To start my blogging career, I thought I would talk about my VCDX-NV journey.
I’m currently in the waiting stage after submitting my documents. Waiting for a VCDX panel to determine if my documentation warrants an invite to defend.
Whilst waiting, I thought I’d take this time to share some advice that I found useful on my journey.
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Firstly, read and understand the blueprint this can’t be stressed enough. During your journey; you will find all VCDXs repeat this phrase to you, and it’s true. The closer you get to the submission date the more the blueprint resonates.
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Read the submission document. I read this at the very end, but I wish I had read it a few months before. It clarifies what you are submitting and might help you format your document.
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Typically you would have a project in mind (real, fictional or mixed) and you want to start jotting down all the detail as soon as you start. Don’t! Start with the conceptual design and get all of your requirements, constraints, assumptions and risks down on paper first. This will make you think about the design decisions you make at the logical and physical layers. I found this was solid advice and helps you in the creation of your design document.
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Get yourself a mentor (shout out to Luca). Use the VCDX directory to filter for your track and list by mentors. Twitter seems to be the best way when reaching out. Remember that a mentor is great, but they are only human, they are busy as well. Lean on as many other aspiring and current VCDXs as possible. I found when asking multiple VCDXs the same question, you can get varied responses. These varied responses can lead to interesting conversations around your document and/or design. Receiving identical responses also helps, as it guides you down the correct path.
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This brings me to my next point. Join Gregg Robertson’s VCDX Slack channel by reaching out to him on Twitter. This is one of the most useful resources when going for the VCDX. It’s full of aspiring and current VCDXs and they are all amazingly helpful throughout the entire process.
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Along the road, I found a number of blogs useful. Whether focusing on VCDX, concepts or product-related. The blogs that resonated with me the most are:
- Paul McSharry – https://www.elasticsky.co.uk/
- Rene van den Bedem – https://vcdx133.com/
- Simon Long – http://www.simonlong.co.uk/blog/ (Podcast)
- Jeffrey Kusters – https://www.jeffreykusters.nl/
- vMusketeers – https://vmusketeers.com/
Patience is key! I had an issue with the submitted documents and had to update them. These things happen. Stay calm and roll with the punches!
Remember at this stage, I’ve not got my number, so please take my advice with a pinch of salt.