Should I learn to program?

Conversations with my friends have recently been around how we are integrating programming into our jobs. Whether it may be in finance, project management, marketing, we are all using code to help us with tasks for our jobs including reporting, web development and apps. I had the pleasure of attending Girl Programming Network (GPN), a free workshop run by girls for girls. Children are learning to code and with the future in their hands, this leads us to the question- should everyone else be learning to program?

GPN was a fantastic opportunity to learn the basics of programming and how it works. It was amazing to see so many girls want to learn how to program on a Sunday! The first activity we did when we arrived was to instruct a human robot (one of the tutors) how to make a jam sandwich. Normally you’d say ‘take two pieces of bread out of the bag, spread some jam from the jar and put the pieces of bread on top of each other’, but if you start talking to a robot it is a little different…

Kids: ‘Get some bread!’

Robot:‘using what’

Kids:‘using your hands’

Robot:‘using which hand’

Kids:‘using your right hand’

If you aren’t specific, the robot will not know what to do. Clear instructions will get the robot to do what you want it to do. Programming is like instructing a robot. You have to clearly lay out every instruction and put it into a process in which it gets ‘translated’ and understood.

However, not everyone has the ability to think in a way a programmer does. What we need to realise is that not one person can do everything and that’s why we form teams. Teams are great because you can depend on each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Hackathons, creative sessions where teams innovate using technology, usually consist of three people:

1. Hustler: the sales and marketing ‘growth hacker’
2. Hipster: design and user experience guru
3. Hacker: engineer and developer

In a startup environment, these three create a ‘minimal viable team’. No, you don’t need to code away at your new app idea all but in a team environment you’ll need to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and learn to trust one another.

Learning the fundamentals of coding can be very useful when communicating to your team members. About a year ago I went to a General Assembly session on the Foundations of Programming and this opened me up to the process and way of thinking a programmer would have. Learning to read code can be very useful! Later, I met up with a friend who programs to ask her how these processes impact her day to day job, as well as the paint points she faced everyday. We both agreed IT and business units didn't understand each other's functions and processes and that communication was not very clear. What we need to do is step back and understand what the other person’s needs are and address them. It’ll help you move forward much more quickly.

Another example was when I approached some colleagues at work to refresh a website. I gave the IT team my very detailed web design (which I made using Paint- don't think anything can't be done!), told them which button went where and what happened if I pressed on and that button ...and voila! What would've taken a programmer to make in 3 months took only 2 weeks to code because I eliminated the steps it took to explain where everything had to be and how each function affected the other. This demonstrates that if you try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and learn each other’s pain points, projects will get done faster. Time is precious so concentrate on what you do best.

Next time you have to build a program, an app, a website or something that involves programming, grab the person who programs, sit them down and ask them what their pain points are. Learn to trust them and try to ‘speak their language’. If you’ve never tried to learn to code, there are wonderful free courses such as Coursera and CodeAcademy and for the ladies out there, Women Who Code and Girl Geeks have regular meetups. Find deals on IT courses on CourseMine. I’ve heard many great stories from General Assembly and have a lot of friends who teach there although it is quite pricey. The great thing about programming is that it can be repurposed. Learning some fundamental HTML, CSS and Javascript will he helpful. Looking back, I wish I had learnt how to code at a younger age but now that we are facing ‘digital disruption’, we now need to recognise the importance of communicating effectively and clearly to each other.

Hackathons are a great high pressure and short term learning session to test problems and solutions with technology. Join the community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/hackathonsaustralia/  or email me at [email protected] to find out more.