To date, I’ve interviewed people you’ve likely heard of before from the Python community. But this column isn’t just about interviewing the rock stars and core devs. It’s also a means to shine light on the huge contributions to the community that can often go unthanked and overlooked. As such, I present to you Brian Peterson.
Brian is a project manager by day, and by night he’s one of the moderators of the Pythonista Café, a peer-to-peer learning community for Pythonistas. In our interview, we talk about how Python helps him in his role as a project manager, and how moderating a large forum for Python enthusiasts has impacted his coding chops. Let’s dig in!
Ricky: Welcome to Real Python! Let’s get started with the question I ask everyone. How did you get into programming, and when did you start using Python?
Brian: Well… thinking back, my first real exposure to programming was testing near object detection system prototypes using an old HP-87. The program was used to move and change target and rotating antenna positions along test tracks inside an automotive laboratory anechoic chamber, all while collecting and processing data from a spectrum analyzer. Seeing the code translate into motion did it for me—something real, and tangible. I was hooked on using programming as an R&D tool to make things come alive.
Over the years, I started spending more time with Linux automation, control systems, data collection and analysis, which naturally led to spending more time writing C code, and then it was like, “Hey, Python is already on the system. Why not take it for a spin?”
I think it was Python 2.3 at that time. I liked Python because it felt natural, and I didn’t have to throw away all my C knowledge. It had some functional programming sprinkled in, and an impressive set of engineering and scientific libraries. To top it off, I could use the same language seamlessly across scripting, interactive data analysis, and writing code. And Python syntax, well, it can be so darned readable that personally, I think it’s hard not to like it. I was hooked.
Ricky: Working in project management and using Python might not seem a natural fit for some people. How do you use Python to help you in the project management office, and what tools and libraries are the most helpful for you on a day-to-day basis?
Brian: Yeah, at first glance Python may not seem like a natural fit. This is in large part due to the way project management is commonly taught—like cooking from a recipe book rather than learning and understanding the culinary arts.
And cookie-cutter project management tools are like the microwave ovens. Yeah, sure, use ‘em for the prepacked, boxed, canned stuff, but for every meal? Seriously? Python also starts making sense when you’re considering different flavors of project management:
- Traditional project managers use template-driven approaches.
- Agile practitioners use story-driven approaches.
- Adaptive practitioners blend existing, new, emerging approaches and creativity to develop the best fit for each unique project or group of projects.
So while off-the-shelf project management tools and services are an excellent fit for traditional projects, and a good fit for some Agile projects, adaptive project management calls for a different breed. In other words, rather than force all projects to fit a tool, why not use Python to construct a toolbox filled with best-of-breed tools to solve different types of problems for different kinds of projects?
It’s also worth considering that modern day Project Management Offices (PMO) don’t just manage projects: there’s ideation, portfolio management, road mapping, strategic planning, KPI monitoring, communications, governance, dashboards, stakeholder portals, working closely with DevOps, business analysts, architects, developers, UX designers, CX folks, subject matter experts, other technologists, and the list goes on and on.
Now imagine a vendor who knows nothing about your particular projects or PMO services with a big box of Legos gluing pieces into place and selling it to you. Yeah, it’s probably a nice contraption, or it wouldn’t be on the market for long.
But compare it to owning your own big box of Legos (Python and goodies), where you can add Legos to pre-built contraptions, use Legos to bridge multiple contraptions together, use them with existing Legos already lying around the organization, or build your own and mix and match any or all of the above.
And to answer the second part of the question, I currently use Python and RESTful APIs to interact with a variety of flexible SaaS tools, for example, ProductPlan, Smartsheet (with the dashboard extension), Airtable, and a commercial ticketing system, and enterprise visualization software. Python makes it easy to wire these tools together in creative ways and fill gaps in functionality to solve many different kinds of problems.
Ricky: How have those tools changed the way you work? And how do you see them changing going forward? Will Python continue to play a role in the future of project management offices?
Brian: I think the most significant change is a sense of freedom, the ability to creatively solve problems, focus on what’s essential, and leverage modern solutions rather than being chained to tools, falling into tool ruts, or suffering from tool rot. As an added bonus, Python makes project management fun and refreshing.
I’m not sure that Python will become mainstream in project management, but I do think it can give project managers who learn it a unique advantage in the automation of tedious tasks, solving complex problems, adapting to the evolution of organizations, and providing valuable outside-the-box PMO services.
Ricky: Do you have any Python or tech related side projects you’re working on right now?
Brian: Yes, Road Maps to the Future is a project in partnership with a network of volunteers and in cooperation with agencies to help pilot it. With over 80,000 local governments in the United States alone, I believe there needs to be a better way to map out where we are, where we are going in the future, and the best ways to get there.
In Python, we have an amazing assortment of tools for doing fantastic things with data, and we’re getting better at collecting discrete data.
But there are opportunities in the exploration and non-linear collection of ideas, the identification of unseen problems, gaps in services, areas for improvement in the overall customer experience, the development of creative and viable alternative solutions to these problems, and then translating them into successful projects with demonstrable benefits.
The road maps to the future are not just compilations of random ideas with new ways to collect information, but cohesive collections of core elements, processes, and partnerships necessary to propel the ideas into action through the organization of projects.
To make it sustainable, it has to be discoverable, simple, quick and fun, so a lot of extra focus is being put into the UX side of the project. The current design uses Python, Vue.js, Azure Cosmos DB, Service Bus and Cognitive Services. It’s still in early development. Project information, details, and code will be released into the public domain next year.
Ricky: One of the reasons I was keen to interview you is because of your contribution to the Python community. You are one of two moderators in the Pythonista Café, a peer-to-peer learning community for Python enthusiasts. How has your journey been from being a member to a moderator, and how has it influenced your Python chops?
Brian: It’s been great! Dan Bader has done such a fantastic job, along with you, Jennifer (co-moderator), the Real Python team, and especially all the amazing contributors from a wide range of backgrounds, geographical locations, and levels of experience who have made the Café into the lively forum it is today.
It really is truly community-driven from the ground up. It has a fun, productive, open-source vibe without fear of public shaming. It’s okay to make mistakes and learn. You can post stuff without having to worry about how the whole world will interpret it or misinterpret it.
I initially joined the Café for several reasons. It’s like a non-cliquey 24/7/365 Python meetup that you can drop in and out of at any time. As forum members have mentioned, it has a much better signal-to-noise ratio than the public forums, not to mention freedom from ads and social media algorithms that manipulate behaviors.
It’s very welcoming and ultra-Python friendly. The passion for programming is seriously contagious, which leads to your question on how it has influenced my Python chops. The answer is that it has made Python even more fun, and I’m now even more committed and focused to continuous learning in Python and its ecosystem. It has also increased my excitement about the possibilities of what can be done with Python in the future.
Ricky: Now for my last question. What other hobbies and interests do you have, aside from Python? Any you’d like to share and/or plug?
Brian: Outside of work and Python, I like to mix it up a lot. I currently work in the Panhandle and spend my off-time on the First Coast, so lately one of my favorite things to do is wandering around the south kayaking the many rivers and swamps; under certain conditions, it’s absolutely surreal. You can read and watch all you want about swamps, but there’s no substitute for the real thing.
Each year I also pick out one or two new subjects to research and study for fun. I am an amateur radio operator, I love music, and I’m an avid reader of books, particularly history, survival stories, and science fiction.
I’m also blessed to have an amazing wife and son. Outside of my projects, my wife keeps things lively with home projects, going to festivals and other events, helping animal rescues, along with exploring new areas and hiking with the dogs. Boredom is an alien concept—it definitely keeps life fun.
Thank you, Brian, for joining me this week. If you’re looking for a friendly Python place to hang your metaphorical hat, you can find the Pythonista Café here. Just be sure to say hi to Brian when you get there.
Do you know an unsung hero in the Python community? If they’d like me to interview them in the future, I can be reached in the comments below, or you can send me a message on Twitter.
