78: Happy Cows (Repeat)

Embedded.fm · 13 Jul 2017 · 1h 07m

What this episode covers

Chris Svec, a senior principal software engineer at iRobot, discusses his concept of 'empathy-driven development,' arguing that software engineers should write code with empathy for future maintainers, new hires, and their own future selves. He connects this mindset to combating imposter syndrome and overcoming the 'lone hacker' culture prevalent in engineering education and industry. Svec also shares insights from his work on the Next Generation Roomba and recommends books like 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' and 'Make It Stick' to understand cognitive psychology in learning and communication.

Mentioned

Companies
iRobot, Intel, AMD
Products
Roomba
Also
Thinking, Fast and Slow, Make It Stick, Head First

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 39m

    Christmas Special

    Hosts Jeff Gable and Luca share war stories from their careers in embedded systems, highlighting the pain of manual testing in helicopter avionics, the chaos of managing requirements with Word and Excel in Dropbox for medical devices, and the technical debt of massive #ifdef blocks in legacy machine tool software. They discuss the industry's slow adoption of modern software practices like version control and CI/CD, contrasting embedded development with web development standards. The episode concludes with book recommendations including 'The Phoenix Project' and 'Team Topologies', and reflections on the future of IoT security and agile adoption in hardware.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 44m

    Pedantic or Andrantic

    Chris Gammell, a developer advocate at Hologram and founder of Contextual Electronics, joins Elecia and Chris White of Embedded.fm to discuss hardware prototyping, learning strategies, and industry tools. The conversation covers the challenges of cellular IoT connectivity, the utility of the HackRF software-defined radio, and debugging techniques using the J-Trace Pro. They also explore pedagogical concepts like the Dreyfus model for learning programming and hardware, emphasizing the importance of iteration and mental health in engineering careers.

  • Being an Engineer · 42m

    S2E50 Soft Skills, Stinky Feet, and Being An Ambivert | Dave Smith

    Dave Smith, VP of Engineering at eVisit and co-host of the Soft Skills Engineering podcast, discusses the critical importance of non-technical skills for software engineers. He shares his journey from a reluctant student to a director-level engineer at companies like Amazon and Walmart, and explains how he and co-host Jamison Dance started their podcast to address the 'soft skills' gap in the industry. Smith emphasizes that effective communication, handling feedback, and understanding personality types like introversion are essential for career growth and leadership.

  • Being an Engineer · 49m

    S2E03 Engineering Empathy, Identifying Needs, & Developing Strong Work Ethic | Blayne Roeder

    Blaine Rader, who holds three engineering degrees from Purdue and has held senior director roles at Med Institute and Cook Group, discusses his journey from a farm upbringing to leading R&D for aortic stent grafts. He emphasizes the importance of engineering empathy, spending significant time defining unmet clinical needs, and the value of working directly with physicians to understand surgical procedures. Rader also shares advice on career development, highlighting the need for a strong work ethic, mentorship, and the willingness to fail fast in product development.

  • Being an Engineer · 49m

    Erin Thorp | How to Lead Your Engineering Team with Empathy

    Erin Thorp, a civil engineer turned leadership coach and author of 'Inside Out Empathy', explains how empathy serves as a critical tool for engineering leaders to manage diverse teams and navigate post-pandemic workplace dynamics. She details her transition from a 25-year career in construction project management to full-time coaching, driven by a desire to scale her impact on team engagement and inclusion. Thorp argues that empathy is a learnable skill, not an innate trait, and provides practical strategies for engineers to practice active listening and vulnerability without falling into the trap of trying to 'fix' their colleagues' problems.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.