Robby 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.

• Bio
• LinkedIn
• [Book Recommendation] Untamed, Glennon Doyle

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In this episode of Maintainable, Robby is joined by Brian Scanlan, Principal Systems Engineer at Intercom. Brian shares insights into how Intercom has successfully implemented a volunteer-led on-call support system, emphasizing the importance of meaningful alarms and a consistent software environment.

• [00:05:32] Introduction to the Guest's Background: Brian Scanlan discusses his role at Intercom and his experience with on-call practices.
• [00:15:10] Developing a Volunteer-Led On-Call System: Brian explains how Intercom transitioned to a volunteer-led on-call system, ensuring that alarms are meaningful and actionable.
• [00:20:00] The Role of Consistent Software Architecture: The impact of Intercom’s monolithic Ruby on Rails architecture on simplifying on-call duties.
• [00:29:46] Managing Technical Debt as Velocity Risks: Brian describes how Intercom manages technical debt through a velocity risk framework.
• [00:38:45] Improving Deployment Processes: The evolution of Intercom’s deployment processes, reducing the time from merge to production.
• [00:43:32] Treating Internal Tools as a Product: The importance of treating internal tools with the same care as external products, focusing on usability and impact.
• [00:50:56] Encouraging Small Wins in Productivity: How Intercom encourages engineers to address small productivity issues to prevent larger problems.
• [00:51:39] Balancing Innovation with Stability: Intercom’s conservative approach to engineering and how it helps maintain a stable product.

• Meaningful Alarms: Ensure that all alarms are actionable and represent real or inevitable customer pain.
• Consistent Architecture: A consistent software environment, like Intercom's Ruby on Rails monolith, simplifies on-call duties and allows for greater flexibility across teams.
• Velocity Risk Framework: Managing technical debt by quantifying its impact on velocity helps prioritize the most impactful work.
• Continuous Improvement: Regular reviews and continuous improvement are essential for maintaining a sustainable on-call system.
• Product-Focused Engineering: At Intercom, the emphasis is on building products, not just writing code, ensuring that engineers are focused on delivering value.

• Intercom's Engineering Site
• Brian's Twitter
• Brian's LinkedIn
• [Book Recommendation] Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom, William Glasser

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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.

• Stepsize's Website
• Stepsize on Twitter
• Alexandre on Twitter
• [Book Recommendation] Drive, Daniel H. Pink

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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.

• Roopak's Website
• Roopak on Twitter
• Roopak on LinkedIn
• Swissknife CircleCI orb

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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.

• Hint.io
• Github.com/hintmedia/railsdock
• Benjamin on Twitter
• [Book Recommendation] The E-Myth Revisited, Michael E. Gerber

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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.

• Johanna on LinkedIn
• Johanna on Twitter
• Johanna's Website
• [Book Recommendation] 7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change, Ester Derby
• [Book Recommendation] The No Asshole Rule, Robert I. Sutton, PhD

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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.

• Helen on LinkedIn
• Helen on Twitter
• Helen's Website
• [Book Recommendation] Word Perfect: Curious Coinages and Etymological First Aid For Every Day of the Year, Susie Dent

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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.

• Learn Academy
• Notch8 Blog
• Robert on Twitter
• Robert on GitHub
• [Book Recommendation] Brain Rules, John Medina

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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.

• Heidi's book
• Heidi on Twitter
• Heidi's Website
• [Book Recommendation] Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Kerry Patterson and Joseph Genny

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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.

• Jutta's Website
• Jutta on LinkedIn
• Jutta on Twitter
• [Book Recommendation] Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, Caroline Criado Perez

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