Jon Daniel dot Net

A common problem with software engineering is that after someone spends so long on the job they begin to get a bit too comfortable in their ways.  This is epically common is smaller organizations where the development team may be made up of one or two individuals, but it can also occur in larger shops where the focus is shifted on finished the project and not necessarily finishing it well.

While existing methods and practices may get the job done, they are usually outdated and inefficient compared to newer techniques.  Unfortunately it can be quite difficult for an engineer to be able to properly stay informed because of how broken and scattered the software engineering community exists by it’s very nature.

The first, and easiest method of keeping engineers informed on new techniques is to arrange a “tech-talk” program in your organization.  Basically, once a month the engineering staff meets to discuss a new piece of technology.   The best way of arranging this is to have a “tech-talk leader” assigned each month and their job is to be in charge of researching and presenting this new technique.  Topics can range from different styles of design patters to new features in the next Linux kernel, basically anything that will get people interested (and maybe even a bit excited).

The second method is to get out and join some kind of professional group.  Find and local users groups and try to attend some meetings or get involved with some activities.  Linux, PHP, Java, C#, Perl, Python all have users groups in just about any city so finding one shouldn’t be too difficult.  If there is nothing in your area of interest then feel free to stay your own.  A sense of community among IT professions will only help increase your potential.

Another method, and by far the most useful, is to find an open source project you would enjoy working on and start contributing.  The best way in better yourself is by peer evaluation and review, and what better soruce of (not work) evaluation is there than the general open source community.  While people may take things a bit too far sometimes, it should always be considered in good nature.  And what better experence is there than to contribute to a piece of code which will be poked and prodded by the entire community.

In my opinion, one of the biggest problems with the software engineering community in most cities is lack of community.  Nobody really seems to communite and get involved outside of their social circles, and that does nothing but hurt everyone.  Go, meet new people, start new groups, talk to a professional you normally wouldn’t assoicatie with (.NET and Java developers I am looking at you), and most importantly… learn!