Interruption Engineering - Part I

How interruptions affect you and what can you do about it

FridayTalk @ Subvisual

Transcript

1. Engineering Interruptions Part I
2. Rules 1. Annotate your questions 2. Discuss only when the color changes
3. Interruption “The suspension of one stream of work prior to completion with the intent of returning to and completing the original stream” Boehm-Davis & Remington
4. Interruptions To accomplish another task Requires some judgement To wait for something The norm in almost every workplace. Developers: ~15-20% of their time.
5. Anatomy 1. Trigger 2. Disengage 3. Resume
6. Consequences Because everything has a cost
7. Vulnerable to error Competition for limited-capacity cognitive resources
8. Time consuming Overhead of deciding and restoring context afterwards
9. Hurtful for performance Stress, frustration, confusion, disorientation
10. Targeted Ameliorations (expensive word for improvements)
11. Why is this urgent? Concise, fast, decisive + Easier to decide - Subjective without a well-defined criteria
12. Let me just finish this. Polite, assertive, perceivable + Easier to recall task + Intuitive - Assumes task boundaries
13. Post-its Silent, personal, situational + Faster return to context + Handles long interruptions - Assumes time to register context - Error prone due to lack of details
14. Breadcrumbs Noticeable, proactive + Faster return to context - Assumes time to create trail - Unfeasible for complex tasks
15. Overall Aids (ameliorations was already being used)
16. Acknowledge Predict, plan, control Acknowledge interruptions are bound to happen Try to predict common interruptions Plan ahead to deal with them Steer your workflow around them
17. Communicate Notify, explain, notice Define ways to sign you’re busy Decide beforehand what is an acceptable interruption Handle pending issues between tasks
18. Focus Analyse, divide, conquer Examine task before tackling Trace a plan with multiple steps Pause between steps Avoid multitasking
19. In conclusion Because internet cats are not gonna watch themselves Be aware interruptions are gonna happen Prepare for it Deep breaths, incremental improvements Find your sweet-spot
20. To be continued Coming soon Tips for meetings Tips for presentations Tips for communication