2017 ended, and 2018 has arrived.
Looking back at 2017, it was still a year of fast growth and constant challenges for me.
Start of the year
The days at the start of the year were hard. On one side I was the frontend lead of Project A, and on the other I was fully responsible for the small Project B. Since my energy had been fully drained throughout 2016, I was almost ready to give up on Project B. I remember calling my boss to vent. He said if I really couldn’t hold on, I could drop B. After the call, I thought a lot. In the end, my stubborn resilience, plus my leader’s encouragement and support, helped me get through that difficult time. Projects A and B both ended with good results.
- April 1, 2017: Project A finally stabilized after multiple cycles of going online and offline.
- June 9, 2017: The mobile version of Project A launched.
- July 18, 2017: The app of Project A launched.
- May 20, 2017: Project B ended.
Mid-year
As the project stabilized, the team matured, so most implementation work was done by the team and I stepped back a bit. Under continuous high-intensity development, I realized that personal ability and energy are always limited, and the perfection I seek often cannot be achieved in one step. So starting in June, for Project A I focused more on overall architecture and technical research.
Thanks to continuous grinding and reflection, and sharpening communication skills, I experienced many challenges in just a few months: frontend-backend code sharing, app development plans, frontend performance monitoring, browser compatibility, frontend performance optimization, and more.
September
While serving as the frontend leader for Project A, a new project quietly began. In mid-September, the boss assigned me to design and develop Project C. With the experience I had, it was easier to start than before. But the difficulty of going from 1 to 2 is no less than going from 0 to 1 - it’s just different. While designing, I kept reflecting on the shortcomings of earlier plans.
So from September, another intense development phase began. Compared with before, I spent less time coding and more time thinking, investigating, and learning. By late December, the platform layer was basically finished and closing out. According to the plan, it should have gone online at the end of December, but the content it depended on was not ready, so it had to be delayed by a month.
Year end
Near the end of the year, Project C was progressing well. I realized many parts of development were mechanical and should be scripted. In September I attended two Thoughtworks events and talked with many peers, which stimulated me. So, chasing the tail end of the year, I decided to push the company to take the first step toward continuous integration. I spent a few days learning about CI, CD, Jenkins, then started deployment. After three days of trial and error, on December 28 we achieved continuous builds for the frontend project.
The CI mechanism is mature, and I’ve only taken the first step. Once the mechanism is established, everything else follows. Finishing CI was my 2017 closing work, and it felt quite satisfying.
I actually wanted to implement CI as early as July, but my understanding and energy were not enough, so I didn’t. Looking back, being ahead in ideas but behind in ability doesn’t work either. Haha.
Outside of work
Outside of work, a few tools entered my stack this year:
GitHub + Travis: my personal blog’s automated build matured. I submit MD files, auto-build and update the site. I write blogs often to summarize knowledge.Evernote: my knowledge note tool. Seamless sync across iPhone, Mac, WeChat official account, and Chrome clipper.Inoreader: RSS reader. Read high-quality articles anytime on the phone without wasting time searching for news.TickTick: task management to improve work efficiency.Eudic: Mac and iPhone sync. Poor English and doing tech? No!Dell U2518DR, U2515H: I bought these two monitors this year. Each for home and office. The displays have helped me a lot. Thanks to the recommendations from “digital veteran Di” and Lao Zhang. The screens are big so I can see more content. Dell’s stands are excellent too - the difference is obvious.
As the tool community slogan says, to do a good job, one must first sharpen the tools. Exploring these tools greatly improved my learning efficiency.
Final Thoughts
I believe work and learning are intertwined. Work involves constant learning, and learning in turn affects work.
From solo combat to leading a team, breaking down features; from developer to frontend leader to product manager, taking full ownership of the product - these role shifts came with one tough challenge after another. I’m still far from the goal, but at least each step has landed steadily.
2017 wasn’t easy. 2018 will likely be harder, but what’s the point if it’s easy? Charging into challenges is the life I seek.
I still want to thank my leaders, my family, and all the excellent people around me. They give me pressure and also make me feel alive.
