Remembering the People Behind Projects.
Given at jQuery Dev Summit 2015.
Contributing CodeEmpathetically
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RememberingPeopleBehindProjects
Who Am I?
Who Am I?Nick HehrEmpathetic Community MemberFront-End DeveloperHoodie Contributor
What is Empathy?
What is Empathy?The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
What is Empathy?Seeing the world through the eyes of someone else.
Breakdown• Context• Constructive Feedback• Communication• Caring
Context
The internal and external factors that influencethe decisions we make and actions we take.
How It Relates• No One is Un-Opinionated• We All Have Biases• Listening is Key• “Why?”
Set The Example
Descriptive Descriptions• screenshots, animated GIFs, or screencasts• the behavior and visuals you expected• related issues that would be closed• any context/reasoning behind why a change shouldbe made• notes or concerns while in progress
Constructive Feedback
The return of information that helps todevelop or improve.
How It Relates“If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’tsay anything at all.”
How It Relates“If you don’t have anything constructive to say,then don’t say anything at all.”
• Mutually Agreed Upon• Set Up With Expectations• In An Open Space• Shared With ContextConstructive Feedback is…
ExampleCode Reviews
It is intended to find and fix mistakesoverlooked, improving both the overall qualityof software and developers' skills.
EncouragingConstructive Feedback
https://github.com/atom/atom/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
https://github.com/hoodiehq/hoodie/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
Communication
The successful sharing ofideas and feelings between people.
How It Relates• What We Say• How We Say It• Where We Say It
“I” Statements For Giving Constructive Feedback For Getting Context
“You” Statements For Getting Context For Giving Constructive Feedback
How We Communicate• General = Slack• Standups = Hangouts / In-Person• Recorded Discussions = GitHub Issues• Long-Form / Async = Email
https://.slack.com/customize/slackbot
Caring
To provide the needs of somethingand show interest in it.
How It Relates• Caring is Sharing• And Listening• And Understanding
How Much Do You Care?
Do You Care Enough…• To Write A Blog Post?• To File An Issue?• To Send An Email?• To Record A Screencast?• To Submit A Pull Request?
– Yoda“Don’t give in to hate. It leads to the Dark Side.”
ExampleDocumentation
Documentation Matters• Wikis• Code Comments• Styleguides• Pattern Libraries• README.md
Exemplifying Caring
http://hood.ie/community/#contributors
http://hood.ie/contribute/
By starting to apply empathy to connect with othersprofessionally, we can continue down that path toconnect with others personally.
Resources
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/practical-empathy/
http://more-empathy.online
Thank You