As a developer, you might think that the only way you can contribute to your team is through the lines of code that you produce. But in actuality, the job of a developer is significantly more sociotechnical than purely technical. And as you progress in your career, the less tangible ways to provide value become more important. Learn how you can do that from your very first day ️
Areas we will cover:
- Documentation
- Team Culture and Alignment ✔️
- Product Quality
- Onboarding Experience
- Peer Development 欄
2. Myname
isThuy.
FRONT-END DEVELOPER
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
I've been a developer since 2016, currently working with
React in education technology at Prodigy Education.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
I am really passionate about accessibility and I spend
my time learning how to build more accessible products.
3. OpportunitiesforImpact
TEAM CULTURE & ALIGNMENT
You might hate the "storming" part of
team development but it's an
opportunity in the making.
04
PEER DEVELOPMENT
You can share knowledge the instant
you learn it, no matter how small.
05
CLOSING
Value can be provided in many ways.
06
ONBOARDING
It's not just a test to see if you can set up
your environment as fast as possible.
01
DOCUMENTATION
Good documentation benefits
everyone. Fresh eyes are invaluable.
02
PRODUCT QUALITY
Lack of upfront clarifying questions can
cause costly mistakes down the line.
03
7. Commondevenv
setuphurdles
ERRORS RUNNING
COMMANDS
Post errors in related Slack
channel either as a heads-up
or to get help solving.
01 BROKEN README LINKS
Resources move around or
get deleted all the time.
Fix all broken hyperlinks.
02 BROKEN README NAV
Easy to get unstuck from but
annoying. Fix headings
especially in large READMEs
where it's not clear where the
doc is supposed to jump to.
03
10. Leanin
TO THE AREAS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND
Everyone wants the documentation to be
good. Writers want to help people reading.
So, if you don't get it, chances are the docs
can be improved somehow with fresh eyes.
11. Draw
diagrams
FOR YOURSELF AND FOR OTHERS
Is it the first time you are learning about the
architecture of a system? Write down notes
so you understand the intricacies.
If there is an existing diagram, see if the
diagram is missing any information.
13. ImprovingProductQuality
CLARIFY ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA
A lot of time can be wasted later if acceptance criteria is
not clear. If the design lacks clarity, point it out. If criteria
was clarified in a meeting, ensure it's noted down.
01
ASK QUESTIONS IN PRS
PR reviews are definitely more comfortable the more
context you have but you don't need it to improve code. If
the only thing you can do is improve naming, great.
02
15. Opportunitiestoimprove
teamculture&alignment
ALIGN ON TEAM
EXPECTATIONS
When the team is first created,
suggest or lead an activity to
collectively decide on team
expectations and values.
ASK CLARIFYING
QUESTIONS
Pivoting can narrow the focus
of the meeting if it is not clear
or has too many parts.
IMPROVE SPRINT
MEETINGS
Ensure sprint meetings are
done at the right time
(prerequisites complete).
17. Opportunitiestoshare
knowledgeandexperiences
PAIR PROGRAMMING / ADVISING
Find opportunities to drive pair
programming sessions i.e. more
experienced dev is onboarding. Share
knowledge by advising in short meetings
on important parts of a system to a team
that is new to your codebase or domain.
01 PRESENTATIONS
It might be tempting to only want to do
presentations when everything goes
perfectly. But obstacles are a great
opportunity to share learnings with
others. Share an experiment your team
did with the company at all-hands.
02
19. As you progress through your career, it will
become more important to improve the
environment for others so that impact is multiplied.
The socio-technical journey is different for
everyone. You might start off with better soft skills
than technical whereas others, the opposite.
Therearemanyways
toprovidevalue