Archive for August, 2007
Twitter test
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
A link to this post should show up at http://twitter.com/joshuahoover
Topics: Misc | No Comments »
.NET Rocks!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Blasphemy, I know. You might be thinking that I meant to title this post, “.NET Sucks!”, right? Sorry to disappoint my Java loving co-workers. Of course, I’m not speaking about .NET, but the excellent podcast by the name of .NET Rocks! I have yet to find another developer focused podcast so informative and entertaining. The amazing thing about .NET Rocks! to me is that it spends quite a bit of time covering topics like Open Source software and agile software development that some would consider anti-Microsoft. It gets even better when Richard Campbell and Carl Franklin discuss topics like SOA (and what it’s really about), Enterprise Architecture, Version Control and CI, or being “Code Complete” with Steve McConnell. Each of those individual episodes I reference are highly recommended listens, especially the SOA and Enterprise Architecture ones.
Topics: Microsoft | 1 Comment »
Getting Less Done
Monday, August 27, 2007
“We found out we got a whole lot less done when we’re sitting next to each other the whole time.” -Jason Fried, 37 Signals
That quote comes from a short interview Jason Fried did with Crain’s Chicago Business. That point of view collides with those like me who promote co-located teams as a way to increase productivity. Co-located teams are often a core value of agile software development. But, want to know a little secret? I think there’s a lot of truth in what Jason says.
I think co-located too often translates to distractions galore. Software developers need to get into “the flow”. When they’re in the flow, developers are at their most productive. Everything starts to click and the results are often astonishing. You can’t get into the flow when you’re dealing with distractions and interruptions. Interruptions don’t have to be direct, like a team member asking you a spontaneous question, they can be the result of an open space environment where every conversation is overheard and tempts you to join in.
There are times when being co-located pays off in some big ways. For instance, when you have multiple developers working on solving a problem together or when someone overhears a conversation, jumps in and a seemingly difficult problem suddenly becomes easy to solve thanks to the contributions from someone not originally involved. However, I often wonder if these instances are the exceptions rather than the rules.
Maybe the balance is to be in the same vicinity but not co-located in an open space where distractions are so plentiful? Co-locating can be reserved for those times when it’s needed by always having available open meeting spaces for such occasions. Possibly utilizing IM and chat rooms for a less obtrusive form of collaborating while not co-located. When people feel that it’s important to meet together, then they easily can. Co-location in this setup becomes the exception rather than the rule. Is it possible to get the best of both worlds?
Topics: Agile | 3 Comments »
I Don’t Get Facebook
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
I’m not hip. I don’t get Facebook. I understand the concept but I don’t get the hype around it. OK, it’s a platform. But, maybe I’m missing something. The whole point of the Facebook platform seems to be about locking you into Facebook. Another well hyped web app is Twitter. While I don’t use Twitter (nor the numerous competitors), I think I get it. Twitter’s API makes more sense to me. Twitter isn’t locking you into a platform like Facebook is. Am I over simplifying things?
You’d think Amazon would try to build out a platform of sorts with their AWS offerings. Who knows, maybe they are. But, I think Amazon is taking more of the approach I see in services like Twitter — providing well focused services like the Flexible Payments Service (FPS) and Simple Queue Service (SQS) rather than an all encompassing platform that makes the seemingly limitless Internet and web rather limited.
So, what is it that I don’t get about Facebook that many others do?
Topics: Web 2.0 | No Comments »
Made to Stick: A Must Read
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Have you ever had to sell people on an idea? Ever needed to get people to focus on a common goal? I know I do, even though the ideas and goals normally aren’t earth shattering. Made to Stick, as the cover says, explains “why some ideas survive and others die.”
The authors, Chip and Dan Heath, give six major factors that typically determine whether an idea will survive or not. The first, and most important factor, is keeping things simple. Duh. That was my first thought as I started reading the chapter. Then the examples started coming. Southwest’s core value of being “THE low fare airline.” It almost sounds too simple. Then an example of how this simple, yet core idea at Southwest translates to the day-to-day:
“Tracy from marketing comes into your office. She says her surveys indicate that the passengers might enjoy a light entree on the Houston to Las Vegas flight. All we offer is peanuts and she thinks a nice chicken Caesar salad would be popular. What do you say? . . .
You say, ‘Tracy, will adding that chicken caesar salad make us THE low-fare airline from Houston to Las Vegas? Because if it doesn’t help us become the unchallenged low-fare airline, we’re not serving any damn chicken salad.’”
The key with keeping ideas simple isn’t to dumb them down, rather it’s all about capturing the core idea. An example is when Bill Clinton ran for President in 1992. The former President’s campaign ran on the now famous mantra of “It’s the economy, stupid.” While Clinton was constantly tempted to get into endless policy debates, James Carville reminded him that winning the election hinged on sticking to the core idea of “It’s the economy, stupid.” Regardless of your politics, Clinton’s ’92 campaign was genius and to think it all revolved around four little words.
I believe that much frustration comes from people not being able to communicate their ideas in a way that people remember and latch onto. I know that I’m far too often left scratching my head wondering why a person or group of people didn’t buy into what I was telling them. Now I think I have a better understanding and intend to put to practice the principles taught in Made to Stick.
I’ll write about the other five factors that make ideas sticky in future posts. There’s too much good stuff to capture in one post.
P.S. Not only is Made to Stick a great book, but it comes with a great cover. Everyone who sees it immediately goes to touch the duct tape part of the cover. Very clever.
Topics: Books | 1 Comment »