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The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

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An enemy lurking on your tech career path

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Passion is what drives engineers
People land in the software engineering world for many reasons. Passion for technology is almost always on that list. Technology changes constantly, and coders have to learn new languages, frameworks, libraries, tools, and methodologies, consistently throughout their careers. The energy that pushed engineers to learn throughout their careers is fueled by the same passion they felt when they first chose to join software development.

If you are a coder, you … [Read more...] about An enemy lurking on your tech career path

Hope is not a strategy.

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In the tech world, it is hard work to craft strategies. We rarely have all the needed information; we don’t know what will happen in the future, and everything changes all the time. Despite the difficulty, we need to decide a course of action. It feels more like an art than a science and takes determination, courage, knowledge, experience, and passion.

It is tempting to say “...and hopefully X will happen...” when working on a strategy. When you hear those words, perk up and recall this … [Read more...] about Hope is not a strategy.

Assumption is the Evil Mother of All Mistakes

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Our lives are full of facts that we have to presume true. If we tried to verify every single truth, we would end up paralyzed, constantly checking and re-checking everything, like a mental patient with a debilitating case of OCD.
Certainty is a spectrum
Certainty is a spectrum, and knowing where a given fact falls on the spectrum is the difference between good assumptions and bad assumptions.

When I walk, I assume that the ground that I am going to step on will not collapse. If I had to … [Read more...] about Assumption is the Evil Mother of All Mistakes

Only three numbers matter: zero, one, and more-than-one.

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Imagine the following situation
Three friends are thirsty. They decide to drink some water from a nearby fountain.

The first friend scoops water using his hands. He starts drinking without delays and is done before the others have started. However, it takes him a while, and the process is messy. When he is done he is all wet and his hands are freezing.

The second one goes to buy one single sheet of paper, then he folds it into a paper cup. It takes a while to do it right, but when he is … [Read more...] about Only three numbers matter: zero, one, and more-than-one.

Solid Principles You Can Apply Starting Now

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Anyone who has worked with me knows that I abide by a few fundamental principles that I often apply to various situations and problems. Several of them have served me well for a long time. They come to mind in situations that are reminiscent of previous experiences. These principles are rarely themselves the ultimate solution to a problem, but they always offer insight into how to find a solution.

I am going to share some of my favorite ones with you.

Coderhood Principles

Only … [Read more...] about Solid Principles You Can Apply Starting Now