Have you ever felt like you've had to plan everything before beginning to write your code? In today's episode, I talk about the disposability of our computing resources, code testing tips, and how to intermingle coding with planning. Thanks to today's sponsor: Digital Ocean Today's episode is presented by DigitalOcean. Go to https://digitalocean.com to get started, and use the promo code " DEVELOPER TEA " at the checkout after you create your account to get a $10 credit! I hope you've enjoyed th...
Jul 27, 2015•8 min•Ep. 107
Clients are never happy when hearing that you've underestimated how long a project will take in reality. In today's episode, I talk about how to anchor your estimations and keep your clients happy, and share a quick tip to get you there. Related Resources from this episode Estimating sandwiches: https://developertea.com/episodes/9981 Anchor Bias: http://coglode.com/gems/anchoring-bias How do you keep clients happy? If you've got a creative or noteworthy way of keeping clients happy I'd love to h...
Jul 24, 2015•11 min•Ep. 106
In today's episode I'll talk about the importance of refactoring your software, identifying when you should refactor your code and tips and techniques for optimal refactoring to keep your code easier to maintain and easier for future extension. Martin Fowler, who wrote the Agile Manifesto and a great resource has a great stance on this when he says, "You don't decide to refactor, you refactor as a part of development process." Resource Links: Refactoring, a book by Martin Fowler Refactoring, Rub...
Jul 22, 2015•16 min•Ep. 105
What is the difference between a Junior and Senior Developer? In today's episode, I talk about what it takes to get from Junior level programmer to a Senior level programmer. We'll go over some basic characteristics of the two levels, and tips to get further in your programing career. Special thanks to Today's sponsor: Code School Code School is an online learning destination for existing and aspiring developers that teaches through entertaining content. Visit www.CodeSchool.com/developertea for...
Jul 20, 2015•22 min•Ep. 104
in today's episode, I get to talk with fellow developer and podcaster Patrick Hill about how to balance hobbies and work life. We talk about goals, motivation, time management and learning to focus on how to progress from one week to the next. You can follow Patrick not on Twitter but you can find him on Instagram or Letterboxd . Make sure you check out Patrick's podcast: Master of 1 and if you're a fan of Walking Dead, check out Episode 43 , in which Patrick and I debate the show. Special thank...
Jul 17, 2015•51 min•Ep. 103
I had the pleasure of talking with Grant Ingersoll. Grant is a search and NLP engineer, author of Taming Text and CTO at Lucidworks . In today's episode, Grant and I discuss his book, Taming Text , how he got into Natural Language Processing (NLP) , and discover what he thinks is the next big problem to be solved in text and language analysis. If you're interested in working on text problems follow Grant @gsingers Additional Reading / Learnings Suggested by Grant: Foundations of statistically na...
Jul 15, 2015•28 min•Ep. 102
Today marks our 100th episode! Special thanks to you, the listener for tuning in, submitting your many listener questions, sending feedback, and for nominating Developer Tea as podcast of the year in this year's Net Awards. We've accomplished a lot in our first 100 episodes, experimenting and improving along the way. In today's episode, I'll talk about the importance of improvement as a developer and as a person and give four tips for continuous improvement. in some exciting news: Developer Tea ...
Jul 13, 2015•14 min•Ep. 101
Today I talk about the pros and cons to the restraint bias or impulsive behaviors. Tools like a daily routine help to refocus your impulses. I'll go over routines and other helpful tools to help steer those impulsive behaviors. If you have not voted for Developer Tea in the year's Net Awards head on over to bit.ly/votetea and support the show for this year's podcast of the year. Thanks to today's sponsor : Code School Code School has recently launched a second course on SQL, The Sequel to SQL. I...
Jul 10, 2015•12 min•Ep. 100
How many times have you seen someone create a framework, realize it has bugs, and instead of adopting a bigger framework, would rather spend the extra time fixing their bugs, all for the sake of using something they'd built? This is also known as The IKEA effect . When one places more value on something they'd had a part in building, regardless of quality or function. Today, I look at the things that help us make good decisions, things that hinder our ability to make those good decisions and tip...
Jul 08, 2015•10 min•Ep. 99
In today's episode I talk about the positive and negative effects of laziness, and the overlap between simplicity and complexity, especially in your code. Don't forget to vote for Developer Tea for podcast of the year in the 16th annual Net Awards - Voting ends July 13th! Today's episode is brought to you by: OneMonth Head over to OneMonth.com/developertea to get started learning Ruby on Rails in just...one month, and receive a limited-time 25% discount! Until next time, Enjoy your tea!...
Jul 06, 2015•7 min•Ep. 98
Estimation is so hard to do. Today, I talk about overcoming estimation obstacles, and some tactics to help you along the way. It's difficult to know what we're capable of, especially if we haven't nailed down a routine. Even if you do have a routine down, you can't predict the future. How do we get around this when scoping a project? I'll dig into this and many other questions about estimation and how we can make estimations work in our favor. Don't forget to vote for Developer Tea as podcast of...
Jul 03, 2015•12 min•Ep. 97
During today's second half of our two-part interview, Russ Taylor and I talk about the importance of testing. We dive into methods for testing like Happy Path Testing, and how to stay productive using techniques like Kanban . If you missed the first half of my interview with Russ, and listen to more episodes, you can head over to Developer Tea.com and hit Subscribe through our RSS feed, Stitcher , on iTunes or another podcasting platform that you prefer. Don't forget to vote for Developer Tea as...
Jul 01, 2015•42 min•Ep. 96
During today's first half of a two-part interview, I have the pleasure of talking with Russ Taylor . Russ works on the continuous integration team at Etsy . We had a chance to talk about test driven development, all of the processes that Russ is involved with at Etsy, and how big applications like Etsy come together. If you don't want to miss out on the second half of my interview with Russ, you can head on over to Developer Tea.com and hit Subscribe through our RSS feed, Stitcher , on iTunes or...
Jun 30, 2015•28 min•Ep. 95
Don't Delay In today's episode, I talk about the fatal flaw of putting things off 'til tomorrow, and the simple, yet difficult, solution to the imbalance of the demand we experience versus our capacity to accomplish those demands. Mentioned in this episode: Avdi Grimm's new language roadmap Today's sponsor is Codeship, a hosted continuous integration platform. Get started today at Codeship.com , and use the code DEVELOPERTEA for 20% off any plan when you choose the premium plan!...
Jun 26, 2015•9 min•Ep. 94
In the second half of this episode, Mackenzie Child and I talk about his 12 in 12 challenge , and what it was like to make the switch from designer to developer. We cover a lot of ground in this episode. Starting with Mackenzie's first job as a designer, getting the backstory on why he decided to learn code, what encouraged him to make the switch, and how designers can get coding, today through Unicasts . You can follow Mackenzie on twitter @mackenziechild and make sure you check out his work at...
Jun 24, 2015•25 min•Ep. 93
I caught up with Mackenzie Child to talk about his 12 in 12 challenge. In which he challenges himself to learn Ruby on Rails by building 12 web apps in 12 weeks. During this first episode, we talk about why he decided to challenge himself, the overlap in skill set between design and development, and learning to recognize when you're overcommitted . If you want to learn how to build Ruby on Rails web apps from design to code , especially as a designer, be sure to check out Unicasts.com . Be sure ...
Jun 22, 2015•17 min•Ep. 92
Today, I talk about teaching in order to learn. This isn't reserved to just those in or going through school, but anyone who has learned a skill. There aren't many excuses for you not teaching what you know. This is especially important for developers, where languages, functions, and working knowledge changes on a dime. During this episode I'll talk about when to start teaching, how to start teaching, and three benefits of teaching. If you have any questions, feedback or topics you'd like me to ...
Jun 19, 2015•8 min•Ep. 91
This is a question that I think needs to come up more often. That is, how do we integrate our professional lives with our personal lives? in today's episode, I give a very difficult answer to Matthew's very difficult question: "How do you separate your social media identities?" If you have questions for me like Matthew did, you can contact me via email: developertea@gmail.com or on twitter: @DeveloperTea. This episode is sponsored by OneMonth.com. Head over to OneMonth.com/developertea to get st...
Jun 17, 2015•17 min•Ep. 90
If you're serious about becoming a developer, you should consider getting an internship. Today I'll give you three tips on choosing an internship. Along with three tips on getting the most out of that internship, and discuss the importance of code reviews. Thank you for listening. You can always reach out to to me via email: developertea@gmail.com or twitter: @DeveloperTea Today's episode is sponsored by Raygun.io. Raygun automatically detects and diagnoses errors and crashes in your software ap...
Jun 16, 2015•11 min•Ep. 89
Today is a very special inspiration episode. Thanks to each and every one of you, our listeners, Developer Tea has reached over 1,000,000 unique downloads. To celebrate, I want to talk to you a little bit about hard work, determination and where to find the motivation to get on the ground and start doing. Thank you to all of our listeners. I couldn't do this without you. I am, also excited to announce that Developer Tea now has an official t-shirt, available on Cotton Bureau. Get your official D...
Jun 15, 2015•8 min•Ep. 88
On today's episode, I discuss the importance of forming an informed opinion by disecting two questions in github's Front-End Developer Interview Questions repository. Employers want to know how you approach situations and your opinion on topics in the industry. To illustrate that, I answer two questions from github's Front-End Developer Interview Questions repository: What's the difference between call and apply? If you have five separate style sheets, how would you add them into your site? Fron...
Jun 12, 2015•13 min•Ep. 86
Today's episode was inspired by a listener question on job hunting and what makes you employable. In this episode I cover the minimum requirements of employment and what that means from an employer's perspective, review frustrations of job hunting and how to overcome them, and cover the three key areas to keep in mind when job hunting. By the end of this episode you will be set you up with a job hunting action plan. If you have a question that you'd like to explore, send an email to developertea...
Jun 11, 2015•18 min•Ep. 85
Brianna and Andrew Norcross are a powerhouse of a couple. They started Reaktiv Studios, a WordPress-focused agency based in Florida. I spoke with Brianna and Andrew about how they have learned to work together as a married couple. If you missed it, make sure you check out Part 1 of this series. Follow Reaktiv, Andrew, and Brianna on Twitter: Brianna: @sarcasmically Andrew: @norcross The Studio: @reaktivstudios Make sure you tell them @DeveloperTea sent you. If you're wondering what kind of WordP...
Jun 10, 2015•41 min•Ep. 87
Brianna and Andrew Norcross are a powerhouse of a couple. They started Reaktiv Studios, a WordPress-focused agency based in Florida. I spoke with Brianna and Andrew about how they have learned to work together as a married couple. Be sure to subscribe if you don't want to miss part two! If you're wondering what kind of WordPress work these two are involved in, it might help to know that they are an official service partner for WordPress VIP . So, yeah, they're legit. Check out ReaktivStudios.com...
Jun 08, 2015•19 min•Ep. 84
Hey everyone! Today, I celebrate a hero of mine, Kent Beck. Full of quite a few pieces of wisdom, Kent is an incredible thinker and writer. Today, I share two quotes from Kent, and discuss their implications. Make sure you vote for Developer Tea for the Net Awards! To vote, simply go to http://bit.ly/votetea and follow the instructions on the page!
Jun 05, 2015•6 min•Ep. 83
Today's episode is all about media consumption, and the importance of slowing down and being more intentional about what we consume. This episode is sponsored by Intuit. Check out the developer sandbox and API explorer at http://intuit.me/DevTea to get started building apps for millions of small business today!
Jun 02, 2015•13 min•Ep. 81
Today, we discuss the place of formalization and theory, and how we should be starting from the position of discovery rather than trying to fit every problem to a pre-existing theoretical formula. Today's sponsor is Codeship, a hosted continuous integration platform. Get started today at Codeship.com , and use the code developertea for 20% off any plan when you choose the premium plan!...
Jun 01, 2015•7 min•Ep. 80
Today, I answer a question from listener Emalee about how to become a beginner mentor. From the outside looking in, this is very difficult! Going from "student" to "teacher" is a hard transition. I outline a few thoughts, and give you two tips from my experience. Links: Vote for Developer Tea "How to Win Friends and Influence People" Business leadership books on Amazon Today's sponsor is Codeship, a hosted continuous integration platform. Get started today at Codeship.com , and use the code deve...
May 29, 2015•13 min•Ep. 82
Metaphors are a powerful way of exploring a given subject. In this episode, I'll share with you why metaphors are so powerful, and how you can create effective metaphors yourself! To vote for Developer Tea in the 16th annual Net Awards, go to http://bit.ly/votetea ! This episode is sponsored by Intuit. Check out the developer sandbox and API explorer at http://intuit.me/DevTea to get started building apps for millions of small business today!
May 27, 2015•9 min•Ep. 79
In this episode, I give 4 tips for creating a great resume. The reality is, resumes are still an important part of the hiring process. Your resume can make or break you. So, what are employees looking for in a developer? I can only speak from my personal experience, and I believe these 4 tips will help you create a better resume for the job you want! Today's sponsor is Codeship, a hosted continuous integration platform. Get started today at Codeship.com , and use the code developertea for 20% of...
May 25, 2015•14 min•Ep. 78
