Author: Heidi Waterhouse
-
Happiness Minutes
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth kind of invented efficiency as an industrial measurement. And then they had a big fight with Frederick fucking Winslow Taylor about it. See, Taylor wanted humans to be part of the machine. The Gilbreths wanted the machine to serve the humans. Taylor thought that standardizing human behavior would make better factories…
-
Book Review: The Psychology of Software Teams by Cat Hicks
I read the first half of this book all in one sitting, and then the second half the same way. Which is a lot of psychology all at once, but it flowed so naturally and logically together that I never really felt like there was a hard stop between thoughts. And there were thoughts, so…
-
Word of the year: Context
What contexts am I choosing in my life, and are they what I want?
-
-
Saying the same thing, differently
In the view of capital, developer experience is like creating steam-powered mills. Sure, there’s a risk of mangling the workers, but look how much more productive they are, and how it drives costs down for everyone!
-
How guardrails enable you to work at AI speed
On December 10, I’m joining a bunch of cool people on a LeadDev panel to talk about guardrails and AI use. Register to join us! As we were doing the pre-panel discussion, I started thinking about the metaphor we were using. Guardrails are not uniquely American, but they are very American. We see them so…
-
Political: Whistle Work
What to do If you have a 3D printer, choose a design and print whistles. If you’re going to distribute yourself, add lanyards and flyers explaining them. If you hear a whistle and you are in the “slightly safer” demographic (middle-aged white lady, in my case), head for the sound and be ready to record…
-
Upcoming appearances
Upcoming appearances at ETLS, LeadDev panel, and Monktoberfest, with some book signings!
-
Communications is so big
Communications jobs are siloed in organization charts, but most of them share basic skills, and the specialization lies in the various audiences and tools. Communications is a continuum from UX to support.
-
No useless knowledge
It started two years ago, on a street in Dublin. They have a cool program where notable historical figures get a little bio on walls. The key part was this: She invented a unique uncrushable linen fabric by backing handkerchief linen with taffeta. Jacqueline Kennedy wore a pleated skirt in this fabric for her portrait…
