CoderHood

The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

The Human Dimension of Software Engineering

You are here: Home / Archives for advice

advice

Hope is not a strategy.

by Leave a Comment

This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series principles

Reading Time: 4 minutes

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 principle: Hope is not a strategy. ... 

continue reading

Assumption is the Evil Mother of All Mistakes

by Leave a Comment

This entry is part 3 of 8 in the series principles

Reading Time: 3 minutes

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 verify that fact, I would not be able to walk and I would spend my life sitting on a chair or testing the floor in front of me. ... 

continue reading

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

by Leave a Comment

This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series principles

Reading Time: 5 minutes

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 done he fills it with water and drinks. In the end he is dry, his hands are warm, but the cup is soaked and ruined. ... 

continue reading

Solid Principles You Can Apply Starting Now

by 2 Comments

This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series principles

Reading Time: 2 minutes

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

  1. Only three “numbers” matter: zero, one, and more-than-one.
  2. Assumption is the evil mother of all mistakes 1
  3. Hope is not a strategy.
  4. Every question is a good question.
  5. If something is unclear to you, you are likely in good company.
  6. Trust your instincts, question your fears.
  7. Make decisions based on what you know.
  8. If you make somebody guess, and they guess wrong, you are at least 50% responsible for it. 2
  9. Be good on people and hard on ideas.
  10. Change is inevitable. Make it happen, before it happens to you.
  11. Never compromise on a high hiring bar.

I encourage you to read these principles a few times. Internalize them and try to apply them. Doing so often will allow you to discover their inherent meaning, which will provide guidance in many decisions, actions, and behaviors. ... 

continue reading