Project 1 Lessons: Part 1

It's amazing how fast weeks go by on a project.

It feels like just yesterday I found out I was headed to California for my first project. Suddenly a month has passed and we've cruised through one-and-a-half iterations. A few general lessons have been learned along the way that I'll surely be applying in the future.

Be Uniquely Identifiable

I made an attempt early on in the project to go by SG Hill. This was a new venture in person that didn't quite pan out for a number of reasons. The need for a name other than Steve was obvious and pressing. As is so often the case, I have a teammate named Steve. Ultimately the problem has been solved with the kind of class and style only software developers could pull off.

I'm now new Steve(); whilst my elder teammate has become known as Steve.Instance();

Learn Over Lunch

One of the great things about bringing together so many people of different backgrounds and experience levels is the knowledge transfer that could potentially happen. Getting it to actually happen requires some effort. Three weeks ago we made the effort to have lunch in the office one day a week for a little thing we're calling Lunch & Learn.

The response to L&L has been better than anticipated, and we've covered some varying topics so far over pizza and sandwiches.

1. ASP.NET MVC - Testable software designs
2. Feature Toggling (nToggle) - turning features of software on and off from a switch in the codebase
3. Automated Functional Testing - Automated testing of web applications through a browser with Selenium

Perhaps the biggest benefit to giving these presentations over lunch is not the new ideas being shown, but the discussions generated around them from the questions being asked.

Quote of the Day as said in a Russian accent "Pizza without beer? This is...crime"

The Enchanting Tale of the 40-Minute Assessment

Gallup Press put out a book in 2007 titled Strengths Finder 2.0. The book contains an access code for a 177-question assessment online, which takes about 40 minutes to complete. In many ways, it's like a scaled-back Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test. The StrengthsFinder predictably only reveals 5 themes (strengths) and gives you a bit of background. We were lucky enough to get this as a part of our training at ThoughtWorks University, but if you're interested you can pick it up for about $12 on Amazon:

Assessment

The assessment is pretty easy to go through for the most part. One answers the questions by comparing the two options at opposite ends of a 5-point likert-esque scale and selecting the position he or she thinks best describes him. The options aren't always conflicting. Hypothetical example in glorious ASCII art:

   Strongly                                    Strongly

    Agree                Neutral                Agree

      |----------|----------|----------|----------|

I am a strong leader                    I like to listen

Results

The results are ready with a very nice customized report instantly.

My top 5 themes (with StrengthsFinder's descriptions!)

1. Ideation
   

   People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

2. Learner
   

   People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

3. Responsibility
   

   People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

4. Command
   

   People who are especially talented in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

5. Futuristic
   

   People who are especially talented in the Futuristic theme are inspired by the future and what could be. They inspire others with their visions of the future.

In all, there are 34 StrengthsFinder Themes. Other information in the report includes quotes from people with your top themes and ways to apply your talents.

Note I've wanted to try out these affiliate links for ages now, but never really had an opportunity. In the interest of full disclosure, , if someone happens to buy this book through the link I'll try to not spend my $0.48 referral fee in one place.

Note Yes, I consider graphs works of art