Becoming a better engineer

A talk conducted 22/11/2012 at Birkbeck College, University of London. Slides are not self-sufficient, but only give an outline of what I was talking about.

Transcript

1. Becoming a better engineer Things which make some real difference
2. Few rules • My name is Roman • If you have a question, raise your hand • There is no such thing as stupid question.
3. DISCLAIMER
4. What do you want to hear? • Smart programming tricks • Secrets of effective software design • Where to find information • How to jump-start your career • How to be a better part of a team • Etc, etc, etc – useful, but no fun.
5. Stuff Google learned ...and how you can use it.
6. Foundation • Great people: geek is the new cool • Great technology: don’t reinvent the wheel • Great communication: let them speak
7. Great technology • Re-use code whenever you can • Make your code re-usable • Keep your code fit – refactor often • Test everything – protect your product.
8. Iterative Development • Start with “pretotype” • Define future system components • Build quick and dirty prototype • Rewrite it from scratch – iteratively. • ??? • PROFIT REPEAT!!!
9. Real-life example: API for partners • Dummy classes which look like API with no backend • Dummy classes speak to dummy backend • Iteratively improving dummy classes’ interface • Changing dummy backend to real backend.
10. Share the knowledge • In big companies it’s almost impossible to be aware of everything going on • All-hands is top-to-bottom solution, great for spreading information about new things • Tech talks is a deep-dive into some topic • Also: google for “testing on the toilet”.
11. Two and a half heads • Can you still see the wood for the trees? • Two pairs of eyes are better than one • Code & design reviews • Seek constructive criticism.
12. Seek constructive criticism • Does this make sense at all? • What could I be missing? • How will this not work? • Will other people understand this? • Also: teddy bear programming.
13. Give and Receive • Ask for constructive criticism • Be constructive when someone asks your opinion. • Be on a lookout for a new knowledge.
14. Being a geek • Degree is not enough • Teach yourself • Stay current • Be in the loop
15. Never stop • Learn one new programming language every year • Read a technical book every month • Take classes (e.g. coursera.org) • Read good code • Join an open source project / dev group (e.g. GDG) • Code for fun!
16. Questions?
17. Internship at Google • Must be a student • Not necessarily computer science student • Must return to the university after internship • www.google.com/jobs/students/tech/internships/ • It’s OK to email me and ask questions.
18. me@romankirillov.info http://twitter.com/sgzmd http://www.sigizmund.com/+ Thank you!