Carte noua in vacanta pana pe 3 ianuarie / We will be back on the 3rd of January // CRACIUN FERICIT !

Craciun fericit, lumina in suflete si liniste in minte!

ne intalnim cu un nou articol pe 3 ianuarie 2012....

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The highway to success

Teams are built in various environments. These environment matters as long as you build a project team. But you can control how the team integrates in the environment. I will speak about some items that are important in order to keep a certain group working like a team. Team have to refresh themselves, to adjust the progress and the results.
Let's characterize a team with the equation of a highway. I don't know all, but I consider the following items as important:

Team velocity - speed of progressing inside the team as average
Team map (where are the entry points and where are the exit points)
Entry points (how do you integrate a new team member)
Exit points (how team members leave your team)
Team acceleration (how quick you can increase the performance in short time for short term)

These are a few items I will speak about in 2012.

Stay tuned`!

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Integrating error-detection techniques to find more bugs in embedded C software

Integrating error-detection techniques to find more bugs in embedded C software

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iPlan pentru toti

iPlan este un program foarte reusit. Eusediu Margasoiu, Claudia Iacobuta si Cristian Negut au livrat un training foarte bun pentru intelegerea conceptelor de planificare strategica. Cateva concepte simple, legate de segmentarea pietei, fixarea unor obiective, decizii benefice pe termen lung care aduc pierderi in prima perioada si alte subiecte asemenea.
Am folosit Markstrat, un program de simulare a pietelor despre care am aflat ulterior o parere ce spune ca e foarte bine "marketat" in afara de valoarea lui intrinseca. Parerea mea e ca i-am folosit poate nici 10% din putere, dar mi-a oferit o mostra de software foarte util in procesele de invatare.
Mai mult, Cristian Negut este foarte eficient in a puncta informatiile relevante pentru crearea unui plan de dezvoltare personala. Am mai fost implicat in diverse ateliere, programe de dezvoltare personala si consider aceasta duminica pe care am petrecut-o impreuna cu Cristian una din cele mai bine "cheltuite" zile din viata mea.

In suma, daca aveti o pasiune pentru subiectul planificare strategica, daca va ajuta subiectul ori daca doriti sa cunoasteti oameni interesanti, inscrieti-va in program. Detalii sunt pe site, iar proiectul mi se pare foarte valoros si merge mana in mana cu viziunea initiatorilor (The Network) de a imbunatati calitatea planificarii strategice in Romania.
Daca doriti sa mai aflati si ce spun altii, va recomand postarea lui Claudiu Florea.

Planificare placuta....

Alta postare pe aceeasi tema: iPlan - planificare strategica

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iPlan - in desfasurare

Sunt la Sinaia, pentru a participa la seminarul iPlan. Cateva impresii la cald.
Markstrat e un tool foarte complex, care faciliteaza invatarea principiilor invatarii strategice. E foarte interesant si are un nivel foarte profi.
Am aflat ca managerii romani cheltuie mai mult efort decat e cazul. Sa facem un pic mai mult decat e nevoie. Probabil ca e corelat cu productivitatea media a angajatilor in Romania : multe ore de lucru, mai putine rezultate.
Mai sunt circa 35 de seminarii similare, a cate 25 de participanti.
Cam atat.

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Oportunitati pentru formare

Ciprian Trandafirescu recomanda o serie de cursuri.

Mie mi-a placut cursul open tinut de Delia Andries "Coaching pentru manageri". Delia este unul dintre cei care tin cursuri in Evolutiv.
Mie mi-a deschis apetitul pentru subiectul coaching. Alain Cardon pare a fi "top influencer" in Romania.

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E potrivit jobul la care aplici?

Raspunde la o intrebare simpla:
As putea sa fac macar o zi jobul asta fara sa fiu platit?

Daca raspunsul este da, atunci e o alegere sigura.

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Sports in business management

As I wrote some days ago, I had the pleasure to meet my former coach during a business event.
He was invited to speak about sports, about the management of the handball teams he managed during last 20 years, leadership and so on. This has been organized like a Q&A session, having about 25 managers in the room.

I learned that in sports round about 75% of the success is conditioned about the inborn skills. Therefore, it is very important how it is made selection and the first training sessions. As a parallel, in team management, having the right guys on-board since the beginning, we maximize the chances of a successful team. This is particularly true for junior positions, where there is no successful track of achievements to be presented during an interview

Having this entry point secured, we discussed about what is important for a team (in sports, but not only). This is given by some boundary conditions (budget, history, "socios", other stake holders). We are not always in the position of Real Madrid, where budget is not an issue, we are not in the position of Manchester City (having one all mighty owner) and so on. Usually, the performance and ration performance vs cost is given by stability in management, concepts of training and promotion in the first team. I am making again a comparison with technical teams. You cannot get the ultimately best persons in the team, resources you can spend are limited and you don't have a single stakeholder to convince. Therefore, it is up to you, the team manager, to identify how to integrate a new team member, how to cover the gaps in terms of knowledge, to imagine a path to next level, in order to keep things under control. Otherwise, you might reach the situation of  Steaua Bucharest, who had more than 100 players in 4 years and only one trophy won in 6 years.

Usually, this is supported by an inclusive team culture, where mistakes are allowed if they were done based on good will. Hiper competition is ruining the team spirit and there is no prediction to indicate the level of performance for next level.


The other thing we spoke about, somehow related to culture is the style of playing. Barcelona is playing tiki-taka, other teams play more athletic styles. This team my coach spoke about is using a speedy type of playing, based on a lot of effort and very bold attitude. This concept does not fit to everyone, so there were players who wanted a transfer to a team which they felt more convenient. In addition, only the goal keeper has been a little star. The rest of the play is based on team effort and they are successful together. Actually, as wrote in another post, the coach has been the star.

To continue the parallel, you might get excellent employees in your team that simply don't fit. This is up to you to realize and react. People develop other skills, learn new topics and might even adhere to new ways of doing things. But this happens only when you know all very good. A good understanding of their needs and wishes gives you the chance to quickly react in turmoils, motivate them with right incentives and have a loyal team.

This giving and receiving game is also influenced, in sports, by the contract management. How soon the contract is extended, how is the salary increased or not. When a certain player is simply let to move to another team. Why excellent individuals are not allowed to be part of the team.

It's the same with the rest of the teams. All the team members are supposed to grow. This is an immediate benefit, but comes with the boomerang effect that a sustained growth will make him be promoted outside of your team. Think about this and prepare a replacement strategy. Give him the information that you are working to allow him move up, if the case. Build an open relationship, so you are able to get information and give targets in the same time.

About fluctuation, performance and team management, in the next Sunday article : Highway to performance.
PS:  I am giving lots of examples from the sports which use the ball, as these is easier to understand.

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Chisinau din nou

28 Noiembrie
Saptamana viitoare voi fi din nou la Chisinau.
Astept sa cumpar coniac Kvint, bomboane Bucuria si sa mananc ciorba saleanca.

10 Decembrie:
am fost la Chisinau. Kvint, Bucuria, Soleanca - DA
Taximetristii ii bat de la distanta pe cei din Romania. Nu am reusit sa inteleg algoritmul de creare a pretului.
Interviurile - nu seamana inca cu ce stiu din Romania. Nu am inteles care a fost motivul, banuiesc ca lipsa noastra de comunicare si diferentele de cultura.

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Sports and team management

Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet my handball coach from the childhood. He is meanwhile very successful and built a great team in my hometown.
He spoke in one of our internal seminars about different moments in time when leadership and management were necessary to make things work.
I will come up with a new post about the things he said and some things I thought about after the discussion.

Stay tuned for Sunday article!

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2 idei pentru a iti alege mai usor jobul

1. Poti sa te imaginezi facand acest lucru si peste 5 ani?
[CONTINUA]
2. Esti mai bun sau la fel de bun ca si media celor care activeaza pe acel segment?
[PERFORMEAZA]

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2000 de vizualizari. MULTUMESC!

Spre 5000...

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Cat de cronofag este emailul? 5 idei pentru minimizarea timpului petrecut cu emailul

Am citit recent un articol despre faptul ca ATOS, ,are companie europeana de tehnologie, a schimbat focusul de la email la instant messaging si social media

M-a pus pe ganduri aceasta initiativa si apoi am evaluat cat timp petrec pentru verificarea emailului in fiecare zi. Si, da, e mult.
O sa listez mai jos cateva trucuri pe care am inceput sa le folosesc de curand, dar si altele pe care ar trebui sa le folosesc.
1. Nu mai activa notificarea imediata pentru emailuri.
2. Citeste emailurile dimineata, inainte de inceperea activitatii. Raspunde instant la cele care nu necesita mai mult de 60 de secunde.
3. Planifica doua sloturi de procesare a emailurilor in timpul zilei.
4. Daca folosesti o platforma de instant messaging, transeaza unele subiecte care necesita clarificari prin comunicare directa. Emailul este o comunicare asincrona.
5. Inchide clientul de email pe parcursul intalnirilor sau sedintelor.

Revin cu altele, pe masura ce ma voi convinge de eficacitatea lor.

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despre programatori

De la http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-am-ProgrammerI-have-no-life/241806149201604

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UML in embedded (II)

Here we go again.
I had a short talk today on how to document design.
I make now a short resume of the ideas.
All designs needs to document (from a perspective of a single software component) two main areas:
- static description
- behavioral description

For the first one, you need to imagine what is the layout of your SW Component (functions, variable, global or not). Let's call this class diagram. Additional, you have to catch in one picture which are the provided interfaces and which are the required interfaces. Let's call this component diagram.
If you imagine an engine, until now you depicted the size, shape and how the engine can be mounted in the car.
Then, please think about the behaviour of the SW component.
Imagine some scenarios based on use cases. This can be depicted using sequence diagrams.
Go further and describe special algorithms via activity diagrams.    Don't use for each and every flow, it makes it only hard to read.
If you model your system based on states, don't forget state machine diagrams. Here, there is plenty of literature to read about modeling system based on state machine diagrams.

Here you go, takes this steps and try to document your work. Jack Ganssle makes a nice review on a new book, about documenting software. It goes in the idea of writing beside code. Al Stavely’s new book, “Writing in Software Development,”

I will come up next month with some ideas about how to mix Doxygen and tools like UMLet to make nice documented SW components.

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Mentoring journey

It seems that once your are nominated a mentor for others, you end your trip as mentee and start another one as mentor.
This is not true.
It is just the next step of mentee-mentor equation.
I have read recently a post on HBR.org about mentorship and started to look back in my life how this is going on.


Mentorship is not always official, not always coming from HR department. In my case, I realized that I had a great mentor only after more than one year. He was able to guide me through decisions without doing it by himself. The other thing is that he was not pushed to be a mentor, it has been somehow facilitated by some chemistry between the persons.
Look for a mentor relationship even this is not coming through an oficial channel. Look for more than one mentor that can help you to progress. You can return the favor by supporting their initiatives with candid feedback and a little bit of evangelism, when fitting to own beliefs.

The more the mentor is up on the performance scale, the more he can guide easily the mentee through the career journey. Some things come up easily, as there are so many things the mentee didn't experienced. It's like a basket full of toys of all sorts. Giving this to a child with very few toys, he can find in the first hours many things maybe new. He will be passionate about some of the things and spend more time with these ones. Others toys might not be of interest at all, as others are already boring.

The other thing is that mentee cannot discriminate which toys are inside the basket from the beginning. It's a matter of try-and-error for her and a matter of guidance from mentor to reach the meaningful items from the first tries.

The other thing in this equation is the purpose of the journey. If this is clearly defined and there is enough fuel for this (that is motivation), than the journey is smooth and direct. I've seen good guys rocketing to top with a clear picture of what they want. Others, with comparable potential and less vision about their destination, struggle in their way and sometimes even fail to reach it. How come this fuel is so important? Why is not enough to have a great mentor? Just because the mentor is the facilitator, she cannot overcome the lack of will. It's like the old joke with the old lady who is helped to pass the street. The mentor who push you to do the passing without your will is not doing a good deed. It is all about you working in a team and getting the right help.


In the end, one can be in both positions in the same time, as the organization is behaving like a pipeline. Look to get more while helping the others coming from behind to catch up. The team you will be part of has the chance to be great. You, alone, have the chance to shine like the sun in desert.

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Un sac plin de cadouri sau de oferte?

Baietelul meu este un fervent urmaritor al reclamelor.
Astazi, dupa o reclama Billa, intreaba foarte natural
Mos Craciun ne aduce un sac plin cu cadouri sau un sac plin cu oferte?

!!!

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Cultura organizationala (III)

Cat de repede se schimba o cultura organizationala?

Nu chiar repede. In circa doi pana la patru ani, in functie de cine e motorul acestei schimbari si cum este structurata organizatia. O organizatie plata, cu putine nivele si manageri charismatici este mai agila si poate asimila schimbari culturale mai rapid.

In cazul organizatiilor piramidale, aceste schimbari sunt mai lente sau de deloc, pentru ca ajung foarte greu la nivelele care trebuie sa le asimileze. Cand eram mic, jucam un joc foarte amuzant, numit "telefonul fara fir". Eram asezati in rand si trebuia sa soptim la urechea celui de langa noi un cuvant, de multe ori complicat. Toata distractia era sa aflam la sfarsit ce a inteles ultimul din lista. Nu vi se pare la fel si in cazul organizatiilor piramidale? Daca iau in considerare si complexitatea mesajului care ar trebui sa fie transmis, imi pot lesne imagina cum poate fi distorsionata o asemenea initiativa. E mai simplu atunci cand cei din virful ierarhiei transmit mesajul direct celor la care trebuie sa ajunga. Acum e mai simplu ca inainte, exista conferinte telefonice, discutii directe prin videoconferinta, bloguri, emailuri.

E important daca cei din echipa de management impartasesc sincer valorile pe care le asuma cultura organizationala sau le sustin doar din necesitatea pastrarii jobului. Exista si contestatari sinceri ai unor schimbari de cultura organizationala, care sunt indeajunsi de verticali pentru a isi exprima de fiecare data parerea contrara. Ce-i de facut? Ei bine, eu cred ca acestia trebuie convinsi si expusi unor experiente pozitive ca urmare a unor schimbari partiale in directiile enuntate. Altfel, vor deveni pasivi-agresivi - sabotorii de maine din interiorul unei organizatii aparent sanatoase.

Despre motivele unei schimbari de cultura organizationala, intr-un alt post...

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Do we have the right education? What about our children?

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Why bother?

Managing a team of software engineers is easy. Or not?
Being a software engineer usually offers good enough compensation, even the opportunity to get a senior position in a company.

Then, why bother to be the manager of such a team? This is my first question to whom ever mentions that she/he wants to be the boss.
Do you want to be there for the money?
Do you want to be there for the fame?
Do you want to be there for the power?
Do you want to be there for others?
I don't know exactly why someone should look to be a manager. There is no standard answer. But, I strongly believe that you should question yourself when only one motivation arises for this job.

If your answer to first question is yes, then you should look elsewhere for a job. This is usually the first sign that you will consider to reach the bonus by the mean of the team members. Think about looking down, as well as looking up (that is to higher management).
If you look for fame, than look around to see something also in the dark. Shining is good, but there are gems hidden in the corners.
If you look for the power... Well, this is the tricky one. Are you sure that you don't have something in addition to make the winning pair? I would be careful to work with you otherwise.
If you are there for the others, then be sure you don't forget the business.

If you are there for the job, than
                                                                              Good luck!

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www.elefant.ro

Am cumparat de 2 ori de pe site si am prins reduceri faine.
Sper sa le mearga bine, imi place si site-ul.

Sunt carti, la promotie si pe alte site-uri, cum ar fi emag, dar nu e chiar asa de usor de navigat. In plus, reducerile sunt mai mici si la mai putine carti.

Citit placut!

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tECHNORATI DIN NOU

38U4YMAGKC4Y

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Adopting a tool

Introducing a tool in an organization of software developers is not an easy thing.You need money, you need a detailed plan, but overall you need to see the new tool working and producing for your organization.

Get a sponsor or support from all shareholders!
So before announcing the change, get the support of the shareholders in your organization. 
Not all of them are fans of changes, so try to have a sponsor with enough influence to make this change happen. I dont know if the guy should be the big boss, the most respected technical guy, a manager just promoted in a new position eager to change things. Decide for your self.
But don't start without enough support from shareholders.

Get some profit!
Nothing works without a profit.
A new tools should bring with it some profit, either financial or in quality. No tool will be adopted if the costs for adoption are extremely high. The financial controller is constantly looking to figures, if you don't. No tool adoption should have as a result a red bottom line.
If the costs of work are higher, than it should result at least an improvement of the quality.

Ensure a nice journey
Every new tools involves an effort of learning. It's not possible to learn it over night, even Steve Jobs would demand so.
Invest in trainings and track the progress in know-how improvement. A good plan is not enough if you are not following it.
Sometimes the tool is not enough.People need practice, sometimes in a controlled environment where they are allowed to fail big time. Make this possible. Programmers need a sandbox to improve their skills, to make happen their learning curve.
Practice together with your team and note down the feedback. Don't overreact when the new shiny tool is not perceived the same as you do.


Make the tool loveable!
People genuinely have different interests, hobbies, tastes. They are different. And they have to use the same approach. Even more, programmers are geeks and they like their own tool. Not necessary their own implementation, but
Before going to announce the change in the organization, you have to know what is the general mood. For instance, if you have very creative people, oriented to fashionable tools, please think a detailed approach about how to introduce a tool with a dusty interface.
If this is possible, let them propose the tool. You, as a manager, just define the main constraints, the objective that you need to reach with this new tool. Team will solve the problem and they will adopt easier the tool.
Doing this definition of the constraints, you need to be sure that you understand the needs. Double check with team members if the new way of doing things is solving the problem or is just changing the layout of activities.
Having this done, create the urge of adoption. Evangelize the benefits of changing the tool and underline hard the disadvantages in current situation. Get as many supporters as possible.
People don't necessary love what they understand, but what is having a decent degree of charisma. Take iPhone and tell me what is understandable in the effect iPhone generated in sales. It's more about what the user feels. Remember, we are speaking here about a tool. Tools needs nowadays charisma.

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iPlan - planificare strategica de business

M-am inscris in programul iPlan, menit sa imbunatateasca comportamentele de planificare strategica.
Impresia pe care o am pana acum este excelenta si va recomand celor interesati sa va inscrieti.
Chestionarele folosite si feedback-ul pe care l-am primit pana acum sunt foarte "profi" si se bazeaza pe instrumente recunoscute (Strategic driver, Markstrat). Puteti gasi descrierea programului aici.

Va recomand sa va inscrieti. Puteti afla lucruri foarte interesante.
Este organizat de The Network, o firma de consultanta in management si marketing care aduna manageri romani experimentati.

Proiectul isi propune sa ofere instrumentul de diagnoza catre 3300 de manageri romani, iar cca 1000 dintre ei vor participa la 2 zile de seminar. Totul este gratuit, prin finantarea Uniunii Europene. Pentru mine, proiectul este unul care arata cum ar trebui cheltuiti bani europeni cu folos pentru Romania. Voi reveni cu impresii dupa intoarcerea de la seminar, in decembrie, chiar inainte de sarbatori.

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New adress of blog // Adresa noua a blogului

Hey, readers!
I am moving to a new domain.
WWW.CARTENOUA.COM.
Soon, a new logo and new posts.
Also, a short newsletter on weekly basis, if someone is interested. I will start only if I can get 15 interested persons.

Starting with Monday, 6th of November.


=============================================================================
Dragii mei,
Am achizitionat un nou domeniu pentru blogul meu.
WWW.CARTENOUA.COM
In curand, un nou logo si postari noi pe teme de programare si angajari.
Planuiesc si un newsletter saptamanal, daca voi aduna macar 15 adrese de email ale unor persoane interesate.


Incepand de luni, 6 noiembrie pe diversele ecrane (laptop, iPhone, iPad, smartphone).

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Estimations (not agile)

Why are needed?
Simply because you also need a deadline from your builder when the house is finished. And for sure, you ask for a delivery date when you go to your tailor. Plus, you ask for a price. No deal is closed without a price indication and a delivery date.

Simple tricks to make it better:
1. Read down what you have to do
2. Understand it
3. Split it in pieces.
4. Write down the pieces and think how much would you spend for each.
4.a. You have do in it and can look back in the history. Put the figures there.
4.b. This is the first time you have to do this. Split it in more pieces and go back to step 4.
4.c You cannot escape from step 4.b. Use your intuition. How complicated does it seems?
                        Same other task : put the same effort as for that, plus the learning effort
                        Twice as complicated: twice the effort plus the learning effort.
                        Five time as complicated than what you did so far: ask for another task.
5. Think a little about risks: what can happen to prevent you for completing the task. Put some effort there (not for all risk you identify, only for half of the big ones).
If the risks are to high, ask for another task or tell this to manager.
6. Sum it up and see if you can reach the deadline.
If this is not possible, then see what is the delta missing: can you speed up and delivery in time or is basically impossible and should tell this to the guy who requested this.

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UML in embedded (I)

I say now a truism. Model based development will be the new quantum leap in software development in terms of productivity.
It surely takes more years to adopt UML in the development, but there is a clear path to this.

Some directions:

• code generation (hard constraints) and documentation.
• UML meta models are the basis of AUTOSAR standards. AUTOSAR is heavily supported by most of car manufacturers.
• UML and re-use of software should be good friends.
• Round trip engineering tools are more and more available for embedded and ease the re-use, as the design documents are more readable.

More post on this in the near future.

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Application development vs Kernels and drivers development

When speaking about how to develop software, one is usually making the difference between drivers, OS and rest of the application software.
It is always about different strategy in developing the software. The lower software layer have to be generic, scalable and easy to use, if possible. The developer is applying some paradigm, even defined by the OS itself and has to optimize the usage of the hardware. The primary customer of his application is the colleague next to him who will develop further the application


The application has slightly different constraints. It has to meet the expectations of the customer, as well as to implement non-functional requirements. Now, the customer is identified and the generic cases are not in the focus. One can argue that re-use of software is a trend now. A trend yes, but a primary focus very seldom.

Then, it is the pressure of delivery date. The generic development has some buffers in the timescale. The application has to meet the delivery date to customer. This is not easy to negotiate and it is part of the product to be delivered. The generic software is part of a strategy. We start early, it is nothing yet defined and there is no recipe how to do it.

This fight with uncertainty combined with the scarcity of information in what regards the new technology is giving the developers of basic software this aura of pioneers or medieval knights who are pushing the limits. The others, as harsh it might seem, are actually the bourgeois who are the core of society and they are keeping where there are the existing limits.

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mai este programarea o meserie elitista?

ai facut calculatoare... poti sa imi re-instalezi windowsul?
fa-mi si mie o configuratie buna ;)

Asa arata cultura ""populara" cand am terminat facultatea. Cum o fi acum? S-a schimbat oare perceptia?
Mai sunt absolventii de facultati tehnice favorizati ca statut? Cred ca inca sunt, prin prisma angajatorilor care curteaza studentii valorosi din anii mici.
Pe de alta parte, in urma cu 10-15 ani, programatorii erau un club restrans, care avea cunostinte bune de programare. Acum, pe urma democratizarii programarii prin "drag and drop", programare fara pointeri, PHP for dummies etc. programatorii sunt mai putin retrasi intr-un turn de fildes.

Voi ce parere aveti?

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Manager? Leader? Both?

Seth Godin has an interesting point here

The difference between management and leadership is widely discussed and certainly there are major topics where the difference is clear.

If you are a boss, think about how much you see yourself as a manager and how much as a leader. Then, try to capture feedback to understand if the others seem you in the same way. Put the feedback back into your own system and adjust yourself as described in theory of self regulated system. Look for your own equation.

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Democracy in software engineering?

Article first published as Software is Democratic on Technorati.

Maybe you have read "Funky Business". Two Swedish professors, Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjell Nordström. are writing about how information open more opportunities for less developed countries.
Internet access is cheap, the need for application is great and the offer is high. The quality can vary, but this happens in all the cases, no matter the origin of the author. Now, the most significant competitive advantage is the intelligence of the software engineer.
The engineering is democratizing in what regards software. With a decent speaking of English, a decent internet connection and anyone can challenge the old markets. MIT is publishing courses on their website Many other universities do the same. Internet is full of tutorials and courses. So the information is easy to grasp and use at will
One can argue that you need licenses for the tools. This is partly true. On one hand, there are plenty of frameworks for free. You need a few bucks to be able to publish apps on Apple Store. Or the well known platforms of download, where you can offer your products.
As well, the pressure from emerging markets can be seen in highly specialized markets. Telecom, automotive electronics are now produced all over the world. The development locations are spread in the same way. A few months ago, Bosch opened a new development center in Vietnam. How do you find this? I find it as a natural step to globalization.
The funny thing is that salaries in developed countries are not going down, even with this equality of chances. This is, IMHO, due to large increase in demand of applications. Suddenly, you can sell thousands of applications on web stores. Nevertheless, compared to 10 years ago, I do have at least 5 devices which embed software. The new TV set I would like to buy has even WiFi included. My fridge has a complicated algorithm of freezing. The oven can be set in all kind of programs. I don't have an iPhone. Still, my phone has internet connection, camera and calendar included. I expect that average gadgets do have more lines of code than AppleII computer.

So, there is room for everyone. The next thing will be to transfer all this programming mindset from single processors to multiprocessors. Let's see how this will change the world.

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Unit test

Do programmers test? If yes, do they think that testing is somehow dishonoring them?
Do great programmers have a great testing technique? YES.

I noticed that most of the programmers hate to test their work before integration in a bigger product.

I will come back to testing, attitude and tools.

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1000 vizualizari. Multumesc!

1000 views. Thank you!

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Dennis Ritchie passed away

Having this large media exposure of the Steve Jobs, the death of Dennis Ritchie seemed almost unnoticed

A few things about him you can find here, for the ones who did not read the famous K&R C book.

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Can you keep your talents?

The war for talent is not over. It's just started.
Talents are hard to get and even harder to keep.

I wrote about ciclicity and pipelines. Each team has a certain development cycles. And each team member has its own development cycle. If these cycles are overlapped, than everyone is happy and the team is strong. Each individual has a different development cycle.
My theory is that we have x types of development cycles
1. High potential - they have very short development cycles (2-3 years), they need to change jobs to fulfill their potential,
Put them where there are the most challenging tasks and keep always with a potential lateral move available, in order to give room for a promotion.
You cannot keep them more than one development cycle in your team, unless you have several senior positions.
2. Good potential - first one or two levels are usually quickly passed. When they are quite young, you cannot discriminate quite good between a high potential and a good potential.
Usually, they are the stars in your team. Don't lie to your self, I haven't seen many high potentials in one place. Put all the trust in them and support them in their development. Should be fine to keep them in two or three development cycles. For this ones, the progress in the career is essential, so they feel part of the success.

3. The Reliable- my best friend. The guys I usually like at interviews. I highly appreciate the first two categories, but even more these ones. I could compare them with middle class. Sweden has an excellent middle class, therefore their standard of life is high.
To form a great team, look for good reliable engineers. They invent as long as it is needed. They remain in the team for 3-4 development cycles. Here you find most of the experts, most of the nice team members.

4. Kick the guy - my enemy. You don't need them. For some strange reasons, you might even hired them. Or your predecessor. The main thing with this kind of people is that they don't realize what they are good at. And insist to be promoted, even they don't do much in their role.
You can keep them forever. And ever. And 3-4 years after you are tired to keep them.

So keep in mind a few simple questions when thinking about the talents in your team
Can you keep him more than one development cycle?
How many levels you can ensure in the team under your responsibility?
Do you search for a new position for him or you let him freely choose?

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A good analysis of Iasi market for programmers

Andrei Ciubotaru is making a good analysis of Iasi market on his blog
It's also a little bit of self advertisement, but I reckon really good information there for the possible investors.

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Embedded is not dead. It is very much alive and growing.

Michael Barr is a columnist and embedded guru, hosting a newsletter and organizing Embedded Software Boot Camp.
He posted today a special issue of the newsletter, looking to the growth of embedded sector in U.S. My impression is that embedded is not dead at all not only in US, but also in Europe and Asia. Looking back to one of the older posts, I can tell you that nowadays these engineers are hard to get. 
My friends working in Europe constantly get phone calls from agency with plenty of vacancies. I know some companies that are able to fill their positions not earlier than 6 months. Speaking now only about embedded sector.
I am joining the idea of Michael Barr and I will create a section with possible job offers coming from companies who would like to hire in Romania these kind of profile. In case someone is interested, please send an email.


PS: Don't lough, maybe I am ridiculous with this initiative. This is only a little step to help the industry where I make a living (in Romanian, I could say "mananc o paine alba)".

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How to describe the equation of your team.

Depending on your business case, you can imagine a high fluctuation or a great retention. You never know what can happen tomorrow. I get used to this in the last years of crisis.
Maybe you remember my opinion that the teams are fluid. Having a great team at a certain moment in time, does not guarantee you that this is forever. Market is changing, people are getting older, have kids, breakup, meet a new technology, a new company is aggressively recruiting in your yard.
Suddenly, the carefully crafted edifice is down and you have no clou why the hack is not working anymore what you considered as perfect.
Your job, as manager of a bunch of software engineers, is to think what could happen and avoid the possible obstacles: change before the team notice the need to change, remove some smaller obstacles, bring in fresh air when the pace is getting slower.
The equation you wont write. But you should be able to tell it to your self and resolve it, when need it.
 

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Interviewing software developers

A summary translation of two older posts about interviews.

I had tens of interviews with young software developers. The market in my town is quite hard and I had to imagine which types of candidates I could have.
Some of the candidates have a genuine interest in money, others in having a great career, but there is a significant number of people who are interested in "software engineering". They are not coders (see rent-a-coder), they are looking to implement something that is really working.
Some of them start with embedded in second or third year,  crafting a small PCB, they stay nearby a passionate professor. They continue with participation to various contests, sometime they are hired even before graduation, still keeping the crafting passion.

In a few years, you find them in the core team of the project. They are quite happy as they know what they like and, due to nice advance in career, a little bit more relaxed related to their future.
My humble opinion is that they enjoy what they like and don't have to go home to practice their hobby. They come with most innovative ideas, they are change agents in their organization. No wonder about that. I have quite a lot colleagues like this and it's always a pleasure to work in such a team.

Nevertheless, there is a significant number of people, have a great potential, but lacking the perspective about their life. They start great, seems to break records and suddenly they are stucked. They start to doubt about the organization they are part in, but never come with concrete alternative. They are not at all attached emotionally by the team, more likely driven by a rough idea. It's very surprising to see them collecting a row of failures, like you would look to a BMW M5 which cannot overcome a Dacia Logan on the highway. On top, the BMW is pumping out smoke like an old train.

• There is no recipe to identify the people born talents which will die as a big hope. But, I always look to this criteria when deciding about a candidate. It is same important as what he knows.

This is one criteria. Others would be

• Gifted engineers do make the difference in projects.
• You cannot make a team out to "out-of-ordinary" guys. It is a tautology. Still, it is not evident for everyone.
• It is hard to wait for "perfect fit". Still, the compromises you have to make need to be acceptable for long run of the team.
• Consider, if possible, the next 2-3 moves of the person. Imagine the person in the next job, either as expert or managerial. After all, a manager should be an acceptable chess player.
• Look for recommendation. If you know people that could give you hints, you gain two things. First, you know better the candidate. Then, when recommendation come from team members, you make them responsible and they will work for the integration of the new comer.
• Don't look for the best candidate from know-how point of view. The best employee is the one who is integrated first and can offer great results on short and medium time-frame.
• If you value the Pygmalion effect, it really works.
• For a great candidate, don't give up after the first No. Always consider the second.

Hopefully, this post is not too intricate. Please give feedback if you have used the idea.

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How often do you listen?

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Cultura organizationala (II)

Programatorii adera mai greu la o cultura din pricina parerilor puternice pe care le au, de obicei. Fiecare creator de software isi asuma paternitatea ideilor si sunt mai opaci la adoptarea uniforma a unor principii.
Poate aceasta este una din caracteristicile unei culturi organizationale pentru organizatii de ingineri programatori.
O alta nuanta vine din timpul de adoptare si cine impinge adoptarea unei asemenea culturi. In functie de distanta de putere dintre manager si ingineri, in functie de numarul de oameni care adopta activ aceasta cultura, cultura organizationala este traita sau pictata in PPT-uri.

Citeste si :
Cultura organizationala ( I )

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Sports in business management

I strongly believe that sports can show to managers more than how to entertain people.

Biggest ideas that can come from sports to business are related to team organization and team culture.
This guy, Geovanny Romero, is posting an article about how innovation can be driven as the preparation for a big competition.

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Cultura organizationala (I)

Este un set de obiceiuri.
Pe vremuri, i s-ar fi spus obiceiul locului...
Cei care vin, daca nu sunt in numar prea mare, nu ar trebui sa o schimbe intr-o perioada mai mica de un an.
Evolueaza constant, influentata si de mediul in care activeaza echipa.

Mai vorbim despre asta!

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How many and which changes should a freshman do?

A fresh graduates brings with him dreams. Not all dreams may come true.
Some of the dreams even does not have to come true.

How to decide which ones are worth to be lived and which not? A little thinking and some try and error.
There are two types of try and error. When you try big and you can make a difference and when you try small and don't risk to much.
Depending on your personality, you can assume the risk to try big and have a quantum leap. You dont think too much, simply you implement your dream!
Or, you take a small instance of your dream and try to apply in a controlled environment. Then, you can make an analysis and decide.
So, if you are an young programmer and you would like to make a change, think for a moment which type are you. If you can cope with risk and failure quite well, than try big changes. Even you are tough guy, don't do it so often. Imagine the context switching lag in your life, you might loose too much time in context switching.
If you are a guy who really likes to plan his life, than think twice and experiment without changing everything at once.

See you in next assignment!

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Org charts

Seth Godin publica un post interesant despre cum arata diverse org charturi in organizatii legate de soft

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Pipelines (Conductele)

• Cat de lungi sau scurte sunt ciclurile de viata ale unei echipe?
• Cum este legat ciclul de viata al unui produs de ciclul de viata al unei echipe?
• Cand trebuie reinventata echipa si cand trebuie reinventat produsul?

Nimeni nu poate prevedea cu exactitate ciclul de viata al unei echipe. Cele 4 faze in inchegarea unei echipe iti pot da o indicatie destul de buna despre cand ajung la apogeu. Fazele despre care vorbesc sunt Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing. Tuckman a fundamentat aceasta teorie inca din 1965 (vezi Wikipedia)

In principiu, nu am vazut oameni ce nu se cunosc in prealabil si care sa formeze o echipa intr-un interval mai mic de 6-9 luni. Oamenii care nu sunt intr-o echipa, ci sunt parte a unui grup in prealabil pot, probabil, duce intervalul la 4-6 luni.
Echipele competitive se aseaza intr-un an, cel mai probabil.

Dupa faza Performing, o echipa va atinge nivelul de platou pentru o vreme. Acolo performeaza excelent, pentru o perioada mai lunga sau mai scurta Apoi performanta scade, din pricina intereselor divergente ale membrilor ei. Cu cat interesele converg mai mult timp, cu atat performanta va ramane ridicata.
Eu aseman aceasta stare cu o conducta. In momentul in care performerii excelenti vor dori sa faca o schimbare, echipa are nevoie de oameni la fel de motivati, cu potential la fel de bun, care sa le ia locul. Daca in echipa este alimentata cu oameni foarte motivati inainte de vreme, atunci se creaza o stare de tensiune care nu este benefica. Daca cei mai buni nu isi gasesc o alta provocare, atunci cei care vin din urma nu se pot exprima.

Functionarea instalatiilor de apa se bazeaza pe cateva legi simple. Presiunea, viteza de curgere si densitatea lichidului sunt valorile care influenteaza aceasta functionare. Daca asimilam presiunea cu numarul celor care au potential foarte bun si sunt noi in echipa, densitatea lichidului cu valoarea echipei si dorinta de a evolua in joburi noi, iar viteza de curgere cu ciclicitatea unor proiecte si momentele in care pot iesi din rol unii din membrii echipei, atunci putem caracteriza o echipa si evolutia ei.

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Jobs' wisdom

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/08/steve_jobss_ultimate_lesson_fo.html

ideile lui jobs despre arta si inginerie...

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Story telling during interviews

Your are looking for
an occupation, a place to exercise your passion
                          vs .
Looking for money only as a side effect.

Tell a story every time you go to an interview. This is a great opportunity to put a relevant information on the table. Make it related to the job.
Explain how you would imagine the activity in the next role.
The interviewer will try to understand you, you take over the pace in the interview. This is not an easy thing. Practice makes it perfect.

Listen how the story affects the interviewer! If the story is not catching, give to interviewer the opportunity to place other questions. Do not try to finish the story, unless you have the audience focused.

Good luck!

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Training tehnic in Romania

Piata de training tehnic e mica in Romania. Din cauza jucatorilor: cativa jucatori mari care furnizeaza training prin metode interne, din cauza jucatorilor mici care nu au bani de investit sau folosesc tehnologii unde trainingul este moka (java, MS etc) sau ieftin.
Seminarii de distribuit informatii exista.Sustinute de firme mari care produc tehnologii. Sau sunt initiate de entuziasti, in cadrul unor programe fie de tipul "Code Camp" (felicitari celor care il organizeaza!).

Aparent, suntem intr-un cerc vicios. Firmele mari, care ofera traininguri pentru produsele lor, nu activeaza in Romania intr-o asemenea masura. Exceptie fac Microsoft, Oracle etc. Trainingurile sunt foarte directionate si nu sunt disponibile oricui.
Firme mici care sa traiasca din training doar nu sunt prea multe. Poate nu sunt deloc.
De asemenea, am observat ca un numar de companii de training nu au mai actualizat calendarul de traininguri pentru 2011. Criza care a micsorat substantial bugetele de training a lovit cu putere in afacerile neconsolidate.

Un alt fapt care individualizeaza piata locala.: Romania este o piata tanara de inginerie IT. Daca este un subiect trendy, oamenii invata singuri sau de pe internet. Nu exista o cultura a trainingului, a investitiei individuale sau a intreprinzatorilor mici.
De asemenea, exista in universitati cativa poli de interes reprezentati de profesori care sunt preocupati de un subiect anume si in jurul carora se aduna ceva studenti entuziasti. (despre experientele mele in aceasta directie, mai tarziu).

Cam acestea in ceea ce priveste oferta. Cred cu tarie ca informatia exista, dar nu are indeajuns de multa adresabilitate.

De ce spun asta?

Cu riscul de rigoare, imi permit o categorisire a angajatilor si studentilor, cu oprire la borna de 35 de ani.
Studenti entuziasti - invata singuri si sunt ajutati mai mult de profesori. Nu apuca sa intre in traininguri prea mult.
Studenti onesti - isi iau examenele si mai stiu cate ceva
Studenti lenesi - ingroasa randurile somerilor.

Angajati onesti --> urmeaza trendurile, sunt de incredere, apreciaza major trainingurile.
Angajati peste medie --> se pregatesc singuri, in special din pasiune, apreciaza cand li se ofera un training de calitate si sunt dezamagiti cand sunt trimisi la un training de calitate slaba. Atentie, manageri! Anulati trainingurile slabe pentru acesti oameni, ii demotiveaza.
Angajati talentati (cei care nu trebuie niciodata sa isi caute un loc de munca) --> au, de obicei, o agenda personala de training si stiu foarte bine ce vor. Sa ii ascultam...

Manageri onesti - executa eficient procedurile. Se bazeaza pe organizatie si organizatia pe ei. Ofera trainingurile cunoscute. Daca ar fi sa compar cu mersul la restaurant, ar comanda friptura de vita cu garnitura de legume la gratar, papanasi si apa plata.
Manageri peste medie - Sunt eficienti in executarea procedurilor legate de traininguri. Daca necesitatile identificate de ei se potrivesc cu oferta, atunci trainingurile se intampla cu siguranta. Daca sunt traininguri care sunt importante, dar nu exista, cauta in afara, cauta pe cineva care sa il creeze. In general, echipele lor sunt bine instruite si nu sunt ultimii care afla despre ceva.
Managerii talentati - sunt cei care definesc agendele de training si care seteaza trenduri in organizatiile lor. Daca au organizatii mici, pot sa isi imagineze diverse forme inovative de training (video conferinta in loc de o zi la hotel, daca trainerul este departe). Sunt acei manageri care au inteles ca trebuie sa investeasca in fiecare an pentru a avea o crestere de productivitate. Nu am intalnit pe unul care sa le aiba pe toate. Dar in parte, am observat aceste comportamente la oameni din mai multe industrii.

Cei care sunt in media categorisirii de mai sus, ar trebui sa fie de fapt piata celor care au nevoie de training si care sustin o piata normala. Nu stiu cati sunt, dar in categoria celor talentati sunt putini, iar studentii lenesi rareori intra in aceasta categorie.

Concluzia mea este ca trainingurile tehnice in Romania nu sunt usor de obtinut. Nu din cauza lipsei trainerilor, ci a lipsei unei piete adevarate. Nu pot face o estimare a bugetelor totale de training disponibile in aceasta directie, dar nu cred ca se compara nici pe departe cu cele disponibile pentru soft skills, vanzari etc.
 Deci, potrivit mecanismelor pietei libere, majoritatea firmelor ofera traininguri ca o parte minoritara din totalitatea activitatilor lor.


mai jos, listez cateva linkuri pe care le-am accesat in timp ce m-am documentat pentru unul sau altul dintre traininguri
http://www.leconline.ro/
http://www.cursuri-microsoft.ro/
http://www.rabs.ro/
http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/show_desc.redirect?redir_type=36&p_url=%26p_search_category_id%3D%26p_search_format%3D1
http://www.telacad.ro/
http://www.omnitraining.ro/ro/training/?curs=java-se-introducere
http://www.anis.ro/category/proiecte/training-proiecte/
http://www.wall-street.ro/slideshow/Careers/50480/Cum-vad-managerii-din-industrie-piata-de-training-din-Romania-in-2009.html

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Ciclicitate

[Update 1 Sep]
iaca' ce zic:
Istoria e ciclica.
Exista cicluri istorice. De exemplu, in ceea ce priveste accesibilitatea sistemelor de transmisie a informatiei si a stirilor.

• in anii 1800 a aparut posta care a fost accesibila maselor.
• in anii 1900 a aparut o posta democratica, care distribuia inclusiv ziare in mod sistematic
• in anii 1990 au aparut pe scara larga emailul si aplicatiile de instant messaging (cum e yahoo messenger).
• in 2010 toata lumea trimite poze pe internet si scrie pe facebook. Nu mai vorbesc de bloguri, ca il cititi.

Transmiterea informatiilor influnteaza major ciclurile istorice. Acum, acestea sunt mai rapide si ne schimba viata major. Probabil ca pentru cineva nascut in 1815, nu au fost transformari majore in viata pe care a reusit sa o surprinda.  Eu am fost fascinat de povestile despre cum s-a electrificat Romania si s-a pus difuzor in anii 60.
Fiii mei vor asculta cum internetul era o strada noroioasa in 2000, cand aveam internet doar in camin si comunicam pe mIRC. Fratele meu avea acces la un server de email la liceu, iar eu scriam din borcanele de la AC din Iasi. Comunicare in timp real. Scriam trei scrisori gratis intr-o zi si primeam si raspuns.
Fiul meu vede primele filme la cinema in 3D.
Asta despre mass-media.

Ciclurile istorice sunt din ce in ce mai rapide. Cel putin la nivelul perceptiei noastre.

Eu cred ca trebuie sa ne pregatim de o viata in care ne adaptam in mod constant la schimbare si vom ajunge la 2-3 schimbari majore in cursul unei vieti. Invatare continua pe parcursul vietii...
Cine poate intui urmatorul ciclu are castig de cauza.
Cine il inventeaza, cum a facut Steve Jobs, ramane in legenda.

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Nu e fain cu Blue Air

13 august:
Am zburat ieri cu BlueAir pentru prima data.
Am fost dezamagit de felul in care sunt tratati pasagerii. Nu stiu de ce, stewardesele au o atitudine de cucoane oparite. Se pun reguli stricte, cum ca pentru ne-efectuarea check-in-ului online se taxeaza 10 euro. In schimb, cand am ajuns la aeroportul din Bacau, mi-au spus ca mi-ar da ei alte locuri decat cele de la check-in.
Bineinteles, ca toate duduile au fost suparate cand le-am spus ca imi doresc chiar locurile pentru care am platit si in avion a aparut un nene cu un alt boarding pass pentru doamna care avea locurile suprapuse cu ale mele.
In afara de pretul mic, Blue Air pare a fi un fel de autobuz care mergea pe vremuri la tara cu oamenii pe scara si unde soferul era un mic Dumnezeu.

UPDATE de la intoarcere:
A mai fost una. Dupa ce ca am platit ca 50 RON pentru a alege locurile, bineinteles ca nu le-am primit pe cele pe care le-am platit.
Aviz amatorilor de platit servicii de care nu aveti nevoie!
Deodata, serviciile de la Tarom nu mai par asa de negre, desi stewardesele sunt mai misto la Blueair.

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Software Developer and Football Player

This is the first translation of Romanian articles. Enjoy...


Being Software Developer makes you consume more neurons than in others. One could see it as liberal art, as Joel is telling us. Technology is constantly changing, new ideas have to be brought, new programming paradigms are coming up. All these are consuming a software developer and, if you are not a kind of Maldini, to actually make engineering until your 50s, it happens that you are looking for a management job, open a business, go for some theory, anything that could keep you in a position which is not include 8-10 hours per day in front of the monitor.


If you are an average software developer, you need to make a good effort in the first jobs to get some experience. This should save your ass in the area 35-40 years, when the hungry young wolves and new technologies are coming from behind. For instance, why to use a code generator when you could decently write the same code, maybe with better quality. 20 years ago, the same story happened with ASM and C programming. It was always more controllable the output of ASM code.

Same happens with football players. They get a good contract and start some savings for bad days. If a new coach comes, a new playing system is implemented and they might not have a place in the first team. Eventually, one could go to a smaller team, with not so demanding playing system. This is translated in "Software developer goes to a smaller company, where his experience is valuable and the processes or new tools are not enforced."

We are not speaking about great software developers. They are covered. There is always some one to pay this talent. In 2008, Rivaldo had a good salary in Greece at the end of the career. In 2011, Roberto Carlos has a great wage in Russia, 5 years after he left Real Madrid.


Looking forward for comments!

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English version

Starting with September 2011, I will publish some articles also in English.

looking forward for your comments there.
Also, I am planning to translate one or another articles currently available only in Romanian.

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Moldova implineste 20 ani de cand e tara

Un clip foarte simpatic de la Jurnal Tv Chisinau.




Mie mi-a placut...

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Traininguri pentru programatori

  Voi scrie in urmatoarele 3 saptamani un articol referitor la urmatoarele subiecte legate de traininguri.

 Tipuri de traininguri oferite programatorilor: tehnice si de dezvoltare personala.

Oferta de traininguri in Romania

Oferta de traininguri in lume
Ce fel trainguri apreciaza programatorii, cum sunt receptate trainingurile "nedorite"

ce asteapta managerii de la un training si ce asteapta programatorii


Iar in luna septembrie voi reveni cu un post pe tema programatorii ca si artisti.



Daca sunteti interesati, folositi cu incredere optiunea 'Follow by email' din dreapta si adaugati-va adresa de email.

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Cum se spune la...

La Chisinau, programatorilor li se spune programisti.
Din ruseste, dar suna foarte interesant. Ar fi trebuit sa redenumesc blogul despre programisti.

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Interviuri cu ingineri (2)

Promiteam in urma cu ceva timp ca voi publica din invataturile pe care le-am tras din sesiunea de angajari de anul acesta.

Ce pot sa spun:
- oamenii talentati fac diferenta in proiecte;
- nu se poate sa faci o echipa numai din oameni de tip "out-of-ordinary". E o tautologie, dar e lucrurile evidente nu sunt aplicate intotdeauna.
- este dificil sa astepti pentru "perfect fit". Compromisurile, in schimb, trebuie sa fie acceptabile pentru echipa.
- angajarile ar trebui facute, ca la sah, cu 2-3 mutari inainte. Adica, sa consideri si urmatoarele posibile 2-3 insarcinari, fie tehnic, fie de management.
- cei care sunt deja "on board" fac cele mai bune recomandari in momentul in care sunt responsabilizati. Chiar mai mult, daca se simt parte din decizie.
- nu intotdeauna cel mai bun om este cea mai buna alegere pentru un job. Cel mai potrivit este cel care se integreaza cel mai rapid si ofera cele mai bune rezultate pe termen scurt si mediu.
- daca te astepti sa aiba efect efectul Pygmalion, chiar functioneaza.
- nu accepta primul NU dupa o oferta. accepta-l intotdeauna pe al doilea.

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Talent management in Romania

Nu am o concluzie. E mai mult o pasiune deocamdata.

Americanii au dezvoltat o teorie intreaga. Eu sunt la primele pagini in aceasta teorie.

Va recomand cateva randuri despre cum se raporteaza companiile la angajari. Una dintre opinii este

Hiring is too important to be left to HR.

Sunt un fan al acestei idei. Managerii care se implica in angajari vor avea echipe echilibrate si implicarea membrilor echipei. Sigur ca da, nu sunt perfecti, poate vor sa caute doar anumite profile. Dar ca si concept/idee/fir calauzitor, HR-ul este furnizor de servicii de consultanta si nu factorul de decizie - "driving force".

Una dintre experientele personale pe care le-am avut a fost ca oamenii talentati se raporteaza mai usor la un viitor job atunci cand discuta/negociaza cu viitorul manager si nu cu HR-ul. Oferta este personalizata, se clarifica anumite asteptari sau temeri si se pun bazele unui atasament fata de echipa.

Voi reveni cu mai multe posturi pe aceasta tema.

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Din nou despre sport si echipe

Talent.
&
Echipa.
&
Stiluri de joc.
&
Motivatie.
=
REZULTATE.

Din nou, o postare in formatul caracteristic.
Nu poti sa disconsideri, in orice afacere te-ai afla, influenta majora a talentului in rezultatele unei echipe. Am auzit si chiar am aplicat, din pacate, formule simpliste in care un om poate fi inlocuit de alt om in orice pozitie a echipei. Sau, ca doua proiecte sunt similare.

In opinia mea, orice echipa incepe macar cu un talent care se extrage din multimea oamenilor. Orice proiect de succes, orice idee trebuie sustinuta de o suma de talente care este egala sau mai mare decat 1.
Managementul talentului reprezinta o suita intreaga de teorii. Cum sa il atragi (de ce sa intre un om deosebit in echipa ta?), cum sa il dezvolti (fiecare talent, chiar si cele mai mari, trebuie slefuite), cum sa il motivezi (de ce sa imi pun tot talentul in echipa ta?) si cum sa il tii conectat la echipa respectiva (este talentat, deci e foarte posibil sa fie destui care sa il remarce si sa incerce sa il coopteze in echipa lor). Nu am citit destul pentru a teoretiza, dar cred ca orice afacere (mai mica sau mai mare) trebuie sa aiba grija de talentele pe care le atrage. Acum voi face si paralela cu sportul. Un tip talentat poate fi baza unei echipe de succes. Voi da un exemplu fumat, dar sugestiv: Gheorghe Hagi. A fost baza echipei din 1994. Pare sa fi fost un succes.

Dar un tip talentat nu este de ajuns. Este necesara o echipa in jurul lui. O echipa unita, care sa lucreze in aceeasi directie. Ce s-ar intampla daca echipa din jurul lui nu ar sustine talentul respectiv? Probabil ce s-a intamplat la Dinamo anul trecut (in 2010-2011). O echipa care l-a continut pe unul din cei mai buni jucatori din campionat (Torje), care a avut unul din cele mai bune atacuri, nu a reusit sa incheie mai sus de locul 6. Indeajuns de prost pentru a fi catalogat ca un esec. In schimb, Otelul Galati, o echipa fara vedete deosebite in teren, cu doua talente in zona management (Marius Stan) si antrenorat (Dorinel Munteanu) a reusit, contrar tuturor asteptarilor, sa devina campioana. Echipa conteaza. Echipa acopera imperfectiunile fiecaruia. Echipa ajuta sa mergi mai departe cand esti obosit, sau demotivat sau nu stii ce sa faci.

Nu exista o reteta a echipei. Conteaza cine este in echipa. O sa numesc asta stiluri de joc. Exista echipe formate in jurul unui singur om, care se prabusesc atunci cand acesta nu mai are energia de a duce echipa mai departe. Exista echipe ce sunt formate si raman pe loc. Performeaza foarte bine, au rezultate. Dar ii gasesti in acelasi format si peste 3 ani. Asta inseamna ca roluri si performanta. Exista echipe in care oamenii se completeaza si se dezvolta unii pe altii. Echipele acestea apar ca un fractal. Acestea dezvolta interior motivatia de a progresa.

Motivatia poate face de multe ori diferenta intre o echipa medie si o echipa extraordinara. Daca fiecare membru stie de ce face ceea ce face si ca impreuna gasesc o motivatie de a realiza un proiect sau business, atunci e o echipa de vis. Managerul unei asemenea echipe nu are nevoie sa verifice in detaliu. Nu ii este frica si nu are nevoie sa isi acopere spatele. Motivatia este acolo. Oamenii au succes si intra in cercul vicios pozitiv. Produc REZULTATE la rand.

Am citit de curand despre succesul Barcelonei cu LaMasia. The Economist a publicat un articol despre successul lor. Este tradus si in romana de Money Express. Ei vorbesc despre ideea de echipa si modul in care acest lucru este educat de la cea mai frageda varsta.

Enjoy!

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Inapoi de la Chisinau

Am fost saptamana asta pentru 2 zile la Chisinau. Pe scurt, am inteles impresia de haos pe care o creaza Romania strainilor. Bazat pe birocratia contabila din Romania, am cerut o factura la restaurant. A durat o zi sa fie emisa, pe o hartie super securizata. La sfarsit, mi s-a cerut sa stampilez si eu... Surpriza, nu era posibil. Daca pentru un roman chestia asta a parut irationala, imi inchipui cum par taxele si procedurile noastre strainilor.

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Outsourcing vs. creatie de produse. Lohn vs. linie vestimentara.

Industria de software in Romania.

Similara cu industria textila bazata pe lohn care producea in 2000 pentru Armani.

Pandita pe termen lung de capcana cresterii costurilor in defazaj cu cresterea productivititatii.

Lipsita de agresivititatea chinezilor. Vezi articolul din Ziarul Financiar.

Lipsita de numarul impresionant de ingineri din Bangalore, Mumbay etc.

Amenintata masiv de exodul inginerilor romani in vestul Europei.

Industria de software din Romania este in mare parte asemanatoare celei de textile de acum 10-15 ani. Avem o multime de programatori, relativ ieftini, care sunt capabili sa implementeze specificatii diverse: web-applications, telecom, billing, automotive, baze de date, banking etc.

In principiu, zone in care investitiile sunt relativ mici (licente, servere etc.) si unde putem avea acces la business fara a implica reputatie construita in zeci de ani.

Produse romanesti de marca sunt putine in aceasta zona si au de infruntat o concurenta acerba. Avem antivirusi, ceva solutii pentru servere de email, probabil si alte cateva zeci de solutii mai mici. Dar, in mare parte, suntem angajati pentru companii straine care fac business acolo si implementarea aici.

Suna cunoscut? In 2000, aveam zeci de mii de confectioneri care faceau haine pentru Armani, United Collors of Benetton, H&M etc. Sa-i numaram acum, probabil ca au ramas un sfert. Asta ma duce la o a doua analogie.

Cresterea costurilor cu forta de munca.

Confectioneri cu 100 de dolari nu mai exista in Romania. Au ramas cei care fac o treaba mai complicata, bineinteles platiti o idee mai bine, totusi in zona salariului minim. Si firmele care supravietuiesc incearca sa produca si sub marca proprie, modele proprii.

In fiecare an apare o firma de leasing de personal care prinde un contract grozav de mentenanta, outsourcing sau ce o mai fi si incepe sa recruteze agresiv de la companiile existente pe piata. O vreme, lucrul acesta a fost benefic, pentru ca a adus salariile din Romania la un nivel bun, care nu a mai lasat pe fiecare inginer sa plece in strainate imediat.

Este o piata libera, dar fiecare episod de felul acesta are un efect pervers asupra medianei pietei. Presiunea financiara nu e compensata de o crestere a productivitatii, nici de investitii in formarea programatorilor pe tehnologii noi.

Ce cred eu ca influenteaza pe termen lung industria?

Bazat doar pe companiile locale, industria de software nu poate evolua dincolo de un anumit nivel de maturitate. Nu avem acces la tehnologii corporate, la contracte, la finantare.

Bazat doar pe companiile de outsourcing, industria de software nu poate evolua dincolo de un anumit nivel de maturitate. Nu exista interesul de dezvolta competente de management de produs, vanzare, competente de ingineria cerintelor.

Bazat pe multinationale care se stabilesc aici si aduc tehnologie, industria de software nu poate evolua dincolo de un anumit nivel de maturitate. Nu exista cerere pentru management al produselor direct de aici, chiar daca nu exista acelasi nivel cu cei din outsourcing. Nu se deleaga complet responsabilitatea produselor. Sa ne uitam la Renault, care este producatorul Dacia. Modelele nu sunt facute in totalitate in Romania. Desi, prin centrul de proiectare din Bucuresti, gradul de implicare a inginerilor de pe aici e mult mai mare decat pentru Logan, probabil.

Bineinteles, nu e nici usor, nici ieftin sa faci o suita de aplicatii si sa intri pe o piata globala.

E insa diferenta intre leader si follower, intre a controla piata si a cere "sa ni se dea".

Agresivitatea chinezilor e proverbiala. Cred ca fura de-a dreptul tehnologie. Dar, apoi, continua dezvoltarea. Ce ziceti de Huawei, ZTC? Dar de HTC? Acum 20 de ani produceau echipamente pentru Nokia, Erricson, Cisco etc. Acum sunt jucatori globali. ZTC a urcat pe locul 4-5 in topul producatorilor de telefoane mobile. HTC concureaza de la egal la egal cu iPhone.

e interesant ca au aparut jucatori romani care produc in China produse proiectate aici. Ati vazut eReaderul si smartPhone-ul de la AllView? Nu e no. 1 in ceea ce priveste calitatea. Dar e OK. Si poate vinde unor clienti mai putin pretentiosi.

Romania nu are o masa de absolventi de aceeasi magnitudine ca si India. Nici nivelul universitar care se poate gasi in Bangalore. Sau in Mumbay. Dar poate fi competitiva prin apropierea geografica si culturala de economia europeana. Daca nu dorim sa fim mana lunga si executanta, acest avantaj geo-strategic, cum ar spune Emil Constantinescu, trebuie fructificat la maxim prin crearea de business cu companii europene.

Bineinteles, este si reversul acestei medalii. Pentru specialisti, nu exista granite. Bineinteles ca vei urmari o oferta in zona Londrei sau a Frankfurtului cu un salariu triplu sau cvadruplu decat in Romania. Si pentru average Joe e usor sa obtina o oferta in Germania, Irlanda, Spania, atunci cand are un CV rezonabil pentru piata din Romania. Accepta o oferta la mediana pietei locale sau intr-o zona defavorizata (de exemplu, la cca 200km de un oras mare, unde localnicii nu se inghesuie) si castiga cel putin dublu decat in Romania, cu servicii si societate avansate cu cel putin 40 de ani.

Din punctul meu de vedere, industria de software va continua in parametrii actuali cel putin 10 ani. E interesant de vazut daca vom putea iesi din modul LOHN. Care se numeste in termeni de software OUTSOURCING.

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How money works...

Acesta e un spot interesant facut de un studio de animatie din Germania.

vazut pe blogul celor de la Creative Monkeys, care fac si RoBotzi

Un unghi interesant de vedere asupra surselor de bani...

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Interviuri cu ingineri

Revin, dupa mai bine de un an cu inca un post...


De cand ma ocup de o echipa de embedded software engineers, am facut multe interviuri si am vazut diverse tipuri de oameni. Unii sunt interesati de bani, altii de o cariera, dar sunt destul de multi preocupati sincer de "software engineering". Nu sunt programatori doar. Vor sa vada o solutie care merge.
Dintre ei, majoritatea se apuca sa mestereasca la o placuta in anul doi sau trei de facultate, se invart pe langa un profesor cu pasiune si in timpul liber. Apoi, fie se duc pe la concursuri studentesti, fie se angajeaza inainte sa termine facultatea, dar merg in continuare pe directia respectiva.
Peste 3-4 ani, ii gasesti de obicei ca oameni de baza in proiecte, stiu cam cel mai bine ce vor si ce ii face fericiti si sunt relativ mai relaxati decat colegii lor.
Ipoteza mea este ca le face placerea munca lor si nu trebuie sa ajunga acasa pentru a se consacra hobby-ului. Cred ca ei sunt cei care vin cu idei, care schimba si felul de a face lucruri in firmele in care lucreaza.

Am mai multi colegi de felul asta si e o placere intotdeauna sa lucrez cu ei.

Au contraire, exista si multi tipi cu mare potential care nu inteleg ce vor sa faca cu viata lor. Incep fulminant diverse insarcinari, par a sparge normele si deodata ceva se infunda. Contesta organizatia din care fac parte, dar nu propun solutii concrete. Nu sunt atasati emotional de echipa, sunt mai multi purtati de o noua idee. E surprinzator sa ii vezi cum ajung sa bifeze cateva esecuri la rand, pare a fi cum ai vedea un BMW M5 ca nu poate depasi un Logan si mai scoate si o gramada de fum.

E foarte dificil sa imi dau seama care s-a nascut talent si va muri speranta, dar acum cred ca e un criteriu foarte important in decizia de angajare. Cel putin la fel de important ca si cunostintele curente...

Promit ca peste 6 luni va voi povesti mai multe despre tura de angajari pe care trebuie sa o fac anul asta si ce am invatat despre asta.

Luna viitoare voi scrie cateva randuri despre cele doua modele de business in software-ul romanesc: productie si lohn(sau outsourcing).

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