Expose Your Ignorance

In the world of software development, everyone is under a great amount of pressure to meet deadlines and deliver software. Because the entire team is under the pressure of meeting deadlines, the managers look for confidence when asking how long a feature will take to finish. Due to the new developer’s inexperience, they are unsure how to answer because they are not familiar enough with the technologies to be able to quantify how long the process will take. This pattern is called “Expose Your Ignorance.” In this pattern, it discusses the situation of a new developer who is unfamiliar with some of the required technologies their team uses, and is afraid to look incompetent.

Software developers tend to build their reputations through strong relationships with their clients and colleagues. Building strong relationships require honesty, and not just telling the client what they want to hear. Rather than pretending to know something, it is better to reassure the client by emphasizing the ability to learn new technologies and being able to apply them. Reassuring in this manner allows relationships to be built based on the ability to learn and adapt rather than based on what is already known.

The most obvious way to expose ignorance is to ask questions. The hardest part about asking questions is the fear of appearing incompetent. However asking questions and being direct is the easiest and most straightforward path down the software craftsman’s journey. Becoming comfortable with this process of learning, by asking questions to mentors, helps to prevent us from being locked into one domain of software development. An action that can be done to help with this process is to keep a list of what is unknown. Keep this list in a place that is public to the rest of the team to hold accountability and/or to help with understanding. Being in the habit of updating this list is also important to ensure continuous learning. Ultimately, possessing the ability to learn is one of the most important traits of a craftsman.

I found this pattern to be helpful because it provides a way with confronting feelings that may be uncomfortable when becoming a craftsman. I found the solution of making a list of what is unknown, and keeping that list public was interesting and changed the way I view the pattern because that is something I would not do. I would rather keep this to myself and work on it separately, but keeping this list public allows the team to hold accountability. This is because if the list has not been updated for a while, then that means the learning process has halted. I do not disagree with anything in this pattern.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Zack's CS Blog by ztram1 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

For this week’s blog I decided to talk about the pattern from chapter 4 called “Be the Worst”. This pattern describes the situation where you have taken every opportunity to learn and eventually have outgrown your team. In this situation, it is important that you find developers that are better than you. When you take this route you will need to put in a lot of work because your aim is not to stay at the bottom but work your way up. You will be able to use multiple methods like mimicking other developers until you are on the same level and them. 

I agree with the solution for this scenario. I have found that I learn a lot when I am the weakest on a team. I am able to study the code written by the stronger members of my team and get insight on their choices. I found that learning from another person also speeds the process along. During this process, its important to avoid bothering your other team members too much. Although it can be convenient to just ask others, you need to establish a way to learn on your own so you can avoid prohibiting thew progress of others.

As one can guess, this method has risks like dragging the team down and running the risk of being fired because your productivity is not as expected. I have experienced pressure to avoid bringing the team down along with a lack of confidence in my own abilities. The first steps to follow this pattern is to develop confidence in yourself and focus on learning. Second, I think it is important to have open conversations with your team members and speak up when you may be falling behind. As mentioned in my other blogs, I have worked on past teams where I had to learned from other members. During this process, we all kept each other updated on our progress and it was crucial for us to work together to finish by our deadline.

 I think this pattern aligns well with the way I’ve been developing my professional skills and I cant say that I disagree with anything. Following this path will definitely help with self-assessment because the more you know, the more you know what you don’t know. 

From the blog CS@Worcester – Live Laugh Code by Shamarah Ramirez and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Summary:

This section really emphasizes the importance a mentor can have on someone’s apprenticeship. Guidance from someone who has already experienced the same or similar issues that you are going through is invaluable. On top of that, it establishes what realistic expectations one should have for a mentor. With computer science being such a vast field that is only getting larger, it’s unrealistic to expect one person to know everything about every topic. The last major point the section covers is that the flow of knowledge does not stop at you. An apprentice must be willing and able to pass on knowledge to other apprentices. 

Reflection:

Thinking back to my most impactful teachers and professors, it’s clear to see that their impact comes from their ability to mentor their students.  Having those impactful mentors throughout my education is what inspired me to seek a career in computer science. The best example I can come up with to relate the impact a mentor can have on an apprentice is this: Imagine trying to solve a hidden picture puzzle or “Where’s Waldo” and you can’t seem to figure it out. Having a mentor is like having a magnifying glass to help narrow down where you should be looking. This sense of direction is great to focus your efforts into researching helpful information. Considering how large the computer science field has grown.

When it comes to choosing a mentor in the computer science field, it is important to realize how large the field is. I have said it three times now, and I still don’t think that is enough to emphasize it. It is best to try and find a mentor that specializes in the field you want to learn about. Although, from my experiences, a mentor that does not specialize in the same field as you is still worth having. A mentor that specializes in any field can still give you tips on how they got to where they are. With the same mentality of teaching a person to fish over giving them a fish, learning how to learn is better than being taught something directly. With information so readily at our fingertips, the ability to research and find solutions is crucial in our world and especially the computer science field.

Bringing everything full circle is the idea that what separates an apprentice from a journeyman is the responsibility to help teach and mentor other apprentices. It makes sense that as I continue down the long path that there will be others behind me. I, personally, have always loved the spark that my mentors have ignited in me and it would be great to be able to pass that sling to others in the future.

From the blog CS@Worcester – CS Learning by kbourassa18 and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

Pattern Summary:
“Record What You Learn” from the book “Apprenticeship Patterns” emphasizes the importance of documenting and organizing your learning experiences as a software craftsman. It encourages apprentices to maintain a journal or log of their progress, insights, challenges, and solutions throughout their journey of learning and mastering software development.

Reaction to the Pattern:
This pattern resonated deeply with me as it highlights a crucial aspect of professional growth: continuous learning and reflection. What I found most interesting and useful about this pattern is its emphasis on active engagement with one’s learning process. By recording what we learn, whether it’s new programming techniques, problem-solving strategies, or insights from failures, we create a valuable resource for future reference and self-improvement. This pattern has significantly influenced my approach to learning and working in the software development field.

Impact on Professional Perspective:
“Record What You Learn” has caused a notable shift in how I perceive my intended profession and my approach to work. Previously, I often relied on memory or scattered notes to capture my learning experiences. However, this pattern has taught me the immense value of structured documentation. I now see my journal as a treasure trove of lessons learned, growth milestones, and areas for improvement. It has become a tool for self-assessment, goal-setting, and tracking progress, ultimately enhancing my effectiveness as a software craftsman.

Disagreements and Critiques:
While I wholeheartedly agree with the importance of recording what we learn, one potential challenge is maintaining consistency and discipline in documenting every learning experience. Balancing work responsibilities, learning endeavors, and documentation efforts can be demanding. However, I’ve found that integrating journaling into my daily or weekly routine has helped mitigate this challenge.

Overall Reflection:
Incorporating the “Record What You Learn” pattern into my professional journey has been transformative. It has instilled in me a sense of accountability and mindfulness in my learning process. I now approach challenges with a more structured mindset, knowing that each solution, mistake, or insight contributes to my growth. This pattern has reinforced the idea that true mastery in software development comes not just from technical skills but also from continuous learning, reflection, and adaptation.

“Record What You Learn” serves as a guiding principle for aspiring software craftsmen, reminding us that our learning journey is as valuable as the destination. By embracing the discipline of documenting our experiences, we pave the way for continuous improvement, innovation, and success in our profession.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Hieu Tran Blog by Trung Hiếu and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.

This week, I wanted to reflect on my habit of self-comparison in relation to my ability as a software developer. I’ve recently found myself preoccupied with how much I don’t know as compared to others in the computing world, both at and above my perceived level of competence. It feels awfully paralyzing comparing my present knowledge with the unfathomable set of things that I’m not even aware that I don’t know about. It’s becoming difficult to even take a break from ruminating about how far behind I feel, because Youtube and Instagram’s content generation algorithms keep delivering me videos with sensational titles like “5 Sorting Algorithms You NEED To Know”, or “Learn THIS Framework NOW”, or “Build THESE Projects To Establish Your Software Career”. It’s exhausting! Before I’ve even started, the amount and complexity of the work that I believe lies ahead of me makes me feel hopeless. How am I supposed to learn anything or get anything done if I think that my best is so far from acceptable, and to do better sounds so exhausting as to be impossible?

Spending so much time and energy spinning my wheels over this issue has me considering a counterintuitive approach. I can’t stay here in this weird superposition of feeling like I’ve been spending all my available energy on becoming the best programmer I can be, yet also feeling like I’m not working nearly hard enough to produce results that anybody would pay me for. That’s why the title of this pattern from chapter 4 of “Apprenticeship Patterns” caught my eye. I knew before that striving to be the best would be a fruitless and frustrating endeavor, but I didn’t foresee that striving to be my best could still lead to as much paralysis and burnout.

I’ve held myself back from contributing to open-source projects or joining online programming groups partly because I’ve been afraid that even if I try really hard, my best won’t be good enough. My rate of output will sputter, and my code will be full of mistakes, then I’ll lose the respect and patience of my team, and soon I’ll be drowning with no hope of rescue. That’s what my imagination says, anyway – it’s annoyingly silent about what my life would be like if I put some confidence into the skills I’ve learned and started believing that people wanted me on their team. This pattern, “Be The Worst”, asks the apprentice to embrace their role as the worst member of a team they are considering joining. From this place as the weakest member of the team, the apprentice can soak up knowledge and experience from their more capable team members and work their way up.

This pattern is one of those in this book that I think goes back to learning to let go of your own ego and presumed sense of competence. I need to be getting more programming experience outside of school, but because I am so petrified of people thinking that I’m incompetent, I never actually get anything done. It’s kind of terrifying to imagine myself as the weakest member of a team working on an important project, because then I imagine the situation where my being on the team has become a burden on the project despite my best efforts and intentions, and now everyone is mad at me when I’m trying so hard! I should have known better than to bite off more than I can chew! Extremely unproductive and exhausting attitude, I know. Maybe I’ll be able to wade my way out of this strange emotional swamp surrounding my sense of industry someday, but maybe more likely is that I’ll end up living that situation where I’m the worst on the team and I just cannot find it within me to do any better than I already am, and I’ll have to learn that regardless of all that, I’m still valuable.

From the blog CS@Worcester – Michael's Programming Blog by mikesprogrammingblog and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.