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?”

Transcript

1. NO EYES
   NEEDED
   @ClareSudbery
   

   View Slide

2. •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.
   

   View Slide

3. @ClareSudbery
   https://media.giphy.com/media/ACVoiOEjbA6nC/giphy.gif
   

   View Slide

4. - 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
   

   View Slide

5. Let’s Stop Making
   Each Other Feel
   Stupid
   @ClareSudbery
   

   View Slide

6. Imagine a world…
   @ClareSudbery
   

   View Slide

7. Making Each
   Other Feel
   Stupid
   How does it
   happen?
   @ClareSudbery
   

   View Slide

8. • 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
   

   View Slide

9. Talking
   negatively
   about
   others
   @ClareSudbery
   

   View Slide

10. Talking in
    jargon
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

11. Talking in
    jargon
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

12. Being
    reluctant
    to train
    juniors
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

13. The Lucky 10,000
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

14. ROCK-
    STAR
    DEVS!
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

15. Assuming
    everyone
    else knows
    more than
    us
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

16. 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
    

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

24. AWS
    AiOps
    Recursion
    Encryption PySpark SonarQube Golang
    Terraform
    CentOS 7
    Hadoop
    THE WHEEL OF CONFUSION
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

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

    View Slide

28. Assuming
    everyone
    else knows
    more than
    us
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

29. The range of knowledge in
    our industry is very wide
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

30. The range of
    knowledge in our
    industry is VERY
    WIDE
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

31. Hiding our
    own
    ignorance
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

32. Believing we
    should know
    more than
    everyone else
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

33. "The ability to learn together is the most
    important capability of the systems
    architect”
    Diana Montalion, today
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

34. My
    experience -
    the
    happy
    story
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

35. "Be curious. Read widely. Try new things. What people call
    intelligence just boils down to curiosity." - Aaron Swartz
    The Stupidity Manifesto
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

36. @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:
    

    View Slide

37. DIAL UP THE GOOD
    What can you do to make things even better?
    The most useful talks are those that result in action
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

38. Landing in a neat pair-synchronized way.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BsY1qBeg5Qg
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

39. 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
    

    View Slide

40. @ClareSudbery
    tinyurl.com/TBD-clare
    

    View Slide

41. Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd
    Helping teams improve their software delivery
    Delivering keynotes and workshops
    Email: Sudbery.software@gmail.com
    Events and info: tinyurl.com/csudbery
    Mastodon: mastodon.social/@ClareSudbery
    Twitter: @ClareSudbery
    LinkedIn: tinyurl.com/lin-csudbery
    Podcast: tinyurl.com/tech-better-pod
    

    View Slide

42. Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd
    Seriously -
    I’m available!
    

    View Slide

43. @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

44. 19:30 Panel
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide

45. Questions /
    Discussion
    @ClareSudbery
    

    View Slide