What could be common between software development and mountaineering? A lot actually. A mountaineer may not teach a programmer coding skills and practices. But they can inspire discipline, personal management and team building that enhance productivity, motivation and well being.

1. 5 Software Development
Lessons From a
Mountaineer
Omar Bashir

2. Saltoro Kangari
7,742m peak in the Karakorams.
First ascent in 1962 by a
Pak-Japanese team.
A. Saito (32),
Y. Takamura (27)
R. Bashir (24)

3. R. Bashir
Resigned from his grad programme with the PIA
(Pakistan International Airlines) to join this
expedition.
Serial adventurer.
Settled down as an accomplished attorney.

4. 1. Work on Your Fitness
“You must maintain your fitness.
Take your training seriously and take every
opportunity to retrain.
You don’t train when your are going up a mountain,
you do it before that.
You won’t just need your fitness to go up a
mountain but also to come back down”

5. Defining Fitness for Coders
Developing a growth mindset.
Building and improving problem solving skills.
Practicing the craft.
Increasing technical breadth.
Staying in touch with the industry without
drowning in information overload.

6. 2. Sort out the Gear
“Choosing the right gear is not just about reaching the top but
also making it back alive.
Remember, you, not a porter, will have to carry your own gear
up the ascent.
So choose wisely”

7. Less is More
Start with removing redundancies and unnecessary
dependencies.
Reduce and manage complexity and wastage.
Understand how things work and why they don’t when they
won’t.

8. 3. Build a Rhythm
“Feeling tired, you only just started !
Keep going, you need to catch the
second wind.
Your body will then get into the
rhythm it needs to keep you going”

9. Coding Rhythm
Teams take some time to settle into projects.
Getting used to technologies, domain,
clients and other team members is
challenging.
Teams get their second wind after the first
few iterations to develop a rhythm to deliver
at a predictable pace.

10. 4. Maintain the
Momentum
“As you climb higher several factors will
work against you.
Tiredness will increase, oxygen will
decrease.
You will feel the need to rest more
frequently.
So try and maintain your initial
momentum for as long as possible”

11. Cover the last mile all along
Last mile issues can easily derail otherwise
successful projects and break the momentum of
productive teams.
As a technology team nears the end of a project,
risks increase.
Start planning and incrementally executing
integration, deployment and parallel test runs
from the very beginning.
This reduces the risk of loss of momentum as the
team ascents.

12. 5. Look After Yourself
and Your Team
“Remain hydrated, nourished and rested.
You are your own responsibility.
Also, set a manageable pace for your team.”

13. Team Well Being
Well being and working hard are not mutually
exclusive.
Plan the pace of projects to not let individual
and team fatigue set in.
Regularly working long hours impacts
work-life balance causing fatigue and
demotivation impacting team's momentum.
So, plan smart for your team to work hard
while still maintaining sociable hours.