2 days agoOn Systems DebtPre-amble/tl;dr: I recently published The Lloyd Braun Principle of Agility mostly as a silly-but-true observation about how that classic Seinfeld line “Serenity now, insanity later” relates back to Agile. I ended that post with a statement about how we need to better prepare for the “Insanity” that comes later. With…Technology26 min read
5 days agoThe Lloyd Braun Principle of AgilityIf you’re not familiar with the Serenity Now episode from Seinfeld, the tl;dr of it is that George’s father Frank is given the mantra of “Serenity now…” to help curb his enthusiasm for angry outbursts. Impressed with its effectiveness, Kramer adopts the mantra for himself. George’s childhood rival, Lloyd Braun…Agile4 min read
Nov 15, 2021code / collision — an introductionWhen I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to play video games. That was the rule. I couldn’t play them, unless I made them. And that’s how I learned to code. I made games in Basic, then QBasic, then Visual Basic, some C++, and then a whole lot in Flash…Gaming2 min read
Oct 19, 2021Perfection & ExcellenceIf you’ve ever had an idea, an earth-shattering, ground-breaking, disruptively novel idea that inspired and motivated you to go beyond just “Ideation” to “Implementation” you’ll undoubtedly know that nothing ever seems as good or as perfect as when it was still an idea. Imagine if that wasn’t a problem: The…Perfectionism2 min read
Published in Young Coder·Feb 26, 2021What really is a “Product Vision?”Product experience from Microsoft to Apple (and one more) — I’ll start by answering the question: A product vision sets the direction of the product, product-line, or company. Visions are tricky things. When we talk about “vision” and “visionaries” there’s an element of the ethereal. There’s a feeling of the visionary seeing into the future, and bringing that vision of…Product9 min read
Published in Young Coder·Feb 3, 2021Create More Than CodeWhy are programmers so reluctant to reveal their creative sides? — Coders love talking about the technology they use, the hardware they work with, the projects they work on, the problems they solve. When it comes to the arts, you’ll hear us talk about music (especially when it’s focus-friendly music: lyrics or no lyrics, a continuous playlist or separate albums). You’ll…Work4 min read
Published in Young Coder·Nov 9, 2020The 3 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Began My Career in SoftwareAdvice on reading, building, and networking — Alishah Novin is a director of engineering with a decades’ long career in software, and the author of the Techless Teaching series. Here’s his best advice for progressing in a tech career. 1. If you’re not reading, you’re falling behind. This isn’t about reading fiction, and it’s not about reading technical manuals. This is about learning the evolving…Career Advice5 min read
Published in Young Coder·Feb 6, 2020Machine Learning with StarburstsAn exercise that lets kids discover how computers learn through reinforcement — Goal: Break down Machine Learning to simple rules that show how computers “learn.” Series: This is the sixth article in #TechlessTeaching, a series about teaching computer science without relying on iPads, computers, and tech toys. Years ago in college, I took a course on the Philosophy of A.I. and Machine…Machine Learning7 min read
Published in Young Coder·Jan 10, 2020Solving the Prisoner’s DilemmaAn exercise illustrating that complicated problems can often have simple solutions — This article is the fifth in the #TechlessTeaching series, which encourages educators to take a tech-less approach to teaching students about computers and software engineering. When you skip the iPads, computers, and tech toys, you eliminate distractions, and the students focus on the principles. …Game Theory7 min read
Published in Young Coder·Dec 18, 2019Linked Lists and Sorting (for Kids!)Breaking down introductory Computer Science concepts with four tech-less exercises — This article is the fourth in the #TechlessTeaching series, which encourages educators to take a tech-less approach to teaching students about computers and software engineering. When you skip the iPads, computers, and tech toys, you eliminate distractions, and the students focus on the principles. …Programming13 min read
