Jobs: Vlad Skvortsov, director of cloud MachineZone
Workplaces / / December 27, 2019
Vlad, tell us about the company where you work. What is known? What are you doing there?
MachineZone - successful gaming startup that develops games for mobile devices. The most famous of our game at the moment - Game Of War - recently entered the # 1 top grossing (iPhone and iPad) in the United States. The company is growing, we have offices in three US cities, as well as in Germany and Taiwan. Last year, an office was opened in Russia with branches in Ulyanovsk and Novosibirsk.
The name of my post in MachineZone sounds like Director of Engineering, Cloud & Storage, Platform Engineering. In Russian, you can say, "director of cloud computing." My tasks include managing multiple teams of developers, and I also do what is called buzz words agile coaching. That is, I follow the relevant technologies, methods, approaches to the development and try to convey them to the people in its departments and implement the work. Directly to the programming time is running out, and now I'm actually doing only control.
Tell us about your workplace.
Before MachineZone I worked for five years out of the house. Sometimes it happens now. In Northern California, we have offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco. In this office in Palo Alto is large enough, and you never know where you would find the next meeting or planorka. And in the evenings, I usually phoned home with the Russian team. So my workplace maximum mobility. To turn around and get to work, I need a couple of minutes. Laptop, phone, a pair of headphones and notebooks - all that I need.
When I'm in the California office, then I use the laptop as a system unit that is connected to it a stationary monitor, keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and external hard drive for backup.
You can read more about the computer? I see you have a MacBook Retina Pro. What configuration?
I do not know. This is a standard office computer, which is given to employees. Configuration was not even interested.
Clear. Can you call yourself a fan of Apple?
Fans themselves can not name. I have 10 years of the Mac. For me, it's just a software with which you can really focus on work and not to reinstall Windu hundred times.
The most important advantage for you OS X.
This UNIX.
Is there a dream configuration? You cool MacBook, but certainly it would be desirable for something better?
I do not know. Just enough. At home I have a normal MacBook Pro, bought seems to be in 2010, and for the happiness I turned sufficiently replacing the native hard disk SSD + Buy-in memory and battery replacement as wear.
Vlad, we were again accused of Apple propaganda. Give me something that does not suit you in the MacBook.
I am satisfied with everything.
Okay. You will show your mobile?
When I'm in Russia, the use here in this mobile.
In fact, this is the phone mom, she gives me he borrowed it while I'm here, in Ulyanovsk.
In general, I have iPhone 5s. Often I use it as an access point Wi-Fi.
Sometimes thus we had to participate in the phone to the representatives of the largest television networks in the United States, being literally a crowd of people in any mall.
Frequently used applications, in addition to news and sotsialochek, I do not have very much. PodCruncher use for listening to podcasts.
Due - reminder and timer.
Price: 379 rubles
Kindle - read while standing in line.
Price: Free
Bodyweight Training: You Are Your Own Gym - physical exercise program without the trainers, all on the weight or scrap materials.
Fitbit - tracking of physical activity.
Price: Free
Waze - navigation.
Price: Free
What software are using in the MacBook?
My whole life is in the terminal, and a text editor. I use a bunch of iTerm + Vim + vim Outliner. In a text editor, I'm checklists, which ranks all their work.
Most of the information is kept in the Google Docs & Spreadsheets. Then stored the files that need to provide access to multiple people. Apart from these, I use of Google services via the calendar Fluid App.
A mail?
Corporate e-mail, we also at Google. However, in the mail I have a small professional deformation: I use e-mail client MuttThat is fully up and running in a text terminal.
Work it takes place entirely from the keyboard, and the remaining 5% of the letters, in which there are some investments, keep the tab open with mail in Chrome.
If there are no meetings in the morning, then I get to the post office for about 45 minutes from the beginning of the working day. I interpret simply as email inbox. That is, I as quickly as I bring the number of members to zero, without spending more than two minutes on a letter. If the email requires more time, you have to think about it, I save it in a folder and do in the to-do list for the day a note about what we need to go back to that letter on it.
Sometimes, if an urgent and children can not continue to work without my answer, I answer immediately. If you have time, I can go back to the post office in the afternoon. In general, it all comes down to one more passes in the mail in the morning, and then respond as required, that is a lot of time e-mail I do not spend the day.
What other applications and services you use?
- NirvanaHQ - GTD.
- Evernote - as continuing memory.
- Skype - for voice and video.
- Slack - Chat for communication between developers departments.
- iPhoto and Flickr - Photo.
- Smart Reading - for more efficient reading.
- R - if you need something to count.
- RightZoom - for easy resize application windows.
- 10key Timer - a simple widget-timer countdown.
10key Timer? You use principles Pomodoro in your work?
Yes.
Big help? How increased efficiency after the transition to Pomodoro?
Interest on 50% accurately increased.
Wow! Tell me more.
I take note of the working paper on slots. This method helps to assess how you're really productive, and in my case, even keep track of, so as not to recycle.
I have this type of person that I am still doing too well. In this case, it is manifested in the presence of the notebooks with records of service intervals. But I consider my time, not in order to ensure that the modified, and vice versa - to make sure that I was not processed. Sometimes you feel that you did not do anything during the day, and you begin to pay more and more time working. As a result, the line between work and home. This is very bad. Therefore, I select for themselves a specific amount of time for thoughtful work without distractions and when you reach that time stand still unfinished for tomorrow. Also, this method allows you to make sure that the planned rest intervals do not become unnecessarily large. If increasing the idle time, then you need to get some sleep.
Sleeping on the job?
Yes, we have a sofa in the office, and if I feel that the work is not productive work, then go to bed. Half an hour is usually enough.
Leadership approve?
Yes, and in our Ulyanovsk office too soon to be a couch for sleeping.
What is the effect of this 30 minutes of sleep? Whether coffee is comparable?
This is better than any coffee.
Is there a sport you?
We can not say that I am a serious athlete. A couple of times a month to ski, but this is mainly due to its proximity to the ski area California office. Hockey, a little boxing, walking, general physical training.
What is the greatest benefit from the sport for you?
Good resting brain.
You already showed a notebook, where there is a working intervals. Is there still a place the paper in your work?
In the same notebook, I think over the plan before the show or meeting. It's my draft, when it is necessary to organize his thoughts. Here I write down some points that are important to remember and could then be found.
I also have a separate notebook "1: 1s» - meeting "face to face" with all subordinates and bosses.
For every person here zavedon your profile.
Opening it, I just see what we talked about at the last meeting. There is also a mark that should do it, what problems associated with it, I have.
In fact, this log interactions with people with whom I exist very close working relationship. Naturally, we accumulate a mark on the most important operational events - positive and negative. Among other things, it helps me to write a year-end report to the personnel department of the performance of the employee.
This system is very common in Western companies and, if well established, working always for the benefit of the employee. When a person can not cope with something, the problem is traced more quickly and help him provide operational. If a person is working even better than expected, then the system again will quickly notice its achievements and to contribute to the disclosure of its potential. Such employees are growing very rapidly.
You write notes in Vim and you work with the mail in the terminal. Perhaps naively will expect you advice in terms of specialized literature?
Fiction I do not read for a long time. The last I read Dostoevsky, because the school did not have time to read. :) I can advise from the general plan of the book "Time Drive"G. Arkhangelsk. About the organization of life, time, and so on. I consider it important because it is the first of the books they read, that really influenced me.
The last book I was impressed by Peter Drucker Effective Executive. In Russian the book is called "An effective leader"But in fact it is not about the head. This term Drucker implies a person who engaged in mental labor, and from which the company making much depends, even if it has no subordinate. In short, this book teaches the right to think about the organization of its work and its contribution to the work of the company. And, of course, David Allen "How affairs in order».
Of the more specific literature I remember How to Measure Anything author D. Hubbard. The book is about how to measure something that seems immeasurable. In general, it is useful information for anyone who wants to learn to make the right decisions in conditions of uncertainty.
Programming is now in the trend. Many people want to learn this profession. Can you name the first book, with which a person has to start discovering the world of programming?
Do not prompt, where it is necessary to begin an acquaintance with programming, but for those who really wants to become a professional in this, I recommend the classics - Kernighan Pike "Practice programming. " This book is good because it shows what problems must be solved in practice, engineers and how to do it "right."
What other books would be included in your selection of the best to learn programming?
Programming and so:
- J. Humble «Continuous Delivery»;
- K. beck «Test-Driven Development»;
- M. fowler «Refactoring" (electronic here).
According to the methodology of software development, and so:
- H. Kniberg «Lean from the Trenches: Managing Large-Scale Projects with Kanban»;
- J. patton «User Story Mapping»;
- C. Larman, B. Vodde «Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Thinking and Organizational Tools for Large-Scale Scrum"And"Practices for Scaling Lean & Agile Development: Large, Multisite, and Offshore Product Development with Large-Scale Scrum"(Excerpt there here).
What podcasts you listen to?
Two of the most interesting, from my point of view, a podcast - a Manager Tools and Career Tools. They are given practical advice from people who are engaged in consulting for 25 years and working with top managers of companies such as Google and Apple. One of the co-founders of the company that produces these podcasts, worked as a consultant for four US presidents.
Another highly recommended to educate podcast called Dave Ramsey Show. There, we are talking about money, about how to live within their means, they do not get into debt, how to plan for life so that retirement does not live in the cellar.
Something from a video? What are your favorite YouTube channels, TED?
From time to time use TrueFire.com. This is qualitatively composed video tutorials for guitarists with a huge selection of courses. Even took a couple of courses Coursera.
Let the English. You have everything in English. Podcasts, and books. Even in a notebook you write a lot in English. Tell us how you learned the language and how important you think it for the programmer career.
I do not know much about proficiency levels. At the time of graduation, I was able to read simple technical literature. Much later, while working on a project with Lev Walkin, I got access to several books. I carefully studied the books, trying to understand every word. Internet was not, I was using a paper dictionary, writing unfamiliar words and speaking to them at another meeting in the text. Just after three read books so my level of English has grown significantly in just a few months. But after moving to the United States I have improved my conversational.
Knowledge of English is required for any person having a claim to success in the field of IT. Key thematic literature in the field of programming, first appears in English, and only part of it russifyi. Translations out very late. If you know English, you have the advantage. If you do not learn English, instead you take on the job of another person.
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We thank Vlad Skvortsov for this great interview and we hope that thanks to him, you discover something interesting and useful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here in the comments. Well, find out more about the work activity can be at Vlad website Company MachineZone.