About the Panel
This is a rare video recording of a panel discussion which took place at the Americas CLA (Certified LabVIEW Architect) Summit on March 5th 2013. This was on the schedule for the summit, but was intended as a filler for that morning because some of the participants were taking their CLA re-certification exams. So we were treated to an hour of listening to some of the original members of the LabVIEW R&D team speak about what it was like in the early days with the release of LabVIEW 1.0 and then the re-write of LabVIEW 2.0.
Brian Powell, facilitated the discussion by posing some prepared questions and presenting some old photos of the team. Yes, Brian actually had hair back then! Then it was opened up to questions from the CLA attendees. As you listen to the stories about the “bowl and the lid” to describe their source code control check-in system, you get sucked into the excitement of not just the software development process, but the feeling of being part of a team of smart people that are working towards a common goal.
Here is a list that Brian put up on a slide that describes some of the lessons learned during the early years of LabVIEW development:
Lessons Learned:
- Have a vision and a passion – and share it!
- Individual ownership – team effort.
- Set goals, evaluate, iterate – make something happen.
- Start from where you are.
- Optimism, persistence over long term.
- Ooch approach.
- Excitement, confidence, success are contagious.
- Have Fun – “The Journey is the Reward”
Brian Powell, Duncan Hudson, Greg Mckaskle, Jeff Kodosky and Steve Rogers. Some of the original members of the LabVIEW R&D team.
This panel chat is not typical of the type of discussions going on at a CLA summit. However, Jeff Kodosky and a lot of other NI LabVIEW R&D folks were always on hand to engage in deep-dive discussions. The CLA summit lasted 3 days and took place in Austin. The summit also took place in Paris, France this year (The European location changes every year).
Becoming Certified
If you want to take your LabVIEW career to the next level. I definitely encourage you to get certified. If only to get a chance to come to the CLA summit every year. The summit is only for those that have reached the CLA level of certification in LabVIEW and is free to attend. The discussions are very lively and you get to really hash out a lot of ideas and techniques of LabVIEW development that help you improve your skills, while networking with like-minded engineers. More information on becoming a Certified LabVIEW Architect can be found on NI's website.
