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
   

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2. hey,
   what’s up,
   hello!
   I’m Duretti!
   !
   

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3. hey,
   what’s up,
   hello!
   I’m @duretti!
   !
   

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4. Slack is a group messaging
   app for teams
   

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5. 6.8M+ 1.5M+ 800+
   weekly active paid
   employees
   customers
   slack
   customers
   

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7. How to get engineering
   teams to eat their
   vegetables?
   

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8. Foster excellent
   working environments
   with minimal process
   

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10. Foster excellent
    working environments
    with minimal process
    

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11. Why?
    

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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
    

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13. A rising tide
    lifts all boats
    

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14. We are making
    more than
    just software
    

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15. Iteration
    beats
    a rewrite
    

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16. The future
    of work
    

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17. Coordination is
    competitive
    advantage
    

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18. Software
    engineering
    is a team sport
    

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19. source: https://twitter.com/shinypb/status/709363372710563840
    

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20. “
    How we spend our days is, of course, how we
    spend our lives.
    —Annie Dillard
    

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21. Solidarity
    matters
    

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22. “
    Kindness is more important than wisdom, and
    the recognition of this is the beginning of
    wisdom.
    —Theodore Isaac Ruben
    

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24. shadow side
    

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25. suggested reading list
    

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26. &
    1. Qualities of high
    performing teams
    2. Practical tips
    

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27. qualities of high
    performing teams
    

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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”
    

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29. Teams are the
    atomic unit
    of a company
    

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30. What are the
    qualities of a
    good team?
    

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31. Enthusiasm
    & support
    

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32. Sense of
    togetherness
    

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33. Vulnerability
    is A-OK!
    

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34. source: https://twitter.com/cyberneticlove/status/712435416637440000
    

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35. Psychological
    safety
    

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36. source: https://twitter.com/annapickard/status/707283056902582272
    

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37. Productivity
    is a measure of
    comfort
    

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38. Good teams are
    smarter
    

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39. Good teams share
    control
    

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40. Satisfaction is
    satisfaction
    

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41. Absence of these
    qualities can lead
    to burn out
    

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42. source: https://twitter.com/ceejbot/status/761569569802551300
    

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43. shadow side
    

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44. practical magic
    

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45. Hey! Listen!
    

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46. Play a game
    

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47. Pairing
    

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48. Better meetings
    

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49. 1. Agendas
    2. Interruption-free
    3. Turn-taking
    

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50. Chit-chat
    

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51. Effective feedback
    

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52. shadow side
    

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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
    

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54. tl; dr
    

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55. Productivity
    is a measure of
    comfort
    

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56. Good teams are
    a secret weapon
    

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57. Don’t suppress
    your humanity
    

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58. Thanks for
    listening!
    find me online: @duretti

    

    speaker notes at:

    medium.com/@duretti/how-to-get-engineering-teams-to-eat-
    their-vegetables
    

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