I had intended to write this last night. Alas, I was far too exhausted and flopped into the hotel room with the telly and the lady-wife, and promptly fell asleep.
So, Yesterday was an astounding day. I met a scad of people in person I had previously only met cyberly. That, if for no other, is an astounding reason to attend a conference.
The Who's Who I met... Ajay Balamurugadas - Yes, the fellow who came up with Weekend Testing, the point-man/advocate for self-education and training in India. Lanette Creamer - Testy Redhead, bright and enmthusiastic ball of energy. Johan Jonasson - from Sweeden, an enthusiastic and crazy smart advocate of context driven testing. Elan Houser who I met in a BBST course - really great thinker. Simon Schrijver - SimonSaysNoMore on Twitter - an astoundingly intelligent thinker. Neil Thompson Anna Royzman, Todd Mazierski, Robert Berqvist, Geordie Keitt, Ben Yaroch, Felipe Knorr Kuhn all were speakers in the Emerging Topics track I was helping moderate and helped coordinate.
I had an amazing dinner with Neil Thompson, Fiona Charles, Anne-Marie Charret, my lady-wife and ... EGADS! I've forgotten the name of the other lady/diner/participant! I'm Sorry! It was a fantastic conversation with little to do about testing, but EVERYTHING to do about testing.
Michael Bolton gave a Keynote yesterday that was thought provoking and interesting in developing thought ideas. Part of his theme was picked up in Geordie's ET session at the end of the day yesterday. It will be revisited later today with a track session with James Bach and Doug Hoffmann discussing the idea that the Schools of Software Testing is a divisive idea, or not.
There were other crazy smart people, HOWEVERR - I'm going to bail and write more later. BECAUSE! Sitting next to me right NOW is Markus Gaertner, Michael Larson, Matt Heusser and Ajay Balamurugadas and discussing the Tester Challenge they participated in last night. An astounding display of self-evolving thought.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
More Cool Stuff from AST
In July I blogged about being nominated for a position on the Board of Directors for the Association for Software Testing. You can find more on AST at the website. Its a cool group made up of interesting people.
So last week we got together and talked via Skype. It was half-jokingly referred to as a "debate" but it was less debate and more people talking about what they are interested in. (Come to think of it, there was a good deal of information shared and straight-forward answers given than in the pretend-political debates in the US the last several election cycles.)
In the course of the "ramp-up" some of us sent messages via twitter on what would be happening. That was picked up by a couple of other folks who asked if there would be a Q&A session via twitter. So, why not? We ran it by some other folks and picked a day and time...
So the DAY is TODAY! The First of August - 9:00 to 10:00 PM Eastern Time (yeah, I know, very US centric but its when those of us on twitter are available...) If you are interested in the AST and the elections, and want to participate in the town hall meeting on twitter, just follow the hashtag #ASTElect.
More information on the "almost debate" and the Twitter Town-Hall-Meeting will be available here.
So last week we got together and talked via Skype. It was half-jokingly referred to as a "debate" but it was less debate and more people talking about what they are interested in. (Come to think of it, there was a good deal of information shared and straight-forward answers given than in the pretend-political debates in the US the last several election cycles.)
In the course of the "ramp-up" some of us sent messages via twitter on what would be happening. That was picked up by a couple of other folks who asked if there would be a Q&A session via twitter. So, why not? We ran it by some other folks and picked a day and time...
So the DAY is TODAY! The First of August - 9:00 to 10:00 PM Eastern Time (yeah, I know, very US centric but its when those of us on twitter are available...) If you are interested in the AST and the elections, and want to participate in the town hall meeting on twitter, just follow the hashtag #ASTElect.
More information on the "almost debate" and the Twitter Town-Hall-Meeting will be available here.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Cross-Pollination or How Talking With Smart People Helps You Learn
I was looking at some of my blog posts over the last 6 or 8 months or so. That made me wonder so I went back looking at some of my older blog posts. That made me wonder some more, so I went out looking for blogs from other people I respect. These people are involved in other groups or go to conferences or, well, just hang out with other testers and tester types.
I discovered something about myself, and I believe others, that led to this blog post.
Here's what I learned: The more you expose yourself to good thinkers and intelligent conversation and engage with them, the more you learn and the more you can learn.
I can't prove this with any firm science. What I can do is look at how things have changed since I went out looking for different sources. I can also see how other people, significant, famous testers, interact and learn from each other.
I've been fortunate in having the opportunity to go to various conferences the last few years. This has given me the chance to meet people whose writings I have read and enjoyed and I have learned from. I also have had the opportunity to meet people whose writings I have read and I disagreed with. Now, some folks might shake their head and say "They're wrong." For me, this was an opportunity to understand something I did not understand before. Possibly, I could learn from that understanding and find something to appreciate and find common ground for future meetings.
What has astounded me, is just how much I have learned and grown from all these meetings. Ideas I have had for some time and have been trying to formulate have found the form and structure I needed to organize them. The result has been, among other things, this blog, articles, an inteview, conference presentations.
Do you need to travel all over North America or the world to find the same level of thought provoking conversation? Hardly.
I bet there are people in your company or your community you can talk with and have the same experience. I bet there are others in your city or town who are interested in discussing similar things. Great ideas can come from many sources - not just the famous conference speakers and articles. They can come from the person in the cube next to you or from someone doing similar work at a different company in your town.
Want to see if I'm right? Try an experiment.
Talk with people at your company about meeting after hours to talk about software and testing. Then, have those people drop an email to people they know at other companies. Invite testers, designers, programmers/developers - anyone who works on software. Then talk.
You don't need a big group, a few people is a good start. Don't worry about being formal - just try talking with other people with an interest. Don't worry about being right - instead focus on sharing ideas.
Thats all.
Try sharing ideas and see what you can learn. Maybe other people will learn something from you.
I discovered something about myself, and I believe others, that led to this blog post.
Here's what I learned: The more you expose yourself to good thinkers and intelligent conversation and engage with them, the more you learn and the more you can learn.
I can't prove this with any firm science. What I can do is look at how things have changed since I went out looking for different sources. I can also see how other people, significant, famous testers, interact and learn from each other.
I've been fortunate in having the opportunity to go to various conferences the last few years. This has given me the chance to meet people whose writings I have read and enjoyed and I have learned from. I also have had the opportunity to meet people whose writings I have read and I disagreed with. Now, some folks might shake their head and say "They're wrong." For me, this was an opportunity to understand something I did not understand before. Possibly, I could learn from that understanding and find something to appreciate and find common ground for future meetings.
What has astounded me, is just how much I have learned and grown from all these meetings. Ideas I have had for some time and have been trying to formulate have found the form and structure I needed to organize them. The result has been, among other things, this blog, articles, an inteview, conference presentations.
Do you need to travel all over North America or the world to find the same level of thought provoking conversation? Hardly.
I bet there are people in your company or your community you can talk with and have the same experience. I bet there are others in your city or town who are interested in discussing similar things. Great ideas can come from many sources - not just the famous conference speakers and articles. They can come from the person in the cube next to you or from someone doing similar work at a different company in your town.
Want to see if I'm right? Try an experiment.
Talk with people at your company about meeting after hours to talk about software and testing. Then, have those people drop an email to people they know at other companies. Invite testers, designers, programmers/developers - anyone who works on software. Then talk.
You don't need a big group, a few people is a good start. Don't worry about being formal - just try talking with other people with an interest. Don't worry about being right - instead focus on sharing ideas.
Thats all.
Try sharing ideas and see what you can learn. Maybe other people will learn something from you.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
A Moment's Thought: AST and Walking Among the Mighty
The morning of June 24, I opened my email and found a message that said, in part:
Gobsmacked does not begin to describe my reaction. Astounded? Thunderstuck? Not even close.
I asked a few questions. Actually, I asked a lot of questions. They involved expected time commitment, level of involvement and things of that nature. Mostly I was looking to weigh those expectations against the needs of my family and my day-job, you know, testing.
My problem, as my lady-wife well knows, is this: When I agree to something, I dive in head first and will put in massive amounts of time and energy to fulfill that commitment. In the past, it has sometimes been to the detriment of other things. I have learned to limit myself carefully. It can be a struggle to set aside things that are emotionally and mentally rewarding to deal with things that are more mundane, yet pressing, like painting the house or fixing that drip in the kitchen faucet. Let's face it, some things are just more fun than others. Sure, they all leave you with a sense of satisfaction, like, the house looks really nice or the annoying drip is not wasting water and costing money. Still, they don't have the mental stimulation that sharing time with people equally passionate about things as you are does.
I had come across the Association for Software Testing some time ago. How long ago, I don't rightly recall. It was while reading "Lessons Learned in Software Testing" that I read of the "Context Driven School of Testing." What I read made sense. It rang more true to me than the more procedural or dogmatic oriented approaches to testing. There was a reference to a Yahoo email group in the back of the book, and I signed up, and was accepted.
I remember reading in there of the Association for Software Testing and organizing a conference. Me, I stayed on the sidelines and dealt with other things, watching and observing the discussions with interest.
Fast forward several years.
In the fall of 2009, I found myself at a conference in Toronto, going in place of my boss, who could not attend at the last moment. I landed there. While I was sitting at breakfast, realizing that the nice friendly lady at the table chatting with the handful of us was Fiona Charles, whose writings I had read for some time, a voice rang out.
"Pete Walen! The last time we talked you had just been fired for doing your job!" With that, Michael Bolton sat down next to Fiona and tore into his breakfast along with the rest of us. (Talk about instant street-cred with a table full of people you have never met...) Mind you, we had "talked" by email and discussion forum posts and never in person.
Later at the same conference I met Lynn McKee and Nancy Kelln. Both left me absolutely amazed at their energy and excitement. In the midst of a lively discussion around measurement, metrics, goals and the like, huge issues for the company I was working for at the time, Michael and Fiona both said "You should join AST, you'd be very happy with that group." (Actually, that was a paraphrase of what was said, but you get the idea.)
Later that month, after returning home, I bought myself a birthday present of an AST membership. Shortly after returning home I met (in person) Matt Heusser. Rarely have I met someone with as much drive, energy and focus as Matt. He confirmed that joining AST was absolutely the right thing for me. Since that first meeting, Matt and I have worked to get the local tester group meeting, and helping its members, on a regular basis.
My first experience at CAST came the next summer. Another eye-opening experience. I met Fiona again, was introduced to Griffin Jones and a whole host of other people. I blogged very excitedly about it at the time. (See? Here and here.)
This spring I took the BBST Foundations course. The coursework was only part of the experience. Meeting people of differing backgrounds from around the world, even cyberly, was fantastic. I remain in contact with several of the class particpants through Skype and Twitter. Gotta love technology.
James and Jon Bach, Karen Johnson and others I met in person and was able to spend time in conversation with helped me better my undersanding of my chosen craft. Each of them are inspirational in their own way.
I was asked once, quite recently, what I liked about AST and why I kept my membership current, and did I think it was "worth it." Is it "worth it?" Absolutely. Why?
That took a bit more thought.
I realized that at the core of it, was the community that was the center of the Association. I found a group of people who may not agree with you (or even each other) on a topic and were willing to discuss ir like, well, adult professionals Many of the members I have met demonstrate traits that I associate with people who are true masters of their craft. They will discuss an idea with you in order to learn, and posibly inform their own understanding of the concept. Of course, there is also the chance of teaching you and sharing their understanding with you.
Another thing I find attracting me to AST is the focus on Context. It is not merely being Context Aware. It is keeping Context at the center. It was the idea of Context Driven Testing that I found appealing originally when reading Lessons Learned. It is still sppealing to me. This recognition that context can and must color and drive testing and discussions arouind testing has pushed me to be a better tester, a better colleague and professional, and a better craftsman.
There have been many people who have encouraged me and pushed me forward in my development as a tester. Those I named stand out for the mark they made and their willingness to talk with me easily, without let or reservation.
That is the third and most important point to me. Many AST members, from the very famous "someones" to the other faces in the crowd, are willing to put in time and effort to better the community of testers as a whole.
I am deeply honored to have been nominated for the Board of AST. I realized that if I had the opportunity to pass on the gifts I had received, I would. Someone like me who is not a jet-setting "famous tester" or author of testing books or a famous consultant, yet is one of the many who want to better themselves and those around them in their trade and craft, has a choice. We can allow the great ones of our craft to engage in this work alone. Or, we can say "Should I be elected by the members, I would serve."
I see it as an opportunity to "do my bit" for the greater good. Therefor, as I responded to the email, I am interested in running for the Board of Directors.
I was told I would need to prepare a short statement about my interest in AST. I'm suspect this is not "short" enough.
...you have been nominated for AST's 2011-2012 Board of Directors Election. The Nominations and Elections Committee needs to confirm you are willing to run for the Board Of Directors. Can you confirm or disconfirm your interest in running?
Gobsmacked does not begin to describe my reaction. Astounded? Thunderstuck? Not even close.
I asked a few questions. Actually, I asked a lot of questions. They involved expected time commitment, level of involvement and things of that nature. Mostly I was looking to weigh those expectations against the needs of my family and my day-job, you know, testing.
My problem, as my lady-wife well knows, is this: When I agree to something, I dive in head first and will put in massive amounts of time and energy to fulfill that commitment. In the past, it has sometimes been to the detriment of other things. I have learned to limit myself carefully. It can be a struggle to set aside things that are emotionally and mentally rewarding to deal with things that are more mundane, yet pressing, like painting the house or fixing that drip in the kitchen faucet. Let's face it, some things are just more fun than others. Sure, they all leave you with a sense of satisfaction, like, the house looks really nice or the annoying drip is not wasting water and costing money. Still, they don't have the mental stimulation that sharing time with people equally passionate about things as you are does.
I had come across the Association for Software Testing some time ago. How long ago, I don't rightly recall. It was while reading "Lessons Learned in Software Testing" that I read of the "Context Driven School of Testing." What I read made sense. It rang more true to me than the more procedural or dogmatic oriented approaches to testing. There was a reference to a Yahoo email group in the back of the book, and I signed up, and was accepted.
I remember reading in there of the Association for Software Testing and organizing a conference. Me, I stayed on the sidelines and dealt with other things, watching and observing the discussions with interest.
Fast forward several years.
In the fall of 2009, I found myself at a conference in Toronto, going in place of my boss, who could not attend at the last moment. I landed there. While I was sitting at breakfast, realizing that the nice friendly lady at the table chatting with the handful of us was Fiona Charles, whose writings I had read for some time, a voice rang out.
"Pete Walen! The last time we talked you had just been fired for doing your job!" With that, Michael Bolton sat down next to Fiona and tore into his breakfast along with the rest of us. (Talk about instant street-cred with a table full of people you have never met...) Mind you, we had "talked" by email and discussion forum posts and never in person.
Later at the same conference I met Lynn McKee and Nancy Kelln. Both left me absolutely amazed at their energy and excitement. In the midst of a lively discussion around measurement, metrics, goals and the like, huge issues for the company I was working for at the time, Michael and Fiona both said "You should join AST, you'd be very happy with that group." (Actually, that was a paraphrase of what was said, but you get the idea.)
Later that month, after returning home, I bought myself a birthday present of an AST membership. Shortly after returning home I met (in person) Matt Heusser. Rarely have I met someone with as much drive, energy and focus as Matt. He confirmed that joining AST was absolutely the right thing for me. Since that first meeting, Matt and I have worked to get the local tester group meeting, and helping its members, on a regular basis.
My first experience at CAST came the next summer. Another eye-opening experience. I met Fiona again, was introduced to Griffin Jones and a whole host of other people. I blogged very excitedly about it at the time. (See? Here and here.)
This spring I took the BBST Foundations course. The coursework was only part of the experience. Meeting people of differing backgrounds from around the world, even cyberly, was fantastic. I remain in contact with several of the class particpants through Skype and Twitter. Gotta love technology.
James and Jon Bach, Karen Johnson and others I met in person and was able to spend time in conversation with helped me better my undersanding of my chosen craft. Each of them are inspirational in their own way.
I was asked once, quite recently, what I liked about AST and why I kept my membership current, and did I think it was "worth it." Is it "worth it?" Absolutely. Why?
That took a bit more thought.
I realized that at the core of it, was the community that was the center of the Association. I found a group of people who may not agree with you (or even each other) on a topic and were willing to discuss ir like, well, adult professionals Many of the members I have met demonstrate traits that I associate with people who are true masters of their craft. They will discuss an idea with you in order to learn, and posibly inform their own understanding of the concept. Of course, there is also the chance of teaching you and sharing their understanding with you.
Another thing I find attracting me to AST is the focus on Context. It is not merely being Context Aware. It is keeping Context at the center. It was the idea of Context Driven Testing that I found appealing originally when reading Lessons Learned. It is still sppealing to me. This recognition that context can and must color and drive testing and discussions arouind testing has pushed me to be a better tester, a better colleague and professional, and a better craftsman.
There have been many people who have encouraged me and pushed me forward in my development as a tester. Those I named stand out for the mark they made and their willingness to talk with me easily, without let or reservation.
That is the third and most important point to me. Many AST members, from the very famous "someones" to the other faces in the crowd, are willing to put in time and effort to better the community of testers as a whole.
I am deeply honored to have been nominated for the Board of AST. I realized that if I had the opportunity to pass on the gifts I had received, I would. Someone like me who is not a jet-setting "famous tester" or author of testing books or a famous consultant, yet is one of the many who want to better themselves and those around them in their trade and craft, has a choice. We can allow the great ones of our craft to engage in this work alone. Or, we can say "Should I be elected by the members, I would serve."
I see it as an opportunity to "do my bit" for the greater good. Therefor, as I responded to the email, I am interested in running for the Board of Directors.
I was told I would need to prepare a short statement about my interest in AST. I'm suspect this is not "short" enough.
Friday, June 24, 2011
CAST 2011 Emerging Topics Track and Deadline
No odd philosophical ramblings in this post. No questioning definitions or other people's dearly held beliefs. Still, I'm getting pretty excited.
The Conference for the Association of Software Testing (CAST) is coming up REALLY fast - August 8 through 10 in Seattle (to be precise) Part of the fun this year is to hold an "Emerging Topics" track - 20 minute sessions that anyone already attending the conference can submit a proposal to give.
Yeah, anyone who is registered and who wants to give a short talk on something they do not see covered in the balance of the program can do so.
Here's the catch: In order to make a schedule and give everyone attending the opportunity to review the abstracts for the Emerging Topics session they might be interested in, we will need to cut off entries and voting for them, on July 1, 2011.
So, if you are attending CAST and want to submit a proposal, or review and vote on proposals in the Emerging Topics track, please drop an email to me or Matt Heusser. We'll get you setup with access to see (and create) them.
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!
July 20, 2011 -
The Submission and Voting period is now closed, selections and a schedule have been made. This has been an interesting, thought provoking and fun project to work on. I am looking forward to meeting everyone in person after communicating by email and telephone.
Thanks to all who participated - Pete
The Conference for the Association of Software Testing (CAST) is coming up REALLY fast - August 8 through 10 in Seattle (to be precise) Part of the fun this year is to hold an "Emerging Topics" track - 20 minute sessions that anyone already attending the conference can submit a proposal to give.
Yeah, anyone who is registered and who wants to give a short talk on something they do not see covered in the balance of the program can do so.
Here's the catch: In order to make a schedule and give everyone attending the opportunity to review the abstracts for the Emerging Topics session they might be interested in, we will need to cut off entries and voting for them, on July 1, 2011.
So, if you are attending CAST and want to submit a proposal, or review and vote on proposals in the Emerging Topics track, please drop an email to me or Matt Heusser. We'll get you setup with access to see (and create) them.
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!
July 20, 2011 -
The Submission and Voting period is now closed, selections and a schedule have been made. This has been an interesting, thought provoking and fun project to work on. I am looking forward to meeting everyone in person after communicating by email and telephone.
Thanks to all who participated - Pete
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Managing and Controlling or One of These Things is Not Like the Other
There are some interesting threads on various internet discussion forums. Some are interesting as in "this is a thought provoking conversation with a lot of good ideas." Some are more along the lines of "this is a very odd series of disjointed thoughts where people can not even agree on what they disagree on."
One was interesting in the "What is this guy talking about?" sort of way.
His assertion was that Exploratory Testing was fine for small groups of one or two testers. However, it was unsuitable for larger or regulated environments because testing could not be controlled. He also suggested that Exploratory Testing was not as thorough as fully scripted testing because you did not need to think about it before you did it.
Take a deep breath, Pete. Can we start with this, "What is the difference between Controlling and Managing?" His response was "None. They are the same thing."
Oh dear, oh my, oh dear.
Let's see. Being too lazy to look get out one of my physical dictionaries, I turned to Google and searched for "control definition", "manage definition", "controlling definition" and "managing definition". I very scientifically grabbed the top search results (that were not paid advertisements) and found this...
Control: –verb
1. to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command.
2. to hold in check; curb.
OR...
Control: -noun
1. the act or power of controlling; regulation; domination or command.
2. the situation of being under the regulation, domination, or command of another.
Then there is this...
Manage: -verb (used with object)
1. to bring about or succeed in accomplishing, sometimes despite difficulty or hardship.
2. to take charge or care of.
OR...
Manage: -verb (used without object)
1. to conduct business, commercial affairs, etc.; be in charge.
2. to continue to function, progress, or succeed, usually despite hardship or difficulty; get along:
Now then, we have looked at the roots, now let us look at the -ing words in question.
Controlling: -adjective
1. inclined to control others' behavior; domineering
And...
Managing: -adjective
1. having executive or supervisory control or authority
As I sit here, I think a bit on the interesting idea that Manage and Control are the same thing. Based on these definitions, I find it interesting that there can be a serious assertion made that they mean the same thing. Having said that, I know certain boss types who firmly believe this. Me, I'm far to liberal (at least in the traditional, apolitical sense of the word) to agree with this.
Liberal: -adjective
1. open to new behavior or opinions
2. favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms
Now, if you want to exercise restraint or direction over your people (whom I suspect you refer to as "resources") or to dominate your staff or to hold them in check, have a great time. Your staff probably won't.
Oh, I won't be part of that game, either.
Now, if you want to be in charge and guide and supervise your staff, no worries from me. I'd be happy to discuss exactly what that means to you and I'd also be interested in knowing how your people perceive your style of management.
Now, to be sure, there is some overlap in some of the words. If the intent of "Control" follows the defntitions I found, I am simply not interested. If the intent of "Manage" follows the definitions I found, I may be interested and would be willing to talk about it. Having said that, if your use of "manage" really means "control" - I'm not going to play along.
Managing and Controlling are far from the same concept. If you want to be a Manager, consider just what the differences are.
One was interesting in the "What is this guy talking about?" sort of way.
His assertion was that Exploratory Testing was fine for small groups of one or two testers. However, it was unsuitable for larger or regulated environments because testing could not be controlled. He also suggested that Exploratory Testing was not as thorough as fully scripted testing because you did not need to think about it before you did it.
Take a deep breath, Pete. Can we start with this, "What is the difference between Controlling and Managing?" His response was "None. They are the same thing."
Oh dear, oh my, oh dear.
Let's see. Being too lazy to look get out one of my physical dictionaries, I turned to Google and searched for "control definition", "manage definition", "controlling definition" and "managing definition". I very scientifically grabbed the top search results (that were not paid advertisements) and found this...
Control: –verb
1. to exercise restraint or direction over; dominate; command.
2. to hold in check; curb.
OR...
Control: -noun
1. the act or power of controlling; regulation; domination or command.
2. the situation of being under the regulation, domination, or command of another.
Then there is this...
Manage: -verb (used with object)
1. to bring about or succeed in accomplishing, sometimes despite difficulty or hardship.
2. to take charge or care of.
OR...
Manage: -verb (used without object)
1. to conduct business, commercial affairs, etc.; be in charge.
2. to continue to function, progress, or succeed, usually despite hardship or difficulty; get along:
Now then, we have looked at the roots, now let us look at the -ing words in question.
Controlling: -adjective
1. inclined to control others' behavior; domineering
And...
Managing: -adjective
1. having executive or supervisory control or authority
As I sit here, I think a bit on the interesting idea that Manage and Control are the same thing. Based on these definitions, I find it interesting that there can be a serious assertion made that they mean the same thing. Having said that, I know certain boss types who firmly believe this. Me, I'm far to liberal (at least in the traditional, apolitical sense of the word) to agree with this.
Liberal: -adjective
1. open to new behavior or opinions
2. favorable to or respectful of individual rights and freedoms
Now, if you want to exercise restraint or direction over your people (whom I suspect you refer to as "resources") or to dominate your staff or to hold them in check, have a great time. Your staff probably won't.
Oh, I won't be part of that game, either.
Now, if you want to be in charge and guide and supervise your staff, no worries from me. I'd be happy to discuss exactly what that means to you and I'd also be interested in knowing how your people perceive your style of management.
Now, to be sure, there is some overlap in some of the words. If the intent of "Control" follows the defntitions I found, I am simply not interested. If the intent of "Manage" follows the definitions I found, I may be interested and would be willing to talk about it. Having said that, if your use of "manage" really means "control" - I'm not going to play along.
Managing and Controlling are far from the same concept. If you want to be a Manager, consider just what the differences are.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Back in My Day: Confessions of a Curmudgeon
When I first got into software for a living, the idea of "structured" anything was the red-hot burning idea that was going to save software from the horrible/bad/evil practices of people who were inept/wrong-thinking/clue-less practitioners of hocus-pocus. Structure was going to save us. Then it was CAD. Then it was Object Orientation. Then it was blah, blah. You get the idea.
I heard some folks talking about some "New Ideas" that they had heard about. Fantastic ideas, I thought. Instead of centralizing everything on a host server, they could have servers in a bunch of different places and have them all talk to the host. Then response times would be faster and the users would be able to get faster response. Astounding, eh?
Anyone else remember that new idea from, oh, 20 years ago?
Wait, that is sounding really, negative.
Let me try again.
Back when I was heavily involved in bagpipe bands, there was an amused expression that was reserved for folks who had been involved in pipe bands some years before, and no longer were/
"The older I get, the better I was."
The fact is, people's perceptions will change over time as our experiences inform those same perceptions. In the pipe band world, it seemed to inflate what the abilities were.
In reality, I have learned, now that I am part of the same "club," is that some folks really REALLY don't like change. Change in any form is bad. At the same time, things change as they grow, or they wither and die. You can't maintain existence without change. Well, maybe you can, but it is not really existence, it is a museum display - almost a "living history" lesson.
Change is inevitable.
Once it was suggested that since I was so "set in my ways" I may not like the changes that were coming and I could have a hard time adapting to them.
I resisted the temptation to look around for my cane and wave it about calling that individual a "young whippersnapper." For one thing, I don't use a cane or a walking stick. For another, I sympathized with his perception and lack of life (and maybe professional?) experience that would lead him to say that.
The thought that crossed my mind was "It is this very experience I have that allows me to see how he could have a view like that. I have been around a while and I like things a certain way. I have liked things in different ways before that, too.
When comments like the above are made, or when I think on change and flexibility, my mind sometimes wanders back to the companies I have worked for, the shops I have worked in. No two were the same, even remotely. Some were happier than others. Some were more efficient than others. Some turned out really good work. Some were just jobs.
Some are examples of the same things I mentioned before. My own experiences shaped my perception of each of those organizations. As I learned more, I wanted to learn more. My views changed related to that job as I was working there. I learned and experienced different things in different areas.
What does all this have to do with anything, let alone each other?
Well, simply put, I read a blog entry by The Maestro a couple of weeks ago. My first reaction was "YES! EXACTLY" Then it made me think on some things.
What I discerned from that thinking is that each of these "revolutionary ideas" was intended to address a problem. Or at least, a perceived problem. The thing is that many are just that - perceived problems. I think the real cause is that people, myself included, don't want to do the painful self-examination that is required for real improvement.
It is easier to follow the herd and the glossy marketing people when they hold out a promise than it is to dig down and work on the problem we have. This leaves us the desperate grasping at the just-out-of-reach silver bullet.
This is, I suspect, the core issue with all the trends over the last 30 years in my experience, and more.
Unless you are willing to face and address your real problems, you will never fix them and will keep grasping at quick-fix solutions that are not.
Well, maybe I'm just being a curmudgeon.
I heard some folks talking about some "New Ideas" that they had heard about. Fantastic ideas, I thought. Instead of centralizing everything on a host server, they could have servers in a bunch of different places and have them all talk to the host. Then response times would be faster and the users would be able to get faster response. Astounding, eh?
Anyone else remember that new idea from, oh, 20 years ago?
Wait, that is sounding really, negative.
Let me try again.
Back when I was heavily involved in bagpipe bands, there was an amused expression that was reserved for folks who had been involved in pipe bands some years before, and no longer were/
"The older I get, the better I was."
The fact is, people's perceptions will change over time as our experiences inform those same perceptions. In the pipe band world, it seemed to inflate what the abilities were.
In reality, I have learned, now that I am part of the same "club," is that some folks really REALLY don't like change. Change in any form is bad. At the same time, things change as they grow, or they wither and die. You can't maintain existence without change. Well, maybe you can, but it is not really existence, it is a museum display - almost a "living history" lesson.
Change is inevitable.
Once it was suggested that since I was so "set in my ways" I may not like the changes that were coming and I could have a hard time adapting to them.
I resisted the temptation to look around for my cane and wave it about calling that individual a "young whippersnapper." For one thing, I don't use a cane or a walking stick. For another, I sympathized with his perception and lack of life (and maybe professional?) experience that would lead him to say that.
The thought that crossed my mind was "It is this very experience I have that allows me to see how he could have a view like that. I have been around a while and I like things a certain way. I have liked things in different ways before that, too.
When comments like the above are made, or when I think on change and flexibility, my mind sometimes wanders back to the companies I have worked for, the shops I have worked in. No two were the same, even remotely. Some were happier than others. Some were more efficient than others. Some turned out really good work. Some were just jobs.
Some are examples of the same things I mentioned before. My own experiences shaped my perception of each of those organizations. As I learned more, I wanted to learn more. My views changed related to that job as I was working there. I learned and experienced different things in different areas.
What does all this have to do with anything, let alone each other?
Well, simply put, I read a blog entry by The Maestro a couple of weeks ago. My first reaction was "YES! EXACTLY" Then it made me think on some things.
What I discerned from that thinking is that each of these "revolutionary ideas" was intended to address a problem. Or at least, a perceived problem. The thing is that many are just that - perceived problems. I think the real cause is that people, myself included, don't want to do the painful self-examination that is required for real improvement.
It is easier to follow the herd and the glossy marketing people when they hold out a promise than it is to dig down and work on the problem we have. This leaves us the desperate grasping at the just-out-of-reach silver bullet.
This is, I suspect, the core issue with all the trends over the last 30 years in my experience, and more.
Unless you are willing to face and address your real problems, you will never fix them and will keep grasping at quick-fix solutions that are not.
Well, maybe I'm just being a curmudgeon.
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