Technical Upskilling Curriculum
Software Observability Academies
Academy Rationale & Description
As a Technical Upskilling Specialist at Pluralsight's Technology Center of Excellence, I designed and facilitated two separate Software Observability Academies for software engineers at Pluralsight.
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Each workshop was tailored to the needs of objectives of the targeted learning group, which I discovered through conducting in-depth need analyses with members of the target learning group and their leaders.
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Learner & Leader Feedback
"This was one of the best trainings I have ever had. It had a perfect mix of conceptual learning and hands-on application. I especially liked hearing from the more senior engineers about their experiences with the tools."
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"I absolutely love the idea of getting developers involved in (observability) early. I hope they're given enough time to implement many of the things we'll talk about today/tomorrow. Great job!"
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"I am more confident in my ability to use DataDog and OpsGenie, as well as in my
understanding of the concepts and goals of observability. In addition to the learning
opportunity, I felt like some of the barriers to communication were broken down
during this workshop and I would feel more comfortable reaching out to other
engineers to collaborate."
Technical Course Clubs
Course Club Rationale & Description
Continuous learning is an integral part of being a software practitioner, and many companies invest in the professional development of their engineers through providing access to professional development funds and learning platforms like Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, or Pluralsight.
Yet in reality, we find that there are a variety of factors that discourage focused learning at work, including:
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Lack of visibility: Because learning work of all sorts, including planned and focused upskilling, is less visible than other kinds of work, there are fewer incentives for software practitioners and their leaders to make time for it.
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Course overload: Robust learning catalogs can overwhelm some learners and lead to a sort of paralysis, where they search and bookmark courses endlessly, but don’t actually watch any.
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Lack of community: Learning is a social endeavor, but too often software professionals are given access to a catalog of learning resources with the message “Go forth and learn, but alone.”
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Lack of facilitation resources: For those who do understand that learning initiatives promoting social learning and community are most effective, finding the time and resources to plan such initiatives is a huge challenge.
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A Course Club – analogous to a book club – offers a lightweight, visible, scalable method for upskilling groups of software practitioners. Course Clubs enable participants to acquire knowledge and skills crucial to their roles outside of their regular work routines, but still during their regular working hours.
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Course Clubs make learning visible for engineers, as well as help them focus and narrow in on courses that are chosen collectively using criteria defined by a group of leaders, learners, or both. They bolster learning cultures, community, and software practitioners’ sense of belonging through encouraging interaction and collaboration with a built-in learning community of colleagues and peers.
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Ideal Course Club Format
The ideal Course Club format really depends on both the course in question, and the qualities and characteristics of the learning audience. We'll work together to design a session or series of sessions that best addresses your objectives.