Presentation given at IWMW13

1. Paul
Walk
paul@paulwalk.net
@paulwalk
http://www.paulwalk.net
Working with developers
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2. what’s in a name?
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3. things
you
need
to
know
3

4. http://freetheanimal.com/2013/01/corralling-­‐the-­‐paleo-­‐movement-­‐is-­‐like-­‐herding-­‐cats.html
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5. learn some of the jargon
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6. get good at estimating
• this
is
often
not
done
very
well,
because
• it’s
hard
• they’re
too
close
to
make
an
objective
estimation
• you
need
to
either
be
or
to
make
friends
with
an
experienced
project
manager
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7. understand what ‘the cloud’ means
• where
your
infrastructure
is
outsourced
• pros
• no
need
for
local
low-­‐level
systems-­‐support(i.e.
hardware,
operating
system)
• may
still
need
to
conDigure
and
maintain
the
particular
system,
even
if
it
is
running
in
the
cloud
• elastic
‘hardware’
provision
-­‐
more
Dlexible/responsive
to
rapidly
changing
requirements
-­‐
easier
to
budget
for
• cons
• not
necessarily
cheaper
(contrary
to
popular
opinion)
• some
loss
of
control
&
data
privacy/jurisdictional
issues
7

8. understand what Software as a Service means
• where
your
system
or
service
is
outsourced
• pros
• all
the
advantages
of
using
cloud
infrastructure,
plus:
• reduced
or
no
requirement
to
maintain/conDigure
the
SaaS
system
• potential
for
continuous
improvement
-­‐
“perpetual
beta”
• cons
• reduction
in
control,
especially
ability
to
customise
to
local
requirements
• the
ability
to
innovate
locally
is
impacted.
The
provision
of
good
APIs
by
the
remote
service
may
mitigate
this.
• the
con
that
might
actually
be
a
pro
• good
APIs
offer
a
good
opportunity
for
local
innovation
-­‐
better
than
locally
customising
third-­‐party
software
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9. development
paradigms
9

10. engineering
• software
development
is
called
many
things:
we
talk
about
‘writing’
software,
software
‘engineering’,
software
as
a
‘craft’,
as
an
‘art’....
• “The
last
time
people
constructed
a
vocabulary
for
software
development
was
in
the
late
1960s,
when
they
coined
the
phrase
software
engineering,
as
both
a
wish
and
a
direction
for
the
future.”
Agile
Software
Development,
Alistair
Cockburn,
2000
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11. http://www.Elickr.com/photos/tonymangan/349034093/sizes/l/in/photostream/
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12. communications - documenting & modelling
http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/communication.htm
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13. Manifesto for Agile Software Development
We
are
uncovering
better
ways
of
developing
software
by
doing
it
and
helping
others
do
it.
Through
this
work
we
have
come
to
value:
Individuals
and
interactions
over
processes
and
tools
Working
software
over
comprehensive
documentation
Customer
collaboration
over
contract
negotiation
Responding
to
change
over
following
a
plan
That
is,
while
there
is
value
in
the
items
on
the
right,
we
value
the
items
on
the
left
more.
http://agilemanifesto.org
13

14. “rough consensus, running
code”
Internet Engineering Task Force
http://www.ietf.org/tao.html
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15. http://farm6.staticElickr.com/5310/5616474374_ea5007a5a9_o_d.png
http://www.Elickr.com/photos/improveit/1684378416/sizes/o/in/photostream/
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16. 16

17. Scrum
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18. local
development
in
a
recession
18

19. innovation
happens
in
a
local
context
local
developers
empower
the
organisation
to
innovate
19

20. the value of the local developer
• can
understand
local
conditions
better
than
an
external
supplier
• is
more
accessible
-­‐
especially
when
adopting
agile
development
techniques
• through
web
APIs,
can
tailor
remote
services
to
idiosyncratic
local
needs
-­‐
can
make
cheap
services
into
good
services
• can
engage
the
technical
people
in
an
external
supplier
-­‐
not
just
the
pre-­‐sales
people!
• can
engage
with
and
exploit
available
open
source
developments
20

21. use the local talent!
• Student
as
Producer
at
Lincoln
University
• sourced
developer
effort
and
skills
from
the
student
cohort
• “demonstrated
to
us
that
students
can
have
the
requisite
skills,
enthusiasm
and
experience
to
enable
us
to
innovate
rapidly”
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22. developers
are
people
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23. "If
the
UK's
creative
businesses
want
to
thrive
in
the
digital
future,
you
need
people
who
understand
all
facets
of
it
integrated
from
the
very
beginning.
Take
a
lead
from
the
Victorians
[...]:
bring
engineers
into
your
company
at
all
levels,
including
the
top."
Eric
Schmidt,
Chairman
of
Google
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24. the case of the missing career path....
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Higher Education Institution
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}
}?
Undergraduate
Postgrad researcher/developer
Employed developer
1 2 3 4
Academic
Manager
5
Spontaneous technical
innovation does
happens here
Strategic leadership
for technical
innovation could
happen here
?
Spontaneous technical
could happen here
24

25. Paul
Walk
paul@paulwalk.net
@paulwalk
http://www.paulwalk.net
thank you!
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