Author Archives: Liz

While I was away in China, a friend kindly lent me Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink” (great book). In “Blink”, Gladwell touches briefly on the subject of improvisational theatre. “The important thing,” he says (my paraphrasing) “is never to say ‘no’ to … Continue reading →

Agile means “responsive to change”. Unfortunately for me, that means coming home early. Just one of those things that happens in the big, wide world of consultancy and changing requirements! Xi’an has been amazing. The team here is incredibly dynamic, … Continue reading →

Running a project with a customer in the UK and development split between China and India is, as you can imagine, full of challenge. The biggest problem we could have faced was the communication bottleneck. In the first week of … Continue reading →

That was easy. I got through Chinese security in 3 minutes, picked up my bags in 10 minutes after both flights (to Beijing and then on to Xi’an) and breezed through customs. Buying the ticket to Xi’an in Beijing was … Continue reading →

Thoughtworks UK is recruiting. We’re particularly after Java devs with 4+ years’ experience – but all bright, creative, problem-solving, honest, courageous, fun-loving, responsible, mad, weird and wonderful people will be considered for a variety of roles.

I’m going out to Xi’an, China, for a few months (pending visa application). It’s a very exciting role, full of challenge and responsibility. I’m looking forward to the cultural differences, the language barrier, and having to grow up a bit. … Continue reading →

You know work is good when: Your smile is infectious, even on the tube. Every day you find out something new… …and pass on something to someone else. You wonder how you’re going to have fun, not when. No tunnel … Continue reading →

They say that if you put a frog into cold water and gradually bring it to the boil, the frog won’t notice. The same is true, I think, of Java devs (possibly others too, but for some reason it seems … Continue reading →

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too… Thank you, Rudyard Kipling, for … Continue reading →

When you do the same thing again and again, and expect a different result, that’s insanity. When you do the same thing again and again, and get a different result, that’s stateful programming. Stateful programming will teach you to expect … Continue reading →