Career Highlights: Software Engineering

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS :SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

ALEX GIMENEZ

BILINGUAL MANAGER, PLATFORM TOOLS TEAM

NINTENDO OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

• MOTIVATION FOR PRESENTATION

• WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

• STORY OF MY CAREER

• OTHER CAREER CASE STUDIES

• WHAT IS CODE?

• TYPICAL WORK WEEK OF AN ENGINEER

• IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!

• CONCLUSION: MAKE A DIFFERENCE

MOTIVATION FOR PRESENTATION

• EXPOSE DAY-TO-DAY LIVE OF A SOFTWARE ENGINEER

• SHOW A FEW PATHS TO START INTO THIS BUSINESS

• SHOW THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS PROFESSION

• SHOW WHERE BEING CHRISTIAN MAKES A DIFFERENCE

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

• ABOUT ALEX TODAY:

• BILINGUAL MANAGER, PLATFORM TOOLS TEAM

• WORKING FOR NINTENDO OF AMERICA

• MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD

• BORN INTO A CHRISTIAN HOME (INTRODUCED TO CHRISTIANITY AT AN EARLY AGE)

• ALEX, AT AGE 4

• WANTED TO WORK COLLECTING GARBAGE

• ALEX, AGE 14

• WANTED TO JOIN THE ARMY

• ALEX, AGE 15

• FELL IN LOVE WITH COMPUTERS. DROPPED OUT OF KARATE TO STAY IN THE LAB.

• KEY POINT:

• HAVE A PLAN.

• BUT WATCH FOR ACTIVITIES THAT STIR YOUR PASSION – COLOSSIANS 3:23

CAREER TURNING POINTS

• 1990: FINISHED TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

• 1990: STARTED FIRST PROGRAMMING JOB – DATABASE PROGRAMMING

• 1992: STARTED UNIVERSITY (WHILE WORKING)

• 1996: STARTED MASTER’S DEGREE (STILL WORKING)

• 1998: MOVED TO U.S.A.. STARTED WORK WITH TELECOMMUNICATION (AS A CONTRACTOR)

• 2001: HIRED FULL TIME BY LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES (IPHONE VOICEMAIL STILL USES PROGRAMS I WROTE)

• 2003: HIRED BY MICROSOFT. STILL TELECOMMUNICATION WORK

• 2006: BACK TO SCHOOL: EMBEDDED SOFTWARE DEGREE AT U.W.

• 2006: WITHIN MICROSOFT: STARTED EMBEDDED SOFTWARE WORK

• 2011: THREE MONTHS SPENT IN JAPAN TO STUDY JAPANESE

• 2011: STARTED AT NINTENDO, AS A LEAD

• KEY POINT: PUT YOUR STRENGTH INTO LEARNING. IT PAYS OFF.

• PHILIPPIANS 4:13: STRENGTH COMES FROM GOD

OTHER CAREER CASE STUDIES• MANAGING YOUNGER ENGINEERS, I CAN OFTEN “SMELL” PROMISING UP-AND-COMERS;

• A FEW CASES HERE FOR REFERENCE:

• MR. A:

• GRADUATE FROM RENOWNED UNIVERSITY

• BIG FOOTBALL FAN

• LOTS OF ENERGY

• VERY GOOD AT EXPLAINING HIS IDEAS – A GREAT “PEOPLE PERSON”

• MR. B:

• GRADUATE FROM TECHNICAL COLLEGE

• DOES COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AS A HOBBY (I DID TOO – DROPPED KARATE!)

• VERY CAPABLE

• OVERCONFIDENT

• MS. C:

• GRADUATE FROM MAJOR UNIVERSITY

• VERY CAPABLE

• VERY HUMBLE

• POINTS IN COMMON: GOOD BALANCE OF NATURAL ABILITY & EFFORT;

• SOFTWARE ENGINEERS ARE A VERY DIVERSE CROWD!

• DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES ACTUALLY HELP TEAMWORK.

WHAT IS CODE?

• SOFTWARE (ALSO CALLED CODE) IS SIMILAR TO A LONG RECIPE

• EXCEPT WITH CONDITIONALS:

• E.G.: IF THE TOMATOES ARE RIPE, BAKE WITH OVEN SET TO 300F. OTHERWISE, BAKE WITH OVEN SET TO 350F.

• AND LOOPS

• E.G.: ADD ONE TEASPOON OF SUGAR AT A TIME, UNTIL IT TASTES GOOD

• CODE HAS TWO FACES:

• HUMAN FACE: WORDS AND NUMBERS. WE OFTEN SEE THAT IN MOVIES; TECHNICALLY, WE CALL THAT “SOURCE CODE”

• COMPUTER FACE: ONES AND ZEROES. THAT’S WHAT THE COMPUTER UNDERSTANDS. TECHNICALLY, WE CALL THAT “OBJECT CODE”, OR “EXECUTABLE CODE”.

• TRANSLATION IS CALLED “COMPILATION”Source

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TYPICAL WORK WEEK OF SOFTWARE ENGINEER

• UNDERSTAND REQUIREMENTS

• TALK TO OTHERS, DIVIDE THE WORK SO YOU GRAB YOUR PIECE OF THE WORK

• ACT QUICK, SO YOU GET THE MOST INTERESTING PIECE!

• CREATE DESIGNS (“CREATE DREAMS”): EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHAT YOU WILL BUILD, HOW YOU WILL BUILD IT

• FIND YOUR TOOLS

• MAKE SOME TOOLS OF YOUR OWN

• WRITE CODE

• EXPLAIN WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

• DEAL WITH “BUGS”

A “BUG” ??

• THE WORD “BUG” HAS IS USED TO DESCRIBE ENGINEERING ERRORS

• IT WAS USED BEFORE COMPUTERS:

• THOMAS EDISON WROTE IN 1878 ABOUT THE ENGINEERING PROCESS (SUMMARY MINE):

1) AN IDEA COMES (INTUITION)

2) A BURST OF REWARDING HARD WORK

3) “BUGS” ARISE (DIFFICULTIES)

4) MORE HARD WORK IS NEEDED TO FIX THE BUGS

• IN 1947, A REAL “BUG” CREPT INTO A COMPUTER (HARVARD MARK II)

TYPICAL WORK WEEK OF SOFTWARE ENGINEER (CONT’D)

• EXPLAIN WHAT YOU HAVE DONE:

• EXPLAIN TO ENGINEERING TEAM MATES HOW TO USE YOUR SOFTWARE

• EXPLAIN TO TEST TEAM HOW TO USE YOUR SOFTWARE

• HELP THE CUSTOMER SUPPORT TEAM UNDERSTAND YOUR SOFTWARE

• DEAL WITH BUGS:

• FIND & FIX BUGS IN NEW CODE

• FIND & FIX BUGS IN OLD CODE (OFTEN CODE WRITTEN BY OTHERS)

• EXPLAIN YOUR FIXES TO MANY PEOPLE

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!• AS AN ENGINEER, YOU TALK CONSTANTLY TO:

• YOUR BOSS

• YOUR TEAM MATES

• THE TESTER TEAM (THEY ARE YOUR INTERNAL CUSTOMERS)

• OTHER ENGINEERING TEAMS

• PROGRAM MANAGERS

• EXTERNAL CUSTOMERS

• POINT: YOUR ABILITY TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE IS KEY

• LISTEN CAREFULLY TO OTHER’S INPUT

• EXPLAIN YOUR IDEAS CONCISELY

• DEFEND YOUR IDEAS WITHOUT ATTACKING PEOPLE

• BE KIND EVEN WHEN “YOU’RE RIGHT AND THEY ARE WRONG”

• TRY TO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE’S MOTIVATIONS AND REASONS

• ABOVE ALL: BE TRUTHFUL AND FORTHCOMING!

• LUKE 6:31: TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED!

CONCLUSION: MAKE A DIFFERENCE• IT’S CRITICAL TO BE NICE

• IT’S NICE TO BE SMART

• BUT THERE’S A “SOMETHING ELSE” THAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT:

• MOTIVATE OTHERS TO DO THEIR BEST

• BE ALWAYS WILLING TO LEARN FROM OTHERS (PROVERBS 9:9 & 9:10)

• BE ALWAYS WILLING TO TEACH

• BE A TEAM PLAYER (WE ALL WIN WHEN THE TEAM WINS)

• BE GENUINELY HAPPY FOR OTHER’S SUCCESS

• DO YOUR WORK WITH GENUINE JOY

• THESE TRAITS ARE USEFUL EVERYWHERE – NOT JUST IN THE SOFTWARE BUSINESS

A FEW ADVANCED TERMS AND EXPRESIONS

• MAKE A DIFFERENCE: TO HAVE A EFFECT. TO DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT:

• PASSION: DESIRE TO DO SOMETHING OUT OF LOVE. NOT FOR MONEY. EXAMPLE: HUMANITARIAN DOCTORS.

• HUMBLE: PERSON WHO DOES NOT THINK TOO HIGHLY ABOUT HIM/HERSELF.

• OVERCONFIDENT: THE OPPOSITE OF HUMBLE

• REQUIREMENTS: IN SOFTWARE, IT MEANS A CONDITION THAT THE PRODUCT MUST SATISFY. EX.: IN A CALCULATOR PROGRAM, DOING ADDITION, SUBTRACTION, MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION ARE REQUIREMENTS.

• BURST: AN EXPLOSION. IN THE PRESENTATION, A “BURST OF HARDWORK” MEANS: MANY DAYS IN A ROW, WORKING MANY HOURS EVERY DAY.

• GENUINELY: SINCERELY

BIBLE REFERENCES

• ABOUT PASSION FOR WORK: COLOSSIANS 3:23:

“WHATEVER YOU DO, WORK AT IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AS WORKING FOR THE LORD, NOT FOR HUMAN MASTERS”

• ABOUT USING YOUR STRENGTH FOR LEARNING: PHILIPPIANS 4:13

“I CAN DO ALL THIS THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH

• TREATING OTHERS AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TREATED: LUKE 6:31:

“DO TO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU”

• ABOUT BEING NICE, EVEN TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT NICE TO YOU: MATTHEW 5:39:

“BUT I TELL YOU, DO NOT RESIST AN EVIL PERSON. IF ANYONE SLAPS YOU ON THE RIGHT CHEEK, TURN TO THEM THE OTHER CHEEK ALSO”

• ABOUT LEARNING: PROVERBS 9:9-10

“INSTRUCT THE WISE AND THEY WILL BE WISER STILL; TEACH THE RIGHTEOUS AND THEY WILL ADD TO THEIR LEARNING. THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM, AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY ONE IS UNDERSTANDING”

CULTURAL REFERENCE

• YODA: THE WISE, OLD TEACHER IN THE “STAR WARS” MOVIES.

• LUKE SKYWALKER: YODA’S VERY POWERFUL PUPIL, THE MAIN HERO OF “STAR WARS”.

• IN THE PRESENTATION, ALEX SAID AS A JOKE “I SMELL A LUKE SKYWALKER HERE, ANOTHER ONE THERE”, REERRING TO HOW HE SEES TALENT IN YOUNG ENGINEERS (MR. A, MR. B, MS. C)