Cosima (she/her)

📣 Calling all Tech leads and Software Architects in my network...

... I need your help!

I'm preparing my next talks for #conferences like iSAQBÂź Software Architecture Gathering and OOP Konferenz and I need your views.

Please cast your vote below and/or add other reasons in the comments.

(or via DM)

Thank you so much. 🙏

#SoftwareArchitecture #SoftwareCraft #SoftwareDevelopment

❓ Whats the BIGGEST obstacle for you to be able to do the best work you could do?

high workload, less headspace
33.9%
getting to (good) decisions
4.5%
unclear expectations
18.8%
"company politics"
42.9%
Poll ended at .
Oct 28, 2024 at 12:40pmWeb
Show threadCosima (she/her)Oct 28, 2024
Woohoo, thank y'all for the responses so far. đŸ€© Keep them coming! â˜șïžđŸ§Ą
Show threadReiner JungOct 28, 2024
@gazebo_c Available resources, time and expectations do not meet which results in temporary measures that convert to technical debt immediately. All limiting resources automatically ending in a catastrophe of some sort.
Show threadSebastian GfellerOct 28, 2024
@gazebo_c I had the high workload, less headspace situation a few years ago, but once I caught up (mostly by being more efficient) I ran into the company politics case - we could do more and better with a few management decisions, but it would need more buy-in than what I can get with my current charisma/measurements/business justifications.
Show threadNicolas DelsauxOct 28, 2024
@gazebo_c I would have gladly bet my salary on that one ...
Show threadCosima (she/her)Oct 28, 2024
@Riduidel on which one would you bet? (in case you'd like to share? At least me got curious :))
Show threadNicolas DelsauxOct 28, 2024
@gazebo_c Company politics, because they're kind of higher order reasons : you can very hardly challenge these, and they can be applied with as much zeal as one thinks necessary for its own agenda.
Show threadsamir, object-disorientedOct 30, 2024

@gazebo_c Which one is the best one to choose for “no one is listening to the customers and instead we’re building something that no one wants”?

I don’t think it’s politics. I truly believe people are trying to do well. I think it’s a skill problem: they do not know how to work with customers.

Show threadCosima (she/her)Oct 30, 2024
@samir thank you for adding this perspective.
I don't think it needs to fit one of my (rough) answer options. I've seen companies where potentially the "too much work, too little headspace" was a pattern and with constantly too busy people, also upskilling was hard to do.
Show threadOliOct 30, 2024
@gazebo_c
Meetings, or more broadly: "Talking about work instead of working"
Show threadEberhard WolffOct 30, 2024
@oli @gazebo_c Sorry to step in but IMHO communication is an important part of our job. So I'm not sure meetings are the problem. Maybe unneeded / badly run meetings? But YMMV.
Show threadStefan PfeifferOct 30, 2024
@ewolff @oli @gazebo_c Ja, ich finde das Meeting Bashing auch etwas eindimensional. Ich bin mir aber sicher, dass Oli das genau so meinte.
Show threadOliOct 30, 2024
@ewolff
Ich wechsle auf Deutsch und selbst dann ist es schwierig zu beschreiben: Kommunikation ist ein elementarer Teil der Arbeit. Oft habe ich aber den Eindruck, dass die Reaktion auf schlechte Kommunikation mehr schlechte Kommunikation statt besserer Kommunikation ist. Im nĂ€chsten Anlauf noch mehr Teilnehmer, die nicht zum Erkenntnisgewinn beitragen können, aber trotzdem eine Meinung haben mĂŒssen.
@gazebo_c @themue
Show threadEberhard WolffOct 30, 2024
@oli @gazebo_c @themue Ja, nachvollziehbar. Ich finde es schwierig, dass Kommunikation als wichtiges Thema erkannt wird, aber wir haben kein systhematisches Vorgehen, um sie zu verbessern.
Show threadEberhard WolffOct 30, 2024
@oli @gazebo_c @themue Lustig in dem Zusammenhang: Die Software-Architektur-im-Stream-Episode "wichtigster Skill in der IT" hat 1k Views. Wichtigster Skill fĂŒr die meisten: Soft Skills / Kommunikation. Die spĂ€teren drei Episoden zu Themen aus dem Bereich liegen alle bei 5/600 Views...
Show threadCosima (she/her)Oct 30, 2024

@oli I get that. Thanks for adding this.

I understand it that way: meetings per se are not the obstacle but meetings where *no* work is accomplished/done.