engineer

Software engineers manage multiple projects and must balance personal and professional commitments. They take on tasks that help them grow their leadership skills and find meaning in their work. Having a clear vision of their career objectives is crucial for success.

To prepare for new projects, it's vital to complete existing ones and focus on producing high-quality work. Creating a routine for reviewing the project roadmap and evaluating progress is also crucial. Including a roadmap review in weekly team meetings and checking in with project leads is recommended. Encouraging project leads to asking for help rather than simply reporting status or expected completion dates can also be beneficial. 

Regular reviews are necessary to assess progress and ensure goals are met. When planning, aim for a roadmap that allows up to a third of the total work hours spent on bugs, fixes, and backlog items. Project timelines should be carefully estimated and expected to take longer than initially thought. It's better to be ambitious and avoid overloading the roadmap than to add too few tasks. 

Software engineers should reflect on their goals and ambitions and be specific in their definition of success. This will allow for a clear roadmap with smaller achievable steps. Engineers with a vision for their career, a development plan, and a balanced work-life are likelier to succeed. 

Off Topic: Use Technical Debt to Your Advantage

When making decisions based on project constraints, it's essential to consider the potential benefits and risks. Creating chaos through laziness and unprofessionalism is never a rational choice. Critical tasks should be labeled with a "best before" date and treated as separate entities. However, prioritizing easy wins over complex tasks should only be done in certain situations. While team collaboration can be measured through activity metrics, progress cannot.

While technical debt is often seen as a negative aspect for teams, it can be beneficial if approached deliberately. Most teams operate in uncertainty, so it's vital to always aim for faster code without sacrificing correctness. Avoiding intentional mess and monitoring technical debt can help teams use it as a tool for quick feedback rather than a future payment.

Although activity metrics can help measure team performance, they must accurately reflect progress, leading to misaligned priorities. When market opportunities shift, businesses may face tough decisions. Scope creep and unnecessary work can be hidden within a backlog, leading to the "story card hell" problem where the backlog becomes too linear. Technical debt is a strategy, but it should not be used as an excuse to create chaos.

Current Work: The Importance of Self-Directed Learning in the Workplace

Many workplaces emphasize performance rather than learning, requiring more attention to talent and skill development. Knowledge cannot be imposed on us; it must be shared willingly, and it is acquired when we need it. People are more inclined to share their knowledge when there is a genuine demand for it. Companies need to recruit self-directed individuals who do not require constant supervision.

Leadership is not restricted to individuals with high-ranking titles. Anyone can acquire the necessary skills to become a leader. Leadership does not necessarily require authority over others; taking responsibility for our areas of expertise is essential. Every company has access to resources that can help cultivate leadership skills.

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