How to Use C++20 Coroutines for Networking

Why It's Good to be a
Software Manager

(The Five Concerns of Software Management)

Jim (James) Pascoe
http://www.james-pascoe.com
james@james-pascoe.com

http://jamespascoe.github.io/accu2022-manager

Why this Talk?

Becoming a software manager is daunting

... but there are many benefits to doing so

Share my experience

Address concerns

Debunk myths

Concern 1: Will I Have to Stop Coding?

In a word - no. Certainly not my experience

Solve harder problems

Stay in touch with the code

Team members respect coding skills

Mentoring others means mastering your skills

Concern 2: What do I do day-to-day?

Organise the work

We use Jira - other strategies work well

Translate commercial strategy into a roadmap

Work packages and deliveries

Develop an appropriate amount of process

Definition of 'done'

Concern 3: How Do I Motivate Others?

Understand individual motivations

Use interesting tools and libraries

Make it fun

Praise is free

Track happiness

Concern 4: 'Hard Conversations'

Do happen occasionally

Come straight to the point

Focus on outcome

Make it clear what needs to change

Be fair and respectful

I remember conducting an appraisal once where I was trying to convince a more Junior engineer that he should take a more Tech Leadership role in the team. He had bags of technical skill, emotional intelligence - everything. So, I suggested this to him, and he went pale and quiet. And so I asked him 'What's was he worried about?' and after a few seconds, he said: 'Jim, I don't want to have hard Conversations with people'.

Do happen occasionally - and it would probably be remiss of me not to mention this. Occasionally, you do have to tell somebody that despite them working 60 hour weeks all year, you can't promote them because of budget constraints. But, when you've been through a few of these, you realise that these occasions are not actually that bad and can be constructive if conducted in the right way. [bullets 2-5] You have a responsibility and to some extent a duty-of-care towards your team.

Concern 5: What Are the Benefits?

You can influence the technology

Solve software engineering problems

Versioning, Delivery, DevOps etc.

Commercial exposure

Improvement in communication skills

You can help people - training budgets, praise etc.

You will learn about yourself and others

[bullets 1-7] And just to pick up on that last bullet, one thing I discovered about myself is that I like responsibility. It sounds a bit odd, but I like the notion of saying 'actually I am going to deliver on this customer deployment' or 'business goal' or whatever. Not leaving for somebody else to think about. And the other thing that becoming a manager has done for me is this point about respect. I don't know if I am just getting older [laughs], but you realise that regardless of technical skills, seniority, profile whatever, people are people and are trying to do the right thing, they are trying to work hard balance family commitments, health issues. So, that's been particularly rewarding for me.

Conclusion

Technical leadership can be daunting

But gives you different skills and mindsets

Definitely rewarding:

When approached in the right way

You can always go back

Questions?

http://www.james-pascoe.com
james@james-pascoe.com