The Definition of Experience
What makes you better over time
As a senior solution architect, one of the most valuable lessons I have learned over the years is the importance of anticipation. The ability to anticipate to foresee potential scenarios before they unfold is a skill that separates good engineers from great ones. It equips you to respond more effectively to challenges, whether you’re learning a new programming language, adopting a new tool, or troubleshooting a critical production issue.
Anticipation is not a magical talent; it is a skill forged through experience and exposure to diverse situations. When you’ve encountered enough varied challenges, patterns begin to emerge, allowing you to predict what might come next. This capacity to anticipate makes you better prepared and more adaptable in any given situation.
Anticipation in Action
Let’s consider a scenario familiar to many engineers: a high-stakes production outage. When systems fail, there is no time for trial and error. Engineers who have honed their anticipation skills can quickly zero in on potential root causes. They know, for example, that a sudden spike in resource usage might point to a memory leak or an unoptimized query. They’ve seen these patterns before, and this familiarity enables them to act decisively and efficiently.
Similarly, when adopting a new tool or programming language, anticipation plays a key role. Experienced professionals know the common pitfalls poor documentation, unexpected edge cases, or integration challenges. They proactively seek out these potential issues, often asking the right questions before they even arise. This foresight accelerates the learning process and helps mitigate risks early.
How to Build Anticipation
Developing the ability to anticipate takes time, but it is achievable for anyone willing to put in the effort. Here are some strategies to help:
Broaden Your Exposure: Seek out diverse projects, teams, and technologies. The more varied your experiences, the more patterns you’ll recognize over time.
Learn from Others: Collaborate with colleagues, participate in code reviews, and engage in technical discussions. Learning from others’ experiences can give you insights you might not encounter on your own.
Reflect on Past Experiences: After completing a project or solving a problem, take time to reflect. What went well? What didn’t? Documenting these lessons helps you recognize similar situations in the future.
Stay Curious: Continuously learning keeps your skills sharp. Whether it’s a new framework, a different programming paradigm, or a deeper understanding of system internals, every new piece of knowledge adds to your ability to anticipate.
Simulate Scenarios: If you’re learning something new, actively think about possible failure points or challenges. Try to preemptively address them, even if you’ve never encountered them before.
The Experience Paradox
Here’s the catch: anticipation is largely a byproduct of experience. But you don’t need to wait decades to start building it. By being intentional about exposing yourself to challenges and learning from them, you can accelerate the process.
For those early in their careers, leverage the experiences of others. Ask questions like, “What should I watch out for?” or “What do you wish you had known when you started?” Senior colleagues, mentors, and even industry articles can provide a wealth of foresight.
Why It Matters
Anticipation doesn’t just make you a better engineer; it makes you a more reliable and effective team member. When you can foresee issues and take steps to address them, you reduce risks for your team and projects. This skill inspires trust and confidence among your peers and stakeholders, paving the way for career growth.
In a fast-paced, ever-evolving industry, the ability to anticipate is a superpower. It allows you to stay ahead of the curve, adapt to change, and deliver value consistently. While experience remains the foundation of anticipation, deliberate effort and curiosity can fast-track its development.
So, embrace new challenges, learn voraciously, and reflect deeply. The more you cultivate this skill, the better prepared you’ll be for whatever comes your way—because in the world of technology, the unexpected is always just around the corner.
Articles I enjoyed this week
How To Do Well in System Design Interviews? by Saurabh Dashora
How API Pagination, Kafka Use Cases and Security Practices Solve Data Handling, Scalability and Protection Challenges Sketech #16 by Nina
Every little contribution help. If you want to help me produce this content you can do it here.
Really good read, Riccardo! thanks a lot for the mention, much appreciated
Nice read, Riccardo! and thanks so much for the mention, really appreciated it!