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What are you talking about? – Nerdful Mind #95

November 7, 2021 by Simon Mannes

In your team, when you say you'll write a component test for this thing you're working on, it's obvious what you'll do, right?

Right?

Probably not.

Words are hard. And if everyone on your team seems to agree on what something is, doesn't mean you all have the same picture in your minds.

Have you ever had a two-hour discussion with your team or client, only to realize very late that you have been talking about different things?

This can happen with everything. Examples are:

  • Testing: what exactly are unit tests, component tests, API tests, acceptance tests, or end-to-end tests?
  • Architecture: what is a component? What is an app? What's a service?

To remedy this, you can use images and examples. But don't rely on one explanation alone.

There's value in defining what you're talking about first. Clarify the underlying problem you're trying to solve, discuss the names of the concepts you're going to use. Even if things seem obvious to you. Don't assume everyone knows what you mean just because you provided an explanation and a picture.

Proceed when everyone has a good understanding of your shared goal and your shared language.

“The most important things to say are those which often I did not think necessary for me to say — because they were too obvious.” ― André Gide

Reading Recommendations

It’s not what you do it’s the way that you do it

“So I was sceptical. The idea of a 5-day online retreat where I was at home, with a young dog, with 3 other members of the family, unstable internet at times, and without the possibility of what I thought of as the necessary context, was of course classed in my mind as obviously ‘second best’. […]”

Design is evolving—and designers need to evolve with it

‘While designers have evolved over the last 25 years to be advocates for the audience/customer, we now need to be advocates for the rest of everyone else, democracy, society, and the planet, itself.“

Engineering Teams and Written Communication in the Workplace

“While good engineering managers can code, great ones can also communicate. Written communication in the workplace is integral to the management and scaling of engineering teams.”

Weekly Mindfulness Practice

Sit upright with your feet on the floor. Close your eyes.

Place your attention on your neck and shoulders. That's where stress manifests itself for many of us. How do they feel?

Tighten your shoulders by bringing them as high up to your ears as possible. Hold this position for 5 seconds.

Release this tension and put your shoulders as far down as they will go while still being relaxed.

How do your shoulders feel now?

Repeat this exercise 5 times.

End Note

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Have a great week

Simon

PS: What do you think about this? Please hit reply and let me know. I’m curious!