Robby speaks with Kelly Sutton, Software Engineer at Gusto. They discuss how to deal with technical debt from the pre-product/market fit era, the benefits of monoliths and knowing when to begin abstracting to micro-services, and the challenges of keeping Ruby on Rails applications up-to-date. Kelly also gives advice for developers who want to convince stakeholders to invest in refactoring projects – a common challenge. Helpful Links Follow Kelly on Twitter Kelly's website [Book] Seeing like a St...
Mar 30, 2020•38 min•Ep. 48
Robby speaks to Jonathan Abourbih, Engineering Team Lead at the BBC in Voice & AI. They discuss how to conduct blameless post-mortems, what's technical debt vs. bad code, and the challenges of measuring your success as a manager after years of being a developer. Jonathan also shares stories about large Java apps in a pre-Garbage Collection world. Helpful Links Jonathan on Twitter The Prime Directive BBC Careers Google's Project Aristotle Growing Object-Oriented Software Guided by Tests by St...
Mar 23, 2020•44 min•Ep. 47
Robby speaks with Jessica Kerr, Symmathecist at Jessitron LLC. They discuss why working on existing projects is more interesting than greenfield ones, the overuse and harm of the term "technical debt", and how software is not a craft. Jessica also gives an introduction to being a Symmathecist. Helpful Links Follow Jessica on Twitter Jessica's website Jessica's blog Symmathecist, Noun by Jessica Kerr [Book] Team Topologies book Arty's suggestion about "escalating risk": [Book] Ecology, the Ascend...
Mar 09, 2020•41 min•Ep. 46
Robby speaks with Jon Thornton, Engineer at Squarespace. This discuss examples of good technical debt, implementing a new monolith alongside another monolith (and when to extract to a microservice), metrics to track within your engineering team, and more. Helpful Links Three Kinds of Good Technical Debt Careers at Squarespace [Book] Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg Jon on Twitter Jon on Github Jon's website Jon on LinkedIn Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Sp...
Mar 02, 2020•40 min•Ep. 45
Robby speaks with Ben Orenstein, CEO and Co-founder of Tuple, a remote pair programming app. They discuss why saying, "someday we'll go clean that up" doesn't work in reality, the downsides to putting maintenance work into a backlog, and implicit vs. explicit knowledge. Ben also gives an intro to Tuple. Ben on Twitter Tuple Tuple on Twitter [Book] The Great CEO Within Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join th...
Feb 24, 2020•31 min•Ep. 44
In the latest episode of Maintainable, we're joined by Ernesto Tagwerker, Founder and CTO of OmbuLabs. This isn't just another podcast episode; it's a deep dive into the world of technical debt and Ruby on Rails. Ernesto starts by demystifying technical debt – it's more than just a buzzword; it's a real challenge that can turn your project into a Tar Pit. And, believe it or not, there are actual tools to measure this. We explore these tools and how they can help identify technical debt and commu...
Feb 17, 2020•47 min•Ep. 43
In this episode of Maintainable, Robby sits down with Marit van Dijk, a Software Engineer at bol.com . Marit brings a wealth of experience from her work on complex systems and her involvement in the European testing conference and the Cucumber community. They dive deep into the importance of testing, maintaining legacy code, and the collaborative nature of software development. Episode Highlights [00:01:00] The Role of Tests in Well-Maintained Codebases : Marit emphasizes the importance of clear...
Feb 10, 2020•37 min•Ep. 42
Robby speaks with Mike Perham, Founder and CEO at Contribsys and author of Sidekiq and Faktory. They discuss the pros and cons of using external dependencies, how Mike built a business off of his open source project, Sidekiq, and the dIfference in maintaining Ruby vs Go software projects. Helpful Links Mike on Github Mike on Twitter mikeperham.com Contribsys Sidekiq [Book] Rising by Elizabeth Rush [Book] The Watch, Thoroughly Revised by Gene Stone and Stephen Pulvirent Subscribe to Maintainable ...
Feb 03, 2020•37 min•Ep. 41
Robby speaks with Ev Haus, Head of Technology at ZenHub. They discuss how to get to zero technical debt, metrics an engineering team can measure, good pull-request etiquette, and more. Helpful Links Ev on Twitter Ev on Linkedin Ev's writing on Medium Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Or search "Maint...
Jan 27, 2020•47 min•Ep. 40
Robby speaks with Adam Tornhill, founder of Empear and CodeScene. They discuss the benefits of having clear boundaries between teams, strategies for prioritizing where to start tackling technical debt, and how to improve the onboarding experience for developers new to a software codebase. Adam also shares a rare example of a successful rewrite project. Helpful Links Follow Adam on Twitter Adam's Website Empear CodeScene [Book] Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Your Code as a Crime Scene ...
Jan 20, 2020•43 min•Ep. 39
Robby speaks with M. Scott Ford, CTO and Chief Code Whisperer at Corgibytes and co-host of the Legacy Code Rocks podcast. They discuss the difference between Makers and Menders, how to prioritize a technical debt backlog, and how to provide feedback to other developers. Helpful Links M. Scott Ford on Twitter Corgibytes Legacy Code Rocks [Book] Lehman’s Laws of Software Evolution and the Staged-Model [Book] Radical Candor Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Or search "Ma...
Jan 13, 2020•43 min•Ep. 38
Robby speaks with Gitte Klitgaard, Agile Coach and Owner of Native Wired. They discuss how to create space for psychological safety, the importance of sharing mistakes and fuck-ups of the week, and understanding, coping and taking advantage of your Imposter Syndrome. Helpful Links Native Wired Gitte on Twitter Gitte on LinkedIn [Book] I Thought It Was Just Me by Brene Brown Brene Brown's Ted Talk on vulnerability Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Or search "Maintainab...
Jan 06, 2020•40 min•Ep. 37
Robby speaks with Nathaniel Bibler, CTO at Envy Labs. They discuss how to talk about technical debt as a team, navigating communication challenges with clients, and how to be a good guest in another team's code base. If you work – or want to work – at an agency, you should listen to this episode. Helpful Links Follow Nathaniel on Twitter Insights by Envy Labs Nathaniel on Github Connect on LinkedIn Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Or search "Maintainable" wherever yo...
Dec 23, 2019•54 min•Ep. 36
Robby speaks with Abby Bangser, Senior Test Engineer on the Platform Engineering Team at MOO. They discuss how maintainable code leans on a dependable build and test process, what metrics Moo's platform engineering team measures, and codifying your pipeline – including having pipelines build on a regular basis. Helpful Links Follow Abby on Twitter Careers at Moo Tester by Choice Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts...
Dec 16, 2019•31 min•Ep. 35
Robby speaks with Viktor Klang, Deputy CTO at Lightbend Inc. They discuss how to avoid constant firefighting, effective use cases of TODO and FIXME comments, and how to create a safe space for developers to make mistakes. Helpful Links Follow Viktor on Twitter Viktor's website Lightbend Cloudstate Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Subscribe to Maintain...
Dec 09, 2019•54 min•Ep. 34
Robby speaks with Beth Long, Software Engineer on the Build & Deploy Tools Engineering team at New Relic. They discuss the origin of the technical debt metaphor, considering when a rewrite is necessary (spoiler alert – it rarely is), and speak about the limitations of agile across modern engineering teams. Helpful Links Beth's website Follow Beth on Twitter Connect with Beth on LinkedIn [Book] Beyond Human Error by David D. Woods [Book] Sources of Power by Gary Klein Subscribe to Maintainabl...
Dec 02, 2019•34 min•Ep. 33
Robby speaks with Emily Bache, Technical Agile Coach at ProAgile. They talk about her experience coaching teams on how to improve the long-term maintainability of their software – including how to still see your direct impact when coaching instead of coding. They also dig into the social aspect of development, mob programming, and how coding is a social activity. Helpful Links Follow Emily on Twitter [Book] Training From the Back of the Room by Sharon Bowman Coding is Like Cooking Connect with E...
Nov 25, 2019•35 min•Ep. 32
Robby speaks with Zee Spencer, owner of Zinc Cooperative, and programmer at Cohere. They speak about how social systems impact software maintainability, why legacy code is profitable code, and consulting within a timebox constraint. Helpful Links [Book] Mental Models: 30 Thinking Tools that Separate the Average From the Exceptional. Improved Decision-Making, Logical Analysis, and Problem-Solving [Book] Observing the User Experience Zee on Twitter Cohere Cohere on Twitter Zinc Cooperative Subscri...
Nov 18, 2019•38 min•Ep. 31
Robby speaks with Ana Nelson, a software developer, writer, improv performer, and creator of Dexy — an open-source tool for writing any kind of technical document that incorporates code. Helpful Links Ana's website Dexy Follow Ana on Twitter Ana on Github Connect with Ana on LinkedIn What is Transclusion? The Modern Scholar by Professor Michael D. C. Drout [Book] On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction [Book] The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller Sub...
Nov 04, 2019•37 min•Ep. 30
Robby speaks with Dave Aronson, Owner, Consultant (and T. Rex) at Codosaurus. Helpful Links Codosaurus Dave on Github Follow Dave on Twitter [Video] The Six Key Aspects of Software Quality [Book] The Pragmatic Programmer Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podc...
Oct 28, 2019•44 min•Ep. 29
In this episode of the Maintainable Software Podcast, Robby speaks with Michael Feathers, Director at R7K Research & Conveyance and author of " Working Effectively with Legacy Code ." Michael shares his unique definition of legacy code, emphasizing that legacy code is essentially code without tests. This foundational idea highlights the critical role of automated testing in refactoring and maintaining codebases. Michael and Robby dive into common issues developers face, such as low test cove...
Oct 21, 2019•32 min•Ep. 28
Robby speaks with Justin Searls, Co-Founder at Test Double. Hear Justin's experience digging into technical debt, learn why software is like a sedimentary rock, and more. Helpful Links Follow Justin on Twitter Test Double Ruby gem: Suture Justin's Legacy Code talk at Ruby Kaigi Justin on Github Connect with Justin on LinkedIn [Book] Growing Object-Oriented Software Guided by Tests Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Jo...
Oct 14, 2019•51 min•Ep. 27
Robby speaks with Patricia Aas, Programming CTO at TurtleSec AS about how programming and security are intertwined. Helpful Links Turtlesec Connect with Patricia on LinkedIn More about Patricia Patricia on Twitter Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Loving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach. Brought to you by the tea...
Oct 07, 2019•33 min•Ep. 26
Please tune in to this enlightening episode of Maintainable, where we're joined by Nate Berkopec, Owner and Ruby on Rails consultant at Speedshop. This episode is a deep dive into the world of software performance, specifically honing in on Ruby on Rails. Nate kicks things off by walking us through the intricacies of measuring software performance. It's not just about numbers; it's an art and science, especially in the Ruby on Rails ecosystem. He shares his insights and experiences, making this ...
Sep 30, 2019•32 min•Ep. 25
Robby speaks with Victor Rentea, an independent technical trainer and Lead Architect at IBM based in Romania. Victor talks about teaching other engineers about legacy code, calling yourself an "expert", and what to do when you're rushed to deliver features but are dealing with refactoring challenges. Helpful Links: Victor's website Follow Victor on Twitter Connect with Victor on LinkedIn [Book] The Business of Expertise [Book] Apprenticeship Patterns: Guidance for the Aspiring Software Craftsman...
Sep 23, 2019•35 min•Ep. 24
This week's guest on Maintainable is Sandro Mancuso, Software Craftsman & Co-Founder of Codurance. Robby and Sandro cover topics like how to avoid technical debt, what skills make for a successful software consultant, and more. Helpful Links: Follow Sandro on Twitter Sandro's Book The Software Craftsman: Professionalism, Pragmatism, Pride Keyboard Katas A Case for Outside-In Development Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your po...
Sep 16, 2019•38 min•Ep. 23
This week we're excited to have Bryan Liles, Senior Staff Engineer at VMWare, on Maintainable. Robby and Bryan chat about representation in the industry, how to use your job title to your advantage, and more. Helpful Links: Bryan on GitHub Follow Bryan on Twitter Follow VMWare on Twitter Pragmatic Programmers Book Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Loving Maint...
Sep 09, 2019•40 min•Ep. 22
This week's episode features Liz Keogh, Lean & Agile Coach and Trainer. Robby and Liz talk about behavior-driven development (BDD), what it's like to be a coach, and more! Helpful Links: Follow Liz on Twitter Visit Liz's website The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code by Martin Fowler Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion ...
Sep 02, 2019•36 min•Ep. 21
On this week's episode, Robby talks to Colin Jones, CTO at 8th Light. They chat about software consultancy, what it means to be a good guest in someone else's codebase, and more. Helpful Links: Follow Colin on Twitter Follow 8th Light on Twitter Connect with Colin on LinkedIn Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems by Martin Kleppmann Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code by Martin Fowler Subscribe to Maintainable on: ...
Aug 26, 2019•38 min•Ep. 20
This week Robby interviews the host of the Developer Tea podcast, Jonathan Cutrell. They discuss what constitutes debt, how to build a strong team, and more! Helpful Links: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Developer Tea Podcast Follow Jonathan on Twitter Jonathan on LinkedIn Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Loving Maintainable? Leave a rating and re...
Aug 19, 2019•46 min•Ep. 19
