Legacy Code Rocks

How many pairs of eyes are needed to ensure the quality of a newly written code? When do you send your code to an impartial reviewer? Is a review always necessary? Today we talk with Pranay Suresh, a Silicon Valley startup expert, a former software engineer at Tesla, and a mentor and angel investor about code reviews. Pranay gives us a few tips on how to approach code reviews, both from the perspective of a reviewer and of a coder. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Pranay on LinkedIn, and visit his website at https://pranaysuresh.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Pranay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pranaysuresh/

Pranay's website: https://pranaysuresh.com

Bolt at: https://bolt.com/

GitHub Pull Approve: https://www.pullapprove.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw5Ij2BRBdEiwA0Frc9aNWlyDBIpQIbPkV0-j31HN5GSiGpkcy54vbIEqa5kY7m5Or8NntPRoCH2wQAvD_BwE

GitHub code review: https://github.com/features/code-review/

Switching from a monolithic architecture to microservices has become an accelerating trend these days. Many tech leaders have already successfully transitioned, and many others are planning to follow suit. But is it always wise to abandon the monolith and adopt the services approach? And if the answer is yes, how to make the transition least painful? Today we talk with Rob Zuber, a veteran of software startups, CTO of CircleCI, and a scalability expert. Rob tells us how to choose the right architecture for your business, and how to transition from one architecture to the other without abandoning already invested years of work, knowledge, and experience. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Rob on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this episode:

Rob on Twitter: https://twitter.com/z00b?lang=en

Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robzuber/

CircleCI: https://circleci.com

Sam Newman, Monolith to Microservices: Evolutionary Patterns to Transform Your Monolith at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1492047848/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Coding with empathy is one of the Corgibytes' core principles, underlying everything we talk about on this show. But not since 2016 have we taken a step back and dived deep into the subject of empathy, what it means, and how to practice it. Today we talk with Indi Young, a speaker, writer, and UX researcher dedicated to empowering makers and menders to know their problem space through empathy and deep understanding of people's purposes. Indi is an author of two books - Mental Models and Practical Empathy. She tells us how to bring empathy to the developer's table and understand the user's needs beyond what data reveals. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to visit Indi's website and connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this episode:

Indi Young at https://indiyoung.com

Indi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/indiyoung?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Indi on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/indiyoung/

Indi Young, Practical Empathy: For Collaboration and Creativity in Your Work at https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Empathy-Indi-Young-ebook/dp/B00RY9R8H8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485488787&sr=1-1&keywords=practical+empathy&pldnSite=1

Indi Young, Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior at https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/mental-models/

Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts at https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking-ebook/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1587223083&sr=8-2

When repaying debt, it helps to know how big it is. The same holds for technical debt. The problem is: how do you measure it? Today we talk with Daniel Okwufulueze, a technology leader, programming polyglot, writer, and senior engineer at dunnhumby. Daniel helps us define technical debt and tells us how to quantify it without falling into usual pitfalls while doing so. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Daniel on LinkedIn and check out his writings at Medium.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Daniel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dokwufulueze/

Daniel on media.com at https://medium.com/@DOkwufulueze

Dunnhumby at https://www.dunnhumby.com

M.M. Lehman, L.A. Belady, Program Evolution, Processes of Software Change at http://informatique.umons.ac.be/genlog/BeladyLehman1985-ProgramEvolution.pdf

Code Climate at https://codeclimate.com

The code is predictable. Binary. It either works, or it doesn't. Working with people is much messier. Their actions and reactions are not easy to predict. Or are they? Today we talk with Claudius Mbemba, a tech leader, public speaker, and the CTO of Neu, about personality tests. How useful they are, which one to choose, is it enough to use only one, and how to use them to increase the productivity and happiness of your team. When you finish listening to the episode, visit Claudius' blog and make sure to connect with him on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this episode:

Claudius on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mbembaships

Claudius on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbembac/

Neu at https://www.neucleans.com

Claudius' Blog at https://claudiusmbemba.com

Myers-Briggs personality test at https://www.myersbriggs.org

iMap Individual Multi-Construct Assessment Profile at https://vnacelle.com/our-services/imap/

The Four Tendencies Quiz from Gretchen Rubin: https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/

Disc personality assessment at https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/

Personalysis test at https://personalysis.wiredtothrive.com/assessment/

StrengthsFinder at https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx

To paraphrase Lewellyn Falco, when one person is programming, it is that person's best ideas that are being encoded into the software; when two people are programming together, you get the best ideas from both of them. Today we are talking with Harald Reingruber, a software engineer who specializes in visual and spatial computing, about his upcoming pair-programming tour in the US and Canada. Where is he planning to go; how will he travel; who will he pair with; and what benefits pair-programming can bring to you and your team? Be sure to check out the details about his tour at https://dev.to/harald3dcv/pair-programming-tour-invite-me-for-free-sessions-sf-bay-area-5eci.

You can also connect with Harald on Twitter and invite him for a pair-programming session.

Mentioned in this episode:

Harald on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Harald3DCV

About Harald's tour: https://dev.to/harald3dcv/pair-programming-tour-invite-me-for-free-sessions-sf-bay-area-5eci

Lewellyn Falco's strong-style pairing http://llewellynfalco.blogspot.com/2014/06/llewellyns-strong-style-pairing.html

The easiest way to make your team members feel happy is to give them a sense of personal growth. By expanding their capacities, they exponentially increase the productivity of the team while strengthening their own sense of purpose. On today's episode, we chat with Kwame Thomison. After a decade building software and software teams for companies like Facebook and Asana, Kwame set out as a leadership coach and founded his company, Magnetic, to help other teams build and sustain social learning cultures. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to visit Kwame's web-site at https://magnetic-inc.com and connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Mentioned in this episode:

Kwame on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwamethomison/

Kwame on Twitter at https://twitter.com/KwameMagnetic

Magnetic at https://magnetic-inc.com

Asana at https://asana.com

LinkedIn Learning's 2019 Workplace Learning Report at https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report

It's never about what you don't know. It's the difference you can bring to the table that matters. Today we talk with A.J. Rendo, a theatre director, a philosophy major, and an enthusiast historian turned software developer. A.J. gives us a wild ride through his story — how can you switch from directing theatrical shows to maintaining legacy software responsible for managing billion dollars a day? What does such a shift do to your self-confidence? And how do you overcome self-doubt? When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with A.J. via Twitter, and check out some of the resources we mentioned in this episode.

Mentioned in this episode:

A.J. Rendo Twitter at: https://twitter.com/AjAdirondack

Michael Feathers, Working Effectively with Legacy Code at https://www.amazon.com/Working-Effectively-Legacy-Michael-Feathers/dp/0131177052/ref=nodl_

Legacy Code Rocks: Defining Legacy Code with Amitai Schleier at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-legacy-code-with-amitai-schleier/id1146634772?i=1000445569710

Developer on Fire: Amitai Schleier - Safe for Programmers and Non-Programmers at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-436-amitai-schleier-safe-for-programmers-non/id1006105326?i=1000446689222

Martin Fowler at https://martinfowler.com

Eric Evans, Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321125215/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SxxpEbD60E873

David Thomas, Andrew Hunt, The Pragmatic Programmer, 2nd Edition, at https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Programmer-journey-mastery-Anniversary/dp/0135957052

In a modern fast-moving business environment, we are obsessed with quantitative measurements. But without qualitative data, we might get the wrong impression and incentivize bad behavior. Today we talk with Dalia Havens, Vice-President of engineering at Netlify, about selecting appropriate metrics to measure outputs of your team, increase its productivity, and, most importantly, keep it happy. Building on her experience from Netlify, GitLab, SailPoint and IBM, she shares with us how to promote team health through positive metric-driven management. When you finish listening to the podcast, connect with Dalia on LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this episode:

Dalia Havens on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/daliahavens/

Netlify at https://www.netlify.com

GitLab at https://about.gitlab.com

IBM at https://www.ibm.com

SailPoint at https://www.sailpoint.com

SonarQube at https://www.sonarqube.org

Code Climate at https://codeclimate.com

John Doerr, Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525536221/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_15ClEbKXXGPGQ

Most of the time, we focus on a specific aspect of software development and maintenance and try to see how these small pieces fit in the big picture of working with legacy code. Not today, however. Today we talk with Abraham Marín-Pérez, an extremely active Java developer with more than ten years of experience in various industries, about THE big picture and why legacy code rocks! Abraham is the author of Real World Maintainable Software and a co-author of Continuous Delivery in Java, a Java news editor at InfoQ, an advisor at the Meet-a-Mentor London Group, and a regular speaker at well-known international events. On top of that, he helps to run the London Java Community. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to visit Abraham's blog From Fragile to Agile!

Mentioned in this episode:

Abraham on Twitter: https://twitter.com/abrahammarin?lang=en

Abraham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abraham-marin-perez-45b88422/?originalSubdomain=uk

Real World Maintainable Software by Abraham Marín-Pérez at: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/real-world-maintainable-software/9781492042853/

Continuous Delivery in Java by Abraham Marín-Pérez and Daniel Bryant at:

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/continuous-delivery-in/9781491986011/

Software Maintenance is an Anti-Pattern by Sarah Allen:

https://18f.gsa.gov/2016/02/23/software-maintenance-is-an-anti-pattern/

https://www.infoq.com

https://meetamentor.co.uk

https://www.fromfragiletoagile.com