Software Olympics

Some ideas about things I’ve learned over the last years on what it takes to write world class software.

1. Deliberate Practice

As a software professional, you are always facing new challenges and changes in the technologies being used.

Also, your clients expect the best from you, the same way you go to a concert and expect the musicians to perform.

That is why it’s important to have focused time to learn and practice what it’s needed.

2. Empathy

Since you need to understand your clients, collaborate with your teammates, you need to cultivate this art in able to perform better.

In the end, your software will benefit or harm someone and you need to think about it if you want to do some good.

3. Problem Solving

Writing software is about solving a problem or taking advantage of an undiscovered opportunity. To get closer to a solution, you’ll need expertise in understanding and evaluating problems.

Being able to see the problem and provide input for its resolution will help you do a better job.

4. Failure

Software development is full of uncertainty, that is why it’s important to fail fast. The more you fail, the more experience you will get to apply it to the new problems. If you have never failed, you’re not learning something new.

5. Communication

When you are developing software, you are communicating all the time. To understand our clients, we need to communicate with them and listen. To write code we need to communicate the requirements to the computer. When we move to another project others will need to continue what you started.

With communication, you can reduce the cost and pain of everyone involved in the project.

6. Team

Software is a team sport, so it’s not just about being the best player.

It’s important to learn how to play with others to create the conditions for the team to succeed.

Mastering this skills will provide the foundation for learning. Learning leads to experience. Experience leads to better results.