I remember when we had to do this in grade school, when the teacher would ask us to mark our own work. Some would give themselves an A+. Others would be too hard on themselves, almost failing themselves. And some would give enough to say – “yeah, good start, but you have more to do.” The ones that didn’t give themselves an A+ are the ones that learned from an early age, it’s not the…
Many years ago, we had a sign for who broke the last build. It was the earliest days of accountability, code reviews, and unit tests. Did you break it? Fix it. Did you break it? Your code must be running well. It was the earliest form of accountability in software development. As we progressed into the hype of the startup world, it also became a badge of honour that you were pushing the envelope, trying…
The worst thing you can do these days is ask for the answer. Not having asked ChatGPT. Not having followed up with Claude. Not reading one or two of the denizens of blogs out there on the subject you’re looking for. If you’re not coming to the table with the formulation of an answer, an idea of what could or could not be, or even a suggestion on what’s next. You’re not looking for the…
In school, this was the phrase you would hear from a teacher as they walked the room while you were doing “Independent” work – “Head Down, Do your own work.” You don’t need to check up on what everyone else is doing to see if you’re ahead or behind. You just need to keep your head down and do your own work.
Why am I writing more code than I have in the past year? It’s not dead, it’s evolving. Every job goes through the same thing. Doctors use way more robotics now than they did 15 years ago. But they are still saving lives. A fundamental shift is happening in the world of technology, but you’re not dead, unless you choose to be.