markdown 公共要点 - 图灵 - 完成装备要点的项目汇编

Posted 2021-05-06

Reflect
After reading the articles above, create a gist on Github and reflect (4-6 sentences) on the following prompts.

**What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?**
Empathy usually plays a large role in my life.  It's helped me experience the world from a few perspectives and has often allowed me to see circumstances in a different light.  For instance, via empathy, I vaguely know what a day in the life of a quadriplegic entails and how exhausting it is.  Through empathy I've experienced the grief of losing a parent, a sibling or both.  I've even captured the delight and joy in being three-years-old all over again thanks to empathy.  Overall, it's allowed me to experience other's emotions and share those moments in an intimate way.  

**How does empathy help you build better software?**
I believe having empathy for the stakeholder, or the user, is the first line of defense in building a better product.  Knowing what your customer wants, and assuming what they want, are two very different versions of one story.  Understanding the needs of another person, and knowing those needs are different from your own, assist a software development team in building applications that are vital users.  If a user's needs are assumed, functionality important to the user may not exist when the product hits the market.  Anticipating those needs, asking questions and listening is paramount.

**Why is empathy important for working on a team?**
I believe having empathy on a team is very important, because we all come to the table with our strengths and weaknesses.  It's easy to help each other out based on our talents, but as we get to know each other we'll better understand how to anticipate each other's weaknesses and how best to lift each other up.  This fosters a team where we understand and empower each other to succeed.  I believe this is most valuable.

**Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.**
I worked with and empathized with a designer at my last company who needed time to user acceptance test before we started developing an application.  The first application we worked on together was a terrific failure in user acceptance testing, because the testing was performed after most of the coding was already complete. Fortunately, our team was able to come back stronger with a new application that got the a much needed resources it required.  And, because that designer was allowed the necessary time to record the input of the stakeholder in acceptance testing, the new application was much more successful. 

**When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?**
I find it most difficult to maintain my empathetic nature in a professional setting when people are lacking in integrity.  Additionally, when a co-worker's behavior negatively impacts myself and/or my teammates, I struggle.  When these scenarios occur, I must remind myself that I have no control over the situation other than how I behave.  And my behavior should always mirror my better nature more often than not.