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Let's stop making each other feel stupid - Agil...

Let's stop making each other feel stupid - Agile Meets Architecture Oct '23

This talk was a keynote at Agile Meets Architecture in Berlin on Thurs Oct 5th, 2023.

Accompanying blog post: https://www.agile-meets-architecture.com/essays/lets-stop-making-each-other-feel-stupid

Stupidity Manifesto: https://insimpleterms.blog/the-stupidity-manifesto

Talk blurb:
We work in an industry where we have to prove how much we know. And yet, there are a million different paths through software development. On a day-to-day level we have to specialise on one task at a time. The skills we don’t need now are necessarily forgotten, or delegated to someone else. And that’s fine.

Instead of judging people for their ignorance, let’s help them to feel excited about all the new things they’ll discover. Instead of saying “How come you don’t know that?” let’s say “Fantastic! Lucky you. You get to learn something. What can I do to help?”

Clare Sudbery

October 05, 2023
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Transcript

  1. •Once upon a time… •Woman. Software engineer, background in maths.

    •Used to being in a minority. •Women can’t do maths. Reinforced by experience. •Came to IT late. •First job, intimidated: men doing IT since kids. •Second job, kept getting knocked back •Interview: more senior position. •Faced incredulity: Didn’t know enough. •After 12 years, redundancy - a relief. •DIDN’T WANT TO WORK IN I.T. ANY MORE.
  2. - In case you accidentally fell asleep when eyes closed…

    - Stand up - Sit down if you know everything about everything - Sit down if you never have to Google anything related to your sphere of expertise - WAS tempted to ask if you’ve ever laughed at anyone for not knowing stuff - But that would be me shaming you, I’m not here to do that - expecting a lot still on their feet - [pick up the pace – accelerate, barely give them time to think] - Sit down if you think you should know more than you do - Sit down if you worry people will find out you don’t know much about the latest hot topic - Sit down if you’ve ever considered switching roles or careers because you can’t keep up - OK, you can all sit down
  3. • Judging people • Talking in jargon • Not training

    juniors • Rock star developers • “Everyone knows more than me” • Hiding our ignorance • Believing seniors should know most @ClareSudbery
  4. Ilianna: Terraform Kirsty: Hadoop Mircea: iOS Native Esra: SonarQube Georgia:

    Golang Rob: AWS Scott: AiOps Andy: Encryption Anik: PySpark Jon: CentOS 7 THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  5. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native SonarQube Golang AWS AiOps

    PySpark Recursion THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  6. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native SonarQube Golang AWS AiOps

    Recursion Encryption THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  7. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native Golang AWS AiOps 398373

    Encryption PySpark THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  8. Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption

    PySpark SonarQube THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  9. CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS Native AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark

    SonarQube Golang THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  10. Hadoop iOS Native AWS AiOps Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang

    Terraform THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  11. Recursion Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang Terraform CentOS 7 Hadoop iOS

    Native AWS THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  12. Terraform Data analytics Hadoop iOS Native SonarQube Golang AWS AiOps

    Encryption PySpark THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION @ClareSudbery
  13. "The ability to learn together is the most important capability

    of the systems architect” Diana Montalion, today @ClareSudbery
  14. "Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call

    intelligence just boils down to curiosity." - Aaron Swartz The Stupidity Manifesto @ClareSudbery
  15. @ClareSudbery The Stupidity Manifesto LET’S STOP MAKING EACH OTHER FEEL

    STUPID. INSTEAD, LET’S… • ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO ASK QUESTIONS • Lead by example: Be honest when we’re confused • Value curiosity over knowledge • Prioritise clarity over jargon • Remember we all forget stuff • Get excited about teaching and learning • Acknowledge the broad range of knowledge in our industry, and avoid judging someone if their knowledge doesn’t match ours • LET’S STOP MAKING EACH OTHER FEEL STUPID. Sign the manifesto:
  16. DIAL UP THE GOOD What can you do to make

    things even better? The most useful talks are those that result in action @ClareSudbery
  17. tinyurl.com/tech-better-pod • Jessica Kerr – Team learning • Emily Webber

    - Communities of practice • Charlene Hunter (Black history month) - Diversity and training • Craig Bass - How to build an academy • Dr J Harrison - Inclusive teams I hosted a podcast… @ClareSudbery
  18. Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd Helping teams improve their software delivery

    Delivering keynotes and workshops Email: [email protected] Events and info: tinyurl.com/csudbery Mastodon: mastodon.social/@ClareSudbery Twitter: @ClareSudbery LinkedIn: tinyurl.com/lin-csudbery Podcast: tinyurl.com/tech-better-pod