0:00:00.000,0:00:02.280 Hi, my name is Carol, and today I'll be doing 0:00:02.280,0:00:07.080 a deep dive into a study that we at the Developer Success Lab at Flow conducted 0:00:07.080,0:00:11.700 on a concept called developer thriving. Okay - okay, 0:00:11.700,0:00:15.360 so I want to back up to about, like, 2021 or so, 0:00:15.360,0:00:16.800 not that long ago, okay, 0:00:16.800,0:00:20.760 so this is when some really awesome research came out that essentially said, 0:00:20.760,0:00:23.160 hey, big surprise, 0:00:23.160,0:00:28.200 investing in developer satisfaction directly increases developer productivity. 0:00:28.200,0:00:30.480 Okay, so as a 0:00:30.480,0:00:34.500 clinical scientist this is just one of those findings that I just find really interesting, 0:00:34.500,0:00:40.500 because we actually have decades of science showing this exact thing across a lot of other 0:00:40.500,0:00:44.280 human experiences, right, and yet despite that, 0:00:44.280,0:00:48.270 every time we find it in a new context - in this case, developers - 0:00:48.270,0:00:52.620 we really struggle to apply it. And a big problem - a big part 0:00:52.620,0:00:57.420 of that problem is that this term "satisfaction" is honestly just too vague. 0:00:57.420,0:01:01.560 And because of that we often use it in ways that we just don't mean to. 0:01:03.060,0:01:05.520 So, for example, you've probably 0:01:05.520,0:01:10.860 used the term satisfaction to mean things like feeling motivated, supported, fulfilled, etc. 0:01:11.580,0:01:14.940 But technically, satisfaction really refers to a 0:01:14.940,0:01:18.300 pretty broad range of experiences, so ranging from things, like, 0:01:18.300,0:01:22.680 this is fine, right, to, yeah, I suppose I'm happy here. 0:01:23.520,0:01:26.940 And so because this is what satisfaction actually means, 0:01:26.940,0:01:31.500 how a lot of companies end up trying to increase it ends up being pretty flawed. 0:01:31.500,0:01:34.560 So for example, they might kind of hope for the best and be, like, 0:01:34.560,0:01:39.540 oh, it'll just like kind of magically happen. Or they might throw swag at you and be, like, 0:01:39.540,0:01:45.000 here's a sticker, here's a water bottle, here's a boxy t-shirt in a deeply unflattering color, 0:01:45.000,0:01:48.000 and you're, like, okay. Or they might try to make 0:01:48.000,0:01:52.200 work fun by trying to turn things into a game or friendly competition, right. 0:01:52.740,0:01:56.820 And the big problem with these is that, these are all things that you 0:01:56.820,0:02:00.600 might like well enough, right, but they won't actually motivate you. 0:02:00.600,0:02:04.680 They won't make you feel like you belong, and they won't fulfill you. 0:02:05.640,0:02:09.240 And that's a really big problem, because developers deserve better. 0:02:09.240,0:02:13.680 They deserve to go beyond "feeling fine I guess", right, 0:02:13.680,0:02:19.260 and into actually thriving as human beings. So what is developer thriving? 0:02:19.260,0:02:22.980 So this is actually a term taken from clinical health and learning sciences 0:02:22.980,0:02:28.680 and it refers to the processes driving realistic and sustainable growth and development. 0:02:28.680,0:02:30.840 I think what's really important to note here is that, 0:02:30.840,0:02:33.900 unlike satisfaction, which focuses on very 0:02:33.900,0:02:38.970 immediate and temporary experiences - we call this taking a state-based approach - 0:02:38.970,0:02:43.080 thriving actually focuses on taking a person and process centered approach. 0:02:43.080,0:02:47.100 And this is really good because this makes thriving not just a more stable 0:02:47.100,0:02:50.220 measure of human experience but it also makes a better 0:02:50.220,0:02:54.540 fit for how humans experience the world, which by the way developers are, right? 0:02:55.140,0:02:59.280 So if you're thinking what do health, learning, psychology, have to do with developers, 0:02:59.280,0:03:00.900 I mean, I hate to break it to you, 0:03:00.900,0:03:06.300 but, like, as humans, your health, education, and psychological well-being - they directly impact 0:03:06.300,0:03:09.720 your ability to write code. Okay, 0:03:09.720,0:03:12.660 so there are several processes that make up developer thriving, 0:03:12.660,0:03:17.700 but when you look at the models across fields - so fields like clinical psychology, health, 0:03:17.700,0:03:20.460 education, and development - you see that there are actually 0:03:20.460,0:03:24.660 four primary factors that pretty consistently load onto thriving. 0:03:24.660,0:03:28.560 And so in our study we also define and measure developer thriving 0:03:28.560,0:03:33.060 by adapting empirically validated measures based on these four factors. 0:03:34.440,0:03:39.000 So that first factor is agency. So by this we mean that developers have a voice 0:03:39.000,0:03:42.780 in how they define things like work and success. So for example, 0:03:42.780,0:03:46.440 if you're a developer with high agency, you might feel like you can collaborate 0:03:46.440,0:03:50.280 with your manager to define what success looks like for you personally. 0:03:51.480,0:03:54.660 The next one is belonging: key point, this doesn't just 0:03:54.660,0:03:59.280 refer to feeling accepted for who you are, but it also means that you're non-judgmentally 0:03:59.280,0:04:02.100 supported to grow and change. So, for example, 0:04:02.100,0:04:04.860 if you're a developer who feels like you really belong on your team, 0:04:04.860,0:04:07.020 you not only feel like you can be yourself, 0:04:07.020,0:04:11.820 but you feel supported to grow as a person - you're not expected to do the same thing and 0:04:11.820,0:04:15.420 be the same exact person every day for the rest of your life, right. 0:04:17.100,0:04:21.000 The third one is learning culture - this refers to a team culture that celebrates 0:04:21.000,0:04:26.220 the entire learning process, including mistakes. So developers on a team with a good learning 0:04:26.220,0:04:28.740 culture feel like they can talk about mistakes they've made 0:04:28.740,0:04:30.780 and talk about what they've learned with teammates. 0:04:32.280,0:04:35.340 And finally, the last one is self-efficacy and motivation, 0:04:35.340,0:04:40.800 and this one refers to your perceived ability to work, succeed, and solve problems. 0:04:40.800,0:04:44.820 So, for example, if you're a developer with high self-efficacy and motivation, 0:04:44.820,0:04:47.760 you don't just feel motivated about the code that you're writing, 0:04:47.760,0:04:52.380 but you also feel pretty confident that you'll be able to manage any issues that come up with it. 0:04:54.300,0:04:55.860 All right, so at this point some of 0:04:55.860,0:05:00.780 you are, like, developer thriving, sold, awesome, and some of you are like, okay, who cares, like, 0:05:00.780,0:05:02.700 why do we care about this? Okay, 0:05:02.700,0:05:05.220 so first of all, our study found that developer 0:05:05.220,0:05:09.780 thriving significantly predicted productivity - in other words, when you increase your 0:05:09.780,0:05:11.700 developer's thriving, you also increase 0:05:11.700,0:05:15.840 that product - productivity, sorry, and this means that you can ship products faster, 0:05:15.840,0:05:19.740 you improve the quality of your code, and you're building sustainable systems 0:05:19.740,0:05:23.700 for long-term success, right. Other research also shows that 0:05:23.700,0:05:26.400 when your developers are thriving they're more likely to stick around, 0:05:26.400,0:05:29.040 that means increased retention, decreased turnover. 0:05:29.640,0:05:32.820 And then finally, it helps you become a better leader. 0:05:32.820,0:05:36.000 It doesn't just help your team see how much you appreciate them, 0:05:36.000,0:05:41.040 but it also helps other people see, hey, how awesome is this team, right? 0:05:43.560,0:05:44.880 Okay, so in a nutshell, 0:05:44.880,0:05:46.860 thriving is awesome, we want it, sold, 0:05:46.860,0:05:50.280 but where do we get it? It's not on Amazon Prime, 0:05:50.280,0:05:54.000 it's not, like, at the thriving store and you just, like, buy it for everyone, 0:05:54.000,0:05:57.900 it's not on the farm where you, like, pick some up a tree, right, 0:05:57.900,0:06:00.300 it's not apple picking. So how do we get it? 0:06:00.300,0:06:02.220 Okay, so we got you there too. 0:06:02.220,0:06:04.860 So to answer this, we conducted a series of 0:06:04.860,0:06:09.240 qualitative interviews and focus groups. From these we heard two major themes. 0:06:10.080,0:06:13.320 The first is this theme around visibility and value, 0:06:13.320,0:06:15.420 that is, when developers feel like their 0:06:15.420,0:06:19.440 work is seen, recognized, and valued, they experience greater thriving. 0:06:19.440,0:06:21.300 So for example, you can see this 0:06:21.300,0:06:25.680 here in a quote from an IC who talks about how being given credit during feature demos 0:06:25.680,0:06:29.160 not only gives them a sense of ownership but also empowerment. 0:06:31.440,0:06:36.780 We also see this theme around healthy metrics use, which we define as tracking performance in 0:06:36.780,0:06:40.620 a team-driven way using metrics that work for that team's context. 0:06:40.620,0:06:42.660 So for example, in this quote here, 0:06:42.660,0:06:47.700 an IC talks about how, in the context of minoritized identities such as gender, 0:06:47.700,0:06:51.180 metrics can actually be an equalizer in getting your work seen. 0:06:53.940,0:06:59.460 So we tested if healthy metrics use and visibility of value could both directly and indirectly 0:06:59.460,0:07:04.080 increase developer thriving and productivity. And we did this using something called a serial 0:07:04.080,0:07:05.940 mediation analysis. Okay, 0:07:05.940,0:07:08.640 so there's a lot of effects here, so I'm just going to break down 0:07:08.640,0:07:11.040 the main ones and then you can read about the rest of them in our research report. 0:07:11.820,0:07:12.660 All right, so we're going 0:07:12.660,0:07:17.340 to pay attention to the orange here, okay. So first we see that when you, as a leader, 0:07:17.340,0:07:21.180 decide, hey, I'm going to invest in healthy team driven metrics, right, 0:07:21.180,0:07:26.100 you're actually able to directly increase the visibility and value of developers' work. 0:07:26.100,0:07:30.480 And this makes sense because you're now just more able to clearly evaluate, 0:07:30.480,0:07:32.040 see, and celebrate that work, 0:07:34.260,0:07:38.280 because that increased visibility of value helps you recognize and reward work, 0:07:38.280,0:07:41.220 and it helps you identify unmet needs and friction. 0:07:41.220,0:07:46.800 You're also now able to both directly and indirectly increase your developers' thriving. 0:07:48.480,0:07:52.020 And then bringing it all together, because that increased thriving 0:07:52.020,0:07:56.040 means that your developers are now more motivated, better able to solve problems, 0:07:56.040,0:07:59.520 collaborative - collaboratively learn and grow, and communicate with leaders 0:07:59.520,0:08:04.680 you're also now able to directly and indirectly increase developer productivity. 0:08:06.660,0:08:09.600 So how can you put this into practice on your teams? 0:08:09.600,0:08:12.180 So you can use this really awesome acronym I made, 0:08:12.180,0:08:15.180 and DARE to do more, okay, that is you can Diagnose, 0:08:15.180,0:08:19.020 Agree, Recognize, and Explore. And yes, Mike pointed out to 0:08:19.020,0:08:22.800 me that DARE was this really strange anti-drug campaign from the 80s and 90s, 0:08:22.800,0:08:27.120 so think about this as, like, us reclaiming DARE, as like the cool version, okay, 0:08:27.120,0:08:30.060 it's the effective version. All right, so back to DARE. 0:08:30.060,0:08:33.540 So first, you can diagnose if there are gaps in developer thriving, 0:08:33.540,0:08:36.600 and you can do this by using the four factors of our framework. 0:08:36.600,0:08:40.140 This is a really good way to figure out what leadership and growth opportunities 0:08:40.140,0:08:43.860 you need to focus on first for example. So it might turn out, for example, 0:08:43.860,0:08:46.980 that you have teams with a really high learning culture, which is awesome, 0:08:46.980,0:08:50.520 but they might also have low agency to speak out with leaders, 0:08:50.520,0:08:54.420 and that might show, hey, we've got some knowledge silos to break down, right. 0:08:56.220,0:08:58.380 Second, you can reach agreement with your team 0:08:58.380,0:09:02.040 on how to define and measure performance. So one aside: 0:09:02.040,0:09:06.780 our study also found that most folks didn't know what metrics are made for using 0:09:06.780,0:09:10.740 or if their leaders were even used metric - or even using metrics, right, 0:09:10.740,0:09:16.500 which - it's just really hard then to know if your work is even seen, much less valued. 0:09:16.500,0:09:20.400 So an important thing to do is seek agreement on, and establish, 0:09:20.400,0:09:25.740 healthy, agreed-upon, team-driven metrics you can use to gauge performance and give kudos. 0:09:27.660,0:09:29.340 Speaking of kudos, you know be sure to 0:09:29.340,0:09:33.480 reward and recognize your effort - folks spoke a lot about worrying if 0:09:33.480,0:09:38.280 their work and effort is recognized and valued, not only by folks in their team but also outside 0:09:38.280,0:09:42.120 of their teams and by the org, right, so whether it's by championing their 0:09:42.120,0:09:45.300 work to leadership or celebrating effort in addition to outcomes, 0:09:45.300,0:09:47.580 you know, finding a way to do this is really important. 0:09:48.360,0:09:51.540 And then finally, explore our entire research 0:09:51.540,0:09:56.760 report - it touches on that, many, many, more research findings, insights, and recommendations, 0:09:56.760,0:10:01.080 all of which you can find on our website at devsuccesslab.com. 0:10:01.080,0:10:02.400 And that is it. 0:10:04.380,0:10:09.300 Phenomenal, yay. Oh gosh, bittersweet, the last one, 0:10:09.300,0:10:12.180 but what a way to close, right, we are important, 0:10:12.180,0:10:13.980 we matter, our mentality matters, 0:10:13.980,0:10:15.600 our health matters, mental and physical, 0:10:15.600,0:10:20.220 we gotta think about these things. I do want to note this was obviously 0:10:20.220,0:10:22.320 specific to developers, but in academia, 0:10:22.320,0:10:26.220 we need to be thinking about these things too - we want to be thriving as, you know, 0:10:26.220,0:10:30.240 computer scientists in academia as well, so thank you so much for sharing this. 0:10:30.240,0:10:34.020 So we have a couple of questions in the Slack - if anyone else has questions, 0:10:34.020,0:10:36.840 please feel free to put them as I get started here. 0:10:36.840,0:10:40.380 One, Emma actually said, and the obvious question, 0:10:40.380,0:10:43.200 so I don't know if she meant to get an answer but we're gonna put it out 0:10:43.200,0:10:48.960 there anyways and see what your thoughts are, how does worker democracy help developers thrive? 0:10:50.580,0:10:55.560 I think that - so worker democracy kind of refers back to this agency piece, right. 0:10:55.560,0:11:02.280 When you have agency - when you have a choice to, kind of, have a say in how your work is measured 0:11:02.280,0:11:06.420 or how your work is done, right, nobody knows you better than you. 0:11:06.420,0:11:10.200 Nobody knows how you work better than you, right, 0:11:10.200,0:11:14.880 it's not me, you know, even if I'm a researcher, it's not Brittany, it's not Greg, right, 0:11:14.880,0:11:17.700 you know it best, and so you being able to 0:11:17.700,0:11:23.100 speak up best supports your ability to get work done in a healthy and sustainable way, right, 0:11:23.100,0:11:26.760 So absolutely, it's not just having the ability to say that, 0:11:26.760,0:11:29.760 but feeling like someone's actually listening when you say it, 0:11:29.760,0:11:33.180 which I think, you know, speaks to the, kind of, full - the full circle there. 0:11:34.020,0:11:36.660 Okay, and the next question, I - you know, we're gonna - we're 0:11:36.660,0:11:39.720 gonna put it out there anyways because I don't know if it was meant to be real or not 0:11:39.720,0:11:43.260 but I do know that puppies are a thing as far as mental health. 0:11:43.260,0:11:49.320 Are there any controlled studies on the impact of puppies on developer satisfaction? 0:11:49.320,0:11:53.220 And this follow-up - this is really important, make sure you listen carefully here, 0:11:53.220,0:11:56.940 if so, how do they compare with baby otters, 0:11:56.940,0:12:03.900 which our question asker Greg personally believes are the gold standard. 0:12:03.900,0:12:07.860 What are your thoughts on this? These otters are so cute, 0:12:07.860,0:12:11.400 I can't even - I can't even handle it, I'm like having trouble focusing now 0:12:11.400,0:12:13.800 Okay, so when I taught research 0:12:13.800,0:12:18.360 methods, because I am a former academic, we used to actually talk about this study 0:12:18.360,0:12:23.160 that did look at the impact of puppies on, just, like, mental health and stress etc. 0:12:24.600,0:12:29.640 You know, in a controlled setting, awesome - long-term success, like, you know, like, 0:12:29.640,0:12:31.860 what are you gonna do, like, bring the puppy around with you 0:12:31.860,0:12:35.160 and, like, hope it never poops and pees on you and, like, chews up all your furniture? 0:12:35.160,0:12:38.340 Probably not, right. So, great short-term success fix, 0:12:38.340,0:12:42.540 not so great in the long term. Fair enough, fair enough, 0:12:42.540,0:12:45.060 although i would love to have a puppy that's just big enough 0:12:45.060,0:12:52.500 that I could actually successfully do that. Beautiful, not - not sustainable, but fantastic. 0:12:53.280,0:12:59.460 I think one thing I'm kind of curious about is what it looks like to to evaluate 0:12:59.460,0:13:03.780 the effectiveness of the methods that you - that would be employed 0:13:03.780,0:13:08.340 to follow this DARE model, right? If the goal is thriving, which is 0:13:08.340,0:13:14.040 defined but really kind of subjective, right, what - what are some thoughts you have on how 0:13:14.040,0:13:18.630 we - how we evaluate and improve on the methods that we're - 0:13:18.630,0:13:21.660 we're kind of trying, I guess, to - to fit this model. 0:13:22.440,0:13:23.580 100%, yeah, 0:13:23.580,0:13:29.700 so I think survey, okay, survey design is so complicated, right, 0:13:29.700,0:13:32.460 it feels easy because you're like, of course I can ask questions, 0:13:32.460,0:13:36.540 but then the answer is, like, well are you asking good questions and are those questions reliable, 0:13:36.540,0:13:38.580 are they valid, have you done, like, an empirically 0:13:38.580,0:13:42.600 validated study looking at them, right? And so we actually did that - did 0:13:42.600,0:13:45.960 start to validate our questions and all of our questions come from 0:13:45.960,0:13:51.540 empirically validated measures, right. So, you know, people often think about, 0:13:52.920,0:13:56.280 gosh, thriving is so subjective, does that mean we can't measure it, right? 0:13:56.280,0:13:58.740 Right. And like the answer is no, right, when you go 0:13:58.740,0:14:03.420 to the doctor, your doctor isn't like, gosh, like, your heart rate is fine and you're, like, 0:14:03.420,0:14:05.040 but I just don't feel good, and they're, like, 0:14:05.040,0:14:09.480 no one cares how you feel, right, like, what you're saying is still information, 0:14:09.480,0:14:12.180 that's still really important, so, you know, 0:14:12.180,0:14:16.260 it's a matter of kind of taking all data sources together and using them as one, 0:14:16.260,0:14:19.860 right, not just kind of pinpointing or cherry picking each one.