PM-Zone.org : Kharkiv Community of Project Managers
Thomas Albers
Director of Engineering
Direct EDI
http://www.directedi.com
Agenda
About meWho I am : How did I get hereSuccess Leadership Vision
Building Teams and ProductsProcess and TechniquesManaging changeOutsourcing
Senior DevelopersManagers / Architects
DisclaimerI am a work in progress.
I make mistakes.
I retain the right to retract my argument at any time in exchange for a better position.
This is 34.263 years of very personal startup Internet/Saas experience and should not be taken or applied without deep thought and confidence.
Sensitive ears warning:I #$%^& CURSE! [American Slang]
PEOPLEDISCIPLINEPASSIONENERGYSTRENGTHVISIONALWAYS IMPROVING
LOVE FUN DANCING
THESE ARE THE IDEAS THAT SHAPE MY EXISTENCE
History
Born August 1976 Father is a doctor Mother was a police officer
Typical American childhood with discipline and people focus.
Blessed with great fortune.
Resume
First programming and built business in 1989Medical Billing – Mac – Hypercard
United States Marine Corps. 1994 -1998Business Anywhere 1999-2001Voltdelta Resources 2001-2005MySpace.com 2005-2006New Momentum 2006-2009AMG-SIU/HMS 2009-2010StoryLeaders 2009-Direct EDI 2010-
United States Marine Corps.
Discipline Discipline Discipline
Aviation Jet Engine MechanicProcessQuality Assurance
Sacrifice
Humility – Confidence – No fear
Business Anywhere
ManagementApplication – How To
Product Development
Customers First
Outsourcing
Programming
Travel
MySpace.com
TechnologyTechnology TransitioningIntegrations
Programming
Localization
Scale - Architecture
How I LiveLive a simple life
Reduce complexity
We are ALL in sales
Elegant and Simple Solutions
Customers First
Passion Love for PeopleLove for Software
Fall in Love often
How I LiveLife : Work : Family
Is there a difference?Treat everyone the sameMake them your family
Make life fun!
Do not sweat the small stuff!Find people to do that for you!
ExerciseHealthy body = healthy Mind
How I LiveBe Humble
Make amazing memories and use their power!
Carpe Diem Horace - Seize the DayAnd if not now, when?
Mi Vida LocaMy Crazy Life
Live happy, Live Lite, Live FreeA real Agile Life
How I Lead
Take Control NowMake lots of small decisions
Start with a CustomerStart with a Vision
A customer has a problem…
Present the problemLEAD the team to the solution
Do you believe in a “corporate strategy”? Has it helped somehow in your career?
How I ManageConsensus Building
Push teams to own the problemSelf Organization
Long term planning is a waste of timeEstimates are guesses
Long term guesses compound poor over timeMost Decisions are temporaryMost Decisions should be temporary
Lead through experience
Meetings Suck
Be an example
How I Code
Tuesdays and Thursdays are code only days
Pomodoro Technique25 minutes uninterrupted : 5 minute break
HeadphonesHip hop : Drum and Bass : Ambient
Test DrivenContinuous Improvement
Always working Software
InfluencesWhat books/articles influenced you as a professional?Seven Habits of Highly Effective PeopleHow to win friends and Influence PeopleFrom Good to GreatMythical Man MonthCustomer Centric Selling/Solution SellingToo many programming books to name
PeopleJason FriedMike BosworthScott HanselmanJoel SpolskyKris WilliamsScott Guthrie
Software Leadership
What tools did you use to manage your projects (planning, bug tracking, configuration management etc.)?
How do you communicate complex ideas to the team?
How do you inspire/drive innovation?
Failure
What were your last biggest failures and what did you study from them?
When you are the manager is it safe to come to you and say that your tasks is behind the schedule?
What do you usually do in this situation?
Process & Techniques
How have you positioned engineering within the Organization?
How are teams organized within Engineering?
How is change introduced and controlled within the software development lifecycle?
How do you keep developers motivated throughout the project?
*** throughout the product lifecycle?
Outsourcing
What are the current trends in US about outsourcing? Use more outsourcing or less then
before? What are the favorite directions: India, China, Eastern Europe etc.?
What is the most important keys – why did you select specific outsource team?
What are 3 most important things you expect from outsource team (to be cheap, transparent, fast, fit in deadline etc.)
Outsourcing
What are the typical ranges for hourly/monthly rates you would expect from Ukrainian teams as a US customer?
How does that compare that to the local rates in US?
Are there any stereotypes about quality of code from Ukraine/Russia?
We often make fun of India code, but are there common complaints about our own code?
When working as a customer with a development team in Ukraine would you prefer to have a PM in Ukraine or in US? Why?
Software Architects
What are the key skills we are looking for in a Software Architect?
Where/how do you find great architects?
How do you interview for architects?
Quality Assurance
What about QA people in the USA? Are they valuable?
What are their preferable skills ?
Summary
About meWho I am : How did I get hereSuccess Leadership Vision
Building Teams and ProductsProcess and TechniquesManaging changeOutsourcing
Senior DevelopersManagers / Architects
Call to Action
Lead with Passion and Vision
Love Software, Family, Business
Live and Love the Life you have built
Continue to Learn, Always
Stay Connected
Stay ConnectedSkype : alberstt
Email : [email protected]@gmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/albers
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