edA‑qa mort‑ora‑yOn a recent "Developer on Fire" podcast with Dave Rael, I was caught a bit off guard with the question: "Provide three tips for delivering more value". That was it. It was left completely open as to what it meant.
First off, clearly you should listen to the whole podcast for the most value! 😂 Failing that, I thought I'd write up my answers here, to let you gauge how I did.
1. Know who your user is
If you've been following my writing, you won't be surprised by this answer. It's something I've been harping on a lot lately. The user isn't some person banging on a keyboard, it's the person taking the train, or trying to organize a party on the weekend.
Users exist in the real world. They're actual people, not mindless consumers nor button pressing automatons. The software you right is only a tool to them.
Learning to understand who your users are, will give you a huge value advantage in your programming career.
2. Take care of yourself
It's easy to say, but harder to follow through on. I've unfortunately seen what happens when people neglect themselves. I've seen frustration, tension, and burnout. You'll suffer, the company will suffer, and the product will suffer.
You are the foundation of the work you do. Your work will deteriorate as you yourself start to slip.
Taking care of yourself is an absolute requirement to putting out quality work. If you're interested in taking the first step, read my article on easy programmer fitness over at Simple Programmer.
3. Just try it
You won't know if you're good at something, or whether you like something, until you try it.
For example, I have no idea how to promote a book, but I wouldn't of known that if I didn't have a book to promote. It's forcing me to learn new things, and giving me new experiences.
Try new things, in your career, out of your career. Go out and try it. Who cares if there are other people doing it better -- that's always going to be the case. Just try the things you like and want to experiment on.
Trying is the path to learning.
What do you do to add value?
Let me know what you think of my answers and share with us your own tips for delivering more value.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
