Jekyll2019-12-27T19:31:38+00:00/feed.xmlScottPringlePragmatic Software Developer from Central ScotlandScott Pringleme@scottpringle.co.uk2019 Goals - Q1 Update2019-04-17T00:00:00+00:002019-04-17T00:00:00+00:00/posts/Q1-Update<p>Back in January I wrote about my goals for 2019 (you can read this post here: <a href="https://scottpringle.co.uk/posts/my-2019-goals/">https://scottpringle.co.uk/posts/my-2019-goals/</a>, since we’re now in April it felt like as good a time as any to provide an update on how I’m getting on.</p>
<h2 id="1-buy-a-house">1. Buy A House</h2>
<p>This one I’ve actually completed already! On March 29th I finally purchased my first home.</p>
<h2 id="2-learn-to-drive">2. Learn To Drive</h2>
<p>I’m still in the process of doing driving lessons, being perfectly honest this has been more stressful than I thought it would be. Driving was one of those things I always felt I had a reasonable theoeritical grasp of how to do, what I’ve learned is that grasp has absolutely no impact on my actual ability to drive!</p>
<p>This still looks likely for 2019 though and now that the house is done has become my primary focus.</p>
<h2 id="3-read-12-books">3. Read 12 Books</h2>
<p>This goal is not going well, so far I’ve only managed to complete 1 book this year. I think this one has wained a bit due to not managing to find a book series that has gripped me.</p>
<p>I’ve tried a few different books so far this year, but nothing has stuck and I’ve ended up only reading a few pages at a time, and then eventually giving up.</p>
<p>I’d love to hear some suggestions from people, to see what I’ve read before check out my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/14648220-scott-pringle">Goodreads Profile</a></p>
<h2 id="4-complete-2-video-games">4 Complete 2 Video Games</h2>
<p>I’m getting there with this, I’ve continued to play through Assassins Creed: Odyssey (that game is huge!), done about 40% of Super Mario Deluxe U on the Switch and also just started playing Kingdom Hearts 3. I think this goal should be well in hand by the end of the year (I’m always open to Video Game suggestions too!)</p>
<p>I’ve found writing this to be fairly therapeutic and made me realise I’m doing better with my goals than I initially felt, I’ll likely do another update at the end of June and see how far I’ve come, and whether it’s time to add anything new to my goals for the second half of 2019.</p>Scott Pringleme@scottpringle.co.ukBack in January I wrote about my goals for 2019 (you can read this post here: https://scottpringle.co.uk/posts/my-2019-goals/, since we’re now in April it felt like as good a time as any to provide an update on how I’m getting on.My 2019 Goals2019-01-16T00:00:00+00:002019-01-16T00:00:00+00:00/posts/My-2019-Goals<p>For those of you who have known me for a while you’ll know that I have pretty much been a workaholic my entire career. Almost all of my goals in previous years have been focussed around career development and progression. Well, for 2019 I’m bucking that trend and I’m setting myself no goals that are directly related to my career.</p>
<p>That doesn’t mean their won’t be positives in 2019 for my career, it simply means at this stage I’m not setting any direct targets relating to the job.</p>
<h2 id="why">Why?</h2>
<p>Well, the really simple answer is I’m happy with where I’ve gotten to in my career. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, that doesn’t mean there’s not still things for me to achieve, I still want to learn new languages, new techniques and improve the skills I have.</p>
<p>In saying that though, I’ve put off so many things in my personal life that it’s now time to bring those into focus for 2019.</p>
<h2 id="1-buy-a-house">1. Buy A House</h2>
<p>One of the goals I’ve had for many years is to be able to purchase a house before the age of 30 and I’m really happy that I can say that this year that should happen. I spent most of 2018 saving up to have a deposit while trying to enjoy life at the same time. I’m now starting the journey towards picking a property and buying it. If anyone has any extra advice, please let me know!</p>
<h2 id="2-learn-to-drive">2. Learn To Drive</h2>
<p>This is one of those things that I really wish I’d done when I was younger but simply had no reason to. Every job I’ve had has either been in an area I could walk to from where I was living, or in a City making it nearly impossible to drive there, and due to that, plus Scotland’s reasonable transport links across the Central Belt (note: this is where my train gets cancelled tomorrow morning…) I’ve never quite felt the need to learn to drive. But buying a house has changed my mind, while probably not with my first property, going forward I want to be able to stay a bit further away from the train station / town centres and a car will be a requirement.</p>
<h2 id="3-read-12-books">3. Read 12 Books</h2>
<p>This is a goal I’ve set myself for the last 3 years, and I’ve only achieved it once. This year I want to read 12 books ideally separated into 3 technical books and 9 fiction books. For some people this goal will seem really low, but I’m the type who really struggles to read technical books (I learn by doing, not reading) so I fully expect these reads to take up more of my year than I’d like to admit.</p>
<p>If you’ve got any suggestions for books to read get in touch! I primarily read cop-action type books, think Jack Reacher, but I’m also partial to a good autobiography.</p>
<h2 id="4-complete-2-video-games">4. Complete 2 Video Games</h2>
<p>Again, this might seem like a really simple goal to some of you, but I simply lose patience with games. I’ve lost count of the number of half completed games I’ve got, just last year I can think of Mario Odyssey, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Spyro & Assassin’s Creed (although I am still playing this). I also completed Spiderman and God of War which is the most large games I’ve completed in 1 year for ages.</p>
<p>This goal is really about just relaxing a bit more and when I come home spending less time thinking about programming or work as I don’t want to end up burnt out again.</p>
<p>And that’s that, my goals for 2019 all feel achievable, and I’m reasonably hoping to complete the first 2 in the first 6 months of the year. Who knows, maybe at that point I’ll come up with a lofty ambition surrounding programming or the day job.</p>Scott Pringleme@scottpringle.co.ukFor those of you who have known me for a while you’ll know that I have pretty much been a workaholic my entire career. Almost all of my goals in previous years have been focussed around career development and progression. Well, for 2019 I’m bucking that trend and I’m setting myself no goals that are directly related to my career.Interviewing In Software Development2018-12-02T00:00:00+00:002018-12-02T00:00:00+00:00/posts/Interviewing-In-Software-Development<p><em>Preface: Everything here is my opinion, and I’d love to have a discussion on this with anyone else involved in recruitment or if you’re looking for a new role!</em></p>
<p><em>Hit me up on <a href="https://twitter.com/Luciam91">Twitter</a> if you have any comments or want to start a discussion</em></p>
<h1 id="interviewing-in-software-development-is-broken">Interviewing In Software Development Is Broken</h1>
<p>Over the past couple of years I’ve been on both sides of the interview table, as well as speaking to many friends and colleagues who have been for interviews as well, and it’s become apparent to me that interviews for software developers are broken, and we can do better.</p>
<h2 id="technical-tests">Technical Tests</h2>
<p>One of the main things that is very prevalent these days is the take-home technical test. Generally this appears to be given after a phone interview, sometimes a first face-to-face and is meant to gauge the skill level of the candidate.</p>
<p>I have to be very frank and say I don’t think this helps anyone gauge a skill level.</p>
<p>Generally these tests are given with a provision of “we expect this to take a few hours, but take all the time you want to with it”, this is wrong. Asking someone to do work in their own time to prove their worth to you as an interviewer does not sit right with me, and I say this as someone who has completed these assignments (and likely will continue to do so until the industry changes). This idea of doing homework to prove you’re good enough can give me the impression that a company will expect you to work late when asked, and while I (and most people I know) don’t mind this every now and then, it’s not a great start.</p>
<p>Usually these tests are also based on a problem that has no bearing on what you’d be working on when working for a company. I appreciate companies can’t give away their trade secrets in technical tests, but working on completely random problems does not give you an indication of what the work for a company will be like.</p>
<h2 id="candidate-is-interviewing-you">Candidate is interviewing you</h2>
<p>This is a key thing that so many recruiters forget, I’m guilty of it myself. We think that the company we’re recruiting for is good enough that it should just be about us being convinced a candidate is for us.</p>
<p>What it’s easy to forget is that candidates are interviewing you just as much as you are them, they will have their own questions, they’ll want to know about the culture you have, and there’s no point in lying or bending the truth here, you’ll be found out soon enough.</p>
<p>I’ve had interviews over the years where companies were very much against giving any information about what day-to-day life looks like, or how the interview process goes. It was a bit of a shock when one company told me after a second phone interview that there were still 3 more stages of interview potentially ahead of me. Had I known that upfront it wouldn’t be so bad, but finding it out after getting to a stage where I felt I’d be in a position to either be offered a role or not, that was a shock.</p>
<h2 id="lack-of-feedback">Lack of Feedback</h2>
<p>Now this isn’t something that only happens in the tech industry but that doesn’t make it any less problematic. This is an especially important thing when you are using technical tests to screen candidates.</p>
<p>Providing feedback allows candidates to grow and learn, and that is absolutely something we should be encouraging. A friend of mine had completed a technical test for a role and they felt they had produced good work with good test coverage and understanding of the problem they were asked to resolve, the only feedback they got? “This is the work of a junior”, that type of feedback is not helpful to anyone. How can we expect people to learn if we won’t discuss or comment on what we feel they didn’t achieve from what was asked?</p>
<p>Maybe the work provided was that of a junior at the organisation, however what made it that way? One email, or a 20 minute conversation is all it takes to help people going forward.</p>
<h1 id="how-can-we-make-things-better">How Can We Make Things Better?</h1>
<p>So it’s all well and good of me to complain about the process and say we can do better, but the big question is always going to be “how do we do better”?</p>
<p>I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, and there are a few things I believe we can do.</p>
<h2 id="utilise-probation-periods">Utilise Probation Periods</h2>
<p>I have never had a role that did not include a probation period, the chances are you’re the same. Generally this is a pre-determined period of time that’s either 3 or 6 months. This is when as a new start you learn a lot about the company and how they work, this is also your proper time to shine and show your skillset.</p>
<p>For me, companies should be using this time to assess whether someone fits the skillset they were hiring for, I know this may mean hiring having to start again, but if someone comes into the company and doesn’t like what they’ve found, that’s the case anyway.</p>
<p>Using the first 3 months to see if your new hire is fit for purpose lets you learn how they work with the others in your team, how they solve problems, what they can offer to the team and just how they are as a person.</p>
<p>This would be my recommendation instead of a technical test, you’ll gleam so much more useful information about a candidate this way than what you can from a take-home test that they spend 4-8 hours on in isolation.</p>
<h2 id="technical-tests-1">Technical Tests</h2>
<p>Now, I’ve been very vocal on my dislike for take-home technical tests (as well as random Whiteboard questions), but that obviously doesn’t mean you can dismiss assessing someone’s technical skills for a role, especially as you get towards more senior roles.</p>
<p>During the interview process I feel it would be much more useful to talk through a problem with a candidate during a face-to-face or Skype interview, this should not include code directly, I’ve never met a software developer who was unable to learn how to use a tool or language when they had to, the value comes from their ability to solve a problem.</p>
<p>If you insist on using the take-home test, this can be made better. Provide a sample application for a candidate to work from, and then provide a ticket that would be similar to how a ticket would be picked up from your actual workflow. This not only allows the developer to have clear requirements (hopefully) and understand your process a bit better, it also lets them evaluate your code style, testing strategy etc and potentially add their own spin to it or provide suggestions if they feel there’s something else that can be done.</p>
<h1 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h1>
<p>I do truly believe that interviewing in software development is in need of some changes to make it simpler for both candidates and recruiters, as an industry we certainly can make this better.</p>
<p>I’d love to chat with people who have issues with software development interviews, discussing what they are. And also with people who find the issues I’ve raised above, well, non-issues and why they feel these benefit either the recruiter or the candidate.</p>
<p>Please get in touch on <a href="https://www.twitter.com/Luciam91">Twitter</a> if you want to discuss more!</p>Scott Pringleme@scottpringle.co.ukPreface: Everything here is my opinion, and I’d love to have a discussion on this with anyone else involved in recruitment or if you’re looking for a new role!One Year As A Manager2018-11-10T00:00:00+00:002018-11-10T00:00:00+00:00/posts/One-Year-As-A-Manager<p>One year ago I stepped into my first ever management and official leadership role. In that time I’ve learned a lot about how to work with people that I had never considered before. Because of that I wanted to share some thoughts on what I’ve learned, and what I’d encourage others to do if they want to make the step into management.</p>
<h3 id="management-isnt-for-everyone">Management isn’t for everyone</h3>
<p>Just because management is offered to you, does not mean that’s right for you. When I first started this role I absolutely suffered with Imposter Syndrome, I felt like I was well placed as a technical lead, but not necessarily a line manager who had to set targets for someone.</p>
<p>I managed to reach a place of happiness for myself, but I know (and have worked with) others who are amazing programmers, but they just did not enjoy or want to be a line manager. There’s no shame in this, always do what’s right for you, even if it means taking a different step to what’s put in front of you.</p>
<h3 id="not-everything-is-going-to-be-rosey">Not Everything Is Going To Be Rosey</h3>
<p>Being a manager means being able to see people grow and achieve goals, and that’s an amazing feeling. It also means having to support members of your team through some tough situations.</p>
<p>These could be stress related, something going on at home, illness that’s not been disclosed, handling disciplinary procedures within the company, or any other manner of situation that someone could find themselves in.</p>
<p>It’s important to be considerate in these situations, and take every fact put in front of you to use when making a decision, these decisions could have an impact on someone’s career, or even their want to stay working with you and your company.</p>
<h3 id="have-a-sounding-board">Have A Sounding Board</h3>
<p>This one may seem simple, but don’t try and do everything on your own. Your friends, mentors, colleagues, your own manager are there to support you and help out. If you’re unsure of something, ask them, they’ll give you honest advice and sometimes even solutions to problems you didn’t know existed.</p>
<p>I’ve been lucky enough to have former colleagues and mentors available whenever I need advice on something, whether it’s technical or a proper manager type situation. Be sure to have someone you can talk to when you’re just unsure.</p>
<h3 id="trust-your-gut">Trust Your Gut</h3>
<p>One of the key things as a manager I’ve found is a need to just believe that I’ve made the right call at the time. That doesn’t mean you can’t change your thoughts going forward, but trust your instinct.</p>
<p>At the end of the day someone has put trust in you to be a team lead/manager, they trust your instinct, don’t repay that by never making a decision</p>
<h3 id="be-reflective">Be Reflective</h3>
<p>And while it’s important to trust your gut, it’s also important to reflect on decisions you’ve made and potentially make new decisions based on the new evidence.</p>
<p>None of us are ever going to get everything in life right, accept that you’ll make mistakes and try to minimise them and you’ll be much happier in your role.</p>
<h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3>
<p>I know most of these don’t only apply to being a manager, but they’re definitely things I’ve been much more aware of in my year as a line manager.</p>
<p>If anyone wants to discuss any of the points I’ve made further, feel free to hit me up on <a href="https://twitter.com/Luciam91" target="_blank">Twitter</a></p>Scott Pringleme@scottpringle.co.ukOne year ago I stepped into my first ever management and official leadership role. In that time I’ve learned a lot about how to work with people that I had never considered before. Because of that I wanted to share some thoughts on what I’ve learned, and what I’d encourage others to do if they want to make the step into management.