Hamstaa!

I've just finished reading part 1 of an article, "Considering Ajax", by Chris Laffra from IBM and it made me consider what the role of engineering in business is outside of just development.

The underlying technology of AJAX has been around for a while, but what's interesting is the amount of buzz surrounding it now. The danger with this sort of buzz is both engineers and business people alike can get caught up in it and make decisions based on the hype, instead of what is the right solution to a clients problem. As Chris puts it

When you make decisions, one strong cognitive bias is the bandwagon effect, a well-known psychological phenomenon.

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of good business reasons to do something even if it's a "bandwagon" idea, for example to get press interest or attract VC. But the real challenge is to overcome the "bandwagon" impulse of a new technology and identify what technical benefits are to be gained by using it.

As I see it, part of the role of engineering is to cut through the hype surrounding a technology, understand what the pros and cons are of it, identify how it can best be utilised to solve a problem and provide an unbiased recommendation of it's potential use in the business.

Of course, engineers aren't immune to hype either, so part of the role of the engineering manager is to remind everyone that the technology is just a tool and ask the questions "what are the real problems with using it?" and "how and where could we use it?".

Ephox has a long history of association with graduates (we were founded by a graduate) and so a significant number of our engineers have been graduates. It has only been recently that we have hired experienced engineers (mostly at the senior level) and found it very difficult to get good candidates. As the engineering manager I'm of course interested in how we build up our resources and this is a troubling development as I try to grow the team.

Damien recently posted a comment on the state of IT in his article "Is Australia in an IT Drought?" In it he comments on the potential future lack of IT graduates in Australia and poses the question:

As an industry we should be asking ourselves how we can make this industry more attractive to young people seeking a career.

While I agree with his calling for the industry to do a better job of promoting the opportunities in IT outside of pure engineering, I think the biggest thing we can do is hire graduates.

A recent discussion with a recruiter indicated that there are plenty of positions out there despite the perception by students that there is no work when they graduate. The problem appears to be, as an industry, we want to hire experienced people, and not graduates. So students are right, there are no jobs for them when they graduate.

So consider hiring a graduate. They are the future "experienced" people and without them, we will find it harder and harder to find good people.

I couldn't have a blog and not post something about the Hamster especially as its the name of the blog.

Since 1999, when I joined Vignette, I've used the term Hamster. No particular reason. Sometimes used as a greeting, it's said "Hamstaaaaa!!"

I recently found this little gem on a dictionary site

1. (From Fairchild) A particularly slick little piece of code that does one thing well; a small, self-contained hack. The image is of a hamster happily spinning its exercise wheel.

The people I've used this term with over the years have been highly skilled people I have alot of respect for and this somehow seems even more appropriate now.

Like most engineers I thought management was the "dark side" but was something that, as your career progressed, couldn't be avoided. After 13 years of development and technical consulting, I was offered the opportunity to see what it was like in management, while still requiring me to maintain my technical skills at an architectural level.

I've been the Engineering Manager at Ephox now for 2 and a half years and have found that I really enjoy what I do. I've learnt alot and grown my team both in numbers and professionally. Most importantly we produce some amazing code while having alot of fun.

Why am I blogging? Blogging for me serves a number of purposes.

• At a corporate level, it provides me with a forum to show prospective engineers what it's like to work with us and have me as a manager.
• At a professional level it gives me the opportunity to help other new managers and dispel the engineering myth of management being "the dark side" by providing an insight into what is involved in Engineering management.
• At a personal level it's a place to keep notes and comments on things "management" and to grow the brand that is "Brett Henderson, Engineering Manager".

So welcome to my blog. If you're an engineer who like me thought management was an evil necessity, or are new to management come on a journey with me. If you're an experienced manager I'd welcome your comments and advice.