Week 10. Post 2.

 What is one of the most important things you learned at your internship?

Today I learned that to be a great software engineer, I need to be a great storyteller. As Albert Einstein rightfully and gracefully said, ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough’. The same applies to every day of my internship as a software engineer. I have to work with a multitude of stakeholders within an enormous variety of domains, and simply sharing code upon their request isn’t what my job is supposed to be. As a beginner software engineering intern, this is the number one mistake I’ve been committing: simply sharing the code that non-technical audience can’t really interpret or any audience can be overwhelmed with. Code has an important story to tell, and as a software engineer, I am relied upon to give this code a clear and convincing voice. So, now I am working on improving my code storytelling skills. I now know that code storytelling/explanation isn’t just trying to explain the technical aspect of it. Rather, I try to focus on developing in all three important areas of coding storytelling: technologies, visuals, and narrative, that all comprise a structured approach to communicating task insights. When I craft a deliverable to a stakeholder, I now try to make sure my narrative is coupled with code so that it helps explain what’s happening in the code and why a particular insight is important — and here I try to insert as much context as possible. Visuals can enlighten the audience with insights they might not otherwise see. When visuals and narrative is paired, it helps me make sure the audience is engaged with the story. Lastly, when all three components are combined, it helps me make sure that the code story influences or drives change.