This document summarizes a presentation on coding in public and developing expertise as a developer. It discusses stages of skill acquisition from novice to expert, the importance of deliberate practice for improving skills, and encourages creating a supportive environment for mentoring and receiving feedback to help developers improve through simulations, case studies, and code katas. The presentation notes it can take 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery in a field and provides references for further reading on expertise.

1. Coding In PublicAlan Stevensor If You’re Gonna’ Suck, Do It With Gusto!

2. Who is Alan Stevens?Microsoft Most Valuable ProfessionalASP InsiderOccasional Blogger http://netcave.orgAn Enthusiast NOT an expert!

3. June 26th – 27th 2009Knoxville, TN

4. Regional Speakers / Open Spaces

5. .NET, Java, Ruby, Erlang, more

6. Call for speakers – March 31

7. 3 & 6 hour sessions on Friday

8. 1 hour sessions on Saturday

9. http://CodeStock.org

10. http://twitter.com/CodeStockDevLinkAugust 13-15, 2009 Nashville, TNwww.devlink.net

11. I am a failed educator.

12. “I never stopped trying to become qualified for the job.”Darwin Smith, CEO of Kimberly Clark

13. Dreyfus Stages of Skill AcquisitionNoviceAdvanced BeginnerCompetentProficientExpert

14. NoviceRigid adherence to taught rules or plansLittle situational perceptionNo discretionary judgment

15. Advanced BeginnerGuidelines for action based on attributes or aspectsSituational perception is still limitedAll attributes and aspects are treated separately and given equal importance

16. CompetentSees action at least partially in terms of longer-term goalsConscious, deliberate planningStandardized and routinized proceduresPlan guides performance as situation evolves

17. ProficientSees situation holistically rather than in terms of aspectsSees what is most important in a situationPerceives deviations from the normal patternUses maxims, whose meanings vary according to the situation, for guidanceSituational factors guide performance as situation evolves

18. ExpertNo longer relies on rules, guidelines, or maximsIntuitive grasp of situations based on deep tacit understandingIntuitive recognition of appropriate decision or action Analytic approaches used only in novel situations or when problems occur

19. Where We StandExpertProficientCompetentAdvanced BeginnerNoviceSource: Hackos & Stevens, 1997 via the Pragmatic Programmers

20. "The vast majority of all users remain advanced beginners, performing the tasks they need and learning new tasks as the need arises, but never acquiring a more broad-based, conceptual understanding of the task environment" Hackos & Stevens, 1997, p. 36

21. You can write COBOL in any language.

22. Everybody works, but not everybody improves.WHY?

23. The Mastery Curve

24. The Dabbler

25. The Obsessive

26. The “Hacker”

27. After moving up a level, things always get worse.

28. Zones of Comfort

29. Comfort ZonePeople stay hereMinds often closed to learningVery little change

30. Learning ZoneLots of UncertaintyFeels uncomfortableand challengingLots of learning opportunities

31. Panic ZonePeople close upThey freezeThey don’t learnVery little focus on change and improvement – it’s all about survival

32. The Fast Horse?

33. What is expertise?Performance consistently superior to peersProduces concrete resultsCan be replicated

34. Recipe For GreatnessIntensive practiceDevoted teachersEnthusiastic support

35. Deliberate Practice is Designed

36. Deliberate practice focuses on tasks beyond your current level of competence and comfort.

37. It is only by working at what you can’t do that you become an expert

38. Observe results and make adjustments

39. Assess mistakes and figure out how to correct them

40. Be honest about areas for improvement

41. Practice without attention to reflection and form will not yield the same results.

42. Deliberate practice is not “fun”, but it is rewarding.

43. Flow requires challenge or boredom results.

44. “If you practice with your fingers, no amount is enough. If you practice with your head, two hours is plenty.”Violin Professor Leopold Auer

45. 10,000 hours to mastery4-6-104 hours/day6 days/weekFor 10 years!

46. How can we encourage greatness(or at least improvement)?Be supportive of efforts to improveAllow one another to suck (with gusto!)Be a mentorCatalog simulations and case studies

47. Provide a supportive environment

48. Be willing to be a mentor

49. Be willing to receive constructive, unsentimental feedback

50. Remember the Kobayashi Maru

52. Simulations and Case StudiesCode KataCode DojoBitslingers“Code Sparring”