Shubhro Saha on why software engineers should write

Software engineers should write because our craft is increasingly collaborative. Open source projects invite worldwide participation, while industry products often require an army of engineers. (Google Maps has 1100 full-time employees!) Good writing– whether it be in a GitHub comment, code review, or technical documentation– facilitates clear, concise communication for projects like these to move forward.

I’m going to take Shubhro’s essay on why software engineers (i.e. programmers, developers) should write one step further. Everyone should write about their craft. Database administrators, project managers, accountants, plumbers, Wal-Mart door greeter, you name it.

Writing is thinking. Writing helps you to understand your work better. To take a step back from the hustle and bustle and reflect on what you’re doing. You ask different questions about your craft when you take a moment to think and put it down in words for others to read.

Unreachable Time and a Rant Against Voicemail

I’ve been at my employer for over 3 years now.1 The entire time I’ve been here my voicemail message has said the following:

“Hello, you’ve reached Chris Koerner. I’m often away from my desk and don’t respond quickly to voice mail. The best way to contact me is to send me an email at me@work.net or if it’s urgent call me on my cell at 314-555-2456. Thanks!”

So, don’t leave me a VM, try my cell or email. I’ll answer my cell from a work-prefix number when I’m at work.2 I respond to email in a few hours at most.

My wife finds it amazing that I’m able to do this. That my boss doesn’t prevent this or that I haven’t gotten in trouble yet. Here’s my secret. I never asked my boss how I should make myself accessible and spend my attention. I decided that. He trusts me. I said, for me, the best way to get my attention is via email or cell call. Voicemail sucks.

Short of that. I’m unreachable. I think that’s important. Even with all the responsibilities I have and all the various ways to get in touch with me, sometimes I will not be available. I might be busy with a big project and a deadline. I might be in a meeting.3

I’m still accessible – even faster than voicemail! – and I’m polite about it. The important thing for me is making sure that the time I have allotted to get work done is as productive as possible. I use the tools I have – email, phone, IM – in the best way possible. To me, being accessible via voicemail is the same as being accessible via fax. Ancient, cumbersome, and a pain for all parties involved.

Voicemail is slow. Like most folks I read much faster that someone can talk. If I’m familiar with a topic I can quickly read an email and respond.

Voicemail also introduces ambiguity. Did they say ‘Six five seven two” or “Six five six two”? I’d have to play back the message if I missed a number, address, etc. 4

The tools we use should make us more productive and efficient. We should delight clients and co-workers with our responsiveness. Clunky, outmoded tools like voicemail don’t help us. I encourage you to look at how you’re using things like voicemail and see if there isn’t a better, more productive and friendly way to manage your attention and time.

Leave me a voicemail comment with your own ideas.

A Great Interview with Mike Monteiro – “Design Is Not An Investment”

“Yes, investments are great. They’re also not necessary. When I think of investments I think of stocks, artwork, original Star Wars figures mint in box. Stuff that’s nice to have, and that you hope increases in value someday. Design is core. It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s plumbing. It’s foundation. You don’t invest in design. You can’t exist without it. A website without design isn’t a house without art, it’s a house without a bathroom.”

Like any professional I have numerous books on topics core to my work. Technical manuals for systems, guides for programming languages, historical text from founders in the discipline, and numerous outdated (FrontPage 97!) reference materials from years gone by.

Yet, there is only one book that I would give to anyone entering the field. Mike Monteiro’s Design is a Job. I’ve been a ‘professional’ for over a decade. I just read his book a few years ago and it has changed how I approach everything – for the better.

And now Mike has a second book out, from the other side of the table as it were, called “You’re My Favorite Client“. This interview with him is a great introduction to the relationships between designer and client.

Both of Mike’s books are essential for anyone working to create something for someone else. Web design, photography, app developers – all will gain more from these books than any technical guide or “Photoshop for Dummies” could ever muster.

Kottke’s Intro to Joanna Goddard’s “Motherhood Around the World”

 “On sleep camps: Government-subsidized programs help parents teach their babies to sleep. I haven’t been to one (though I did consider it when we were in the middle of sleep hell with our daughter) but many of my friends have. The sleep camps are centers, usually attached to a hospital, that are run by nurses. Most mums I know went when their babies were around six or seven months old. You go for five days and four nights, and they put you and your baby on a strict schedule of feeding, napping and sleeping. If you’re really desperate for sleep, you also have the option of having a nurse handle your baby for the whole first night so you can sleep, but after that you spend the next few nights with your baby overnight while the nurses show you what to do.”

Jason Kottke does a great job introducing Joanna Goddard and her series “Motherhood Around the World“. As a parent in America who grew up in a time where it was normal for us kids to be gone all day – out of sight and without technology – I often struggle with what is “normal” or “safe” for kids in these modern times. Joanna’s series helps put some things in perspective and is a great read. The above quote is from a mom in Australia. From Joanna’s introduction,

“Every Monday, we’ll feature an American mother living abroad in a different country around the world with her family. (First up today: Norway!) Honestly, the interviews have been FASCINATING. While working on them, I kept running into the living room to tell Alex the surprising things these mothers were revealing. Thank you so much to all the incredible mothers who shared their stories”

 

Molly Crabapple Works for No Man

“The first piece of advice I have for people if they want to be a crazy artist like me is that companies are there to exploit you, and to extract as much labor out of you as possible while paying you as little money as possible. Always treat companies with intense cynicism and try to exploit them back as much as you can. The big mistake that will fuck you over in life is being a team player, because you’ll waste years and years of your life until you wake up one day having made some company a lot of money and having made yourself shit. That’s what happened to my mom. She never made much money because she was one of those people who said, “I’m going to work hard and be talented, and then people will recognize my value and reward me!” No, actually, they will just take your hard work and talent to make money for themselves and discard you when you’re no longer useful. So be very cynical.”

There’s always been this weird dichotomy between business and art. Too often artists languish in obscurity or as a ‘secondary’ hobby.

I think artists who understand business, even just a little, are able to become successful artists. The business side is often to ‘square’ and over looked. Molly Crabapple gets it and remains a talented independent artist.

Bonus: The Great Discontent has some great interviews. You’d be hip to keep up with them.