Tech

Catalyzing Change in Software Organizations: Find Allies, Invite People, and Sustain Engagement – InfoQ.com

Published

6 months ago

April 30, 2024

Much of the change we experience in our software organizations is coercive. Software engineers, architects, and sometimes even people in software engineering management roles feel they cannot spark change without formal authority, Eb Ikonne mentioned at QCon London 2024. To catalyze change, he suggested identifying allies, inviting people to participate in the change, and creating and sustaining engagement through storytelling.

Ikonne mentioned that people tend to believe they cannot initiate change in their groups without formal authority and power over others:

We are told that we must do X, Y, or Z, and it’s implied that the consequences for not going along will be negative. No one really cares to consider what we think about said change.

After a while, we believe that the change can only happen this way, Ikonne argued. We then proceed on a mission to accumulate positional power so we can also cause change to happen this way. In doing so, we continue the cycle of coercive change and perpetuate this belief.

Ikonne explained how he took on a managerial leadership role for a software engineering team, after some success as a software engineer, because he thought the only way to make things happen within the team was to force change on people:

I was fortunate to have team members respond negatively to my approach and not lose my job. The lessons I learned from that experience made me reflect on and challenge my beliefs about change.

That change must be done coercively is a tacit assumption many people hold deeply within software development organizations, Ikonne said. Hence, attempts to have software development teams adopt new practices, tools, or technologies are often coercive, even when people don’t recognize the coercive nature of the change they’re initiating, he added.

Ikonne stated that people who don’t have much formal authority and power-over others in the organization, which is often the case for many software engineers, architects, and similar roles, believe they cannot spark change in their group. Even people in software engineering management positions believe their ability to catalyze change is limited to the groups they control.

To non-coercively catalyze change in groups, you want to identify allies, invite people to participate in the change, and create and maintain engagement through storytelling regardless of where you’re an architect, software engineer, or some other role on the team, as Ikonne argued:

In my experience, multiple people think the group or organization will benefit from change. If you’re a software developer who thinks your team will benefit from adopting a new set of design patterns, look for others who think the same way.

Or maybe you’re a team lead and think there is a more effective way to discuss technical challenges. Identify teammates who share your opinion.

Ikonne stated, “When it comes to group change, if you want to go fast and far, you must go with others.”

Demonstrating expertise is a fantastic way to expand and grow your informal authority, Ikonne said. For people in a software engineering context, like software engineers and architects, this means developing subject matter expertise in one or more areas of your work:

Become someone that people go to when they have questions. Always be willing to help others.

Informal authority isn’t something you can demand from others, Ikonne said. People have to give it to you because they respect you and what you’re about. The better your relationships are with people, the better your chances of expanding your informal authority within your organization, Ikonne said. If you want to catalyze change non-coercively, you need informal authority, he concluded.

InfoQ interviewed Eb Ikonne about catalyzing change and expanding informal authority.

InfoQ: How do you catalyze change in software organizations in the absence of formal authority and power over people?

Eb Ikonne: It’s not as much about the absence of formal authority and power-over people as it is about not relying on these organizational resources to cause change.

I’ve always found other people who think we’d be better off making the changes I’m thinking about. Engaging other software engineers, architects, etc in the change endeavor and having them champion the change in the networks creates a cascade of change within the group.

InfoQ: How can storytelling engage people into change?

Ikonne: To give an example, I’ve shared with a software engineering team how another team facing similar challenges adopted new technical practices (for example, committing to the main branch) and how those practices helped them overcome their challenges. This kind of story inspires and engages.

InfoQ: How can tech people expand informal authority within groups and organizations?

Ikonne: There are several ways to expand your informal authority, but investing in developing healthy relationships with people is fundamental. If more people did this, i.e., focused on their relationships, our workplaces would be radically different. I firmly believe this.

Take the time to get to know the people you work with regardless of their position in the organizational hierarchy. Invite people to chat over tea or lunch. Talk about shared interests you might have. To borrow from Martin Buber, move beyond the transactional I-It relationships- seeing people as objects- to an I-Thou relationship that sees people for the humans they are.

About the Author

Ben Linders

Show moreShow less

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Source link

Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

Source link

Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

Source link