Being an Effective Developer

Ben Rogers, Development Lead, Jobsite UK Ltd.

Ben RogersDevelopment Lead @ Jobsite UK Ltd.30+ years using computers20+ years in the Internet Industry15+ years as a Developer

ben@bdr.org @highflying

1. Effort

10,000 hoursof purposeful practiceto master something

Going to be wrong...a lot

...but not all the time

No such thing as natural talent

László Polgár

Susan

• 1st female Grandmaster• 4x Woman’s World

Champion• 5x Chess Olympiads• Only person (male or

female) to win the Chess Triple Crown

Sofia

• Multiple Chess Olympiads• At the Magistrale di

Rome, won 8 straight games against top male players, the odds quoted as “billions to 1”, rated 5th best performance in the world (male & female)

Judit

• Youngest ever Grandmaster (male or female)• Been World No.1 Female

Chess player for 10+ years• Considered to be the best

female player of all time

2. Seek Feedback

Do

CheckAct

Plan

TDDPairing

IDE

Time

LoC 𝝙 Code Reviews

Dem

os

Retr

ospe

ctive

s

Tests

Talk!

Time

LoC 𝝙

3. Clear Goals

Start with the end in mind

Clean Code

Write Some Code

Get it working Do it right

Optimise(if needed)

YAGNI KISS

Code that fits in your Head

4. Teamwork

Psychological Safety

HeaRT

HumilityRespectTrust

5. Give Feedback

You have a responsibilityto help others

on their 10,000 hourjourney

•Review and comment on Code Reviews•Write blogs•Answer questions on Stack Overflow•Perform workshops•Attend meet-ups•Talk at meet-ups and conferences

Questions?...and Feedback!

References• Bounce, Matthew Syed, ISBN 978-000735054-4• What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team,

Charles Duhigg, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html• Team Geek, Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman, ISBN 978-

144930244-3• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey, ISBN 978-

079530919-9