I N C R E A S I N G Y O U R VA L U E A S A D E V E L O P E R

S T E V E N TA L C O T T S M I T H

ælogica

S T E V E N TA L C O T T S M I T H

Founder of: ælogica Based in Global City & Lake Tahoe

Author of:

A B O U T M E

Level Up!How to Become a Great Professional Developer

leanpub.com/level_up/c/rubyconfph2015

@stalcottsmith — steve@aelogica.com

W H O W A N T S T O B E M O R E VA L U A B L E ?

I N C R E A S I N G Y O U R VA L U E

T H R E E A S P E C T S

1. ATTITUDES

2. HABITS

3. TECHNIQUES

W H AT D O W E M E A N B Y “ VA L U A B L E ” ?

• More effective

• Higher performing

• Greater perceived value

W H Y I S P E R C E I V E D VA L U E I M P O R TA N T ?

• Professionals write software for other people

• Professionals get paid by others for what they do

• Pay generally increases with perceived value

AT T I T U D E

I N C R E A S I N G Y O U R VA L U E

F O C U S O N D E L I V E R I N G VA L U E

A T T I T U D E

Y O U R J O B I S N O T S I M P LY T O W R I T E C O D E

A T T I T U D E

Y O U R J O B I S T O D E L I V E R VA L U E

A T T I T U D E

O T H E R W AY S T O D E L I V E R VA L U E

• Polish

• Document

• Clean up

• Groom

• Question

• Automate

• Assist

A L L T H E S E …

M A X I M I Z E T H E P E R F O R M A N C E O F Y O U R W H O L E T E A M

P E R F O R M A N C E I S T H E S U S TA I N E D PA C E O F VA L U E D E L I V E R Y

C O D E I S C O M M U N I C AT I O N

C O D E R E P R E S E N T S Y O U R C O N C R E T E U N D E R S TA N D I N G

M I N I M I Z E T O TA L C O G N I T I V E E F F O R T

• Communicate efficiently

• Make things easy for other people

• Eliminate future effort

H A B I T S

I N C R E A S I N G Y O U R VA L U E

B E R E G U L A R

H A B I T

– G U S TAV F L A U B E R T

“Be regular and ordinary in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

S L E E P W E L L

H A B I T

E AT R I G H T

H A B I T

E AT R I G H T

H A B I T

D E F E N D Y O U R B E S T H O U R SH A B I T

A L E R T N E S S PAT T E R ND E F E N D Y O U R B E S T H O U R S

C U LT I VAT E F L O WH A B I T

C H A L L E N G E V S S K I L LC U LT I VA T E F L O W

TA K E B E T T E R B R E A K SH A B I T

T I M I N G B R E A K STA K E B E T T E R B R E A K S

P O M O D O R O

TA K I N G B R E A K S

O R D R I N K E I G H T G L A S S E S O F W AT E RTA K I N G B R E A K S

D E C I D E S H O R T O R L O N GTA K I N G B R E A K S

S H O R T B R E A K P R O C E D U R E

• State what you did during the session

• State what you will do next when you return

• Take your break - 5 minutes or less

• Review where you left off

L O N G B R E A K P R O C E D U R E

• Same … just write it down

A LW AY S A LW AY S A LW AY S

• Get up and walk around

• Move away from your computer

• Try not to look at another screen

• Do not engage in activity that might delay returning to your task

F O L L O W Y O U R S E T U P R O U T I N E

H A B I T

R E A D T H E S O U R C E , L U K E !

H A B I T S

T E C H N I Q U E SI N C R E A S I N G Y O U R VA L U E

F E E D Y O U R S E L FT E C H N I Q U E

F E E D Y O U R S E L FT E C H N I Q U E

D I S T I N G U I S H B O U N D E D F R O M U N B O U N D E D TA S K S

T E C H N I Q U E S

T I M E B O X I N G

T E C H N I Q U E S

H O W T O M A I N TA I N V E L O C I T Y W H I L E W O R K I N G O N A N U N B O U N D E D TA S K

T I M E B O X I N G

1 Week IterationMon Tue Wed Thu Fri

UnboundedBounded

Initial Research

First attemptAha! I think this will work…

It will work and I knowhow long it will take.

Finish it!

S E T A VA L U E A L A R M

T E C H N I Q U E S

D E - R I S K Y O U R P R O J E C T I N T H E B E G I N N I N G

T E C H N I Q U E

D O T H E H A R D E S T S T U F F E A R LYD E - R I S K I N G

Tech

nica

l Ris

k (U

nkno

wns

)

Iterations00

Slay Your Dragons Here

Squash Bugs

S TA R T Y O U R S E S S I O N W I T H A W A R M U P TA S K

T E C H N I Q U E

W A R M U PT E C H N I Q U E

AT T I T U D E

• Focus on Delivering Value

• Your job is more than writing code

• Maximize the performance of your whole team, including PMs and stakeholders

• Code is communication

H A B I T S

• Be Regular

• Sleep Well

• Eat Right

• Defend Your Best Hours

• Cultivate Flow

• Follow Your Set Up Routine

• Read The Source

T E C H N I Q U E S

• Feed Yourself

• Timebox Unbounded Tasks

• Set a Value Alarm

• De-risk Your Project Early

• Start your sessions with a warm up

• Ask more questions

C L O S I N G R E M A R K SI N C R E A S I N G Y O U R VA L U E

H E R E S T H A T L I N K A G A I N

leanpub.com/level_up/c/rubyconfph2015

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@stalcottsmith — steve@aelogica.com

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Level Up!How to Become a Great Professional Developer