How we work
Our purpose
Blackmill exists because we believe that software engineering can be done better. Our purpose is to improve the day-to-day work environment of every software engineer we can reach, by improving the team's culture, communications, and work processes while helping both the organisation and its individuals to achieve their goals.
We’ve experienced solid takes on that at various companies and on different projects over the years. Now we’re bringing all those experiences together under one roof. We do that by sharing what we know, seeking to learn more, and continuously improving.
Our values
We believe in people, in learning, and in clear and open communication.
We do what we love. We make time to do it right. We involve the people we love.
We combine our beliefs with our experience to do our best work.
1. We believe in people
We strive to deliver an emotionally secure work environment by unconditionally accepting everyone we work with for their own worth and human dignity. We behave with compassion, empathy, and respect. We are our whole selves.
We are open and respectful in our attitudes. We seek out the most valuable work we could be doing together with you. We trust colleagues and clients to deliver their best and we promise to do the same.
2. We believe in learning
We encourage curiosity and help each other grow personally and professionally. We value gradual iterative improvement, for everyone. We improve processes to deliver long term benefits rather than focus on short term results. Ongoing gradual improvement is often invisible on a day to day basis. However, if it is constant, big changes happen over time.
We expect change and even some mistakes, as long as we learn from them. Agile encourages failing fast and often or more accurately, Learn Fast, Learn Often.
3. We believe in clear and open communication
We focus on listening and understanding. We believe that more communication is better than making assumptions. We discuss and define clear expectations around every project and adjust them along the way as necessary. We welcome feedback from all to help us with our growth, change, projects, and process improvements.
4. We do what we love
We choose positivity, happiness, and adventure. We value fun, engagement, and friendliness. We exist to create value and enjoy our work along the way.
5. We make time to do it right
We work with everyone on the team to clarify objectives and what success means to the project. We value and seek diverse perspectives, which ultimately nurture better solutions.
When our projects involve writing code, we use Test-Driven Development and automated testing to ensure code quality. We prioritise clear code over clever code to help with future maintainability and extensibility.
6. We involve people we love
We love our families and value our time with them. They are a part of who we are and what we do.
We believe that being a part of a community is a fundamental part of life, which contributes to our emotional stability, and happiness. We demonstrate our gratitude for the communities we come from by participating in and contributing to them. We share our profits with the people we work with, and charities we believe in. You can find details of both here: What we give