About Programmer Lifestyle Dilemmas

Yesterday, I attended the second Devnology meeting in Utrecht and I had a really fun evening. Devnology is an initiative started by Pieter Joost van de Sande and Freek Leemhuis and focuses on sharing experiences, insights and knowledge between members of the entire developer community. That means that you'll see not only .NET and Java developers, but also developers using C++, Ruby on Rails, SmallTalk and even functional programming. It felt very refreshing to hear about all those other platforms I simply don't have the time for.

This session was held in one of the very attractive rooms offered by Seats2Meet in Utrecht and focused on the typical dilemmas a programmer has to face in his daily duties. As a kind of preparation we were asked to answer a list of questions related to our habits, interests and so on. I thought it would be nice to share my answers and also mention the things I heard from the others and will read or investigate.

Q: Do you prefer to work as an independent consultant or be on someone’s payroll?
I have always liked to work for a company, either big or small, as long as they can offer enough interesting opportunities. I don't like to find my own customers (at least, not initially) or spend time on administrative tasks. Moreover, working in a company offers my changes for sharing knowledge, experiences and enthusiasm.

Q: Do you prefer to work in pairs or alone?
I definitely stimulate Pair Programming within my teams since I've seen it cause an improvement in the overall level of technical and domain knowledge. But I myself don't always do it, mostly, because I typically have a lot of team leading tasks. The primary reason for me to sit next to another developer is to improve the usage of coding guideline, design principles and other best practices. Obviously, when trying to figure out a complex technical challenge, Pair Programming really excels.

Q: Do you prefer to work in the office or at home?
I prefer to work at the office since it is more fun, and allows me to have interesting discussions with other colleagues.

Q: Can you live with a waterfall methodology or do you insist on Agile?
I have lost faith in a traditional waterfall approach, and strongly believe in many of the aspects of typical Agile methodologies. I'm currently looking into using (elements of) SCRUM for my projects.

Q: Do you try to keep up with all the latest developments, or focus on concepts?
I always try to stay in shape by reading blogs, books and by having discussions with other members of the community. However, I'm starting to become aware of the fact that I can't keep up that pace for a very long time. As a matter of fact, I'm already pushing some of the newer technologies that are not yet necessary for my current tasks aside as long as possible.

Q: Specializing or generalizing
I focus my attention on the stuff that helps me the most at my current job, but I do have a particular interest in Test Driven Development, design and architecture. However, I always keep an overview of all the products and technologies the Microsoft platforms offers. So, I'm both :-)

Q: What are your three favorite blogs?

• Jeremy D. Miller's blog on CodeBetter
• Ayende Rahien's blog
• Scott Guthrie's blog

Q: What are your three favorite Podcasts?
I've never done that, but looking at the popularity of these during this meeting, I'm going to look into them.

Q: Name three books that had a lot of impact

1. Applying Domain Driven Design and Patterns - Jimmy Nillson
2. Domain Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software - Eric Evans
3. Scrum and XP from the Trenches - Henrik Kniberg

Q: What tools do you use to find knowledge?
I primarily use Google Reader to stay up to date with a whole bunch of blogs. I don't understand why Microsoft's Live site does not provide something like this.

Q: What events do you visit regularly?
PDC or Teched, Microsoft Developer Days, Software Developer Event / Conference, CodeCamp, DotNed, Devnology, OpenSpace

Q: What are you going to read or investigate as a result of this second Devnology meeting?

• Mike Taulty's blog
• The book "Dynamics of Software Development", by Jim McCarthy
• The book "Code Complete", by Steve McConnell
• Joel Spolsky's podcasts
• Using RealVNC as a way to allow pair programming without sitting next to eachother
• Screencasts from the TED website
• The book "Object Design: Roles, Responsibilities, and Collaborations", by Rebecca Wirf's-Brock