Robby speaks with Tom Granot, Solution Engineer at Lightrun. They discuss producing content for technical (and non-technical) audiences, why consistency in your communication style matters, and the importance of good bug reporting and resolution.

[Book Recommendation] The Hacker's Diet by John Walker

Follow Tom on Twitter

Tom's website

Lightrun

Monica CRM

Async http client

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Robby speaks with Andrew Watkins, VP of Engineering at Buildops. They dig into what it means to be "easily testable", the downsides to being allured by new technology, and why rewrites are really, really tough.

• Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn
• Follow Buildops on LinkedIn
• [Book Recommendation] Heroes Die

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Robby speaks with Rodney Cobb, Principal DevOps Engineer at Remine Inc. They discuss the three verticals of maintainable systems, the importance of mental health days, why all work needs to be visible and tracked, comparing DevOps to Hip Hop culture, and taking time to ask yourself, "when do I take the time to level up?"

Rodney on LinkedIn

Book Recommendation: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B Cialdini PhD

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Robby speaks with Dr. Michaela Greiler, Founder and Trainer at Awesome Code Review Workshops. 

They discuss the importance of taking time to revisit past technical decisions, what is/isn't technical debt, as well as the distinction between protecting the quality of the code and expanding the knowledge of what is changing in a software codebase.

Dr. Greiler also talks about some mistakes that engineers make when conducting code reviews. She also shares helpful tips on how to provide meaningful feedback without making it personal and/or blaming.

• Dr. Greiler's Website
• Workshops
• Podcast
• Dr. Greiler on Twitter
• SE Unlocked on Twitter
• Dr. Greiler on LinkedIn
• [Book Recommendation] Essentialism, Greg McKeown 

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Robby speaks with Mark Kilby, Distributed Agile Guide and Founder at K5 Labs. They discuss the benefits of healthy and reliable automated tests, symptoms of when things are not working, challenges that teams may face in different types of remote working scenarios, and what effective communication looks like amongst team members. Mark also gives advice on things to consider as an Agile coach and how to build your Agile toolbox.

• Mark's Website
• Mark on Twitter
• [Book Recommendation] The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey
• [Book Recommendation] From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver, Johanna Rothman and Mark Kilby
• [Article] Is hybrid-remote going backward or forward? 

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Robby speaks with Kevin Stewart, VP of Engineering at Harvest. They discuss fighting ideological battles, why time-to-deploy is one of the most valuable metrics to measure and improve, and why teams should be revisiting their technical stack decisions. Kevin also gives advice to developers and shares some approaches to running internship programs.

• Kevin's Website
• leaddev.com
• Kevin on Twitter
• Kevin on LinkedIn
• Careers at Harvest
• [Book Recommendation] The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz

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Robby speaks with Ken Fogel, College Instructor, JCP EC member, and Java Champion. They discuss the benefits of unit testing, how Dawson approaches internship placement, and the importance of code documentation. Ken also talks about how software is about more than just getting things to work, and why it's important to focus on the long-term impact of coding decisions.

• Omnijava.com
• Ken's Twitter
• Dzone Article

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Robby speaks with Murray Steele, Engineering Manager at CLEO AI. They discuss approaches to tracking down unused code in your system, working as a consultant vs within a product company, and why technical debt is good. Murray also talks about why we need to be cautious when we discuss prototypes and the importance of community  sharing experiences of helping co-organize London Ruby User Group.

• Murray's Website
• Murray's Twitter
• Murray's LinkedIn
• London Ruby User Group
• CLEO IA job openings

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Robby speaks with Dr. Felienne Hermans, Author and Associate Professor at Leiden University. They discuss the importance of building mental models, the difference between short-term and working memory, and how to take control of your own onboarding by confirming assumptions and asking effective questions. Dr. Felienne also talks about steps to understand a new-to-you codebase, as well as exercises to improve how you read code.

• Dr. Felienne's Website
• Dr. Felienne's Twitter
• The Programmers Brain
• [Book Recommendation] What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami

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In this episode of Maintainable, Robby Russell sits down with Bertold Kolics, Software Quality Manager at mabl, to discuss the critical role of automated testing, the challenges of maintaining legacy code, and the art of pruning dead code from your software projects. With a focus on enabling teams and fostering maintainable software, Bertold provides practical insights into how developers and testers can work together to keep codebases lean, healthy, and efficient.

• [00:05:32] Automated Testing as Documentation: Bertold emphasizes the importance of automated tests in documenting application behavior, making them a crucial tool in maintaining a clean and well-functioning codebase.
• [00:12:33] Dead Code and Code Pruning: Explore Bertold's analogy of carrying the extra weight of unused features and dead code, and why it’s essential to prune your software regularly to maintain its health.
• [00:21:24] Third-Party Dependencies and Risks: Discussion on the risks associated with third-party libraries and APIs, and how to manage them effectively to avoid unexpected technical debt.
• [00:29:09] Contextual Decision-Making: Bertold shares insights on why copying processes from other companies, like Spotify’s squad model, doesn’t always work and the importance of context in decision-making.
• [00:36:00] Contributing Back to Open Source: Advice on the importance of contributing back to open-source projects that your company relies on, whether through code contributions or financial support.
• [00:41:02] Running Internship Programs: Bertold discusses the value of integrating interns into real projects and how it benefits both the interns and the existing team.
• [00:49:00] Starting with Automated Testing: Practical advice for developers in teams lacking comprehensive test suites, with tips on how to begin implementing automated testing effectively.

• The Power of Automated Tests: Automated tests don’t just verify code; they serve as living documentation, reducing the need for constantly updated documentation files.
• Prune Your Code Regularly: Just like a garden, your codebase needs regular pruning to remove outdated or unused features, which can otherwise become a burden.
• Manage Third-Party Dependencies Carefully: Every third-party component adds potential risk. Choose libraries and APIs carefully, and always have a plan for managing updates or deprecations.
• Context Matters: Understand the specific context of your business and team before adopting processes or tools that worked well for others.
• Contribute to Open Source: If you rely on open-source tools, consider contributing back to those projects, whether through code, documentation, or financial support.
• Integrate Interns into Real Projects: Give interns the opportunity to work on real-world projects to provide them with valuable experience and integrate them fully into your team.

• Bert's Website
• Bert's Twitter
• Bert's LinkedIn
• [Book Recommendation] The Economics of Emotion: How to Build a Business Everyone Will Love, Kyle M.K.

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