Joel Knows Best
I've spent most of the last week back in the Midwestern US with Leigh Ann while she's been visiting her family. Of course, I don't know these people too well, and we've been seeing the same people over and over, so I've taken up a bit of reading. After a short trip to Barnes and Noble, and I was the proud owner of Joel on Software by Joel Spolsky.
If you haven't been reading his blog (also named Joel on Software), you are definitely missing out. If there was one person in the software industry whose opinions I respected, it would be him. I consistently find myself agreeing with his writings, sometimes more enthusiastically than others, and I don't think I've ever disagreed with his positions. He knows his stuff.
Anyways, the book. It's copyright 2004, an eternity in the computer world, but still 100% relevant. I've finished part 1, and peeked ahead to the second. I also noticed that my favorite article from his blog is in the book as well: Human Task Switches Considered Harmful. If you find yourself constantly interrupted while trying to get work done, this is the proof you need to convince people to let you be productive.
Later this week, perhaps even on the flight home tomorrow, I plan on continuing through the book, and selecting a few of my favorite chapters for recommended reading.
This entry has 2 comments:
Brian says:
Tyler, much of the book is oriented towards software developers. In fact, the long title of the book is "Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity." (Now there's a mouthful!) There are a few things which could be adapted to other industries, like Chapter 20, The Guerilla Guide to Interviewing, though they're not as common as virtually all of Part 1, Bits and Bytes: The Practice of Programming.
Tyler says:
Is this something a non-programmer/IT professional would find useful/interesting? I am always up for good book recommendations.