cellio | how I work

LifeHacker is doing a series on how I work and one of my coworkers brought the concept to our wiki late last week. This is approximately what I posted. (I hadn't yet seen the LifeHacker posts, so the style doesn't exactly match.)

The Basics:

Name: Monica
Occupation: the business card says "software developer"; really a mix of software interface designer, application programmer, technical writer (emphasis on technical), and budding architect
Location: Blueberry (our office has neighborhoods)
Current computer(s):
- Work: standard developer desktop (Dell XP)
- Home: Mac Mini (Snow Leopard), a legacy PC (XP) I haven't turned on in half a year, and the corpse of a recently-dead iBook
Current mobile device(s): Android phone, (new) ASUS Transformer tablet (Android), classic Kindle (e-ink)
I work: inquisitively and caffeinated

What apps/software/tools can't you live without?
Live without? Nothing. But near-essential: emacs, a command line, Firefox with Stylish. Looking for a text editor for Android.

What's your workspace setup like?
Semi-chaotic (I know where everything is). The stacks of papers are organized into epochs. A barrier is strategically placed to block light flooding in from beyond my space. At work, whiteboard and corkboard provide auxiliary storage.

Work: Home: What do you listen to while you work?
Ideally, nothing (though the gentle purring of a cat at my feet is most welcome). For me, music in headphones is in my face demanding my attention, no matter what it is or what volume it's at. Music in the background in the room (on speakers) isn't that way, but doesn't work in an open-seating plan.

In practice, at work I listen to the often-disruptive sounds of every phone, conversation, or other activity within about 50 feet, with no volume control or "off" button.

What's your best time-saving trick?
Iterate in short cycles, fail fast, and keep asking "is this what we really want?". (Also, automate anything time-consuming I have to do a lot.) I take the long view on saving time. Also, like (a coworker), explain it before doing it; you find a lot of bugs that way.

What's your favorite to-do list manager?
My memory, paper and pen, browser tabs.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can't you live without?
Again, nothing I can't live without, but paper and pen, Google, and my pocket magnifying glass are all pretty important.

What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else? What's your secret?
Close, critical reading. This lets me find problems in specifications (software specs, law/policy, game rules, etc). The secret is both reading carefully and thinking creatively about what users could do that you might not have planned for.

What's the best advice you've ever received?
"Best" changes frequently, but here's one that my current job has really brought out for me: You are not the user. That is, don't let your own assumptions cloud what you're building; go find out what your users actually need (which may not just be what they're asking you for).

Is there anything else you'd like to add that might be interesting to your coworkers?
I've been around (this company) for a long time so I tend to know odd bits of history, trivia, design rationale, etc. I also like learning new things. I enjoy helping people, so feel free to come chat (especially new people) and maybe we'll both learn something new.

how I work

no subject