Do You Have a Process?
This has been the question that I’ve been asked repeatedly these days as I’m buckling down for hopefully the last stretch of my job hunting “process”, and I guess it’s really forced me to think.
My initial and immediate response has always been “No, not really”.
If I let the over-thinker inside me take over, then I start wondering if I should have a process. Is there a right answer? Maybe I do have a process, and it’s just become second nature, and it no longer feels like a process?
And furthermore, can anything be done without a process? Can you have a process within something that doesn’t have a process? Are processes nested within processes? Can processes have non-processes within itself? How detailed should my answer be without completely annoying the person asking me the question?
So I just settle with “No, not really”. Welcome to the inside of my head. So let’s do it this way:
proc·ess
/ˈpräˌses,ˈprōˌses/
noun
1. a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.
Okay, so to rephrase the question then: What steps do you take to get to your goal?
My next question then would be: Is it a process, if the steps in the process are done out of order? What’s the opposite of process? Chaos?
Okay, what’s a process within a business setting?
So I looked through this:
https://www.planplusonline.com/project-vs-process/
Processes are established, kind of like legacy code. Great place to learn, may not be the most updated of best-practices. But tried and true, so far.
I’ve been taking the Google UX Design Course, and so far everything is very process driven. I think this is great for large scale projects with lots of team members, and to make sure nothing is missed. I began by picking up a project, and the course took me through a process going from conducting a competitive audit, storyboarding, creating personas, creating wireframes, conducting usability studies and to creating high fidelity prototypes, using Figma and Adobe XD. Many of these steps are iterated over and over again as the user feedback is ongoing. There are many other processes outside the main steps, like putting together the project team and what happens once the final prototype is passed on to the engineering team. All of this is of course operating within just the scope of this project.
Earlier this year, I’ve also gained some insight into the processes within an engineering team during my internship at Meetopolis, a startup looking to bring community support into the online dating sphere. The engineering work was heavily process driven, as we met weekly, and gave daily scrum updates.
As for job hunting, I was doing a lot of exploratory research before. As I get closer to going back to work, my footwork is becoming more process driven. Apply, interview, practice coding, more interviews, work on side projects, rinse and repeat as often as needed and as much as possible. Process helps build momentum and keeps our head in the game!
Sometimes, the very act of acknowledging a process can change the internalized process itself, and it’s no longer the most “creative” process, but it becomes more reliable. It is the only ensured way to deliver. Processes are always open to adjustments based on new insight.
Since I am a software engineer in the making, I’d like to get very familiar with all the processes within the engineering team, before taking on project work in my future. I cannot wait to keep growing as a software engineer!
My “Not really” Process:
Step 1: Know exactly what you want.
Step 2: Let people know.
Step 3: Block out time to do the work!
