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Late Night Internetsing
I painted this for my wife as a birthday presented. I really wanted to capture this very mundane observation that takes places so many nights… It’s late, tired from a long hours at work, half-consciously scrolling through reddit or YouTube, while fading away from the day. We happen to call this activity “internetsing” at home.…
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How do you communicate effectively in an asynchronously setting?
This post is part 2 of a series: Part 1: How to make remote work successful at your workplace? Write everything down. For an asynchronous setting, communication can’t happen live. Obvious — I know. However, we have such strong affinity towards live communication methods. Live chats tend to be “high resolution” in nature. We get…
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Some of my favourite books (non-fiction)
Some of these changed the way I approach work/job altogether. They sparked something in me that I continue to explore: how do we create the best products and teams that build them. My “makers” reading list on Goodreads Currently reading: Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. Fascinating.
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How to make remote work successful at your workplace?
You have to fully commit. The whole world is going “remote”. But, it is hard to tell if imany places are finding success in a more distributed working model. It is a tough transition. Much of it is because most workplaces continue to operate with the same way they’ve always had. Somethings need to change.…
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Basecamp’s employee handbook
Wish more companies were more organised like this. This is great. Love it. https://basecamp.com/handbook
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The Verge redesigns, breaking out of Google reliance
Verge is my #1 place to get tech news. I read it daily. Last week, I visited the site to see a complete overhaul of the design of the homepage. You can read more about the redesign here. Coming from a background of AB testing the smallest changes in, I found this move to be…
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Oil painting adventures
Earlier in the year, I attended a Drawing Fundamentals course at Bienarte. I learned a lot about sketching, working with graphite and charcoal, interpreting light and value. I had a lot of fun. During the lessons, I got to see oil paints from other students at the art studio. My teacher, Isabella, also showed off…
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Thoughts on “Scaling Technology”
I had the privilege to take part a panel discussion on “scaling technology” for go1’s offsite. It got me thinking… Software products are (usually) written to meet product outcomes. Initially, these outcomes tend not to include deliverables like “used by millions” or “developed by 1000s”. As a product grows and matures, these concerns start to…
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How to drive your teams to care more about operational excellence?
When an operational outcomes needs to be achieved, we are after a predictable and repeatable process. This means that we can’t approach the execution of these outcomes like a creative task, allowing makers to self-organise. “OpEx” is an area where rigidity helps. We can approach “Operational Excellence” on 2 fronts: Here are a few ideas…
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Trip to North Queensland
Recently, we drove just over 4000km from Brisbane to Cairns, exploring North Queensland for 2 weeks. There weren’t many tourists and activities available, so we had to research and explore more of the natural wonders hidden away, throughout NQ. Lots of cool scenery… Beautiful rainforests… Stunning night sky! Some cool beaches… cuz ‘straya mate. We…
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Attributing value to teams in large organizations
In a large tech company, there are layers and layers of teams that contribute to the success of a product or service offered. Many of these layers tend to only have indirect impact on customers. Teams that have a direct relationship with customers tend to have a lot of power. They bear the burden of…
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A litmus test for strategy
Recently, I was questioning why I felt uneasy about some strategy talks I’ve been having with my peers. While something felt off, I was unable to articulate the why. Things didn’t come together till my friend, Scott Horn, threw in this great heuristic. It is a wonderful litmus test if you are thinking strategically about…
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Product development is like…
…driving a car. Sometimes, the path is clear. You can see far ahead. You can go fast.Other times, the road is windy. You have to take it slow.Some roads lead nowhere. Some are shortcuts. What’s important is to keep the destination in mind.And enjoy the ride.
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Looking for inspiration for illustrating a short story
First things first… I can’t attempt to make a graphic novel, no matter how short, without understanding what great looks like. Enrolled in the city library to explore its graphic novel selection. Some ideas I captured from Hilda… Use of colours to convey level on intensity/anger Conveying vastness Action sequences from multiple perspectives DC Comics…
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Learning to draw through rapid visualisation
I’ve started to do some research on techniques to do sketches and drawings on my iPad. Running through lots of YouTubes like this one: One of the interesting things about Procreate is its ability to draw in layers. All artists use techniques like this whether through tracing or letting oil paint dry layer at a…
by Dineth Mendis