How to get engineering teams to eat their vegetables

Many factors contribute to developer happiness. However, as engineers, we're often singularly obsessed with the idea that our job satisfaction comes solely from solving only the most interesting technical challenges. In reality, research shows that we perform best when we are rested, feel valued, and feel connected to a cause so we can focus on high-priority work.

This talk will focus on ways engineering teams can foster excellent working environments and cultures with minimally felt process: much like sneaking vegetables into desserts.

A written version of this talk can be found here: https://medium.com/@duretti/how-to-get-engineering-teams-to-eat-their-vegetables-83e0f83af71a

Transcript

1. How to get engineering teams to eat their vegetables (and do other stuff good too) DevOpsDays Minneapolis 25 July 2017
2. hey, what’s up, hello! I’m Duretti! !
3. hey, what’s up, hello! I’m @duretti! !
4. Slack is a group messaging app for teams
5. 6.8M+ 1.5M+ 800+ weekly active paid employees customers slack customers
7. How to get engineering teams to eat their vegetables?
8. Foster excellent working environments with minimal process
10. Foster excellent working environments with minimal process
11. Why?
12. “ I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me. —Muhammad Ali
13. A rising tide lifts all boats
14. We are making more than just software
15. Iteration beats a rewrite
16. The future of work
17. Coordination is competitive advantage
18. Software engineering is a team sport
19. source: https://twitter.com/shinypb/status/709363372710563840
20. “ How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. —Annie Dillard
21. Solidarity matters
22. “ Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom. —Theodore Isaac Ruben
24. shadow side
25. suggested reading list
26. & 1. Qualities of high performing teams 2. Practical tips
27. qualities of high performing teams
28. “ Teams make commitments to coordinate action, to address the issue at hand, for the sake of the project's shared mission. —Fernando Flores, “Conversations for Action”
29. Teams are the atomic unit of a company
30. What are the qualities of a good team?
31. Enthusiasm & support
32. Sense of togetherness
33. Vulnerability is A-OK!
34. source: https://twitter.com/cyberneticlove/status/712435416637440000
35. Psychological safety
36. source: https://twitter.com/annapickard/status/707283056902582272
37. Productivity is a measure of comfort
38. Good teams are smarter
39. Good teams share control
40. Satisfaction is satisfaction
41. Absence of these qualities can lead to burn out
42. source: https://twitter.com/ceejbot/status/761569569802551300
43. shadow side
44. practical magic
45. Hey! Listen!
46. Play a game
47. Pairing
48. Better meetings
49. 1. Agendas 2. Interruption-free 3. Turn-taking
50. Chit-chat
51. Effective feedback
52. shadow side
53. “What really matters are the countless small deeds of unknown people who lay the basis for the significant events that enter history. Howard Zinn
54. tl; dr
55. Productivity is a measure of comfort
56. Good teams are a secret weapon
57. Don’t suppress your humanity
58. Thanks for listening! find me online: @duretti
 
 speaker notes at:
 medium.com/@duretti/how-to-get-engineering-teams-to-eat- their-vegetables