The London Web "Empathy - The Hidden Ingredient of Good Software Development"
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The document discusses the significance of empathy in software development, emphasizing the need for understanding users' experiences and feelings. It covers key principles such as knowing oneself and others, seeking feedback, and adopting an outside-in perspective throughout the software lifecycle, including requirements gathering, architecture, development, operations, and leadership. The author argues that empathy acts as a vital ingredient for effective collaboration and successful software creation.
The London Web "Empathy - The Hidden Ingredient of Good Software Development"
- 1. Empathy The hidden ingredient of good software development? Daniel Bryant @danielbryantuk
- 2. empathy noun | em·pa·thy | ˈem-pə-thē The feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions The ability to share someone else's feelings and perspective 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 3. A typical software development debacle… Me: I think we’re some missing empathy here… Client: Is that a new JavaScript framework? Empathy.js? Me: No, no – shared understanding... Client: Is it a new communication style? RxEmpathy? Me: No, I mean thinking about the needs and feelings of your (customer|team mate|boss|internet troll) 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 5. We’re (typically) developing software… …for other people …with other people ...to create an (emotional) experience Surely we have to understand other peoples’ experiences? This is why empathy is important 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 6. @danielbryantuk • Chief Scientist at OpenCredo, CTO at SpectoLabs • Agile, architecture, CI/CD, DevOps • Java, Go, JS, microservices, cloud, containers • Driving change through the application of technology and teams • London Java Community Associate • InfoQ Editor, DZone MVB, Voxxed… • Conference regular: Devoxx, JavaOne, QCon… 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 7. The next 40 minutes: Empathy… • Core principles • In the real world • Requirements gathering • Architecture and development • Operations • Leadership 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 8. Core principles Know yourself, know others, seek rapid feedback 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 9. Core themes in the presentation • Know yourself • Who we are determines how we see others (emotional intelligence) • The first person we must examine is ourselves • Know others • The world – with one exception – is composed of others • We can lift people up or take people down • Seek rapid feedback • No one gets it right all the time 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 12. The range of empathy… 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk Strong empathy Strong apathy
- 13. Requirements gathering Because we’re creating software for other people 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 14. IT as conversational medium • Post-agile • Start with why (impact) • Design thinking • Empathy • Ethnography • Abductive thinking • Iterative user testing 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 16. Personas • Represent a major user group • Express needs and expectations • Uncovering universal features and functionality • Describe real people with backgrounds, goals, and values 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 18. Ethnography - “get out of the building” • www.notonthehighstreet.com • “In your shoes” • Large UK retailer • “Shop floor time” • My own experiences… 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 19. Core themes - requirements • Know yourself • What impact am I seeking? (Start with why) • Know others • Seek to understand users • Visit users in their natural habitat • Seek rapid feedback • Prototyping • Build, measure, learn 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 20. Architecture and development Because we’re building software alongside other people 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 21. Architecture • Shared understanding • Architects must code • Risk management • Technical • Stakeholder • ‘Just enough’ upfront design 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 22. Risk management - evaluation “I will postpone using this shiny new framework until my peers have validated the proposed benefits with rigorous scientific experiments” - Said by no programmer …ever 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 23. Evaluation - Fitness functions • Microservices as an Evolutionary Architecture • Neal Ford and Rebecca Parsons • Great for evaluation and documentation • Platforms / Language • Middleware • Data stores 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 24. Evaluation - Raible’s comparison matrix 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk www.slideshare.net/mraible/comparing-jvm-web-frameworks-february-2014
- 25. Evaluation – The Spine Model • Effective conversations make for effective collaboration • It's a TOOL Problem • As a species, we have always been Tool users and makers. • We use _____ to get our work done • People get stuck in a dilemma where equally plausible options are available • “Going up the Spine” breaks deadlock http://spinemodel.info/explanation/introduction/
- 26. Determine the need for the tool • PRACTICES before Tools • Decide on the Practices that the tools are there to support • We do _____ to create value • PRINCIPLES before Practices • Decide on the Principles to measure those Practices against. • We leverage _____ to change the system • VALUES before Principles • Make as explicit as possible the Values at play in the system. • We optimise for _____ • NEEDS before Values • It all starts at Needs. Why does this system exist in the first place? • We are here to satisfy _____ http://spinemodel.info/explanation/introduction/
- 27. Coding • All code is communication • ”Clean Code” • Wikis and READMEs “Always code as if the person who ends up maintaining your code is a violent psychopath who knows where you live.” -Jeff Atwood blog.codinghorror.com/coding-for-violent-psychopaths/ 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 28. Systems thinking – the user journey • Understand the user journey • “Shift left” QA • Three amigos • ”Quality Advocates” • BDD and TDD • Outside in 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 29. If you’re building microservices... 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk specto.io/blog/recipe-for-designing-building-testing-microservices.html
- 30. Core themes – architecture and dev • Know yourself • Check your evaluation and communcation skills • Know others • Understand the whole (systems/solution-focused) • Establish the correct perspective - think outside-in • Seek rapid feedback • Prototype 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 31. Operations Because everyone is responsible for the (continual) delivery of valuable software 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 32. Regulatory fit theory 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk Mary Poppendieck bit.ly/1VvYi83
- 33. Share the pain... 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 34. “Developer-on-call” An occasional spike to the head is a good thing... ...metaphorically speaking • You build it, you run it • Accountability • Shared responsibility • Communication 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 35. DevOps - it’s not a department • Pair with developers • Treat operators are stakeholders • Involve in standups • Communication face-to-face 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 36. Outside-in (and systems) thinking • Lineage-driven fault injection • Semantic monitoring • Avoiding alert fatigue 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk www.infoq.com/presentations/failure-test-research-netflix
- 37. Core themes - operations • Know yourself • Seek freedom and accountability • Know others • Dev-on-call / DevOps • It’s all about perspective – think systems and outside-in • Seek rapid feedback • Semantic monitoring (systems) 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 38. Leadership Because we’re always influencing (leading) other people 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 39. Communicate the tech vision 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 40. Don’t micromanage - People learn from mistakes 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk People with new tech be like… …f*cking new technology This has been me many times!
- 41. Listen, empathise, and provide feedback • Separate appreciation, coaching and evaluation • First seek to understand • See your blind spots • Identify the relationship system • Cultivate a growth identity 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 42. Leadership • Know yourself • Big five personality traits, MBTI, meditation • Know your vision/mission/goals • Know others • Engineers (including myself) can be a funny interesting bunch! • Care about the team (their stories, journey, motivation…) • Coaching is a valuable skills • Seek rapid feedback • 360 feedback 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 43. Wrapping up Because this presentation has to finish at some point… 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 44. Empathy is like a muscle… 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 45. Empathy is like a muscle… • Habit 1: Cultivate curiosity about strangers • Habit 2: Challenge prejudices and discover commonalities • Habit 3: Try another person’s life • Habit 4: Listen hard—and open up • Habit 5: Inspire mass action and social change • Habit 6: Develop an ambitious imagination 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 46. Final thoughts • Know yourself • Who we are determines how we see others • The first person we must examine is ourselves • Know others • The world – with one exception – is composed of others • We can lift people up or take people down • Seek rapid feedback • No one gets it right all the time 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
- 47. The rest is up to you… Thanks to all the OpenCredo team and Tareq Abedrabbo for inspiration @danielbryantuk daniel.bryant@opencredo.com www.opencredo.com 18/08/2016 @danielbryantuk
Editor's Notes
- #15: goes from an observation to a theory which accounts for the observation, ideally seeking to find the simplest and most likely explanation