27 July 2016

Improving Typing Accuracy

Das Keyboard - Model S Ultimate (III)I am always interested to improve my typing performance and eager to use keyboard shortcuts. As Code Cop I mentor developers and pair with them in different environments. I need to improve my typing and shortcut-fu across different tools and use flashcards to memorise IDE shortcuts. I found that I need more visual hints to remember the positions of certain keys. I am able to touch type but I do not know the exact position of the keys consciously. This is sometimes a problem when typing passwords.

Using a Blank Keyboard
Iris Classon reported that using a blank keyboard improved her touch typing accuracy. She listed measurements and statistics on her web site regarding her improvements. I own a Das Keyboard Ultimate and have used it from time to time. It is true that using it improved my touch typing accuracy, but it did not help me to "know" where the keys were.

Key Flashcards
I want to memorise the exact locations of all keys on the keyboard. This is very difficult for me, but I want to master it. As with the IDE Shortcuts I used Anki to create a deck of flashcards containing all keys on the keyboard. It starts with pictures of the blank keyboard and the name of the key in question:
Where is the #'-key on a German keyboard?Showing the keyboard already on the front side of the flashcards - the question side - helps me visualise the location of the key. I use the TKL (tenkeyless) variant of the keyboard, ignoring the numeric keypad, to save horizontal space. When ready I advance the deck and see the key marked on the keyboard:Position of the #'-key on a German keyboardThe same layout on both sides of the flashcards help me keep my visual focus on the position. (Having two pictures for each card doubles the file size of the deck, which might be a problem on mobile devices running Anki but I had no issues when using the deck.) As I use German and UK layout depending on my pairing partner, I created two decks with German and UK layout respectively:I did not create these decks by hand, rather developed a sequence of little application that would allow me to mark the key positions on the image of the blank keyboard, render the keyboard with and without markings to be used in a deck of flashcards and write the CSV needed to import the deck into Anki.

During my practise with the decks I sometimes wanted to separate letters from non letter keys. So I created even more decks:

18 July 2016

Hosting Public Coderetreats

I described the needs and benefits of inhouse Coderetreats in the previous article. (In case you did not read it - a Coderetreat is a full day hands-on coding workshop focused on the fundamentals of software development and software design. It is a day full of fun and excitement.) In this second part about Coderetreats I will say more about the opposite of (buying) an inhouse event, which is (hosting) a public one.

Hosting a public Coderetreat is obviously more work for the organiser, adding promotion of the event and handling registration. There are several reasons why companies host a Coderetreat. I ran a public Coderetreat in Venice sponsored by Interlogica. The people of Interlogica were passionate about our craft and wanted to connect with like minded individuals. Three out of four attendees were not connected with Interlogica at all and the exchange of ideas and networking was great.

Sponsoring a Coderetreat is Awesome!
The hosting company is usually also the Coderetreat's main sponsor. Sponsoring a public Coderetreat is a marketing activity. Interlogica wanted to increase its visibility. While we cannot expect a huge impact from a single event, it definitely was a good start. I supported them because a Coderetreat is real value provided to participants and the Craftsmanship community. As the event was free for the participants, someone had to pay for the room, lunch, time spent on organisation, my (facilitator) travel expenses and so on.

Session in progress at Coderetreat Venice 2016 (C) Pamela AdediwuraThe sponsor deserves our gratitude and at least some "link love". The host and facilitator may create more buzz on Twitter and other channels, depending on the free time the host has during the sessions. I post at least some images of the sessions and retrospectives, drawing some attention to the sponsor as well. As sponsored event, this is part of the deal.

Finding Local Talent
Many companies have trouble finding developers to hire. Hosting a public Coderetreat is a great way to present the company. Sometimes a representative of the sponsor will open the Coderetreat and make participants aware of open positions. I recommend distributing handouts of vacancies in the room and on the tables.

Public Coderetreats are run on Saturdays to allow people to participate. Starting Saturday morning attracts only the most passionate developers, who want to learn and engage in deliberate practice. These are exactly the kind of developers companies want to hire. A lady from Interlogica's marketing department told me that "people who understand (the idea of Coderetreat) and come are the people we want to hire."

Community and Networking
The Software Craftsmanship community is growing and a Coderetreat is also a networking event. After a few Coderetreats the participants get to know one another. For me a Coderetreat is like a class reunion, I usually know at least half of the participants and some of them are dear friends whom I would like to meet more often. For beginners or people new in the city it is a great way to get in touch with local craftsmen.

A Coderetreat ends with drinking beer in a local pub in the evening. This is another opportunity to talk to fellow software professionals. At the Coderetreat in Venice, the sponsor set up a small reception including cheese, wine and finger food for all participants. (Did I mention that they rock ;-) Interlogica's CEO was amazed by the number of different people he met and talked to during that time.

Free for Participants
According to Corey Haines, one early proponent of the Coderetreat format, the event must be free of charge for participants. Many organisers ask people only for a safety deposit of ten to 15 Euro. The deposit is refunded as soon as the person shows up and is used to pay beer in the evening if the person does not. I strongly recommend using such a safety deposit to make sure that people show up. Most organisers use Eventbrite for handling the registration, because it does not take any fee when a ticket is refunded. An Eventbrite registration page might look like the one I used for GDCR14.

Promoting the Event
After setting up Eventbrite, every public Coderetreat should be registered at coderetreat.org and promoted through Twitter, Facebook and other channels. Coderetreats in large cities, e.g. Berlin or London are sold out in under a week. In smaller communities we need to allow enough time for people to get spread the word that a Coderetreat is coming up. I recommend having the registration ready at least one month in advance to have enough time for sharing and advertising the event.

Whenever I run a Coderetreat, I talk directly to local programming language user group leaders and ask for their support to promote it. Even if I do not know these group leaders, their members might be interested in coding activities. As a Coderetreat is open to any programming language, it is much more fun to have participants from various programming backgrounds. Collaborating with user groups ensures that there are participants offering more interesting languages like Go, Elexir, Haskell, Dart and so on.

you are awesomeThe same is true for women in technology. For a Coderetreat in Berlin last year, one facilitators got in touch with several local women-only programming groups, like Rails Girls or PyLadies, told them about the event and opened private registration for them. He waited for a week before making the registration public. After public registration started, the event was sold out in a week.

Being Awesome!
So if your company wants to be seen to care for craftsmanship, dedication and quality, you are looking for great developers to hire or you just want to work in an awesome company, hosting a Coderetreat is the right things to do. Even when you are not able to host a full Coderetreat, buying food for participants or covering expenses is appreciated.

10 July 2016

About Inhouse Coderetreat

What is a Coderetreat?
A Coderetreat is a full day hands-on coding workshop focused on the fundamentals of software development, software design and communication. During the day participants get several chances to try something completely different and have the opportunity to learn new ways of coding and testing, programming languages or IDE usage. A Coderetreat is a funny and exciting day for the people, sharing their thoughts on Test Driven Development (TDD), Simple Design and more.

The Role of the Facilitator
A Coderetreat is run by one or more moderators, called facilitators, who are an essential part of every Coderetreat. The facilitator guides the participants through the day and helps people to learn as much as possible. Different facilitators have different styles. (I like to explore these styles and travel to co-facilitate Coderetreats with other people, as I did for last year's GDCR.)

inHouse (cc)Hosting an Inhouse Coderetreat
In a business context Coderetreats are run inhouse and during working hours. Someone inside the company has to take over the role of the host, and care for the organisation, e.g. invite participants, find a proper room, etc. Usually this is done by a team lead or line manager, who is attending the event but not participating in coding. Lunch should be provided on-site for all participants. The lunch break is the perfect time for discussions and reflections on learning and participants should not wander off to get food on their own. Sometimes I allow lunch breaks up to 90 minutes to encourage more discussions.

Finding a Room
Finding a suitable room for a whole day can be challenging as large meeting rooms are scarce and contested resources in companies. The room must be suitable for people working on laptops in pairs and should be comfortable enough to allow for prolonged periods of working. Not all rooms are useful. University labs are not ideal because the room setup does not encourage pair working. Lecture rooms with benches are no good as they do not allow for comfortable coding. The facilitator should be able to walk behind the participants and movement between sessions should be free. Dividing participants into several rooms is possible if the rooms are located next to each other. The best setup is a single, large room with several tables, where each table allows one or more pairs working together. The best rooms are apart from the daily business, without disturbances, increasing the retreat character.

Further space is needed for the discussions and session retrospectives. Sometimes this is just an empty space in front of the room where people gather in a circle and talk, or it might be a different room - or even a light-flooded hallway. Sometimes a short walk to another room helps participants to detach from the previous exercise.

A Day of Learning and Practise
The goal of a Coderetreat is deliberate practise and learning. There is always something new to discover during such a day. Depending on the expectations and skills of the participants, the facilitator will choose suitable exercises that challenge them and push them outside their comfort zone. All exercises are based on TDD, Simple Design and Pair Programming. Even if participants are new to one or all these core practises, they will get a first experience using them. They will explore their first tests or might collaborate with more experienced developers and see how to drive their development with tests. It is a great way to start TDD. I have seen participants leave the event completely exhausted by all the new things they have learned.

Retrospective during Coderetreat at Wooga/Berlin 2015 (C) Stefan HothFor inhouse Coderetreats participation should be voluntarily. It is impossible to force people into learning. If someone does not want to attend, she can leave any time. During inhouse events I do explain more and push the participants less outside their comfort zone because they are still at work. Although it is difficult for me, I refrain from difficult or extreme constraints because I do not want to frustrate the participants. Some facilitators start an inhouse Coderetreat with a short presentation or discussion about the principles of TDD, Pair Programming and Object Orientation.

Kicking Off an Improvement Initiative
While an inhouse Coderetreat includes more teaching aspects than a public one, it is no training, there is no teacher and the participants strongly influence the day's agenda. Still it is a great way to get started with the spirit Software Craftsmanship, Continuous Improvement, Deliberate Practise, XP practises like Test Driven Development or Pair Programming and Agile Software Delivery in general. A major goal of an initial Coderetreat is to make people aware that there is more than training on the job and to spark the interest in topics like TDD or Clean Code. A Coderetreat is a great way to break the ice, because it is without any obligation for participants. I also make the whole day as much fun as possible, because fun is important for learning and I want my participants to look forward to future events. I strongly recommend running a Coderetreat to kick off any technical improvement initiative or coaching engagement.

The Facilitator's Perspective
A Coderetreat is also an opportunity for the facilitator and the host company to get to know each other, enabling further collaboration. Deliberate Practise events like Coderetreats or Coding Dojos cover only some aspects of technical improvement. Additional activities like lectures, focused programming workshops, team coaching, mentoring by Pair- or Mob Programming might be necessary. During a Coderetreat the facilitator sees how the participants approach problems, how they write code and how they communicate with one another. These fist impressions of the team's skills help to plan further learning activities.

Conclusion
Since I started working as independent trainer and coach in Vienna I have used the Coderetreat format extensively. Its open nature allows the participants to experience a way of practise and learning which are usually not known in enterprise environments. On the other hand it gives me a first idea of the overall skill level of the client's team and we get to know each other. I strongly recommend running a Coderetreat as kick off for any long term technical coaching engagement.