Epic Advice From The Tireless Venkat
It was a fall day in Minneapolis. My co-workers and I were attending No Fluff Just Stuff. I went to a session with this fast-talking Indian guy. I was blown away by how well he knew the topic.
Venkat Subramaniam
Venkat Subramaniam is an adjunct professor and frequent software development conference speaker. His presentations are without slides. He uses his text editor to relate the topic.
When I reached out to him via email he quickly responded. Venkat has three gems that we can use in our coding life.
Isolate to Identify
Venkat started with this tidbit. It speaks to engineers and scientists alike.
We often struggle to understand why a piece of code does not work. Over the years I’ve learned that isolating the code from the surroundings gives an easier opportunity for us to identify issues. It may show us where the problem is or sometimes where it is not.
We strive for understanding. Software is not magic. Isolate a small code change. See the results. Let the data inform your next step.
Once we recognize how the code works we can apply it correctly. Simple advice to follow. Of course, we can get in a rush and try three different things. Stop, slow down, and isolate.
Prototype to learn
Software developers are professional learners. We need to be testing new technologies constantly. Venkat said how we can use prototyping to learn something new.
Prototyping is one of the best ways to learn a language, a library, a framework, or even how to design or architect part of a system. Reading is important, and coming up with ideas is critical. However, nothing has given me more insight than prototyping.
What a great way to kick the tires. Take it for a test drive. I ran into some issues. Check if the documentation is good. Can you find good examples?
As I have learned Vue.js I am blown away by the good documentation. In my early career, open source meant you had to support yourself. Now most projects seem to have better support and examples.
Frequent Reviews
I remember this guy I worked with. He thought he knew everything. He would tell people their coding solutions were terrible. Oddly enough people didn’t like working with him.
Lucky for this guy, his life has humbled him. That guy was me. After reading a few books and thinking I was an expert. I slowly realized that wasn’t the case. Venkat’s last suggestion covers the developer's ego.
Leaving the ego behind and genuinely asking for constructive feedback has been one of the most rewarding experiences professionally. Whether it is a design, a presentation, an article, or a book that I am working on, getting knowledgeable people to review and provide their input on what needs to be improved, corrected, added, or deleted has been a wonderful experience to enhance the quality of what I have created.
His reference to ego reminds me of Ryan Holiday’s Ego is the Enemy. Software development is mental work. The results can stroke our self-image.
In conclusion, Venkat has bestowed on us some delightful morsels. Take time to think about how you can apply these to your career. Where can you isolate to identify?
Perhaps you can prototype something to learn from. Is there a new approach or technology you can try? Be humble enough to ask for feedback.