July 2014 Summaries

This month New Relic achieved a significant milestone by implementing full round-the-clock Technical Support for its Gold and Platinum customers, offering 24/7/365 service to these tiers. The company's Director of Technical Support, Laura Kibben, highlights the improvements made to enhance customer experience, including duplicating existing processes, hiring additional staff, creating comprehensive training programs, and documenting knowledge sharing. This move acknowledges New Relic's expansion into international markets and allows customers worldwide to receive consistent support regardless of their location or work schedule. The company has also reported positive feedback from customers, who praise the speed and professionalism of its service, and attributes this success to a more even workflow and a culture that prioritizes customer success.

New Relic has enhanced its customer service by transitioning to a 24/7/365 Technical Support model for its Gold and Platinum customers, while Silver customers receive support during their business hours globally. This change addresses the demand for support outside of U.S. business hours, aiding New Relic's expansion into international markets and ensuring consistent service across time zones. The initiative involved increasing staff, improving training and documentation processes, and establishing a support team in Dublin, Ireland. Customers have responded positively, appreciating the swift and professional resolution of their technical issues. The new staffing model not only smooths out workload fluctuations but also fosters a less stressful work environment, which has been instrumental in attracting talent who are passionate about customer success.

The text discusses how people misuse words borrowed from other languages in English, specifically "cappuccini" (pl. cappuccinos), "graffito" (pl. graffiti), and "data". The author of the blog post explores whether it's acceptable to use "data helps" instead of "data help(s)" and finds that Google Trends shows more searches for "data is" than "data are", suggesting that the singular form is more common in usage. Experts, including the Chicago Manual of Style and dictionaries, also support using "data" with a singular verb, citing its use as a mass noun or noncount noun to denote an abstract concept. The author concludes that "data helps" is standard usage and that people who disagree are not representative of the majority.

The article explores the debate over whether "data" should be treated as a singular or plural noun in English. It highlights that while "data" originated as the plural of "datum" in Latin, its contemporary usage often treats it as a singular mass noun, especially in non-scientific contexts. Google Trends and search results indicate that "data" with a singular verb is more common, aligning with guidelines from the Chicago Manual of Style, which treats mass nouns as singular. The American Heritage Dictionary also recognizes "data" as a singular mass entity in general writing. The discussion concludes that English usage has evolved, and treating "data" as singular is now standard, reflecting its status as an English word rather than a Latin one.

The views expressed on this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of New Relic. Any solutions offered by the author are environment-specific and not part of the commercial solutions or support offered by New Relic. Please join us exclusively at the Explorers Hub (discuss.newrelic.com) for questions and support related to this blog post. This blog may contain links to content on third-party sites.

竹澤 拡子, a solution consultant for New Relic since 2022, specializes in IT service management and primarily serves the media industry. Previously involved in IT operations management software presales across various industries, she focuses on supporting activities related to work style reform and digital transformation. The blog expresses her personal views, which are not necessarily aligned with those of New Relic, and emphasizes that any solutions mentioned are specific to certain environments and not part of New Relic's commercial offerings. Readers are encouraged to visit the Explorers Hub for questions and support related to the blog content. The blog may include links to third-party sites, with New Relic disclaiming any endorsement or guarantee of their content.

As someone who has successfully transitioned from being a developer to a manager, I can attest that managing a team is fundamentally different from coding. Managerial success is often achieved through others, as it requires building and enabling an entire team to be successful, rather than just solving individual technical problems. This involves making incremental changes, measuring them, and then improving them, while also being aware of the needs of different jobs and teams. Additionally, managerial successes are often harder to measure and may not have a direct impact on the business, unlike programming success which can be more tangible. However, as a manager, one's success can still bring joy and pride, particularly when they see their team members grow and thrive. Ultimately, measuring success as a manager requires a deeper understanding of individual strengths and weaknesses, team dynamics, and the ability to guide others towards long-term growth and improvement.

Transitioning from a developer to a manager involves a shift in how success is measured, as managerial achievements are typically more strategic, less frequent, and often realized through the success of others. While developers may achieve daily progress with tangible outputs like code commits, managers face the challenge of facilitating gradual change and guiding team growth, which requires patience and a long-term perspective. Managers must create environments where teams can thrive by addressing individual strengths and weaknesses, employing strategic planning, and making incremental process improvements to optimize team dynamics and productivity. By adopting the role of an "Invisible Manager," they enable team members to shine and receive recognition for their achievements, ultimately deriving satisfaction from the development and success of their team.

This article discusses common misconceptions and misunderstandings between developers and non-technical clients, coworkers, and bosses. It highlights various scenarios where developers may encounter difficulties in communicating with their audience due to a lack of understanding about technical concepts, software development processes, and industry trends. The article provides suggestions on how to respond to these situations effectively, such as explaining complex concepts in simple terms, suggesting methods for improving site optimization, working together to put updates into the development budget, and finding out why clients prefer specific programming languages. It also emphasizes the importance of educating non-technical individuals about technical topics to build common ground between technical and non-technical types.

In the blog post, David Strom addresses the communication challenges between developers and non-technical clients, offering insights into common misconceptions and unrealistic expectations that arise in the workplace. He shares anecdotes from tech professionals like Courtenay Rogers and Scott Friedman, who highlight frequent misunderstandings such as the assumption that websites can easily rank on Google's first page, or that coding can begin without a full project understanding. Strom emphasizes the importance of bridging the knowledge gap through education, patience, and clear communication, suggesting ways developers can effectively respond to these misconceptions. The article underscores the significance of understanding client needs, educating them on technical realities, and fostering productive dialogues to facilitate better collaboration in tech projects.