Human User Guide for Kyle Barstow

Reference

This Human User Guide and some of the concepts within it were directly inspired by some of the content shared in this GitHub blog post titled How to communicate like a GitHub engineer, and the accompanying GitHub repository.

About me

What are some honest, unfiltered things about you?

• I work to live, not live to work, even though many of my hobbies and interests overlap with my career.
• A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

What drives you nuts?

• Inconsistency.
• Repeating myself.
• Breaking established processes which reduces efficiency and increases errors.

What are your quirks?

• I tend to over-explain when I am passionate about a topic.
• I am a proud nerd. My passion for learning and playing with open-source software technologies not only provides personal satisfaction but often translates to work. Ask me about my hobbies and interests, and feel free to share yours.
• Instant messaging should not be a source of escalation or referenceable decisions.

What are some things that people might misunderstand about you that you should clarify?

• My lack of reaction should not be taken as a lack of care.

About my colleagues

What qualities do you particularly value in your colleagues?

• Be reliable, consistent, and predictable.
• Respect the time of my team and I.
• Be honest and candid.

What do you wish colleagues didn’t do?

• No hello. Treat instant messaging as asynchronous communication — state your needs or information directly without expecting an immediate response.
• Avoid asking for unplanned, "under-the-table" work due to poor planning — it's disruptive.

How can people earn an extra gold star with you?

• Ask questions to learn why we operate the way that we do.
• Be bold and be willing to take calculated risks.

About my interactions

How do you coach people to do their best work and develop their talents?

• Be curious, and dedicate time to learning.
• Share educational resources, deals, and encourage reading often.
• Take pride in your work.

What’s the best way to communicate with you?

• Written communication first, followed by scheduling a brief video or phone call to clarify any unclear points if necessary.

What’s the best way to convince you to do something?

• Show me data, examples, or write up a use case, pointing out the best, likely, and worst cases. Wanting something done because you "just want it that way" is not a sufficient justification to divert time away from more pressing tasks.

How do you like to give feedback?

• I give feedback promptly after observation.
• Include an example that supports the feedback being given.

How do you like to get feedback?

• Early and often.
• From anyone affected by my performance or behavior.