A lot of people head to programming school–i.e. computer science departments–with the goal of getting the education necessary to become software engineers at Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc. There’s a desire to learn the necessary skills to contribute to software projects. However, there often appears to be a disconnect between what is taught and what is useful in successfully delivering software products on time. Experience is the best teacher for an individual desiring to work in the software field.

This is an excerpt from an article by Mike Acton on effectively using time during software projects. The List 1. Help! I’m constantly distracted by email, IM, random things. Block no-email time in your calendar. It’s less complicated than it seems. Even just two hours a day could make a massive difference. Trust me, if it’s that urgent, someone will figure out how to find you. 2. Consistency is the key Each morning write down one thing you can accomplish that day that would make the day worth it.

Introduction Software diagrams visualize the intents and relationships of complex systems; that’s the idea, anyway. In reality, software professionals and their clients often fruitlessly engage in this dance of breaking down requirements and design through diagrams that often make sense at the time the diagram is done. And, when someone else comes to try to read or use this artifact, it’s nearly useless as all context and meaning is missing. Despite this, the desire to make more and more diagrams remains.