# Jon Anderson

## Chef Delivery Software Engineer - Personal Development Plan 2015

### Who Am I?

I joined CHEF and started working on Delivery in October 2014. So far, I have been working
on small features, chores and bugs of varying, but increasing, scope and complexity; getting
to know the team; learning about Continuous Delivery; and a little about our customers and
potential customers.

I have a diverse background in programming; from embedded C on custom hardware writing
VoIP telephony systems, to robotic control systems, to NoSQL databases in Erlang, to equity
derivates trading software. One way or another, many of these projects have come to revolve
around some of the problems CHEF is trying to solve, which is one reason I am very
excited to be here.

### Career Goals

I would like to be as good a programmer as I can be. I have tried other roles -- software
architect; team lead -- but coding is what I like to do. I aim to write high-quality, maintainable
software that meets or exceeds users and fellow software engineers' expectations. Obviously, this
is a lofty goal and many have tried valiently and failed to do this, so I try to be realistic
about where I am on this road.

Becoming a major contributor and SME on the CHEF Delivery project is my first order of business,
however, and whatever career advancement comes as I progress on that goal is all I am worried
about at the moment. Down the road, become a principal engineer at CHEF.

It is important to me to garner the respect of my working colleagues by doing good work and
making their work easier to do. Getting good feedback from them on a job well done means to me
that I am making progress toward my goals.

### Values

In a non-particular-order and non-exhaustive list, I believe as a software developers I should:

* Accept responsibility for my own work.
* Try to leave existing software better than I found it (if possible).
* Keep the customer's success at the front of my efforts.
* Communicate as much as possible about risks.
* Occcasionally volunteer my professional skills for the public good.

### What Am I Good At?

I am good at figuring things out and fixing things that are broken, whether that means a line of
Erlang code or a complex system interaction. This is one of the primary ways I learn things.

I believe that I delivery good quality code and tests in working order. I have written a wide variety
of applications in diverse environments, from a trading system in Java that is still in use after 14
years, to system management software in C on telephone switches that handle millions of calls
per day. These experiences have broadened my outlook so that I can imagine the consequences of my
software.

I can write English when I work at it.

I can get along with lots of different kinds of people in lots of different roles.

I am good at mentoring programmers once I have established expertise in the environment I am working in.

### What Am I Working On?

I tend to be a lot faster at doing things I am interested in; not so much if I am not.

I can sometimes "dissappear" when working on a difficult problem when I might benefit from communicating
or asking questions instead.

I tend to be too reserved during meetings when I don't feel I have a clear point to make or
piece of input to give. I should be less fearful of talking through problems or issues.

Sometimes I think too much about a problem when getting down to business might be the better thing to do.

I need to be much better about writing things down and drawing pictures of things as I learn them, both
so I can remember them in the future and so that I can share them with others.

### Personal Stuff

While not at work, I like spending time with family, figuring out how to use my tractor to do things, and
playing the fiddle. My favorite style is Southern Old-Time, as played by Tommy Jarrell and others
in the Round Peak area of North Carolina during the early and mid parts of the last century. I occassionally
perform with a banjo-playing friend. In 2009 I was awarded a grant by the State of New Hampshire to study
traditional New England fiddling, and I occassionally give lessons.