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
This week Robby chats with Karolina Szczur about what people get wrong about technical debt, best practices for documentation for remote developers, and more. Helpful Links: Book: Radical Candor 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 team at Planet Argon ....
Aug 12, 2019•36 min•Ep. 18
This week Robby chats with Liran Haimovitch, co-founder of Rookout. Liran discusses things like how the term "technical debt" is misused, as well as how to overcome it. Helpful Links: Contact Liran Rookout Book: The Phoenix Project 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...
Aug 05, 2019•24 min•Ep. 17
Robby speaks to Robert Meaney, Head of Testing & Test Coach at Poppulo. Robert explains the difference between technical debt and testing debt, the importance of observability, and more! Helpful Links: Follow Robert on Twitter Robert on LinkedIn Testability Book Follow Testability Book on Twitter 3X with Kent Beck Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile Teams Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join ...
Jul 29, 2019•45 min•Ep. 16
Robby speaks with Melissa Eaden, Tech Lead in Quality at Unity 3D. She shares her experience working with legacy code as it relates to testing. Helpful Links: Follow Melissa on Twitter Melissa's blog Melissa on LinkedIn A Vigilante for Quality [Book] Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High Unity Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Loving Ma...
Jul 22, 2019•48 min•Ep. 15
Robby speaks with Steve Poling, Senior Technical Consultant at Excelon Development and long-time Software Developer. Steve describes whether he's team rewrite or team refactor, shares his definition of technical debt, and why uniformity of code matters. Helpful Links: Steve Poling on LinkedIn Excelon Development [Book] Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software Reduce Technical Debt by Using Unit Tests as Documentation Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or ...
Jul 15, 2019•33 min•Ep. 14
Robby speaks with Matt Weagle, Engineering Manager at Lyft. Matt discusses how his engineering teams have handled technical debt in small iterations vs. a major rewrite, why a whiteboard is the best tool for architectural challenges, and the most common mistakes he sees when engineers approach legacy code bases. Helpful Links: Follow Matt on Twitter Matt on LinkedIn Some Thoughts on Security After 10 Years of Gmail A Taxonomy of Yak Shaving [Book] The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier [Book] Re...
Jul 08, 2019•28 min•Ep. 13
Robby speaks with Mariah Howard, Senior Product Manager at Thinkful, to discuss technical debt from a product management perspective. Mariah touches on Google's metrics framework, leading vs. lagging indicators, and technical debt in products outside of the world of code. You'll also learn more about Thinkful's mission and methodology as an online school for engineers. Helpful Links: Thinkful Mariah on LinkedIn Google HEART framework [Book] Design Thinking [Book] The Principles of Product Develo...
Jul 01, 2019•30 min•Ep. 12
Robby speaks with Anne Marie Kirby, CEO & Co-Founder of CoreHealth Global. She shares questions to ask before a software rewrite, evolving 10+ year old code, and proving a business case when pitching software improvements as a developer. Helpful Links: Core Health Follow Anne Marie on Twitter Anne Marie in Forbes Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts. Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community Loving Ma...
Jun 24, 2019•23 min•Ep. 11
Robby speaks with Marco "Ocramius" Pivetta, a software consultant specializing in PHP. Marco gives his input on different types of technical debt he's seen, working with less experienced developers as a senior, and getting "kicked in the teeth" as a developer. He also shares what great senior devs should spend more time on (hint: It's not writing code). Helpful Links Follow Marco on Twitter Marco on Github [Book] Effective Java by Joshua Bloch [Book] Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!: A Beginn...
Jun 17, 2019•47 min•Ep. 10
Robby speaks with Lisa Crispin, co-author of Agile Testing and Testing Advocate at Mabl. Lisa speaks about "thinking skills" for developers, why testing professionals should be integrated into dev teams, testing and development cycles, and how to start building automated tests on a legacy application. Helpful Links Follow Lisa Crispin on Twitter Agile Testing Fellow Agile Testing with Lisa Crispin DevTestOps Community The Nightmare Headline Game by Elisabeth Hendrickson [Book] Agile Testing: A P...
Jun 10, 2019•39 min•Ep. 9
Robby speaks with Pim Elshoff, Software Developer at Procurios. Pim explains why developers should improve their communication skills when speaking with management, recalls his biggest mistake as a developer, and gives tips on explaining your side of an argument and how to listen to empathize. Helpful Links Follow Pim on Twitter Procurios Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software by Eric Evans The Developer's Model for Talking to Managers at WebCamp Zagreb 2018 Subscribe...
Jun 03, 2019•41 min•Ep. 8
Robby speaks with Morgan Senkal, Software Architect at Metal Toad. Morgan recalls a challenging 15-year-old legacy project that was reminiscent of a Stephen King story and explains what to think about when considering a software rewrite. Morgan and Robby keep a running analogy of technical debt and automotive repairs. Helpful links Metal Toad Seven Languages in Seven Weeks: A Pragmatic Guide to Learning Programming Languages by Bruce Tate Black House by Stephen King Subscribe to Maintainable on:...
May 27, 2019•25 min•Ep. 7
Robby speaks with Eileen M. Uchitelle, Senior Software Engineer at Github and member of the Rails Core Team. You'll hear about Eileen's work upgrading Github from Rails 3.2 to 5.2, how Github prioritized the upgrade, and why teams should get ahead and upgrade to Rails 6. Helpful links Follow Eileen on Twitter Upgrading GitHub from Rails 3.2 to 5.2 Eileen's blog The Success of Open Source by Steven Weber Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you s...
May 20, 2019•34 min•Ep. 6
Robby speaks with Charity Majors, CTO of Honeycomb about her work as an Infrastructure Engineer, how Honeycomb was created, all about working and testing in production, and why software engineers should be "on call" for their code. Helpful links Follow Charity on Twitter Honeycomb The Honeycomb blog Charity's blog Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Database Reliability Engineering Subscribe to Maintainable on: Apple Podcasts Overcast Or search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts....
May 13, 2019•34 min•Ep. 5
