Leading(Technical( Change Technology changes . Nathaniel T. Schutta - PDF document

Leading(Technical( Change Technology changes . Nathaniel T. Schutta @ntschutta Constantly . Technology doesn ’ t age well . Risk o # en ignored . Until it can ’ t be .

Technology modernization . How do we deal with that? Potholes need to be fi lled . puliarf Problem is obvious . What about so # ware?

What do you mean Customers can ’ t see it . the code is “ old ” ? But it works right? What do we do about it? There ’ s a lot of Keeping up . bits out there ...

New languages , How do you keep up? techniques , approaches . Blogs? Books? Twitter? Podcasts? Conferences? gwaar “Attention is a bit like real estate, in that they're not making any more of it. Attention is precious . Unlike real estate, though, it keeps going up in value.” — Seth Godin http: // sethgodin . typepad . com / seths_blog /2011/07/ paying - attention - to - the - attention - economy . html

Don ’ t waste it . Be selective . In fact , you ’ ll miss almost Can ’ t read it all . everything . http: // www . npr . org / blogs / monkeysee /2011/04/21/135508305/ the - sad - beautiful - fact - that - were - all - going - to - miss - almost - everything Cull or surrender . Consider an information diet .

Pick the areas you care about . Go deep on that . Skim the rest . “ Selective Ignorance .” Use your friends ; ) Prune aggressively .

If you ’ re not reading it , delete it . If they ’ re not updating ... Take advantage of A / B stream . dead space .

Bring articles to meetings . Read while waiting . Listen on the way to work . Or while you workout! Books on “ CD .” Turn o ff the TV?

Average American - 151 Two hundred billion hours of TV a month . hours annually ( U . S .) http: // blog . nielsen . com / nielsenwire / online_mobile / tv - internet - and - mobile - usage - in - us - continues - to - rise / 100 million hours a 2,000 Wikipedias a year . weekend watching ads . That ’ s a Wikipedia a It isn ’ t just TV though . weekend . On ads . http: // www . shirky . com / herecomeseverybody / 2008/04/ looking - for - the - mouse . html

200 million minutes ... http: // www . wired . co . uk / magazine / archive /2011/04/ features / how - rovio - made - angry - birds - a - winner?page = all A DAY! 16 years ... every hour . Does the Internet Make That ’ s a lot of surplus . You Smarter? http: // online . wsj . com / article / SB 10001424052748704025304575284973472694334. html

Imagine what even a small change might mean . What should you pursue? What are you interested in? Bleeding edge ... What skills are valuable? trailing edge .

Employable? Enjoyable? Technology radar . Visual way to understand technology trends . http: // www . thoughtworks . com / radar What is emerging? What should we invest in? What is dying?

What ’ s easier to understand? http: // www . thoughtworks . com / articles / technology - radar - july -2011 Image - spreadsheet . Image - radar . The rings . Hold , Assess , Trial , Adopt .

Still early or on it ’ s way out ... Demo , examining suitability . Pilot project . You should be using ... now . Modify the language Contain , Assess , Early for your company . Adopter , Generally Available .

Techniques , tools , Quadrants . platforms , languages . Again , modify for Build one for your company . your needs . Start with your existing Sticky notes , white board . documentation .

Make a rough pass . Get feedback . Iterate! Socialize it . Great for business folks . Great for all levels .

Better , build one Portfolio theory . for yourself . Most of your money - Small amount - high risk , solid returns . high reward . Same with tech skills . What are “ solid ” skills today?

What are the fl iers? Litmus tests . How do you test it? How do you di ff it? How do you version it? How do you automate it?

What are your “ canaries ” Cost - TCO , not just licenses . exploring today? “Every time you’re in a meeting with vendors, you’re getting played. They’re professionals at Vendors aren ’ t your friend . selling, you are an amateur at buying.” — Unnamed Architect Move past the surface Yes , it supports WSRP . level explanations ...

Ah , but its old ... and Technically , not a lie . non compliant . Smart execs have a Just not the right question . techie in the room . “ It ’ s customizable .” Pick your poison .

Build it . Buy it . Beware the Don ’ t mix the two . PackageCustomization . http: // martinfowler . com / bliki / PackageCustomization . html Does the skill set match up What about the ones with your developers? you want to hire?

Does it “fi t ” your company? What about the politics? What are your What are your litmus tests? *company ’ s* litmus tests? Do they match up? What if they don ’ t?

Introducing change . Use the radar! Great visual . puliarf How much does the “ old ” Quantify the risk . approach cost us?

What is our bus number? Does the vendor support it? If it stopped working “ It ’ s only three users ...” tomorrow ... Don ’ t throw good What would that cost us? money a # er bad!

No tech is perfect , Acknowledge the negatives . don ’ t pretend it is . What don’t you like about it? What do you like about it? What would you remove? What would you add?

How does it stack King of Java for a day ... up to alternatives? The spreadsheet approach . Options across the top . Criteria down the le #. Criteria can be weighted .

 Harvey balls . http: // en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Harvey_Balls How closely does does it Very e ff ective ... map to the criteria?

What criteria How should they should you use? be weighted? Cheap way to Book clubs . introduce new ideas . Pick a book , get a Conferences! conference room , go!

What should you What are the new ideas? be looking at? Give a talk! Brown bags . Should just be Politics . about the tech .

It isn ’ t . Relationships ... Stakeholder analysis . What ’ s important to them? What ’ s their background?

What is the decision What are their concerns? maker in fl uenced by? Who has her ear? In fl uence the in fl uencers . Consider things from your We say let ’ s use Clojure . manager ’ s point of view .

Your manager hears: They think “ risk ” . Is it? Are you chasing a shiny new toy?

Be prepared . Have your arguments ready . There might be a rational Maybe . reason for current state . What I told you was true ... Tech is easy . from a certain point of view

Culture is hard . We are fl awed creatures . Over thinking it will Predictably irrational . drive you nuts . Is there any appetite for Resistance . what you ’ re selling?

Expect resistance . People don ’ t like change . “[T]he innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old Reputations may be at stake . conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.” — Niccolò Machiavelli There will be FUD . Be prepared for it .

What will they attack? What is your counter? Keep a pain register . How much time / e ff ort / etc? A few weeks , a few Harder to argue data . months ... what is the cost?

2 hours a week Pays for itself . waiting ... new laptop . May have to do it “ the What are the wrong way ” fi rst . opportunity costs? What are your They won ’ t tell you why competitors doing? they ’ re beating you .

Listen . What are the concerns? Some legitimate issues . Don ’ t just dismiss them! Address them . Have a conversation!

This won ’ t work ... How are you With respect? communicating? With derision? What works better?

Change . Change is tricky . New Years Habits are hard to break . resolutions anyone? Two approaches ...

We can ’ t force change . But we can in fl uence . Keep in mind: “Change must happen with people not to them.” Change is hard to maintain . — David Hussman http://devjam.com

We get worse before It ’ s easy to back slide . we get better . The Dip . http: // sethgodin . typepad . com / the_dip / http: // sethgodin . typepad . com / the_dip /2007/05/ images_from_the . html We have to push Thus why force through the dip . doesn ’ t work well ...

Change takes time . Be patient . Don ’ t try to change Change can overwhelm . too much at once . Recipe for failure . Crawl , Walk , Run .

It ’ s not easy! There ’ s no recipe . http: // www . heathbrothers . com / switch / Rider , elephant , environment . Just do it . May have to .

Do it yourself ... on Feel strongly? your own time . 4 weeks vs . 4 evenings . Hard to argue . Marketing . How are products marketed?

To whom? Are you the audience? Some vendors speak exec Or executives? better than others . *How* you communicate Presentations matter! matters more than you think .

What is most e ff ective in Presentation Patterns . your organization? http: // presentationpatterns . com / Can you tie it back to What is the pain point? exec level goals? Even if it ’ s a stretch ... Sonar , Jenkins .

Better to lead ... Retail politics . Recruit the in fl uencers . Grab co ff ee . Grass roots .