Jan 08, 2021 08:00:00

What lessons have you learned from your nearly half-century career in the IT industry?

Joel Goldberg, a former engineer at BTI360 , a software development company in Washington, DC, taught his colleagues 'lessons learned throughout his 45-year career' as he retired. Michael Clark of BTI360, who received a scent from him, summarizes the knowledge and experience gained from having been in the IT industry for nearly half a century in six points.

BTI360 | What I've Learned in 45 Years in the Software Industry
https://www.bti360.com/what-ive-learned-in-45-years-in-the-software-industry/

◆ 1: Be careful of 'the curse of knowledge'
Goldberg's 'curse of knowledge' is a 'phenomenon that makes it impossible to communicate with inexperienced people' that people with advanced knowledge often fall into. This tendency is especially strong for those who are accustomed to specialized and complicated knowledge.

Goldberg said, 'The stance of always communicating for the first time without neglecting the effort to understand the listener,' because the 'knowledge curse' not only obfuscates the code but also interferes with conversation. Keep this in mind and fight the curse of knowledge. '

◆ 2: Value the basics
In the IT industry, technology is changing day by day, so it seems that we can't stick to the basics forever. However, Goldberg said, 'Some of the basic ideas of software development have nothing to do with fashion,' he said, citing six important 'basics' that will not change over time. ..

1 Teamwork: Good teamwork is essential for good software development, so we shouldn't forget the value of teamwork.
2 Trust: Teamwork depends on the trust of the members, so you should be a reliable person who wants to work together.
3 Communication: Avoiding the above-mentioned “knowledge curse” and communicating honestly and positively will foster a sense of trust.
4 Asking for consensus: Goldberg says that time-consuming discussions involving the entire team will lead to the best solution from disagreements.
5 Test automation : With test automation, you can work on your development work with confidence and speed with well-tested code.
6 Concise and easy-to-understand code and design : Think of the successor engineer who will take over the code as the next customer, and try to build code that is easy to read and maintain.

◆ 3: Simple is best
The solution should be as simple as possible. Goldberg also said that it should always be achieved at lower technical levels.

Goldberg's maxim is that the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , famous for 'Prince of the Stars,' left behind 'The designer realizes he has done the perfect job. It's not when there's nothing to add, it's when there's nothing to subtract. '

Prince of the Stars (Shincho Bunko) | Saint-Exupperi, Saint-Exup´ery, Antoine de, Mariko, Kono | Books | Mail Order | Amazon

◆ 4: First to understand
Goldberg also took up the adage of American management consultant Stephen Covey , 'Seek to understand first, then seek to be understood.' If you want to, you must first understand the other person. '

◆ 5: Don't get caught up in the pitfalls of the novelty
According to Goldberg, products and services that claim 'new era of software development' or 'revolutionary productivity' often have pitfalls such as large upfront investments and constraints. To prevent these problems from getting into the dead end, Goldberg pointed out that 'new things aren't always good.'

◆ 6: If it doesn't go well with your work, accept it obediently.
During his long career, he sometimes did jobs that didn't suit his abilities, Goldberg said. This isn't necessarily my fault, but it's a serious problem that can't be ignored. 'The important thing is to be aware of what's happening and be aware of what's happening,' Goldberg said.

This is based on Goldberg's work experience before joining BTI360. At General Motors , where Mr. Goldberg previously worked, the atmosphere that 'if you do not have a larger and more difficult job, you will be the latter' is widespread, and this often led to unfortunate situations. However, at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) , a subsidiary of GM that would later be acquired by Hewlett-Packard, returning from a broader position to a narrower position was not considered a stigma.

Impressed by EDS's corporate culture, Goldberg himself decided to return to the development floor from a top-level tech job and never regretted it.