The Importance of Fun in the Workplace

An in-depth look at what makes software development a roller coaster where the highs of 0 compiler warnings are quickly cancelled out by the pain of long hours, bad requirements, endless configuration, clueless managers and a plethora of other issues which make death by a thousand cuts seem like a good idea…. They will answer questions such as: “Why is programming often called an art despite having its underpinnings in formal logic?” “How can I rediscover the delight I felt when I first started coding?” “What’s that rush I feel when my test passes? Am I addicted to TDD?” Combining Psychology, Philosophy and Computer Science, Dr Holly Cummins and Martijn Verburg will present a series of practical tips to help you rediscover the euphoria that you felt the very first time a metal box in front of you came to life and cried out “Hello World”.

Transcript

1. Austin Copenhagen Dubai London Madrid Melbourne Munich New York Nice Raleigh San Francisco São Paulo Singapore Tokyo A Software Developer’s Guide to FUN in the workplace (Hello Voxxed Milano!) Holly Cummins IBM Cloud Garage @holly_cummins Martijn Verburg @karianna
3. I’m from IBM’s Cloud Garage.
4. I’m from IBM’s Cloud Garage. (we are opening in Milan, by the way …)
6. Is this a fun talk?
7. Is this a fun talk? No. It’s a talk about fun.
8. Is this a fun talk? No. It’s a talk about fun. That’s different.
9. Is this a fun talk? No. It’s a talk about fun. That’s different. Obviously.
10. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ 20 step plan to achieve FUN. 1. Quantify and Qualify your FUN metrics 2. Create a Chief FUN Officer (CFO) role 3. Gamify your daily tasks to make them more FUN 4. Enthusiastically high five everyone each morning for FUN 5. Install a FUN ball pit 6. Inject a FUN word of the day into conversations 7. Wear FUN clothing, something with flair 8. Create FUN certificates with gold star systems - relive the fun of kindergarten! 9. Nominate FUN assessors for each team 10.Laugh Out Loud (LOL) once a day in the office, others will enjoy your FUN
11. Let’s talk about your career.
12. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ “Caro capo, you need to send me to Voxxed Milano so I can go to the session on…. FUN.”
13. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ “Caro capo, you need to send me to Voxxed Milano so I can go to the session on…. FUN.”
14. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ , Having fun at work Are you brave enough?
15. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Are you brave enough? I’m not :)
17. Wait. Where’s “fun-loving”?
18. We keep fun a secret. Wait. Where’s “fun-loving”?
19. What is Fun?
20. A Fun Guy. (Remember, fun means jokes.)
21. "Fun is a point on the intersection of engagement levels and social interaction for a given activity.” Fun: An Exploration in its Relevance to Interaction Design - Elise Woolley, 2010
22. Aside: When is fun not- fun?
23. Aside: When is fun not- fun?
24. Aside: When is fun not- fun? When it's your job.
26. Fun
27. Fun
28. How do you measure fun? Excerpted from Elise M. Woolley, B.S., Fun: An Exploration in its Relevance to Interaction Design
29. That was called the Funtinuum.
30. That was called the Funtinuum. If you remember just one thing from this talk …
32. Exploration focussed investigation
33. Play flexible for its own sake Exploration focussed investigation
34. Play flexible for its own sake Exploration focussed investigation Puzzle a goal and rules
35. Play flexible for its own sake Exploration focussed investigation Games a winner and rules Puzzle a goal and rules
36. Play flexible for its own sake Work a goal Exploration focussed investigation Games a winner and rules Puzzle a goal and rules
37. Photo by Linearahandmade@etsy Exploration
38. Photo by William Warby Puzzle
39. Play
40. Game
41. Work
42. Positive affect
43. Positive affect It feels good
44. It feels good
45. Programming is fun.
46. Programming gives pleasure to both types of thinkers: • Creative • Logical
47. We get to control stuff when we program.
48. Photo by Linearahandmade@etsy Exploration
49. Photo by Linearahandmade@etsy Exploration > Hello, World
50. Photo by William Warby Puzzle
51. Photo by William Warby Puzzle Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException: WhyWhyWhyIsThisHappeningNullPointerException at StackTraceExample.method111(StackTraceExample.java:15) at StackTraceExample.method11(StackTraceExample.java:11) at StackTraceExample.method1(StackTraceExample.java:7) at StackTraceExample.main(StackTraceExample.java:3)
52. Game
53. Game
54. Katie Bouman, discovering that her algorithm for imaging black holes worked.
55. Katie Bouman, discovering that her algorithm for imaging black holes worked. It feels good
56. Why are most of our workplaces Not Fun?
57. The 1980/90's Management Model Very hierarchical Control favoured over autonomy Technology seen as a cost centre
58. http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk
59. Puritan confronts ale drinkers Howard Pyle
60. the value of fun in the workplace
61. @holly_cummins IBM Watson IoT Centre, Munich
62. IBM IoT Lab, Munich
63. @holly_cummins
64. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”  — Aristotle
65. Research shows: Fun is good for business.
66. Research shows: Fun is good for business.
67. Studies have shown... Employee fun
68. Studies have shown... Employee fun
69. Studies have shown... Employee fun Less sick leave
70. Studies have shown... Employee fun Less sick leave Harder working
71. Studies have shown... Employee fun Less sick leave Harder working More productivity
72. https://hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence
73. “Your brain at positive is 31% more productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed. " https://hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence
75. https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
76. "Individuals [who just watched a comedy video] have approximately 12% greater productivity." https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/staff/eproto/workingpapers/happinessproductivity.pdf
77. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Your brain needs breaks.
78. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Breaks with exercise are even better
79. Practical example: Everyone loves lego trains.
80. Info Support funded their employees’ lego trains.
81. Thanks, @johanjanssen42! Why? Good business.
82. How much fun can you expect to have? https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulesson/3065570366
83. How much fun can you expect to have? (Yes, this is a picture of lots of fungi. You’re welcome.) https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulesson/3065570366
84. Limits to Fun • No one likes working on things that aren’t valuable or useful. • So if you take that to its extreme, and only do activities if they’re fun and enjoyable, will that work? • Self-discipline is still needed.
85. Just because it's fun, doesn't mean it's good.
86. Just because it's fun, doesn't mean it's good.
87. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning .... smells like victory.” Bill Kilgore, Apocalypse Now
88. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning .... smells like victory.” Bill Kilgore, Apocalypse Now Is everyone having fun?
90. Fun. What could possibly go wrong?
91. Fun. What could possibly go wrong?
92. Fun. What could possibly go wrong? 2008: A developer had a lot of fun with Groovy.
93. Fun. What could possibly go wrong? 2008: A developer had a lot of fun with Groovy.
94. Fun. What could possibly go wrong? 2008: A developer had a lot of fun with Groovy. 2009: The others who had to maintain the code had less fun.
95. Enjoy fun. Responsibly.
96. _ How to achieve fun Warning: This is our context and our experience of Fun. Your workplace culture may be different.
97. Step 1. Find un-fun things. Get rid of them.
99. Step 0. Stop prohibiting fun. Obviously.
100. “Please stop sending emails telling people you are sharing cake.”
102. “If you’re in the office after 5:30, you need to be doing work.”
103. “Why are you smiling? Work isn’t a place to be happy!” - a prowling project manager
104. Step 1. Find un-fun things. Get rid of them.
105. A process being unfun is a red flag that it’s not adding value.
106. Step 1. Find un-fun things. Get rid of them. ... because they're probably waste.
107. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */
108. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */
109. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Get rid of the stuff that stops us doing what we enjoy.
110. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Get rid of the stuff that stops us doing what we enjoy. “We’re short staffed. You’re going to need to cancel all my meetings for a month so I can do programming.”
111. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Get rid of the stuff that stops us doing what we enjoy. “We’re short staffed. You’re going to need to cancel all my meetings for a month so I can do programming.” This worked!
112. Interactions are fun. Interruptions are not.
113. Protect your coding time from meetings. “I’m sorry, since I’m pair- programming, I can’t make that meeting.”
114. Pair programming
115. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ #noestimates Estimates are rarely accurate. Why bother??
116. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Can adding logging ever be fun? Prototyping versus hardening
117. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Can adding logging ever be fun? Prototyping versus hardening Making a difference is fun.
118. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Can adding logging ever be fun? Prototyping versus hardening Making a difference is fun. Having a prototype become real is fun.
119. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Can adding logging ever be fun? Prototyping versus hardening Making a difference is fun. Having a prototype become real is fun. Add the logging when you know it actually matters.
120. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ "We don't want to be the prototyping department.” -- Head of Innovation, A-Client
121. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Testing should not be part of the hardening phase. TDD is fun.
122. TDD
123. TDD
124. Automation Computers don’t expect to have fun (yet). Let them do the tedious tasks. Bonus: Automating stuff is fun (yay!).
125. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Status for all to see.
126. http://ibm.biz/bluemixgaragelondon @holly_cummins @karianna /* Discover. Collaborate. Deploy. */ Keep stories small, so status is self-reporting. Daily stand-up. Keep it short. Status for all to see.
127. We all hate being told what to do. Usually, because we know it’s wrong. Let people make their own decisions.
128. Step 2: Add fun
132. TDD
134. Build gamification
135. Build gamification (Strictly speaking, productization of build gamification)
136. Build gamification can be pretty serious.
138. risks of gamification • you may not be able to fool users indefinitely • it can start to feel an awful lot like work
139. risks of gamification • you may not be able to fool users indefinitely • it can start to feel an awful lot like work
140. remember, you get what you measure
141. Play
142. Children learn through play. Adults do too.
143. Quirkiness
148. Images: shawcomputing.net, computerhistory.org
149. Images: shawcomputing.net, computerhistory.org
150. Images: shawcomputing.net, computerhistory.org
151. Images: shawcomputing.net, computerhistory.org "Is 'Gullible' in the Dictionary?"
152. Quirkiness How do a production-train slack-integration nicely:
153. Feedback matters.
154. _ Failing at Fun
155. What if you got paid to do something other people would pay to do?
158. No, not the best job in the world.
159. 31% of us dislike team- building activities. http://www.successfulmeetings.com/Strategy/Meeting-Strategies/When-Teambuilding-Fails/
160. How do you know you’re having fun if you’re not measuring it?
161. How to ruin an office party? Take attendance.
162. Failing at Fun Forgetting to fix the other stuff.
164. A layer of fun
165. A layer of fun … on top of a terrible workspace …
166. A layer of fun … on top of a terrible workspace … is still terrible.
167. _
168. _ Fun is important. Recap on achieving fun: 1. Get rid of un-fun things 2. Add fun things Doing 2. without 1. is going to fail.
169. Austin Copenhagen Dubai London Madrid Melbourne Munich New York Nice Raleigh San Francisco São Paulo Singapore Tokyo Toronto Questions? Holly Cummins IBM Cloud Garage @holly_cummins