When we discover a problem or error the first thing we should do is let others know. This not only gets more eyes on the problem, but helps avoid others being surprised and escalating the problem.
All tagged career development
Domain Expertise
Knowing the system is absolutely necessary to supporting it. Know the domain it exists in, however, vastly improves our ability to manipulate and design the best way to use that system. Take time to learn that domain, meet the experts in it and if you can, become one.
Skill Shapes
We all build skill sets as we grow… but we can built them in different ways. Understanding the depth and breadth of our (and our teams) skills is important to our success.
Bring Solutions
Bringing solutions is always better than just bringing problems. It’s great to find things that need fixing. Do yourself a favor though… before letting your manager/etc. know about it, first think through how you’d fix it.
No Extra
Not doing extra on a task is hard… we always find something we can add, or something that was “missed”. Doing this, howe ver, distracts us from the actual task. At best it results in a weaker final product… at worst, complete failure.
Standards
Standards allow different groups to share a common background. The USB standard, for example, allows anyone to make a device that can use it… but sometime standards… aren’t, and that’s where we run into trouble
Laid Off? Invest in Your Self
Getting laid off is tough… many stressful questions can come up and a lot of uncertainty is introduced. It also presents an opportunity though… an opportunity to work on your Self and really figure out how you want to shape your life.
One of the craziest things I’ve done to keep a project deadline was an overnight Seattle -> Portland roundtrip to upload a database… nothing like sleeping on the floor of your office while a script runs to get the blood pumping.
Giving and accepting feedback can be challenging. Remember though, at the end of the day it is about becoming better and helping you improve.
Learning a new system, especially under time pressure, takes a LOT of energy. Just remember to get hands on, make some friends, and do your homework, and you’ll be fine!
Leading and managing are both skills we pickup along the way. Neither one is inherently better than the other, but both are very useful to have.
There’s always been a debate around training vs. experience. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, and ardent supporters. I find a blended approach very helpful - you get both hands-on learning and background knowledge.
We all make mistakes. It can get dangerous when you begin “tilting” - allowing those mistakes to distract you into causing more mistakes. It’s very important to both recognize, and recover from, tilting.
We’ve all got tons to do. Understanding what pieces of work you can get rid of (either by automation, sharing or just not doing) will both help you know what’s going on AND help improve how you operate.
Data needs tending. This is becoming more true as the amount of data we have only increases. Given its importance, it’s critical that partner teams trust their tech teams to manage and use that underlying data correctly.
Being in “tech” has a certain allure to many folks. If you’re interested in getting into “tech”, take time to first understand WHY you want to, then get out there and do your homework.
Being asked to join a big project can be a bit scary. Not panicking (having faith in your team) and doing your homework (having faith in yourself) goes a long way to growing and staying successful.