Getting Good: Integrating Novice Developers Into Your Team

Good developer talent is extremely hard to find. If you need to scale your team, what options do you have? LivingSocial took an unconventional route and brought on 24 ruby novices for an intensive 5-month developer training program. The litmus test of the program comes now that their development careers have started. How will these beginners deliver value? What lessons can be learned about integrating junior developers into existing teams with large amounts of legacy code?

Transcript

1. Getting integrating novice developers Good Monday, January 14, 13
2. OHAI @eliseworthy Monday, January 14, 13
3. @steveklabnik OHAI Monday, January 14, 13
4. The Case for Beginners Hungry Academy In Practice Monday, January 14, 13
5. why? Monday, January 14, 13
6. imagine... Monday, January 14, 13
7. Monday, January 14, 13
8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_matt/3662061490/ !nctional diversity Monday, January 14, 13
9. randomness is good Monday, January 14, 13
10. a random group of intelligent problem solvers will outperform a group of the best problem solvers. http://www.pnas.org/content/101/46/16385.full Monday, January 14, 13
11. designing an application is way more than writing code. Monday, January 14, 13
12. Understanding of the problem Means of reaching a solution Perspective Heuristic Possible solution Monday, January 14, 13
13. Possible solution an expert Monday, January 14, 13
14. Possible solution Possible solution Possible solution Possible solution Possible solution expert team Monday, January 14, 13
15. Possible solution Possible solution Possible solution Possible solution Possible solution diverse team Monday, January 14, 13
16. the language can be taught... Monday, January 14, 13
17. ...varying perspective and heuristics cannot. Monday, January 14, 13
18. MARY horace Monday, January 14, 13
19. MARY jan Monday, January 14, 13
20. MARY mary Monday, January 14, 13
21. why beginners? Monday, January 14, 13
22. you want novel problem solvers. Monday, January 14, 13
23. by definition, new programmers are unencumbered by expert opinion. Monday, January 14, 13
24. how? Monday, January 14, 13
25. finding beginners Monday, January 14, 13
26. Selection Bias selection bias https://www.flickr.com/photos/foolstopzanet/334203826/ Monday, January 14, 13
27. similarity http://www.flickr.com/photos/ethermoon/4045176015/ Monday, January 14, 13
28. availability http://www.flickr.com/photos/24471966@N04/2431492671/ Monday, January 14, 13
29. appearance http://www.flickr.com/photos/henryjose/5531788252/ Monday, January 14, 13
30. teacher judgments of students Physical Attractiveness Bias in Hiring: What Is Beautiful Is Good Comila Shahani-Denning http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/orsp_shahani-denning_spring03.pdf Monday, January 14, 13
31. jury judgments in simulated trials Physical Attractiveness Bias in Hiring: What Is Beautiful Is Good Comila Shahani-Denning http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/orsp_shahani-denning_spring03.pdf Monday, January 14, 13
32. preferences for political candidates Physical Attractiveness Bias in Hiring: What Is Beautiful Is Good Comila Shahani-Denning http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/orsp_shahani-denning_spring03.pdf Monday, January 14, 13
33. Monday, January 14, 13
34. Monday, January 14, 13
35. Monday, January 14, 13
36. “good” developers “bad” developers Monday, January 14, 13
37. Monday, January 14, 13
38. it isn’t easy. Monday, January 14, 13
39. pick a well-rounded team not an expert team Monday, January 14, 13
40. The Case for Beginners Hungry Academy In Practice Monday, January 14, 13
41. Monday, January 14, 13
42. Monday, January 14, 13
43. 24 students 5 months 40 hours/week classroom 20-30 hours/week homework Monday, January 14, 13
44. Result: 24 new hires Monday, January 14, 13
45. Monday, January 14, 13
46. differentiated instruction Monday, January 14, 13
47. Monday, January 14, 13
48. Performance Under Load (0-5 points) •5: Average under 110ms, and all requests < 200ms •3: All requests sub 200ms •2: Average below 200ms •0: Average over 200ms Monday, January 14, 13
49. Monday, January 14, 13
50. Monday, January 14, 13
51. Monday, January 14, 13
52. What should they learn? How to teach them that? Monday, January 14, 13
53. Monday, January 14, 13
54. What should I build? How do I build that? Monday, January 14, 13
55. Monday, January 14, 13
56. Monday, January 14, 13
57. Six Facets of Understanding ◦ explain provide thorough and justifiable accounts of phenomena, facts, and data ◦ interpret — tell meaningful stories, offer apt translations, provide a revealing historical or personal dimension to ideas and events; make subjects personal or accessible through images, anecdotes, analogies, and models ◦ apply — effectively use and adapt what they know in diverse contexts ◦ have perspective — see and hear points of view through critical eyes and ears; see the big picture ◦ empathize — find value in what others might find odd, alien, or implausible; perceive sensitively on the basis of prior indirect experience ◦ have self-knowledge — perceive the personal style, prejudices, projections, and habits of mind that both shape and impede our own understanding; they are aware of what they do not understand and why understanding is so hard http://pixel.fhda.edu/id/six_facets.html Monday, January 14, 13
58. http://www.gschool.it Monday, January 14, 13
59. The Case for Beginners Hungry Academy In Practice Monday, January 14, 13
60. Monday, January 14, 13
61. autonomy let individuals control their own destiny. http://www.flickr.com/photos/difei/6194122010/ Monday, January 14, 13
62. incentivize by challenge. mastery Monday, January 14, 13
63. make it meaningful. purpose http://www.flickr.com/photos/romancing_the_road/6156994580/ Monday, January 14, 13
64. Monday, January 14, 13
65. Monday, January 14, 13
66. you’ll work better together if you like each other. liking Monday, January 14, 13
67. LIKING http://www.flickr.com/photos/genvessel/431101714 Monday, January 14, 13
68. common goal individual ownership. Monday, January 14, 13
69. Monday, January 14, 13
70. Monday, January 14, 13
71. team leaders/mentors must buy in. consistency Monday, January 14, 13
72. http://www.flickr.com/photos/metrix_feet/5018041830/ Monday, January 14, 13
73. http://www.flickr.com/photos/danicuki/6182435434/ Monday, January 14, 13
74. habit 0 each novice must have a (technical) mentor. Monday, January 14, 13
75. habit 1 take nothing for granted. set expectations early. Monday, January 14, 13
76. habit 2 design a pairing schedule. Monday, January 14, 13
77. habit 3 all code reviewed via pull requests. Monday, January 14, 13
78. habit 4 set dedicated learning time with self-chosen objectives. Monday, January 14, 13
79. recap Monday, January 14, 13
80. novices bring unique problem solving abilities. Monday, January 14, 13
81. leadership has to buy in. Monday, January 14, 13
82. be consistent; maintain good habits. Monday, January 14, 13
83. enjoy the novel perspective while teaching convention and best practices. Monday, January 14, 13