Software Engineering

Behold, a brand new website!

A new website, the being of many things.
It’s a new beginning.
It’s a new way of writing, sharing and expressing myself.
It’s a new exploration of tech.

The optimal team size is 4.6 people.

Dave Farley in his book Modern Software Engineering argues we need to organize for the optimal team size.
Small teams working autonomously on small projects.
If the project is too big and complicated, it’ll inevitably slow down.
Adding more people won’t then speed it up.

Have you heard people saying things like…

• “We need to ship the feature by the end of this sprint.”
• “The client just saw the latest version and they need the copy changed immediately.”
• “We should first focus on the next release, we’ll discuss the DB design in a later stage.”

These are all normal, expected and common phrases. We hear them all the time.

In my last article, I wrote about the power of simplicity.

And I truly believe this is a guiding principle in good design and quality software.
But it is more than that. It can be applied, as most learnings, outside of software engineering as well.

Simple is… very hard.

Did you ever stare at your screen and wonder: “How did we get to this level of WTFs/minute?”

Maybe it’s even a regular event for you.

A few months ago, I started learning a new programming language: Golang.

Yes, the language with the weird creature mascot.

And everything was uncomfortable.
How do I do the most basic things?

Many developers I’ve met love optimizing their workflow. So do I.

It just feels great to discover an efficient approach to a problem you’ve been faced with daily for a long time.
To find that new shortcut that now saves you 3 clicks and moving your arm to that mouse and back to the keyboard.

“I almost got it! Surely if I fix this one error, the damn thing will work! Right? …Right?”

Creative solutions for analytical problems

So often, coding problems require the creative side of our minds.

Agile.

The buzzword that sprouted in 2001 and nowadays leaves a bad taste in many developers’ mouths.

The ideology that software engineers hold on to in a sea of information overload, pressure and deadlines.

What is the biggest gift a team member has given you?

We all have had those moments.
What made it special for you?
Do you remember the thing that person said, that made you feel seen, that made you feel heard, that made you feel appreciated?