Doc Norton talks with Dave Rael about writing, business, incentives, and developer motivations
Michael Norton (Doc) is a software delivery professional working to make the world of software development a better place. His experience covers a wide range of development topics. Doc declares expertise in no single language or methodology and is immediately suspicious of anyone who declares such expertise.
A frequent and well rated international speaker, Doc is passionate about helping others become better developers, working with teams to improve delivery, and building great organizations. In his role at CTO2, Doc is provided opportunities to realize his passion every day.
Chapters:
2:19 - Doc and Dave catching up5:09 - Doc's book: Escape Velocity7:08 - The value of estimation (or lack thereof), metrics, Goodhart's Law, and incentives16:38 - Assessing performance of software developers22:07 - Taking care of yourself and balancing care for self with family needs27:30 - Doc's opportunities for getting into code and Doc's views on developer archetypes - builders and problems solvers35:41 - Doc's motivations for writing the Escape Velocity book and publishing decisions39:06 - Doc on writing46:24 - Keeping up with Doc
Resources:
CTO2
Escape Velocity: Better Metrics for Agile Teams - Doc Norton
Doc's First Appearance on Developer On Fire
Doc's Talk - Agile Metrics - Velocity is NOT the Goal
Goodhart's Law
Perverse Incentives
"If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain." - (Apparently not Stated by )Winston Churchill
Gmail's Lengthy Beta
Johanna Rothman
Obie Fernandez on Developer On Fire
Doc's book recommendation:
On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft - Stephen King
Doc's top 3 tips for delivering more value: