RickMcAdams/ng-conf2017

## ng-conf2017
April 25th, 2017

I recently attended ng-conf in Salt Lake City which is a great conference for Angular developers filled with lots of talented developers and many great talks. In the coming weeks there will be plenty of discussion around the interesting technical learnings from ng-conf such as ngUpgrade (which we are heavily in the middle of with EASE Web V2), the many benefits of moving to Angular, performance optimizations and a host of other topics.  Even amongst all the great talks on Wednesday and Friday what really stood out to me were two sessions on Thursday and how they related together and sparked some inspiration for me.

The first session was called "The day I met Steve" given by Alyssa Nicoll.  I'll be honest, I am always looking for sessions that are a little out of the box from normal sessions and touch on the softer, more human side of development so the summary of this talk really intrigued me.  It definitely did not disappoint.  Alyssa's story about "Steve" rang so true in things I have seen in my 18 years of development experience.  Steve was a developer that had lost his passion for development and just didn't care any more.  I have seen it more times in my career than I would like to.  Developers who just wanted to show up, punch the clock, and just do what someone told them.  No passion, no innovation, no creativity, resistant to change.  It's hard to see, and hearing Alyssa articulate the characteristics of a "Steve" really drove home that you can notice when other developers start displaying these characteristics.  The main takeaway for me was that ever developer needs to look within themselves and remember why they started developing in the first place.  Remember what it was like to write that first program, or solve that first difficult technical challenge.  Don't get burned out and keep it fun!

The second session that really hit home for me was the Mindfulness seminar taught by Becca Peters.  I meditate regularly so I was aware of the practice of mindfulness but I wasn't really sure what to expect out of this session.  I went into the session with a couple of co-workers expecting maybe a larger kind of lecture on some mindfulness practices.  Not so much... as we opened the door, it was about as intimate as you can get.  About 12 total people in a semi-circle around an instructor in a small room.  If anyone in our group was feeling shy there was no turning back because you couldn't just walk out of the room in this setting.  I am glad I didn't turn around because it ended up being a really pleasant and eye-opening experience.  There was a lot of great exercises in this one hour session but the one that stuck out to me was an exercise where you had to pair with a partner, look them in the eyes and ask them "What brings you joy?" for a minute as they give you different answers.  This might feel uncomfortable for some people, but the rawness and quickness of the answers reveals a lot about someone I think.  At one point I uttered "Developing software" in response to the question, which I think I even surprised myself when I stopped and thought about it.  Most of my other answers were around my family or my hobbies, but what I do for work was actually on my list of things that bring me joy.

This was an enlightening answer which when I mind-melded it with Alyssa's talk, I rediscovered why I got into software development in the first place:  I love using technology to solve problems.  It truly brings me joy to take a business problem, design a solution to solve that problem, and then bring that solution to life.  Along the way we perform different tasks as developers but ultimately we solve problems using technology.  When I think about the different software programs I have developed in my career most of them make me smile.  We all have projects that didn't turn out as well as we would have liked, but I think we all have successes in different projects that we are proud of.  We need to celebrate those successes and always true back to why we became developers in the first place.  Remember the joy and passion for development.

Although computer science is highly technical, I believe software development also has a very important human component to it.  Some may have heard me say this before but I believe we have a great symbiotic relationship here at Capital One between Technology and Product.  Without Product (which represents the customers) we wouldn't have any software to build, and without Technology there wouldn't be any software built and delivered to the customer.  It is this kind of dynamic that fuels my passion for developing software and keeps me going.  I would encourage all developers to find what fuels their passion for development to keep them from getting burned out, and find out what brings you joy in development and in life.

I would love for people to share what fuels their passion for developing software!
	April 25th, 2017

	I recently attended ng-conf in Salt Lake City which is a great conference for Angular developers filled with lots of talented developers and many great talks. In the coming weeks there will be plenty of discussion around the interesting technical learnings from ng-conf such as ngUpgrade (which we are heavily in the middle of with EASE Web V2), the many benefits of moving to Angular, performance optimizations and a host of other topics. Even amongst all the great talks on Wednesday and Friday what really stood out to me were two sessions on Thursday and how they related together and sparked some inspiration for me.

	The first session was called "The day I met Steve" given by Alyssa Nicoll. I'll be honest, I am always looking for sessions that are a little out of the box from normal sessions and touch on the softer, more human side of development so the summary of this talk really intrigued me. It definitely did not disappoint. Alyssa's story about "Steve" rang so true in things I have seen in my 18 years of development experience. Steve was a developer that had lost his passion for development and just didn't care any more. I have seen it more times in my career than I would like to. Developers who just wanted to show up, punch the clock, and just do what someone told them. No passion, no innovation, no creativity, resistant to change. It's hard to see, and hearing Alyssa articulate the characteristics of a "Steve" really drove home that you can notice when other developers start displaying these characteristics. The main takeaway for me was that ever developer needs to look within themselves and remember why they started developing in the first place. Remember what it was like to write that first program, or solve that first difficult technical challenge. Don't get burned out and keep it fun!

	The second session that really hit home for me was the Mindfulness seminar taught by Becca Peters. I meditate regularly so I was aware of the practice of mindfulness but I wasn't really sure what to expect out of this session. I went into the session with a couple of co-workers expecting maybe a larger kind of lecture on some mindfulness practices. Not so much... as we opened the door, it was about as intimate as you can get. About 12 total people in a semi-circle around an instructor in a small room. If anyone in our group was feeling shy there was no turning back because you couldn't just walk out of the room in this setting. I am glad I didn't turn around because it ended up being a really pleasant and eye-opening experience. There was a lot of great exercises in this one hour session but the one that stuck out to me was an exercise where you had to pair with a partner, look them in the eyes and ask them "What brings you joy?" for a minute as they give you different answers. This might feel uncomfortable for some people, but the rawness and quickness of the answers reveals a lot about someone I think. At one point I uttered "Developing software" in response to the question, which I think I even surprised myself when I stopped and thought about it. Most of my other answers were around my family or my hobbies, but what I do for work was actually on my list of things that bring me joy.

	This was an enlightening answer which when I mind-melded it with Alyssa's talk, I rediscovered why I got into software development in the first place: I love using technology to solve problems. It truly brings me joy to take a business problem, design a solution to solve that problem, and then bring that solution to life. Along the way we perform different tasks as developers but ultimately we solve problems using technology. When I think about the different software programs I have developed in my career most of them make me smile. We all have projects that didn't turn out as well as we would have liked, but I think we all have successes in different projects that we are proud of. We need to celebrate those successes and always true back to why we became developers in the first place. Remember the joy and passion for development.

	Although computer science is highly technical, I believe software development also has a very important human component to it. Some may have heard me say this before but I believe we have a great symbiotic relationship here at Capital One between Technology and Product. Without Product (which represents the customers) we wouldn't have any software to build, and without Technology there wouldn't be any software built and delivered to the customer. It is this kind of dynamic that fuels my passion for developing software and keeps me going. I would encourage all developers to find what fuels their passion for development to keep them from getting burned out, and find out what brings you joy in development and in life.

	I would love for people to share what fuels their passion for developing software!