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Embracing Leadership in Software Development: Insights from Tom Albers

Discover the journey and philosophy of Tom Albers, Director of Engineering at Direct EDI. With over 34 years of experience in software development and project management, Tom shares his insights on leadership, team building, and the importance of customer-centric solutions. He emphasizes the value of learning from mistakes and continuously improving through discipline and passion. From managing change to the role of outsourcing, this talk is a reflection on how to live a balanced life while leading innovative software projects. Join Tom as he inspires others to combine technical expertise with heartfelt leadership.

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Embracing Leadership in Software Development: Insights from Tom Albers

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Presentation Transcript

  1. LIVE : LOVE: CODE :LEAD

  2. PM-Zone.org : Kharkiv Community of Project Managers Thomas Albers Director of Engineering Direct EDI http://www.directedi.com

  3. About me Who I am : How did I get here SuccessLeadership Vision Building Teams and Products Process and Techniques Managing change Outsourcing Senior Developers Managers / Architects Agenda

  4. I am a work in progress. I make mistakes. I retain the right to retract my argument at any time in exchange for a better position. This is 34.263 years of very personal startup Internet/Saas experience and should not be taken or applied without deep thought and confidence. Sensitive ears warning: I #$%^& CURSE! [American Slang] Disclaimer

  5. Story of Tom Albers

  6. THESE ARE THE IDEAS THAT SHAPE MY EXISTENCE PEOPLE DISCIPLINE PASSION ENERGY STRENGTH VISION ALWAYS IMPROVING LOVE FUN DANCING

  7. Born August 1976 • Father is a doctor • Mother was a police officer • Typical American childhood with discipline and people focus. • Blessed with great fortune. History

  8. First programming and built business in 1989 • Medical Billing – Mac – Hypercard • United States Marine Corps. 1994 -1998 • Business Anywhere 1999-2001 • Voltdelta Resources 2001-2005 • MySpace.com 2005-2006 • New Momentum 2006-2009 • AMG-SIU/HMS 2009-2010 • StoryLeaders 2009- • Direct EDI 2010- Resume

  9. DisciplineDiscipline Discipline • Aviation Jet Engine Mechanic • Process • Quality Assurance • Sacrifice • Humility – Confidence – No fear United States Marine Corps.

  10. Management • Application – How To • Product Development • Customers First • Outsourcing • Programming • Travel Business Anywhere

  11. Technology • Technology Transitioning • Integrations • Programming • Localization • Scale - Architecture MySpace.com

  12. Web EDI • EDI Transformations • EDI Integrations • Community Organization Direct EDI

  13. My Approach to Life

  14. Live a simple life • Reduce complexity • We are ALL in sales • Elegant and Simple Solutions • Customers First • Passion • Love for People • Love for Software • Fall in Love often How I Live

  15. Life : Work : Family • Is there a difference? • Treat everyone the same • Make them your family • Make life fun! • Do not sweat the small stuff! • Find people to do that for you! • Exercise • Healthy body = healthy Mind How I Live

  16. Be Humble • Make amazing memories and use their power! • Carpe Diem • Horace - Seize the Day • And if not now, when? • Mi Vida Loca • My Crazy Life • Live happy, Live Lite, Live Free • A real Agile Life How I Live

  17. Take Control Now • Make lots of small decisions • Start with a Customer • Start with a Vision • A customer has a problem… • Present the problem • LEAD the team to the solution • Do you believe in a “corporate strategy”? • Has it helped somehow in your career? How I Lead

  18. Consensus Building • Push teams to own the problem • Self Organization • Long term planning is a waste of time • Estimates are guesses • Long term guesses compound poor over time • Most Decisions are temporary • Most Decisions should be temporary • Lead through experience • Meetings Suck • Be an example How I Manage

  19. Tuesdays and Thursdays are code only days • Pomodoro Technique • 25 minutes uninterrupted : 5 minute break • Headphones • Hip hop : Drum and Bass : Ambient • Test Driven • Continuous Improvement • Always working Software How I Code

  20. What books/articles influenced you as a professional? • Seven Habits of Highly Effective People • How to win friends and Influence People • From Good to Great • Mythical Man Month • Customer Centric Selling/Solution Selling • Too many programming books to name • People • Jason Fried • Mike Bosworth • Scott Hanselman • Joel Spolsky • Kris Williams • Scott Guthrie Influences

  21. Enough about me!

  22. LIVE : LOVE: CODE :LEAD

  23. LIVE : LOVE: CODE :LEAD

  24. Software Leadership

  25. What tools did you use to manage your projects (planning, bug tracking, configuration management etc.)? • How do you communicate complex ideas to the team? • How do you inspire/drive innovation? Software Leadership

  26. What were your last biggest failures and what did you study from them? • When you are the manager is it safe to come to you and say that your tasks is behind the schedule? • What do you usually do in this situation? Failure

  27. Building Great Applications

  28. How have you positioned engineering within the Organization? • How are teams organized within Engineering? • How is change introduced and controlled within the software development lifecycle? • How do you keep developers motivated throughout the project? • *** throughout the product lifecycle? Process & Techniques

  29. How do you manage change within the application? Managing Change

  30. What are the current trends in US about outsourcing? • Use more outsourcing or less then before? • What are the favorite directions: India, China, Eastern Europe etc.? • What is the most important keys – why did you select specific outsource team? • What are 3 most important things you expect from outsource team (to be cheap, transparent, fast, fit in deadline etc.) Outsourcing

  31. What are the typical ranges for hourly/monthly rates you would expect from Ukrainian teams as a US customer? • How does that compare that to the local rates in US? • Are there any stereotypes about quality of code from Ukraine/Russia? • We often make fun of India code, but are there common complaints about our own code? • When working as a customer with a development team in Ukraine would you prefer to have a PM in Ukraine or in US? Why? Outsourcing

  32. What are the key skills we are looking for in a Software Architect? • Where/how do you find great architects? • How do you interview for architects? Software Architects

  33. Quality Assurance • What about QA people in the USA? • Are they valuable? • What are their preferable skills ?

  34. About me Who I am : How did I get here SuccessLeadership Vision Building Teams and Products Process and Techniques Managing change Outsourcing Senior Developers Managers / Architects Summary

  35. Lead with Passion and Vision Love Software, Family, Business Live and Love the Life you have built Continue to Learn, Always Stay Connected Call to Action

  36. Skype : alberstt Email : tom.albers@directedi.com alberstt@gmail.com LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/albers Stay Connected

  37. LIVE : LOVE: CODE :LEAD

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