Productivity is Messing Around and Having Fun

What is the happy path, for developers? It’s less boredom, and more play.

Developer satisfaction, developer joy, and business results are strongly correlated. And yet - many of our jobs are frustrating, filled with friction, and free of joy. What’s going on? How do we fix that? Is annoying waste inevitable? Can developer performance be tuned? Are productivity measurements helping or hurting us? How do we deal with fear at work? Will AI take our jobs? Finally, how can you persuade management to invest in boredom?

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
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. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat job satisfaction is the no. 1 predictor of organizational performance
24. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins research shows: fun is good for business.
25. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins research shows: fun is good for business.
26. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat https:/ /hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence
27. @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
28. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat
29. https:/ /www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
30. "Individuals [who just watched a comedy video] have approximately greater productivity." https:/ /www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
31. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat ok, so why aren't our jobs fun?
32. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat toil
33. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins lack of joy creeps up on us productivity
34. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins lack of joy creeps up on us
35. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
36. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins repetitive
37. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins meaningless repetitive
38. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins meaningless repetitive
39. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive
40. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive
41. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive
42. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive
43. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
44. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
45. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins repetitive low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
46. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins repetitive low-value meaningless repetitive repetitive repetitive repetitive redundant
47. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins so how do developers become productive?
48. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins so how do developers become productive? joyful?
49. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Make computers do the boring stuff solution
50. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins (yet) Computers don’t expect to have fun
51. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins automation revenge! (yet) Computers don’t expect to have fun happy, lazy developer
52. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins solution
53. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Let's Write More Code solution
55. double win
56. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “a developer writes 10 lines of code per day”
57. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 10 lines per day …really?
58. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
59. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 12 lines per day
60. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
61. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 29 lines per day
62. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins can we fi x that?
63. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins incentives? solution
64. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins true story (from the internet): paying the team bonuses for lines of code
65. #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 }
66. #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 }
67. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins the team made comments prettier
68. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins __ .__ .__ .__ __ _/ |_| |__ |__| ______ |__| ______ _____ ____ ____ _____ _____ ____ _____/ |_ \ __\ | \| |/ ___/ | |/ ___/ \__ \ _/ ___\/ _ \ / \ / \_/ __ \ / \ __\ | | | Y \ |\___ \ | |\___ \ / __ \_ \ \__( <_> ) Y Y \ Y Y \ ___/| | \ | |__| |___| /__/____ > |__/____ > (____ / \___ >____/|__|_| /__|_| /\___ >___| /__| \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ the team made comments prettier
69. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins the experiment lasted one day
70. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Can AI help us write more code? solution
71. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
72. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
73. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
74. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
75. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
76. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 70% unnecessary code
77. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins LLMs are much better at writing code than deleting it.
78. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins is this the equivalent of ascii art comments?
79. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
80. hang on
81. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “lines of code” is not a good productivity metric for people. or machines.
82. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins if code is so boring a machine can predict it, maybe it shouldn’t be there?
84. enter … developer joy
85. @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
86. @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
87. @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
88. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat example: declaring an application
89. @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
90. @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
91. @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(); } }
92. @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
93. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat example: testcontainers
94. @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
95. @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
96. @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
97. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat but … … the reason Fred Brooks’s developers wrote 10 lines of code a day wasn’t because they were busy writing boilerplate
98. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins What else are developers doing?
101. solution: Build Cache
104. solution: Predictive Test Selection
105. solution: Predictive Test Selection
106. solution: Predictive Test Selection
107. solution: Test Distribution
108. Flaky Tests
109. Flaky Tests
111. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat
112. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Guillaume, my CI was red. Is there a known failure in the vertx suite?
113. @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?
114. @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?
115. @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
116. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
117. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
118. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
119. solution: “auto-Guillaume” with Develocity
121. State “Strong reliability practices predict better operational performance, team performance, and organisational performance.”
122. hang on
123. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins What else do developers spend time on?
124. The 2019 Tidelift survey
 https://bit.ly/3MOEpK3
125. The 2019 Tidelift survey
 https://bit.ly/3MOEpK3
127. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins what gets measured is what gets optimised, make sure to measure the right thing
128. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Satisfaction & Well-being Performance Activity Communication & Collaboration E ffi ciency & Flow SPACE
129. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Satisfaction & Well-being Performance Activity Communication & Collaboration E ffi ciency & Flow SPACE
130. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat Satisfaction & Well-being Performance Activity Communication & Collaboration E ffi ciency & Flow SPACE
131. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Dave Farley Trisha
132. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Dave Farley Trisha
133. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Dave Farley Trisha
134. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Creating boredom
135. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins “Creating space”
136. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
137. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins toil is bad idleness is … good?
138. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Default Mode Network science con fi rms it:
139. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
140. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins 14% took showers speci fi cally for the purpose of coming up with ideas
141. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Holly is most productive while • Showering • Running Trisha is most productive while • Knitting • Showering
142. #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
143. #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
144. Activities to help your DMN - knitting - running - walking - showers - gardening - unloading the dishwasher - colouring - laundry
145. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
146. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins double-win knitting makes you productive … and you get new clothes
147. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
148. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins but what if you’re not debugging- in-your-head while running?
149. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins but what if you’re not debugging- in-your-head while running? what if you’re feeding chocolate
150. #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?
151. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
152. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins we work in a creative industry
153. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins we work in a creative industry play helps creativity
154. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat creativity brings us joy
155. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
156. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time
157. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well:
158. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving
159. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving - thinking
160. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving - thinking - staring into space
161. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Embrace the dead time Use it well: - problem solving - thinking - staring into space - play
162. #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
164. 50%?
165. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins Make time for boredom Also make time for play
166. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins remember SPACE? S is developer Satisfaction an important metric in SPACE
167. @holly_cummins #RedHat
168. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win
169. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits
170. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win
171. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win twofer
172. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win twofer überwinden
173. @holly_cummins #RedHat the double win co-benefits win-win twofer überwinden
174. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat productivity happiness
175. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat it’s not a trade-off. productivity happiness
176. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat productivity happiness it’s a double-win.
177. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins zero-sum is not enough “The only initiatives that will positively impact performance are ones which increase throughput while simultaneously decreasing cost.” Elijahu M. Goldratt - The Goal
178. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins
179. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity (not LOC!)
180. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity (not LOC!) - automate drugdery that stops you being effective at your job
181. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity (not LOC!) - automate drugdery that stops you being effective at your job - being happier makes you better at your job
182. #Gradle #RedHat @trisha_gee @holly_cummins - be careful how you measure productivity (not LOC!) - automate drugdery 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
183. @trisha_gee @holly_cummins #Gradle #RedHat thank you hollycummins.com/productivity- messing-around-devoxx/ slides + resources Win a copy of Getting to Know IntelliJ IDEA! and we have stickers