Confidence guidelines, done!
~ Coding Guidelines Formulation #05 ~

This series on the new guidelines from Coding Factory (hereinafter referred to as CF) has been delivered in five parts so far.

In this final installment, I, Tanaka, the chairman of the guideline development committee, would like to look back on the journey that the coders put in to develop the guidelines, through their sweat and tears.

Becoming chairman through "momentum"

The end of May last year.
"We are going to completely revise the guidelines."
The leader, Kojima, made the announcement at the monthly coders' meeting.
It was the first big project in a long time, and a long-awaited renewal of the guidelines to fit the current trends. Kojima posed a further question to the coders, including myself, who were (probably) excited inside.

"For now, I would like to select a committee chairperson.
Anyone who wants to do this, please run for office."

The air suddenly became tense.
CF guidelines. Everyone knows what they mean, so they understand the heavy responsibility of the chairman.
Who is it, who will raise their hand?
As I looked around at the senior coders, my eyes met with the chief coder, Matsubara.

(Ah, those eyes are the ones that say "do it!")

...I interpreted it that way, and when I came to my senses, I found myself leaning forward slightly, with my hands raised straight out in front of me.

My candidacy for chairman was purely based on momentum.
And that was the beginning of a long and difficult journey for me, and for us coders.

The chairman with the least experience in the team...
A word from a senior colleague changed my hesitant attitude

Now I can even act as the moderator with ease (?).

We want to create the best guidelines possible, bringing together all of the knowledge, technology, and experience that CF currently possesses, so that all coders can confidently say, "These are our guidelines!"
The formulation committee was launched with this goal in mind.
However, things don't go so smoothly.

The people here may look skinny and fluffy, but they are veterans who have handled many projects.
As CF coders, we all share the same passion for the guidelines, and of course, we all have our own preferences and policies when it comes to coding.
Moreover, the deadline for updating the guidelines was the end of September, and we had to update both the guidelines and the templates by the beginning of October at the very least, which was a very tight schedule.

Would I, this being my first time leading a meeting, be able to bring all these seniors together in such a short period of time and see it through to the finish?
No, I think this would be pretty tough for anyone.
What an important role I've taken on...

But it's too late now. I said I'd do it, so I have to do it.

At first, I was unable to manage meetings well and was constantly getting scolded.
In front of me were my seniors whom I always looked up to and looked up to. I couldn't help but feel reserved and wasn't able to do my job as a committee member, which was to complete the tasks within the time limit.
If the progress is poor, I get scolded and sometimes I end up crying in an embarrassing way.

One day, I received these words from a senior colleague.
"Everyone is more senior than Tanaka-san, so they may be hesitant. But this is work. We all share the same desire to create good guidelines, so we don't get angry or feel insolent when we're being bossed around.
You're the chairman, so act with dignity."

If you think about it, it was obvious.
My seniors are all professional coders with real-world knowledge and experience. My job is to extract as much input from everyone as possible and summarize it within the time limit.
If you don't do that, what else are you going to do?
Because these are seniors whom I respect, I will trust them and do my best with confidence, as if I am learning from them.

Once I made that decision, I just kept moving forward, encouraged by my seniors who said, "You've improved a lot, but can't you be more efficient?"

As the endless discussion continued,
The team became one

The topics were summarized in an issue management sheet and discussed carefully one by one.

HTML/CSS rules, directory rules, etc. The discussions and ideas just never stop!
The guideline-drafting committee, which engages in heated discussions, sometimes meets twice a week, rather than just once.

But still, the discussion is a lot of fun!

"I didn't know there was such a way of thinking."
"What do you do in a situation like this?"
"I've always wanted to try something like this!"

They are people who usually work on different projects individually.
Each of the opinions was fresh and new to me and I learned a lot.
Consider accessibility, source visibility, and specifying a font family that looks good in all browsers.
As each member shared their opinions and held repeated discussions until they arrived at a single answer that everyone could agree on, I could feel the team gradually coming together.

We, the coders at CF, always work separately.
However, in our everyday work, if someone was stuck on a problem, no matter who was asked, one by one, more would join in, and eventually almost everyone would work together to solve the problem.
Actually, I don't mind doing the same thing together.

Then, finally, one day, the new guideline template was completed.

The culmination of the knowledge, skills, and field experience of our CF coders, we have created a guideline that you can be confident in!

I believe that studying and sharing knowledge and experience through the guideline development committee has helped us coders to grow as well.

I have also grown a lot as a person.

Completing tasks within the allotted time is an essential skill for a director, and overseeing team work has also honed my progress management skills and allowed me to view the project from a broader perspective than before.
There used to be a time when I couldn't express my opinion because I had to read the other person's mood, but that happens less at work now (laughs).

Web technology is constantly evolving.
However, we have incorporated into our guidelines the timeless "essential basic principles for fast and accurate coding."
The writing is simple, but each and every bit is packed with the many years of experience of active professional coders.

And then there was the now disbanded Guideline Drafting Committee, which was worked on with sweat and tears.
Each meeting was a valuable experience that helped everyone grow.

Anyway, please pick it up and take a look.
These are our confidence guidelines at Coding Factory!

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