Work on Open Source Projects and across all Business Areas with Aslak Hellesoy

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Aslak Hellesoy. Aslak is the creator of Cucumber and co-founder of Cucumber Limited.  He is a co-author of The Cucumber Book and was an early adopter of XP and BDD.   He has worked as a programmer, software architect, business owner and trainer in a variety of industries including finance, telecom and retail.   In this episode Phil and Aslak discuss his involvement in the test-driven way of working and how Cucumber came about. He explains how his Open Source projects played a role in the company's formation and how his career has benefited from this way of getting things done.   Aslak demonstrates why learning functional programming languages is now a good idea. They also discuss the merits of CRDT and functional programming languages.   KEY TAKEAWAYS: (8.50) TOP CAREER TIP Get involved in Open Source. Doing that has played a big role in Aslak's career success. It is an effective way to learn new tech, have fun, expand your network and make a difference.   Aslak also recommends taking on speaking engagements. In the podcast, he explains how he got started and how you can do the same.   (12.05) WORST CAREER MOMENT Many years ago, Aslak found himself working on a big finance project. From the start, the team knew the deadline was impossible to meet. But, the project manager ignored this fact and did not make the customer aware of this issue. Despite everyone working long hours, the deadline was missed. It was a very de-motivating and stressful experience.   Bert saw firsthand the damage a lack of transparency and trust could do. That incident sparked his interest in behaviour-driven development (BDD). He could see that working collaboratively was a far better approach.   (14.27) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Selling the company he had built up with his team over the course of 5 years is Aslak's career highlight. Aslak is looking forward to having more time to dedicate to Open Source work while still being involved in evolving Cucumber. It has also enabled him to get back to being able to code all day.   (16.05) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Aslak is a little concerned about where the latest tech is going to take us as a society. A lot of good things are going to come out of AI. But, AI and other new techs are still very much open to abuse by governments and organizations.   More optimistically, Aslak points out that a career in tech still offers excellent job security, particularly for software developers. A situation that is not likely to change anytime soon.   (17.50) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Aslak ended up pursuing an IT career by accident. Only when he understood the power of the World Wide Web did his desire to work in tech really take hold. What's the best career advice you received? – Get a mentor, someone who is prepared to spend time with you. What would you do if you started your career now? – Aslak would learn functional programming rather than procedural programming. What are your current career objectives? – Aslak is looking forward to having a full-time team working on Cucumber. There are a lot of exciting features he wants to see added. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Listening to other people. How do you keep your own career energized? – Learning new techniques, languages, frameworks, databases and platforms. What do you do away from technology? – Aslak has two young daughters and enjoys cooking and playing five-a-side football.   (23.15) FINAL CAREER TIP Have lunch with a colleague you do not know well, preferably, someone who is doing something different from you. This will help you to understand the business you are working in far more. That will make you a far better developer.   BEST MOMENTS (9.22) – Aslak - "Working on Open Source projects is a great way to learn new technologies."  (16.51) – Aslak - "Being a software developer is going to be a pretty safe job choice." (19.16) – Aslak - "Get yourself a mentor. No matter where you are in your career a mentor will help." (20.08) – Aslak - "Learn functional programming languages, you can get more done with them." (21.32) – Aslak - "Listen to others and ask the right questions." (23.15) – Aslak - "Get to know people from all areas of the business it will make you a better programmer."     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 – Aslak Hellesoy Aslak Hellesoy is the creator of Cucumber and co-founder of Cucumber Limited.  He is a co-author of The Cucumber Book and was an early adopter of XP and BDD.   He has worked as a programmer, software architect, business owner and trainer in a variety of industries including finance, telecom and retail.     CONTACT THE GUEST – Aslak Hellesoy Aslak Hellesoy can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/aslak_hellesoy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aslak/ Website: https://aslakhellesoy.com/