Read Widely and Always be Willing to Learn from Others with Scott Ambler

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Scott Ambler. Scott works with organisations around the world to help them to improve their software processes.  He provides training, coaching and mentoring in disciplined agile and lean strategies at both the project and organisational level. He is also the founder of the Agile Modelling (AM) and Agile Data (AD) methods and co-founder of Disciplined Agile (DA). In this episode, Phil and Scott discuss why Scott got interested in agile and continues to develop it. How he helps large organisations to change the way they work by leveraging the experiences of other organisations. They talk about how to effectively test the architecture of a system, at an early stage, and why it must be done.   KEY TAKEAWAYS: (6.41) TOP CAREER TIP Read widely. You need to be constantly consuming information from a wide range of sources.   (7.46) WORST CAREER MOMENT Many years ago, Scott ended up working with a strong team who were handicapped by having to use technology that basically did not work. The different parts of the system could not talk to each other and the database could not handle negative numbers. Worse, these fundamental flaws could not be fixed. Months later, it all crashed and burned. The experience taught Scott the benefits of testing early. You have to prove the architecture as soon as possible.   (10.59) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Scott really enjoys seeing software and systems he has worked on being used when he walks down the street. He also loves the fact he is still in touch with some of the teams he worked with, in the past. Working with great people has been something he feels has been a highlight of his career.   (12.51) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The complexity and variety of the work you do as an IT professional is what helps to make things so interesting. Given the fact that the world is in a constant state of flux, Scott believes there will always be interesting challenges to tackle.   (14.15) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – At university, Scott decided to take computer science because he had enjoyed programming since high school. So, a career in IT was a natural progression for him. What's the best career advice you received? – Read often. What's the worst career advice you received? – Focus on one technology. What would you do if you started your career now? – Scott says he would probably follow a similar path. But, he would want to work on a legacy system. He explains why that is, in the podcast. What are your current career objectives? – Scott wants to dive deeper into understanding why certain approaches work and others don't. He wants to be able to answer these fundamental questions. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Being a good writer. How do you keep your own career energized? – Being curious and always striving to learn something new. What do you do away from technology? – Scott loves cycling. He also collects Atari 8 consoles and old computers.   (20.22) FINAL CAREER TIP Continually expand your skillset and take every opportunity to learn from others. And always question what you do. Develop several core specialities. But, be sure to look beyond them. Work to understand the challenges of the business you work for and always be willing to pick up new skills.   BEST MOMENTS (5.06) – Scott - "Own your own process, choose your way of working." (6.41) – Scott - "Always be trying to learn, always be reading and read widely." (9.59) – Scott - "It is important to test early and prove the architectures working code." (18.14) – Scott - "Being able to communicate, particularly using the written word is still absolutely critical." (21.13) – Scott - "Always be willing to pick up new skills and work with others."   ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions.  Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers.  And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.   CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer   ABOUT THE GUEST – SCOTT AMBLER Scott Ambler works with organisations around the world to help them to improve their software processes.  He provides training, coaching and mentoring in disciplined agile and lean strategies at both the project and organisational level. He is also the founder of the Agile Modelling (AM) and Agile Data (AD) methods and co-founder of Disciplined Agile (DA).   CONTACT THE GUEST – SCOTT AMBLER Scott Ambler can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/scottwambler LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sambler Website: https://www.scottambler.com/index.html