Productivity is Messing Around and Having Fun

Developer satisfaction, developer joy, and business results are strongly correlated. Developer productivity frameworks like SPACE recognize this, with Satisfaction being a key metric. And yet - our jobs are frustrating, filled with mindless work, and free of joy. How do we fix that? Is annoying waste inevitable? Can developer performance be tuned? Are productivity measurements helping or hurting us? And how can you persuade management to invest in boredom?

Except... it's not the boss we need to convince. Sometimes, it's ourselves. We're so in the habit of running to meet deadlines, running from one problem to the next, of aiming for 100% efficiency, we're the first ones to say "I don't have time for fun". In this talk, Holly and Trisha will try to convince you that fun isn't a luxury, but a necessity.

Holly is an expert on play at work, unwise automations, and polar bears. Trisha is an expert on performance tuning, tooling and productivity. Come to this talk to find out what these topics have in common.

Transcript

1. Productivity is Messing Around and Having Fun Trisha Gee, Gradle Holly Cummins, Red Hat QCon London
2. hi!
3. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat developer productivity engineering developer joy
4. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat are these opposites, or the same?
5. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat are these opposites, or the same? is development supposed to be fun?
6. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
7. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins why are you smiling?
8. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins why are you smiling? work is not a place to be happy!
9. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat As usual, Fred Brooks has the answer.
10. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “The Joys of the Craft”
11. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “The Joys of the Craft” 1. The sheer joy of making things
12. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “The Joys of the Craft” 1. The sheer joy of making things 2. The pleasure of making things that are useful to other people.
13. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “The Joys of the Craft” 1. The sheer joy of making things 2. The pleasure of making things that are useful to other people. 3. The fascination of fashioning complex puzzle-like objects of interlocking moving parts and watching them work
14. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “The Joys of the Craft” 1. The sheer joy of making things 2. The pleasure of making things that are useful to other people. 3. The fascination of fashioning complex puzzle-like objects of interlocking moving parts and watching them work 4. The joy of always learning
15. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “The Joys of the Craft” 1. The sheer joy of making things 2. The pleasure of making things that are useful to other people. 3. The fascination of fashioning complex puzzle-like objects of interlocking moving parts and watching them work 4. The joy of always learning 5. The delight of working in such a tractable medium
16. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat joy has business value.
17. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΈΛΗΣ
18. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat «τελειοῖ δὲ τὴν ἐνέργειαν ἡἡδονή» ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΈΛΗΣ
19. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat «Η ευχαρίστηση στην δουλειά βάζει την τελειότητα στην εργασία» ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΈΛΗΣ
20. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” Aristotle
21. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat the science bit
22. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat piglet litters grow https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/8746156155
23. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins research shows: fun is good for business.
24. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins research shows: fun is good for business.
25. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat https:/ /hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence
26. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat “Your brain at positive is 31% more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed. " https:/ /hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence
27. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat
28. https:/ /www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
29. "Individuals [who just watched a comedy video] have approximately greater productivity." https:/ /www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
30. We can measure this at an organisational level … and see the correlation.
31. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Job satisfaction is the no. 1 predictor of organizational performance.
32. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Satisfaction & Well-being Performance Activity Communication & Collaboration E ffi ciency & Flow SPACE
33. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “It’s hard to over-emphasize how unusual it is that an economic sector as large as knowledge work lacks useful standard de fi nitions of productivity.” – Cal Newport, Slow Productivity
34. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Satisfaction & Well-being Performance Activity Communication & Collaboration E ffi ciency & Flow SPACE
35. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Lines of code!
36. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins How are we doing on that?
37. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “a developer writes 10 lines of code per day”
38. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 10 lines per day …really?
39. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
40. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 12 lines per day
41. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
42. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 29 lines per day
43. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins will incentives get more code?
44. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins true story (from the internet): paying the team bonuses for lines of code
45. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins true story (from the internet): paying the team bonuses for lines of code for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) { // code }
46. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins true story (from the internet): paying the team bonuses for lines of code for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) { // code } for ( var i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) { // code }
47. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins the team made comments prettier
48. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins __ .__ .__ .__ __ _/ |_| |__ |__| ______ |__| ______ _____ ____ ____ _____ _____ ____ _____/ |_ \ __\ | \| |/ ___/ | |/ ___/ \__ \ _/ ___\/ _ \ / \ / \_/ __ \ / \ __\ | | | Y \ |\___ \ | |\___ \ / __ \_ \ \__( <_> ) Y Y \ Y Y \ ___/| | \ | |__| |___| /__/____ > |__/____ > (____ / \___ >____/|__|_| /__|_| /\___ >___| /__| \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ the team made comments prettier
49. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins the experiment lasted one day
50. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “lines of code” is not a good productivity metric for people. or machines.
51. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins tester developer
52. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins tester developer I get a bonus for every bug I fix!
53. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins tester developer I get a bonus for every bug I fix! I get a bonus for every bug I find!
54. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins tester developer I get a bonus for every bug I fix! I get a bonus for every bug I find! … pssst… wanna buy a bug?
55. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “visible activity” metrics • lines of code • commit counts • pull requests • bugs fi xed • bugs found • releases
56. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins These metrics are fl awed, so we fi nd a “better” one.
57. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “In the modern of fi ce context, [knowledge workers] tend to rely on stress as a default heuristic” – Cal Newport, Slow Productivity
58. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat ok, so why aren't our jobs fun?
59. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat overheads
60. The 2019 Tidelift survey
 https://bit.ly/3MOEpK3
61. The 2019 Tidelift survey
 https://bit.ly/3MOEpK3
62. Even the development part can be slow and annoying
63. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat waiting
66. solution: Build Cache
69. solution: Predictive Test Selection
70. solution: Predictive Test Selection
71. solution: Predictive Test Selection
72. solution: Test Distribution
73. Flaky Tests
74. Flaky Tests
76. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat
77. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the vertx suite?
78. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the vertx suite? Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the gRPC suite?
79. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the vertx suite? Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the kafka suite? Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the gRPC suite?
80. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the vertx suite? Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the kafka suite? Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the gRPC suite? Guillaume
81. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat toil
82. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Make computers do the boring stuff solution
83. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins (yet) Computers don’t expect to have fun
84. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins automation revenge! (yet) Computers don’t expect to have fun happy, lazy developer
85. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
86. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
87. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
88. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
90. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Even coding can become boring
91. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
92. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins repetitive
93. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins meaningless repetitive
94. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins meaningless repetitive
95. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive
96. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive
97. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive
98. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive
99. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
100. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
101. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins repetitive low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
102. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins repetitive low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
104. enter … developer joy
105. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat package com.example; import org.jboss.logging.Logger; public class MyService { private static final Logger log = Logger.getLogger(MyService.class); public void doSomething() { log.info("It works!"); } } example: logging
106. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat package com.example; import org.jboss.logging.Logger; public class MyService { private static final Logger log = Logger.getLogger(MyService.class); public void doSomething() { log.info("It works!"); } } example: logging import io.quarkus.logging.Log; Log
107. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat package org.acme; import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication; import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication; @SpringBootApplication public class SpringDemo { public static void main(String[] args) { SpringApplication.run(SpringDemo.class, args); } } example: declaring an application
108. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat example: declaring an application
109. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat what if… you could inherit boilerplate Hibernate queries from a superclass, instead of having to write them all? example: hibernate
110. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat @ApplicationScoped public class GreetingRepository { public Entity findByName(int name) { return find("name", name).firstResult(); } void persist(Entity entity) {} void delete(Entity entity) {} Entity findById(Id id) {} List<Entity> list(String query, Sort sort, Object... params) { return null; } Stream<Entity> stream(String query, Object... params) { return null; } long count() { return 0; } long count(String query, Object... params) { return 0; } } example: hibernate with panache
111. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat example: hibernate with panache @ApplicationScoped public class GreetingRepository implements PanacheRepository<Greeting> { public Entity findByName(int name) { return find("name", name).firstResult(); } }
112. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat @TestConfiguration(proxyBeanMethods = false) public class ContainersConfig { @Bean @ServiceConnection public PostgreSQLContainer<?> postgres() { return new PostgreSQLContainer<>(DockerImageName.parse("postgres:14")); } } public class TestApplication { public static void main(String[] args) { SpringApplication .from(MySpringDataApplication::main) .with(ContainersConfig.class) .run(args); } } @Import(ContainersConfig.class) example: testcontainers
113. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat example: testcontainers
114. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat the only thing you need to do to make testcontainers work is not con fi gure a datasource example: testcontainers
115. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat the only thing you need to do to make testcontainers work is not con fi gure a datasource example: testcontainers
116. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat the only thing you need to do to make testcontainers work is not con fi gure a datasource quarkus also auto-invokes fl yway and liquibase example: testcontainers
117. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins lack of joy creeps up on us productivity
118. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins lack of joy creeps up on us
119. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Satisfaction & Well-being Performance Activity Communication & Collaboration E ffi ciency & Flow SPACE
120. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Dave Farley Trisha
121. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Dave Farley Trisha
122. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Dave Farley Trisha
123. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Creating boredom
124. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “Creating space”
125. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
126. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins toil is bad idleness is … good?
127. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Default Mode Network science con fi rms it:
128. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
129. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 14% took showers speci fi cally for the purpose of coming up with ideas
130. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Holly is most productive while • Showering • Running Trisha is most productive while • Knitting • Showering
131. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Holly is most productive while • Showering • Running Trisha is most productive while • Knitting • Showering this slide was written while running
132. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins tip: use voice memo to capture all the work you do while running * the text on this slide was originally a voice memo
133. Activities to help your DMN - knitting - running - walking - showers - gardening - unloading the dishwasher - colouring - laundry
134. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
135. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins double-win knitting makes you productive … and you get new clothes
136. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
137. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins but what if you’re not debugging- in-your-head while running?
138. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins but what if you’re not debugging- in-your-head while running? what if you’re feeding chocolate
139. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins but what if you’re not debugging- in-your-head while running? what if you’re feeding chocolate into the o ff i ce fan, to see what happens?
140. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
141. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins we work in a creative industry
142. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins we work in a creative industry play helps creativity
143. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat creativity brings us joy
144. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
145. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time
146. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well:
147. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving
148. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving - thinking
149. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving - thinking - staring into space
150. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving - thinking - staring into space - play
151. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving - thinking - staring into space - play Do not just move e ffi ciently from task to task
152. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Am I the frog? Am I using stress as a proxy for productivity?
153. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Make time for boredom Also make time for play
154. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
155. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
156. @holly_cummins #RedHat
157. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win
158. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits
159. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win
160. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win twofer
161. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win twofer überwinden
162. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win twofer überwinden
163. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat productivity happiness
164. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat it’s not a trade-off. productivity happiness
165. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat productivity happiness it’s a double-win.
166. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
167. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity, because that metric what you will get (do not use LOC!)
168. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity, because that metric what you will get (do not use LOC!) - automate drudgery that stops you being effective at your job
169. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity, because that metric what you will get (do not use LOC!) - automate drudgery that stops you being effective at your job - being happier makes you better at your job
170. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity, because that metric what you will get (do not use LOC!) - automate drudgery that stops you being effective at your job - being happier makes you better at your job - having down time (and showers, or knitting jumpers) makes you better at your job
171. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity, because that metric what you will get (do not use LOC!) - automate drudgery that stops you being effective at your job - being happier makes you better at your job - having down time (and showers, or knitting jumpers) makes you better at your job - this a double-win
172. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat thank you! https://hollycummins.com/ productivity-messing-around-qcon/ slides + recommended reading Win a copy of Getting to Know IntelliJ IDEA!