Author Archives: stevek

What I Found in Panama

Posted on October 26, 2011 by stevek

I feel a guilty need to read my share of books which are outside my area of expertise (I have friends who are substantially more prolific readers than I – they make me feel guilty). Once in a while, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Leadership, Simplicity | Leave a comment

Scoping for 90%

Posted on September 24, 2011 by stevek

I’ve been working at Zynga since early 2010.  One of the challenges of running an online game (like Café World, on which I’ve spent most of my time) involves releasing new features on a regular, predictable cadence. As a result, … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Software, Zynga | 2 Comments

Quadratic Songs and Books

Posted on August 26, 2011 by stevek

My son is 2 1/2 years old, and loves stories.  His favorite book at the moment is A Fly Went By. In the book, a boy sits lazily by the lake and observes a fly passing.  The fly in turn … Continue reading →

Posted in Software | Leave a comment

Klink’s Hierarchy of Train Wrecks

Posted on August 17, 2011 by stevek

You’ve heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?  I’ve got Klink’s hierarchy of train wrecks. I was talking to a colleague recently about basic expectations for staff responses in adverse situations, based on their level of experience.  The further up the … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Management | Leave a comment

Dahon Number Three

Posted on May 19, 2011 by stevek

There should be a Dahon “Frequent Buyers’ Club.”  I’d be a member, somewhat reluctantly. Due to some unwise choices parking my bicycles outside, I’ve had two stolen in the past 18 months.  As a result, I’m on my 3rd Dahon … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Commuting | 3 Comments

Joel On Software

Posted on May 6, 2011 by stevek

After a bit of a delay, I’ve got another book to recommend. Joel Spolsky has kept a popular blog in the past decade, archived on his web site and in several books including Joel On Software. Joel borrows ideas from … Continue reading →

Posted in Software | Leave a comment

The Mythical Man Month

Posted on March 2, 2011 by stevek

The Mythical Man Month is another of my favorite books on software and team productivity (this wikipedia page briefly covers the key ideas). The Mythical Man Month is a classic book which has profoundly affected thinking about software development processes.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Software | Leave a comment

Peopleware

Posted on February 22, 2011 by stevek

I recently wrote about several of my favorite books on software and team productivity. Peopleware is a classic book on team building, productive and “jelled” teams, individual and team productivity, and work place environment. It is thought-provoking and should be … Continue reading →

Posted in Software, Zynga | Leave a comment

Three Good Books

Posted on February 15, 2011 by stevek

I’ve been working on the Cafe World team at Zynga for just over a year now.  It’s a great ride – we have an energetic and talented team who have built a wonderful game. Zynga executes software projects in highly … Continue reading →

Posted in Software, Zynga | 3 Comments

Cool Geek Toy: AR Drone

Posted on January 4, 2011 by stevek

A colleague at Zynga recently brought in his new AR Drone – I now have Christmas Present Envy.  AR Done is a product of Parrot. Videos Although I don’t (yet) own one, I’ve had my eye on these for a … Continue reading →

Posted in gadgets | 2 Comments