1. Top Tips Summary: Software Engineering in practice
Experiences, tricks, and things to avoid
Presenter: Josef Hallberg

2. This lecture Sharing my experiences What you should learn
My lessons learned
My experiences
My tricks
What you should learn
What you will face in real life
How to manage yourself

3. What is Software Engineering in practice?
Yours and my thoughts on:
What is Software Engineering in practice?

4. Software Engineering in practice
Tools for surviving
Tools for being efficient
Tools for avoiding mistakes
Tools for communicating with others
Tools for working with others
Tools for managing projects

5. What will life be like as a developer?
Yours and my view on:
What will life be like as a developer?

6. Life as a developer
The boss has no idea (but that does not stop him/her)
… about the problem at hand
… how much work you actually have already
… why it is taking so much time
Meetings!?! (AGHNN!!!)
The unscheduled status-updates
The changing requirements
The changing deadlines / task load

7. What will life be like as a Manager?
Yours and my view on:
What will life be like as a Manager?

8. Life as a manager Responsibility and accountability
Is it safe to delegate?
How much insight should you have/keep?
Mail… meetings… workshops… !?!
Put out fires
Handle staff issues
Keep the team together
… Stay updated on progress

9. Josef’s best
Top Tips

10. Gold-Plating/Unfeasibility
It is so easy to decorate the requirements with half promises...
...making way too many requirements unfeasible!
Keep requirements as simple as possible!

11. How long will it take? Things take longer than you think
How long will it take to develop a home-alarm system?
What exactly are the components?
What functionalities are required?
Ask a college for advice if you are unsure
Experience helps when estimating time

12. Urgent versus Important

13. Triage in Project Management
Among top items in importance?
if so, place it in do at once category
otherwise Ignore without substantially affecting project?
if so, place it in last to do category
otherwise (Do not spend decision time on this)
place in middle category

14. Delegation Urgent Important Not Do it youself! Delegate Ignore? and
follow up!
Important
Not
Urgent

15. Don’t overwork yourself
The power of saying NO!

16. You are important Look after your own interests
But be a team player
Be smart about which tasks you accept
People don’t like it if you say no to everything
Accept tasks that are quick for you to do
Then you can say no to things you don’t like
Make sure you develop new skills
Learn from your co-workers

17. A typical scenario
So, the boss comes in and asks you: can you show me what you have done so far?
What to do?

18. Always have something to show
There are good and bad days
Don’t show everything on a good day
Save something for a “rainy” day
Make a drawing/diagram of your thoughts, or outline the problem on paper
Make a storyboard or a powerpoint prototype
Make sure you have something other than the thoughts in your head

19. To be a teamplayer Don’t blackmail the company by You will get fired
writing code only you understand
not documenting your code
You will get fired
and not get a good reference
and the company will have to redo the code
Being liked by your co-workers is more important than you may think

20. You are valuable The company invests in you Replacing you is difficult
because they believe in you
Replacing you is difficult
Your health is important
Enjoying work is important
Compared to your high salery
the equipment you want is nothing
the small things to brighten your day is nothing
a gym-card is nothing

21. Procrastinating boring things?
If you only do fun things you are left with only boring things
If you get the boring things done you have only the fun stuff left
Which would you prefer?

22. A good employer A good employer
Will let you set off time to develop new skills
Will care about your wellbeing
Will reward good work
Wants to avoid forced overtime is possible

23. You can learn anything You are a smart person
With enough time and motivation you can learn anything
A person who knows many things can make new connections
And come up with new solutions to problems
Take the opportunity to learn whenever possible
Ask questions

24. Let’s have a break