178 Chapter 10

DOs and DON'Ts may be defined as the rules of behavior. They are meant to emphasize certain points that might be useful.

1. DO relate what you are doing to the overall system or project objective.

Make it your business to understand how your part of a project fits into the system being designed and what mission or objective that system is trying to accomplish. Putting it another

way, try to understand the big picture.

There are two reasons for doing this. It makes your job more interesting and exciting and it may suggest a simpler, better approach to your part of work. There are hundreds of

to accomplish — to succeed in doing something; to finish successfully Synonym: to achieve укр. здійснювати, завершувати

cases where someone completed the assigned part of a larger system, and, after learning the overall objective, pointed out a much better way to accomplish the same objective. If the people around you are too busy, try asking the boss at a lunchtime to tell you «a little more about how you fit into overall program». Thus, DON'T be afraid to challenge the planned way of doing something or to propose a new way.

2. DO give credit to others for their ideas and contributions.

It's the right, ethical and professional thing to do. Your listeners or readers will be more comfortable and impressed knowing you have explored the field. They will also assume that the work not credited to others is yours. Furthermore, the persons receiving the credit will respect you and be more likely to share their other new thoughts with you. Within a group, such behavior

is often crucial to effective cooperation. To give emphasis and add a bit of fun, identify a particularly original idea with the originator's name: «Johnson's Chart», «Harris Technique».

crucial (to, for) — of deciding importance укр. вирішальний

3. DO keep learning.

DO join professional society. DO read articles and books, use the library, and attend professional meetings. Set up a requirement of reading at least one scientific paper a week. Select difficult ones. If you don't understand the paper, ask others. DON'T give up.

DO write papers. It's hard and takes time and discipline, but it's important for you and your profession. DO document your work. Write it down. In his book on computers and hackers, «The Cuckoo's Egg», Cliff Stoll quotes the

Astronomer's Rule of Thumb: «If you didn't rule of thumb — укр. емпіричне правило write it down, it didn't happen».

DO become a «local» expert in some area, even if it's a fairly narrow one.

4. DO plan and schedule your work.

Make a detailed plan of all you must do to finish the job. As someone said: «Plan the work, then work the plan».

Assume complete responsibility for your own career. Develop and maintain a strategic plan from Day One. This plan is mandatory for judging your career progress.

5. DO develop a thorough understanding of entrepreneurship and practical business knowledge.

Get yourself involved in seeking solutions to some problems of real importance (education, health care etc.). DO try to understand the user and his or her needs.

6. DO learn to express yourself clearly in speech and writing.