Talks
The Ruby Environment
#workplace-culture
#developer-happiness
#team-dynamics
#software-development
#pair-programming
#entrepreneurship
Summarized using AI
The Ruby Environment
by Bradley GrzesiakIn the video titled "The Ruby Environment," Bradley Grzesiak shares insights on creating a productive and enjoyable work environment, particularly for Ruby developers. The presentation reflects on his journey from a career in aerospace engineering to co-founding a Ruby-focused company called Bendyworks. Grzesiak emphasizes the importance of not only the typical office environment but also the surrounding area's impact on employee happiness and productivity.
Key Points Discussed:
- Personal Journey: Grzesiak shares anecdotes from his past, including working on NASA initiatives and developing innovative technologies. He recounts moving from his dream job to start Bendyworks, driven by a desire to enhance programmer satisfaction.
- Three Components of the Ruby Environment:
- Outside Environment: Grzesiak argues that location significantly influences workplace happiness. He advocates for being situated in population centers to take advantage of nearby amenities and activities, such as restaurants and cultural events.
- Inside Environment: He highlights the importance of cultivating a supportive office atmosphere, encouraging office decorations and activities that reflect the interests of employees. Grzesiak mentions incorporating personal hobbies, such as puzzles and Lego, to promote creativity and camaraderie in the workspace.
- People: The culture and dynamics among team members play a critical role. Grzesiak stresses the need for teamwork and collaboration, showcasing how Bendyworks values shared experiences and activities to foster a positive work environment.
- Conclusion and Takeaways: Grzesiak concludes that changing one’s environment, both inside and outside the office, can lead to increased happiness and productivity. He encourages viewers to evaluate their environments and develop practices that prioritize employee well-being, creating a more fulfilling work experience.
Ultimately, this presentation serves as a motivational guide for those looking to enhance their work environments, particularly in the Ruby programming community, by focusing on the holistic picture rather than just technical aspects.
00:00:22.160
This picture has nothing to do with my presentation; I just really like it. This is my friend Tom. I'm taking a picture.
00:00:31.720
So this is a photo of me in college. The thing in front of me is a robot, and it's not falling. Well, technically, that's not true; it's ironic. So anyway, technically it is falling. Everything in this picture is falling. The plane is currently moving upwards while decelerating downwards, so everything's falling.
00:01:08.600
I was part of a NASA initiative for education called the BOM COM program. I helped design this robot and got to fly. We experienced 30 parabolas of about 25 seconds of zero gravity. The reason they call it the BOM COM is not for the 30 grams or 25 seconds of zero G; it's for the 30 pullouts of 1.8 Gs. That's what really gets me.
00:01:42.600
At the time, I was a student at the prestigious University of Wisconsin-Madison, known for many things, including partying. A few years later, this is me working for Oritech on the outskirts of Madison, Wisconsin. This picture was actually taken in Bedford, Pennsylvania, where I helped design, build, and test this mining piece. As far as I know, it’s the only on-the-fly variable geometry cutter head in the world. It is actually designed to mine on the moon. Pretty neat!
00:02:24.480
A couple of projects I worked on at Oritech include the LELPE, which is the low-energy planetary excavator, the Advanced Animal Habitat (which is a rat cage in space), and the Plant Research Unit, along with the humidity validation payload Veggie, which I don’t think is an actual acronym. I also worked on the Bigelow Aerospace Sundancer pressure control system, which is very different, and the temperature humidity ventilation system. I worked on a prototype of the rocket engine behind the Aquarius launch vehicle.
00:03:09.760
When asked what I did, I could say a number of things: I could say I'm an aerospace engineer, a lunar excavation engineer, a life support engineer for the next generation space station, or I could say I'm a rocket scientist. These are in a certain order. For most of my time as an aerospace engineer, I was single, so they reflect the likelihood of picking up a woman. The most likely is at the top; actually, saying I'm a rocket scientist seems a little over the top.
00:03:44.720
Regarding rocket science, a lot of people in our industry like to equate web development with rocket science. With my unique ability to speak professionally about both industries, I would like to unequivocally say this is not true. This is the Navier-Stokes equation; it describes how fluids behave. On the top, we have unstable accelerations and other terms. I stands for input, and v stands for viscous. We have the U vector, some internal energy, and at the bottom, we have our viscous components with shear stresses and energy addition, including mass diffusion due to combustion.
00:04:39.240
This is what’s happening inside a rocket engine. This is really cool, but it’s not rocket science. This is a Ruby conference, right? A beer conference. True rocket science occurred in early 2009. I was meeting with Stephen Anderson for lunch, and for about the third time, we talked about how the software industry was, quote unquote, doing it wrong.
00:05:15.639
He asked me if I wanted to start a business with him. I said I’d have to think about it. After we finished our day jobs, I called my dad to tell him this guy wanted me to quit my dream job. My dad suggested I should sleep on it. I thought that was hokey, but it turns out it's pretty true. You should definitely do that when faced with life-changing decisions.
00:05:58.160
I started to examine what was going on at my so-called dream job. I would ask for random things from my boss, knowing they would increase my productivity and that of my co-workers. Version control was a mess; we used to copy files manually, which was good times. My timeline for the day looked like this: I’d sleep, work, and then either write code, drink, or play games.
00:06:35.280
I realized maybe this wasn't the dream job I thought it was. I ended up starting this experiment called Bendyworks with Steve, implicitly aiming to increase programmer happiness. This is important to me because I was leaving my dream job. We love the phrase ‘we rubious.’ It means we can do very powerful things very simply, and that makes me happy.
00:07:19.560
So after moonlighting for a few months, I quit my amazing job where I was making cool things for space. I moved from the outskirts of Madison all the way downtown, where I began setting up the Ruby environment. Welcome to my talk; my name is Bradley Grzesiak.
00:07:54.800
When I talk about the Ruby environment, I'm not referring to the environment we're used to. It's not the cool output we get when we type 'rvm info.' I know this might freak you out a bit, but the things that happen outside of a computer are actually quite important. At the end of the week, you could go home and complain about how awful your work week was, or you could spend Friday night at the office, hacking away with your co-workers on a side project.
00:08:53.360
When I looked at the Ruby environment, I identified three components. First is the outside environment, which is the easiest to discern but the hardest to change. Second, the inside of the office, which is quite easy to change. Finally, the third component involves the people themselves. Before diving deeper, I want to offer a quick disclaimer: perhaps you’re a lowly minion of the corporate ladder, or you might be stuck in a three-year release cycle.
00:09:56.360
What I'm offering is a grab bag of ideas; take what you will and try to apply it if you're not entirely happy with where you're at. Moving on to the outside, who knows the three rules of real estate? Location, location, location! If you said that, you get a beer ticket.
00:10:53.600
This is a picture of the state capitol in Madison. It was taken from a similar distance from the capitol, rotated about 180 degrees from where our offices are located. I can't exactly suggest that everyone relocate their office away from a state capital, but what you can do is move into a population center. Being in a population center provides you with many perks, including access to coffee shops, restaurants, and design firms.
00:11:31.760
Of course, there are bars; we have a lot of bars around our office. Having interesting businesses nearby is crucial—it can bring joy to your day-to-day. You could have an aerospace company near you, but does that really bring you joy? What could bring you joy is being able to go to a restaurant for lunch by simply walking there or after work. If you're in a population center, you also get to enjoy various activities. In Madison, for example, we have semi-weekly farmers markets. We also have a lunchtime live music event every Tuesday where a band plays on the capitol steps.
00:13:03.240
You need to seek out what's available to you. Another key aspect is having nice scenery nearby. We have Lake Monona. If you don't have a lake nearby, try to find mountains or a nice view to have around your workspace. However, one of the biggest challenges in being in a population center is transportation. It becomes more expensive as you locate closer to the hubs of activity.
00:14:10.240
Consider alternative transportation options. Although I co-own a rail shop, most of the time I'm riding the bus or biking to work. Our company offers free bus passes for employees to use as they see fit, which is much cheaper than buying a parking space. It's environmentally friendly too. If you have employees who bike to work, ensure you provide secure storage for those bikes. Our solution is simple; we just bring our bikes into the office. However, that wraps up what I've got for the outside environment.
00:15:37.760
Next, let's discuss the inside, which is easier to affect as you only have to bring stuff in. The question becomes, what does the Ruby environment look like when applied to the interior of an office?
00:15:50.240
Embracing everyone’s extracurricular activities is important. For instance, we have two developers who are pretty good with Rubik's cubes, and one of them has a whole assortment of puzzles he brought in. We're also fans of Lego, as you can see from the spaceship.
Explore all talks recorded at Ruby on Ales 2011
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