Page 200 - The Art of Designing Embedded Systems

CHAPTER 9

People Musings

Managing Yourself and Others

Anyone can crank code or draw logic diagrams. Truly gifted engi-
neers are those who predictably deliver quality products on time, on budget,
that meet the specs.
Raw inspiration accounts for a tiny fraction of the effort needed to be
constantly successful. An awful lot of what we do boils down to finding a
reasonable formula for success and then following that formula relent-
lessly. Sure, we should experiment with it, tune things as needed, but dis-
aster is guaranteed when we abandon the process and just start hammering
out code and drawings.
Chapter 2 presented and described seven steps that are fundamental
to getting decent products out. Sometimes it’s hard to translate ideas into
daily action plans. It’s even more difficult to audit one’s performance in
the chaos of a project, one that is surely constrained to the breaking point
by schedule pressures.
So here’s a “Weekly Audit,” a checklist the wise developer will con-
sult to ensure that the processes are effective and actually being used.
Check it weekly, perhaps every Friday morning, without fail.
As I mentioned in the very first chapter of this book, use a Daytimer
or similar time management tool as an electronic nag to remind you to do
the right things at the right time. Have the Daytimer pop up a reminder to
run the audit weekly. Depend on memory and you’ll surely forget.

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