Today is my 31st birthday and exactly one year we have
started our current project. We are nearing its first major release and are
working around the clock to finish it.
In the last year I’ve gotten some experience in large
project running with a geographically distributed and culturally diverse team.
I’ve also learned some valuable lessons regarding the art and craft of software
engineering:
- Write technical documentation as often as possible as short and concise as possible, it will save your ass often as not when you least expect it
- You have always the time to unit test and refactor your code, it will save your ass down the line
- Be open and clear of your expectations, expect to repeat them often and follow back on each critical item
- Love your testers, respect your testers, they are your most valued and greatest assets which make your life easier and make the project better
- Know your architecture, plan your architecture, and expect to repeatedly repeat it to others in the team
- Trust your project manager, he will make your life also easier and will make the project better if you let him
- Trust your team, grow your team , only then your job will get tolerable
- Expect to iterate often and always on each item of your daily job
- People forget, people are people and aren’t perfect
- Trust, respect, understanding go a long way towards a completed project
- Discuss issues not people or span wars
There is one valuable lessons which I got to understand:
- If someone is a value waste on your project and continuously responds negatively to feedback and doesn't grow cut him us swiftly as you would an intruder in your home threatening you and your family because that person is doing right that to your project, your team and your self
And finally:
- Time is your most valued commodity, spend it well, manage it well.
- Find time to read, experiment and learn. To remain effective you must grow even under the most greatest pressure and time constraints.
- In time of greatest stress and overworking find time to be with your family because they are your most greatest ally in the face of adversity and your most greatest support mechanism, if you turn your back on them they will turn on you.
