Staying Ahead of the Curve (2021)

We all want to stay ahead of the curve - after all, that's what you go to a conference for. But have you ever considered how being ahead of the curve might be dangerous?

Using a new language before you understand it, putting a technology into production so you can learn it, abandoning "old practices" before you've got the benefit from them… These things are common practice, under the guise of Progress and Keeping Up To Date.

But while we shouldn't be running around like headless chickens chasing the next Shiny New Thing, we do need to see to our Continuous Learning and, of course, we should Embrace Change.

How do we balance these two extremes? And how do we see to our own growth and learning as techies while meeting the needs of our project, team and organisation?

Transcript

1. IntelliJ IDEA ©JetBrains. All rights reserved Trisha Gee (@trisha_gee) 
 Java Advocacy Lead, JetBrains Staying Ahead of the Curve
2. When, Where, and How should we learn new technologies?
3. Update To The Latest and Greatest!
4. https://bit.ly/ReactiveJ9
7. https://bit.ly/ReactiveJ9
9. Problem is…
10. Problem is… …you can’t measure performance until it’s implemented
11. Problem is… …new technologies have limited documentation
12. Problem is… …I wanted to use a niche implementation
13. Problem is… …if I succeeded, I would be The Expert
14. When, Where, and How should we learn new technologies?
15. When, Where, and How should we learn new technologies?
16. Why?
17. F O M O Why?
18. F O M O Fear Of Missing Out Why?
19. Why?
20. 1. For the Business Why?
21. 1. For the Business 2. For the Team Why?
22. 1. For the Business 2. For the Team 3. For You Why?
23. 1. For The Business
24. Why?
25. Real Time Data Analysis & Display
27. Why?
28. Evolving Data
30. [
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "20980098",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.2728552, -33.8931988],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "name": "Gloria Jean's"
 } , {
 "openStreetMapId": "27653001",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [-1.6937433, 53.9043868],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "addr:city": "Otley",
 "addr:country": "GB",
 "addr:housenumber": "9",
 "addr:postcode": "LS21 3HE",
 "addr:street": "Mercury Row",
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "gluten_free": "yes",
 "is_in:town": "Otley",
 "name": "The Walkway Cafe"
 } ,
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "21554712",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.9519968, -27.5601496],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "created_by": "JOSM",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "description": "The only place in Toowoomba that roasts its own coffee",

31. [
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "20980098",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.2728552, -33.8931988],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "name": "Gloria Jean's"
 } , {
 "openStreetMapId": "27653001",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [-1.6937433, 53.9043868],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "addr:city": "Otley",
 "addr:country": "GB",
 "addr:housenumber": "9",
 "addr:postcode": "LS21 3HE",
 "addr:street": "Mercury Row",
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "gluten_free": "yes",
 "is_in:town": "Otley",
 "name": "The Walkway Cafe"
 } ,
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "21554712",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.9519968, -27.5601496],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "created_by": "JOSM",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "description": "The only place in Toowoomba that roasts its own coffee",

32. [
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "20980098",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.2728552, -33.8931988],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "name": "Gloria Jean's"
 } , {
 "openStreetMapId": "27653001",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [-1.6937433, 53.9043868],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "addr:city": "Otley",
 "addr:country": "GB",
 "addr:housenumber": "9",
 "addr:postcode": "LS21 3HE",
 "addr:street": "Mercury Row",
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "gluten_free": "yes",
 "is_in:town": "Otley",
 "name": "The Walkway Cafe"
 } ,
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "21554712",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.9519968, -27.5601496],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "created_by": "JOSM",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "description": "The only place in Toowoomba that roasts its own coffee",

33. [
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "20980098",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.2728552, -33.8931988],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "name": "Gloria Jean's"
 } , {
 "openStreetMapId": "27653001",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [-1.6937433, 53.9043868],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "addr:city": "Otley",
 "addr:country": "GB",
 "addr:housenumber": "9",
 "addr:postcode": "LS21 3HE",
 "addr:street": "Mercury Row",
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "gluten_free": "yes",
 "is_in:town": "Otley",
 "name": "The Walkway Cafe"
 } ,
 {
 "openStreetMapId": "21554712",
 "location": {
 "coordinates": [151.9519968, -27.5601496],
 "type": "Point"
 },
 "amenity": "cafe",
 "created_by": "JOSM",
 "cuisine": "coffee_shop",
 "description": "The only place in Toowoomba that roasts its own coffee",

36. • Spikes / prototypes • Use in non-production code • Build / Deploy / Continuous Delivery Pipeline • Tests • Use in internal tools • Use on a new project or service • Get the experts in (remember to share) How or Where?
37. 2. For The Team
38. Why?
39. Painful Releases
41. Continuous Delivery Automated Testing DevOps Agile Configuration as Code
42. Why?
43. Testing is Hard and Inconsistent
46. • Spikes / prototypes • Use in non-production code • Build / Deploy / Continuous Delivery Pipeline • Tests • Use in internal tools • Skunkworks projects / hack days Approaches
47. 3. For You
48. • I want to have fun • I want to be a Technology Guru in my job • I want a new job • I don’t want to be left behind Why?
49. So Much Choice!
51. • Blogs, Tutorials & Videos • Online Events & Streams • User Groups • Online courses • Books • Pet project • Join an open source project • Find a project at work • Get a new job! Approaches
52. Why?
53. Because You Want To
54. Approaches
55. Bridging the Gap
56. Bridging the Gap Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning
57. • Protected time for learning • Brown bags / Lunch & learn / Book clubs • User Groups • Hack days • Skunkworks • 20% time • Conferences Preventing Premature Implementation
58. Risks
59. Benefits
60. Skilled Developers
61. Ready to adopt the right tool
62. …at the right time
63. Happy Developers
64. So What Can I Do?
65. Don’t Panic!
67. RSocket
68. RSocket A Happy Ending
70. https://bit.ly/ij-reactive-spring-boot
71. Why?
72. 1. For the Business 2. For the Team 3. For You Why?
73. https://bit.ly/staying-ahead