Maintainable

Maintainable Nails: Bonus Episode 02Duncan doesn't think Robert is asking a good question but it isn't the right question. In this discussion, they dig into the tyranny of the mammelian genetic legacy, the future of maintainability, investing in new ventures, pandemic vaccines, and being an ethical consumer on Earth and in space.We steer clear of any current legal disputes that Duncan is involved in.Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Maintainable Nails: Bonus Episode 01Robby speaks with Shannon Jackson about existing in the life you have vs the one you want, long-term maintenance, the benefits of stickers, remote consultations, frito dust, and gutter nails that don't belong to you.Helpful LinksBioLinkedIn[Book Recommendation] Untamed, Glennon DoyleSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Brian Scanlan, Principal Systems Engineer at Intercom. They discuss the benefits of having consistent software patterns across an organization, how run books are a must-have (and why they should be tested), and optimizing for developer productivity. Brian also talks about approaches to reducing deployment time and why it is so vital to be responsive to their customers.Helpful LinksIntercom's Engineering SiteBrian's TwitterBrian's LinkedIn[Book Recommendation] Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom, William GlasserSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Alexandre Omeyer, Co-founder and CEO of StepSize. They discuss how high-quality software requires team ownership, some traits of well-maintained software, and the different sizes of technical debt. Alexandre also shares advice on how engineers can step up and take action today.Helpful LinksStepSize's WebsiteStepSize on TwitterAlexandre on Twitter[Book Recommendation] Drive, Daniel H. PinkSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Roopak Venkatakrishnan, Engineering Manager at Bolt. They discuss why it's important to document the weird things and strategies for keeping your system easy to begin developing in. Roopak also talks about why we end up with silos of knowledge and how to alleviate that problem.Helpful LinksRoopak's WebsiteRoopak on TwitterRoopak on LinkedInSwissknife CircleCI orb Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Benjamin Wood, CEO and Co-Founder of Hint. They discuss the importance of being able to iterate quickly, and the optimal code-to-test ratios. Benjamin also talks about the pros and Cons of using Monkey Patching, as well as suggestions for where to prioritize tests on a legacy Ruby on Rails application.Helpful LinksHint.ioGithub.com/hintmedia/railsdockBenjamin on Twitter[Book Recommendation] The E-Myth Revisited, Michael E. GerberSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Johanna Rothman, President at Rothman Consulting Group, Inc. They discuss traits of healthy teams, how to respond to colleagues who vent and/or complain to you, and strategies for growing a team. Johanna also talks about the importance of understanding that moving into management is a career change vs a promotion.Helpful LinksJohanna on LinkedInJohanna on TwitterJohanna's Website[Book Recommendation] 7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change, Ester Derby [Book Recommendation] The No Asshole Rule, Robert I. Sutton, PhDSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Helen Scott, Java Developer Advocate at Jet Brains. They discuss tips on how to measure team satisfaction, what is/isn't technical debt, and the impact of being remote during a pandemic. Helen also talks about her background as a software engineer and being a technical writer.Helpful LinksHelen on LinkedInHelen on TwitterHelen's Website[Book Recommendation] Word Perfect: Curious Coinages and Etymological First Aid For Every Day of the Year, Susie DentSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Robert Kaufman, Senior Partner at Notch8 and Cofounder of LEARN Academy. They discuss the importance of treating software development as a craft, tips on helping peers troubleshoot via pairing, and how technical debt can be used as an excuse. Robert also talks about keeping a healthy junior to senior ratio (2:1) and how to be a good guest in another team's codebase.Helpful LinksLearn AcademyNotch8 BlogRobert on TwitterRobert on GitHub[Book Recommendation] Brain Rules, John MedinaSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Heidi Helfand, Director of Product & Technology Excellence at Procore Technologies. They discuss how to reduce fear when making changes, understanding the importance of supporting roles for technical teams, and why we should all keep a living document that lists all of our accomplishments. Heidi also talks about different ways to benchmark a team and how to build alliances.Helpful LinksHeidi's bookHeidi on TwitterHeidi's Website[Book Recommendation] Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Kerry Patterson and Joseph GennySubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Jutta Eckstein; coach, consultant, trainer, speaker, and author. They discuss the importance of being able to deliver continuously, the difference between technical debt and gold plating, and the challenges of synchronous vs asynchronous communication during a global pandemic. Jutta also talks about why teams need to consider the carbon footprint of their cloud infrastructure and doing what we can to reduce e-waste.Helpful LinksJutta's WebsiteJutta on LinkedInJutta on Twitter[Book Recommendation] Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, Caroline Criado PerezSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with John Cech, Senior Ruby on Rails Engineer at Planet Argon. They discuss examples of technical debt, how John catapulted his professional development via mentoring, and the benefits of having consistent coding conventions as a team. John also talks about how he helped a software project increase test coverage while also reducing the speed to run them.Helpful LinksMore About John[Book Recommendation] 1Q84, Haruki Murakami Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Theresa Neate, Director of Quality Engineering at Slalom Build Australia. She shares an overview of the Quality Engineer role, why quality isn't something you can assure in software, and why we shouldn't hire junior developers and toss them into a testing role.Helpful Links[Book] The DevOps Handbook by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Debois, and John Willis[Book] 97 Things Every Cloud Engineer Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the ExpertFollow Theresa on TwitterTheresa's websiteConnect with Theresa on LinkedInTesting and Quality: Correlation does not equal CausationSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Michael Springer, Software Engineer at JazzHR. They discuss the importance (and challenge) of naming things in your code, how to adopt a package vetting procedure as a team, and strategies to simplify comprehension for new team members. Michael also shares the long-term impact on all dependencies and their dependencies.Helpful LinksMichael on TwitterSprngr.com[Book Recommendation] Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal NewportSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Jason Swett, Software Engineer at Meadows Eye. They discuss the value of understandability, differences between loose and tight coupling in code, and creating a shared vision as a team. Jason also discusses how teams struggle to retain quality engineers and how to teach testing to Ruby on Rails developers.Helpful LinksJason on TwitterJason's WebsiteThe Rails with Jason Podcast[Book Recommendation] How to Win Friends & Influence People, Dale CarnegieSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Sudhir Reddy, VP of Engineering at Chef / Progress. They discuss what Sudhir calls "legacy debt", some challenges of managing open source projects with over 500 Github repositories, and how Chef built cohesive governance and EOL programs for open source contributions. Sudhir also shares advice for developers who are looking for a way to begin introducing automated tests in environments where that's not yet considered a valuable practice by the team.Helpful LinksSudhir on TwitterChef's Website[Book Recommendation] What Customers Crave: How to Create Relevant and Memorable Experiences at Every Touchpoint, Nicholas WebbSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Monica Lent, Software Engineer, Founder, Speaker, and Travel + Technical blogger. They discuss the importance of clear boundaries between teams, Monica's participation in the 12 startups in 12 months challenge, and why it is okay to say "I don't (yet) have an opinion on that." Monica also shares advice for developers on coming up with topic ideas for blogging, and introduces us to her free email course.Helpful LinksMonica on TwitterBlogging for DevsMonica's Website[Book Recommendation] The Compound Effect, Darren HardySubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Episode NotesRobby speaks with Trae Robrock, Software Developer Engineer at GoDaddy. They discuss why readability matters (and how Ruby on Rails aligns well with this), the importance of implementing good team processes and communication channels, and the differences between explicit and non-explicit tradeoffs. Trae also share stories of successful and not-so-successful software rewrites. Helpful LinksTrae on TwitterTrae on LinkedInTrae's WebsiteGreen Bits[Book Recommendation] Atomic Habits[Book Recommendation] The 4-Hour WorkweekSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Mark Erikson, Software Engineer at Northrop Grumman and Redux Maintainer. They discuss common characteristics of well-maintained software code, documentation best practices, and advice for developers on how to begin contributing to open source projects.Helpful LinksMark on TwitterMark on LinkedInMark's BlogRedux SiteDivio SiteVue.js Site[Article] 7 Pieces of Information to Include in Technical Blog PostsSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.

Robby speaks with Bonnie Brennan, Angular GDE and Founder of Angular Nation. They discuss the importance of keeping things modular, avoiding large files, and embracing DRY. Bonnie also shares her journey as a single mom and making a career change in her 30s, along with tips on how to ask for help within technical communities.Helpful LinksBonnie on TwitterBonnie on LinkedInAngular NationHack Your Future[Book Recommendation] A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's PurposeSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.