VSHN.timer

VSHN.timer #63: The Psychology Of DevOps Engineering

5. Oct 2020

Welcome to another VSHN.timer! Every Monday, 5 links related to Kubernetes, OpenShift, CI / CD, and DevOps; all stuff coming out of our own chat system, making us think, laugh, or simply work better.
This week we’re going to talk about the inner working and well-being of the minds of DevOps engineers. By the way, this edition borrows its title from the 1971 classic book “The Psychology of Computer Programming” by Gerald Weinberg, a timeless classic, the first ever book about PeopleOps.
1. This year has been (and still is) one of the most complicated of our existence. We are all feeling it. The pressure. The abysmal news on our screens. The concerns about our families. Lock-downs. Masks. The struggle. It is time to remind ourselves that it’s OK to say that we’re not OK.
https://its-ok.clearleft.com/
2. How are those DevOps engineers doing in your company? If you are in charge of a technical team, please read this guide by Kat Boogaard from Trello, and make sure your colleagues are not on the verge of a breakdown.
https://blog.trello.com/spot-signs-of-team-overwhelm
3. Senior software engineers know that one of the most complex skills to learn is that of reading code properly. Why do we find some pieces of code easier to read than others? How can we make life easier for our colleagues? How does it all work? Egon Elbre recently wrote a comprehensive article full of insight about the subject.
https://medium.com/@egonelbre/psychology-of-code-readability-d23b1ff1258a
4. Growing up into senior engineers means leaving behind our egos, cultivating empathy, and getting rid of hubris. In a world where every company is a software company, and where this includes the humblest of corner shops, it is time to agree that ‘real’ programming is an elitist myth.
https://www.wired.com/story/databases-coding-real-programming-myth/
5. Thankfully more and more companies agree that the well-being of their engineers translates directly into great products. Our friends and partners at amazee.io have recently shared an interview with two of their system engineers, Bastian Widmer and Thom Toogood, and it’s great to have an insight into their culture.
https://www.amazee.io/blog/post/life-as-a-systems-engineer-at-amazee.io
How are you and your colleagues doing? How do you take care of one another? Would you like to share any tips with our readers? Get in touch with us through the form at the bottom of this page, and see you next week for another edition of VSHN.timer.
PS: would you like to receive VSHN.timer every Monday in your inbox? Subscribe to our new VSHN.timer newsletter!
PS (again): We have published quite a few VSHN.timer entries dedicated to the subject of PeopleOps, check them out: #7, #13, #15, #26, #35, #41  and #52.

Adrian Kosmaczewski

Adrian Kosmaczewski is in charge of Developer Relations at VSHN. He is a software developer since 1996, a trainer, and a published author. Adrian holds a Master in Information Technology from the University of Liverpool.

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