Software Lead Weekly

Those Pesky Pull Request Reviews
5 minutes read.

"Pull requests are an improvement on working alone but not on working together" -- Jessica Kerr raises some great questions on how a team should work. I don't think there is one way to fit all here. Start with what you want to optimize for and how a "sustainable, effective work" looks like for you. Sharing this post with your teammates can start a great discussion to help you build a team that works well together.

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Trying to Solve Culture Problems by Building Tools or Instituting More Processes
1 minutes read.

My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face, even in this difficult time.

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Google Is Accelerating Partial Reopening of Offices and Putting Limits on Future of Remote Work
4 minutes read.

It's interesting to see how companies will react to post covid-19 reality, bouncing between "hiring marketing stunts" to finding what works best for the employees. I'm glad working together again (even if a few days a week) will be possible soon, for those of us who want it. I hope companies will open it up for discussion and do what's best for their employees (current and future) rather than chasing trends.

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Today I Heard One of the Worst Engineering Takes to Exist: “Documentation Shouldn’t Be Necessary if the Engineers Are Competent in What They’re Doing.” No. Documentation Is for Future You, for New Teammates, and for Anyone Who Can’t Memorize Everything They Ever Do. (Thread)
3 minutes read.

Teams should set proper time to invest in the sustainability of their systems. Humans are part of what we call "production". This time should include tests, monitoring, alerts, and documentation. It's harder to justify it when things are very new (new companies or new products) as you're still unsure of the value you're providing to your customers. It makes it harder to change this mindset when the company is more mature unless you intentionally prioritize knowing that "what got us here won't get us there".

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Building Products at Airbnb
8 minutes read.

"Usually it’s a document describing like what the world will look like and what the user experience should be like and what's different from today. From there we walk backwards to define major milestones of what we would actually need to achieve to make it a reality." -- I enjoyed reading Ken Norton's interviews with Airbnb's employees to understand the culture, inspiration, and incentives people have to make decisions. Don't miss out on the "Zoom the Donuts…" as well!

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If You’re Presenting to Your Manager, Leadership Team, or an Executive Trying to Convince Them to Make a Call, I Have a Presentation Format for You to Follow. (Thread)
3 minutes read.

You should bookmark this thread by Jehad Affoneh and use it on your next deck if you strive to make a strategic decision. You have the detailed blog post in a link as part of the thread, but I think the thread's version is valuable and compact as is.

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5 Signs of an Immature Software Developer
6 minutes read.

Ben Bianchi points out anti-patterns you should avoid if you want to increase your impact. I've seen the effect of it earlier in my career. Don't sabotage your hard work.

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My Dad Led an Organization of Over 300,000 Employees. When I Took on My Biggest Marketing & Events Team to Date (35 Employees) I Asked Him How the *Heck* He Did It. Here's What He Said and What Helped Me Every Day. (Thread)
4 minutes read.

"f you're not going to empower the managers under you, why do you have them? If you see room for improvement, let the manager know and let them make the change on their teams and come to you with questions/concerns. This will save you SO much time. [...] You *will* have to make decisions that are unfair, and you *will* have to communicate decisions you disagree with. Guaranteed. The sooner you accept that and expect it, the better you'll deal with it when the time comes." -- Liz Beechinor shares leadership advice her father gave her, with so many gems in it. It also opened up an interesting discussion with more observations by others.

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@eriktorenberg: Being respected is more anti-fragile than being liked. Competence is more defensible & durable than affability.

@waitbutwhy: Today, people want to be passionately in love with their spouse, their job, and their lifestyle. This is a relatively new thing. I wonder if the change is simply that times are more secure for many, or if "passion" just happens to be a particular value of my particular culture.