Possible Duplicate: Good headphones for a noisy office How can I cut-out distractions? Are noise-canceling headphones suitable, and are any specific models recommended? I had a fellow programmer that used to use some headphones to help her shut out distractions and focus on her work. Lately I find that I am less able to foc...
Does anyone have any good advice on how to layout an office for developers, one that makes it easy to pair program occasionally and communicate with ease. We have 12 developers with the desk shown below, which are useless for collaboration, the L shape makes it hard for two people to sit at the desk. We already have offices with loads o...
In a different thread Mr. Shark suggested to use your boss to be more efficient at work. What would be your suggestions for the best way’s to utilize your boss in a development team? ...
We're fortunate in our company to each have 2 decent-sized monitors and reasonably fast machines. This alone is enough to impress many of my peers who are stuck working with poor equipment. But should things like this really be seen as a luxury? What about a quiet working environment? Should this be guaranteed? How about comfy chairs? W...
I recently moved from biking-distance from work to short-commute from work. I'd like to reduce the number of miles I drive and the hours in transit if I can. My company allows me to telecommute, so I'm considering that as an option. But I'm concerned that it may limit my career development. (One of my colleagues telecommutes and I su...
Do you know these moments when you: stopped laughing at Dilbert, because you realize its true spent evenings completing a project that never went into production when requirements are blurry but the schedule is not There are so many factors that can frustrate developer and hinder him from being productive. What factors do you exper...
My boss wants to "get back into programming" by making an internal web application. I've got lots of experience with php and mvc frameworks, but he's doesn't want to learn php, he wants to learn c# as it probably will be more useful to him down the road (I can't disagree.) I think I'll be ok with tutorials and code snippets I find online...
My new workplace has no programming books. For some reason every programmer, if he needs a book, buys it for himself personally and he might get reimbursed if he can make a business case for this purchase (i.e. convince the boss). I'm used to situation when books are bought for the office and they are shared. How to convince the boss th...
People don't take me seriously at my workplace. Whatever suggestions I give, it is always labeled as a technical solution. What do I have to do? ...
Locking doors or putting on headphones is more of an avoidance strategy which tends to reduce productivity. Instead, I'm looking for ways to increase productivity. How do you maintain focus and reduce interruptions in your workplace? ...
What is the most important thing you weren't taught in school? What topics are missing from the CS/IS education? Posted so far How to sell an idea Principles: Often, good enough is better than perfect. Making mistakes is actually a Good Thing™ -- as long as they're new mistakes. If a user can break your code they will. In the ...
I'm thinking of a place where we would put some documents for developers, like coding and naming conventions, build environment set-up, productivity tricks, office books and who has them, etc. Is wiki a good format for this kind of thing? Can you suggest a particular engine? ...
We know that working many hours in front of computers gives us many bad and unhealthy habits, bad health conditions and so on, which in the long term decrease our productivity. Did you make any big changes in your lifestyle that made a big improvement in your health and productivity? Please name one such activity - it could be change o...
I’m a telecommunications major who has taken the two intro programming classes as well as a data structures class. I’m not sure if I want to do networking or software development. Although I know several languages and am able to throw together quick and dirty solutions I don’t have a strong theoretical backround. What topics would you re...
When you work at one place for several years people get to know you, your code and what kind of professional you are. But when you come to a new place people are cautious and your word just doesn't have the same weight it used to. How do you speed up this gaining credibility process? ...
How would you go about requesting a transfer to a different team/role within your company? I've been at my job for the last year or so, and I really like the firm, the pay and the people. Without going into specifics, I'm really not enjoying my actual work and my department is a real mess to work in*. Though there is plenty of scope fo...
Are there any places (continental/country/city/ or maybe company) StackOverflow users think/want to promote as "Programmers Heaven" -- as in "to work and code for a living and be happy socially/mentally and wealthy"? ...
I was recently answering a question referring to the Joel Test and found that our company did not do well on some points (hallway usability testing and daily builds) but that these points for our company are relatively minor, while I agree that some points are an absolutely must (source control, bug database, interviewees writing code). ...
I find that designers and managers tend to ridicule user interface designs created by programmers. Without question there have been tons of poor user interfaces made by programmers in the past, but it seems like the norm to assume all user interface designs made by programmers are bad. Developers who strive to constantly improve themsel...
My biggest issue is noise-distractions. I am in a cube farm, and there are usually 5-6 conversations going on at the same time. I use my shooting muffs a lot of time, and listen to music. I also permission to do coding at home, in a more quiet environment when necessary. What do you do? What does your employer do? ...