Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • Leave Developers Alone

    Working in my own litlte world

    A computer deals with interrupts all the time. They are the mechanism by which it can simulate multi-tasking among many different programs in a modern operating system. However those interruptions have a price, and too many of them can affect performance. As hardware grows larger, we have other issues from interruptions that we try to mitigate with techniques like soft-NUMA affinity or multiple pipelines built into hardware. All of these are designed to prevent a computer from spending any significant time on non-productive tasks because of interruptions.

    In the real world, many of us deal with regular interruptions from work. They might be emails, instant messages, phone calls on a cell phone, or the old fashioned someone-stopping-by-your cube-to-chat. All of these things add up to less productivity, especially for developers. One study finds a 10 point IQ drop from regular email and phone interruptions. I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure I can afford a 10 pt drop in IQ when I’m working.

    Some companies are starting to realize that developer’s brains are a scarce resource, andinterrupting them can dramatically impact productivity. I have found some places, like this one, that are setting aside quiet time for developers to work without being bothered. Similar to the technical debt that Steve McConnell has talked about, there seems to be an interruption tax that some development shops are loathe to pay.

    Even if you don’t gain any productivity, or have fewer bugs, or ship more often, I think that your developers will appreciate it. It could be an easy way to increase happiness, improve retention, and even sell your company as a good place to work. And it’s easy to implement: just leave people alone a few hours a day.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Patches for SQL 10 and Techniques for SQL 11

    SQL Server 2008 R2 gets a few patches this week

    A little over a week ago saw a number of patches released for SQL Server, including the much awaited Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2008 R2. While I wouldn’t caution people to wait for SP1 any longer when a SQL Server version is released, there are people that still wait, so I would expect that adoption of SQL Server 2008 R2 might jump over the next few months. There were other patches for SQL Server 2008 coming out as well, though none of the fixes were critical. If you are having issues, however, check the CU KB articles to see if something you are experiencing is fixed.

    The last few years, with the regular every other month CU patch cycle have gone very smoothly, and it seems that quite often there are less and less fixes being included. There are still bugs, but overall it seems the quality of the software has risen, a trend that I hope continues in SQL 11, AKA Denali.

    Speaking of Denali, CTP3 was released recently and there are quite a few people out there testing and experimenting with the changes. I have no idea when the final product will be released, but usually CTP3 is fairly complete and I’d expect an RC0 or even RTM later this year, depending on feedback.

    This week I found a general overview of Denali, as well as a look at SSIS, Powershell, SSAS, and more from different people that have different focuses on the SQL Server platform. There’s even a look at the projected certification overhaul that should be taking place for the SQL 11 release. It’s a step in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing how the exams change to better measure skills, not memorization.

    Steve Jones

    Don’t forget that SQLServerCentral is sponsoring a track at SQL Connections this November. A great conference to come learn about SQL Server as well as many other Microsoft technologies.

  • The Market

    The markte prices aren't always set as smoothly as we'd like.

    I’ve been involved in quite a few debates about job hunting and job interviews recently with a number of people that are considering looking for other work. I’ve also seen some intense debates on the subject of how to look for a job, market yourself, present yourself in an interview and more. It’s on area that seems to always strike a chord with many people out there.

    This Friday I wanted to step back, and do a little market research of my own. Perhaps also helping some of you at the same time that might be considering changing jobs, or maybe even preparing for an annual review later this year.

    Having information is important to not only making a good decision, but also a good negotiation in this area. With that in mind, I wanted to ask this question:

    Do you know the market price for your skills?

    You can disclose your location and market price if you want, but I’m really wondering if you have a good idea of what your job should pay, and how you know that. Have you looked at other jobs or talked to colleagues doing the same work? Is a salary survey available for your area and industry? The market price for our skills may or may not be the same as our salary. Ideally it would be, but we might make more or less for various reasons.

    If you have any information to share, I’m sure others would be interested, especially if there are links or data you can share.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Be Reasonable

    All of the employees at Red Gate are treated reasonably (and we have mini-mes!)

    Work is hard. It’s frustrating trying to work within the constraints of your job, your projects, and with the people around you. We all seem to have conflicting needs and desires, and often clash over when, why, and how we should meet our goals. Work is also long, a place and task at which many of us spend a large percentage of our waking hours.

    When we feel bound by rules, or limited by restrictions, it can be even more frustrating. I know many people that reconsider their choice of an IT career, not because of the work or even workload, but more because of the way they are treated. It’s especially true for many companies that place heavy restrictions on equipment. I tried to negotiate for two monitors for one job in the interview, but the manager said he’d never get approval from his boss.

    My employer, Red Gate Software, takes a different approach, as shown by Simon Cooper in this blog. Need another monitor, just ask. Want a faster, or bigger, drive, just ask. Need a book, just buy it. Really, if you want something reasonable to help you do your job, it’s allowed. I know people in other companies that not only can’t get approval for buying a book for work, they get chastised for even asking.

    I know that costs are hard to contain, and there likely will be people that abuse their privileges, but that’s easy to handle: revoke privileges for that person. There’s no need to do that for everyone, despite what most HR departments think. Telecommuting options ought to be the same way. Let employees try it and if they can’t get work done, remove the privilege for that person only.

    If more managers behaved reasonably, and allowed their employees more freedom, they might be surprised just how much more work, at a higher level of quality, would get finished.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts