Maybe when companies make you do “team-building” activities, what they’re looking for is a phase transition into a gelled team. Because it is a sudden, magical thing, right? When a group of people turns into a team. Once you get there, to that feeling of team, it’s self-reinforcing. You trust each other, so y0u don’t … Read moreTeams are like bread
Naturally intelligent systems do not passively await sensory stimulation. They are constantly active, trying to predict (and actively elicit) the streams of sensory information before they arrive…. Systems like that are already (pretty much constantly) poised to act. We act for the the evolving streams of sensory information that keep us viable and serve our … Read moreRespond to input? No, we create it
Developers have a love-hate relationship with code re-use. As in, we used to love it. We love our code and we want it to run everywhere and help everyone. We want to get faster with time by harnessing the work of our former selves.And yet, we come to hate it. Reuse means dependencies. It means … Read moreReuse
The other day in Budapest, Jez Humble and I wondered, what is the CAP theorem for teams? In distributed database systems, the CAP theorem says: choose two of Consistency, Availability, and Partitioning — and you must choose Partitioning. Consider a system for building software together. Unless the software is built by exactly one person, we … Read moreTradeoffs in Coordination Among Teams
In your team, do you feel like you fit in? Do you have a feeling of belonging? These are very different questions.[2] When I fit in, it’s because everyone is sufficiently alike. We have inside jokes, TV shows or sports we talk about, opinions we share and common targets of ridicule. New people can fit … Read moreFitting in v. Belonging
In the computer industry, data and conscious thinking are praised, as opposed to an integrated awareness.[1] How is the work going? the task-tracking tools, the commits, and the build results provide data, but only conversations with the team can provide awareness. Awareness of mood and relationships and trends, of uncertainties and risks. Perhaps this is … Read moreData v Awareness