Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team Hey! Welcome to another edition of the Team-Drive Developer.I'm trying something different this week: I'm including the entire article in the email instead of asking you to click through my site. Let me know what you think! If you’re a frequent reader of this blog and newsletter, you know I’m a big advocate for two core components for building software: Iterative development (constant refactoring, focused...
14 days ago • 7 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team Software companies love to talk about innovation. Whether they are building a product that will “revolutionize the way teams do X” or plan to “disrupt the market”, there is real value in convincing investors that a company is doing something unique and innovative. You’ll also see this idea on job postings or in advice on how to grow your career. "To get to the next level, you must innovate, challenge the...
28 days ago • 2 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team Many developers are aware of the power of gamification. From video games to board games to even personal hobbies, there is something powerful about creating a competition or structure around leveling up or completing challenges. I’ve been thinking about this recently as I’ve been reading a book called The Power of Moments. It talks about how we miss out on pivotal moments in our lives, careers, and...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team I returned to work last week from a short vacation. When I logged back in, I quickly saw there had been some problems while I was away. Some code that processes authentication requests was running extremely slow.As I read through the thread, I realized this was code I had worked on😳And for the rest of the week, even though my team had solved the problem quickly and prevented an outage, I kept apologizing...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team “Does it scale?” This is a frequent and familiar question in the software world these days. In the world of SaaS and the ability for software users to ramp quickly, we all want to make sure our software scales. But beyond just scaling software, I want to consider a different function that also needs to scale: Your engineering team.Scaling your team is non-trivial (probably harder than scaling software!),...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team There are a lot of growth hacks, tips, and tricks available for software engineers today. And while those hacks and tips are great, there is a key to growth that you can't hack through, and that's getting feedback.Unfortunately, feedback can be difficult to obtain. And you can't wait for feedback that comes once or twice a year during a performance check-in. This week, I'm sharing some of the tactics and...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team In one of my first software internships, I remember overhearing a conversation between two engineers. I don’t remember much of the details, except that this one engineer was pretty frustrated with another about some recent code that was checked in. His last line was “Let’s be consistent.” as he walked back to his own cubicle, clearly agitated. For some reason, this conversation stuck with me. I carried it...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team Engineers love to talk about process. Whether it's how to run a team, the best development methodology, or even the most effective deployments, we are always talking about the “right process.” And it makes sense. A process is pretty similar to an algorithm, and many of us write algorithms in the form of computer code all day.When projects go wrong or run late, one of the first things to do is scrutinize the...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Team-Driven Developer A newsletter with tips and tools for building software as a team I've spent many hours hiking across the US. I've spent much time on trails, from deserts to forests, beaches to mountains.One common pattern you'll find across many trails is the switchback. Switchbacks control erosion on a hillside, lessen the incline for hikers and can be easier to develop than a straight line to the top. What does a swtichback have to do with any software engineering related? For me, it...
5 months ago • 2 min read