Management & Professional Life
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Why technical reviews fail
It’s a common topic, an oft repeated complaint, and one which has already had many many lines of advice written, and countless suggestions offered. So here’s a new slant. The reason most technical reviews fail is because of the writer, not the reviewer. It’s not because the reviewers couldn’t find the time, it’s not because…
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Interviewing
How do you do it? I’ve conducted a fair number of interviews over the past few years, not a huge amount but definitely into double figures. Some have been good, some not so good, and some just embarassing. I recently read about an interview that was more like a planning meeting, outlining the job in…
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Decluttery
Well I didn’t get half the stuff I’d hoped to get done but made a start at the “Big Declutter”. Two bin bags for the skip, one for the charity shop and I’m not even halfway through. The whole thing has come about because of the big smile that now appears on the face of…
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On Triangles
This post is directly prompted by a discussion on TechWR which, whilst it occasionally frustrates, continues to provide plenty of scope for thought. Sylvia Braunstein asked about “Avoiding documentation bottlenecks whilst maintaining quality” and a couple of emails later the responses headed into a familiar territory. I call it the “management choice triangle” (or sometimes…
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We're taking the Costa Brava plane
Stepping out the front door, greeted by pinched skin and the glisten of frost on the car, I realise that summer is truly over. Just as well, I thought, that we’re off to Spain next week. Still mid-20s there which will do very nicely thankeweverymuch. But no, it’s not a last minute description. As well…
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Skill Set
Without meaning to I seem to have taken some inspiration from this post, whilst I’m not directly offering a counterpoint, it’s worth a read. ~ Every trade or profession has a skill set, a unique set of talents that make one role different from another. For most people in the IT industry we all have…