Gus Fune

I've been deep-diving token naming conventions as I'm starting to re-architect our shipwright design system. I'm going to be spending some time working on this for Intermode - Software Consultancy for Logistics & Supply Chain. That being said, it's crazy how everyone approaches tokens differently. I know Romina Kavcic and some others are working on a standard ( Thank you! ). Now I'm starting with Figma variables, which I know are not tokens but I want to make sure that we have a good representation in our design tool for our team. I'll be documenting this effort here as I build things! Attached is another rough exploration to help set the vision. #design #designsystems

10

3 Comments

Just went to London's Spitalfields market for Lunch. Hundreds of independent stalls, each carving their niche. And it got me thinking about the app world... Many founders chase the "million user" dream, unicorn status, big exits. But what if success looks different? Maybe your app doesn't need to be the next Amazon. It could be the friendly local bakery app, serving a dedicated community and thriving. Success can come in many forms: a loyal user base, passionate reviews, or achieving a specific impact. Being small, but still profitable and serving customers. So I genuinely think it’s time to redefine how success for a digital product looks like. And it's totally fine if you build something small and simple. #entrepreneurship #appdevelopment #startup

10

4 Comments

There's been a lot of talk in the API industry lately about design-first versus code-first. Today Tom Akehurst from WireMock suggests a third option: prototype-first. "An API prototype, unlike a design document or specification, can be used immediately by its consumers. The client code is written, and app features are built early on," says Tom. Upfront design is usually a good idea for API development, but it's not always used in practice. So, could more dynamic prototyping allow the best of both worlds? What do you think? Check out his post on the Nordic APIs blog today for some thoughts about how to mock prototypes and the potential benefits of this approach. https://lnkd.in/eGqGeV7D

11

1 Comment

Interesting take by Theo on Dan's talk from #React Conf. If you haven’t watched the original one, you have to watch this one - yes, it’s an hour long, but I’m sure you can find 45 minutes at 1.5x speed during the week. Dan covers some groundbreaking concepts that are set to shape the future of React development, and these ideas are too important to miss. Honestly, I would even play it at a dev team meeting at work. It’s a great way to get everyone on the same page about where React is heading, and this talk is an invaluable resource for anyone planning to work with React in the next few years. https://lnkd.in/dmtgxWAw nSoft

3

1 Comment

In case you missed it while prepping for Flag Day 🇺🇸 Happy State of Engineering Management Report Day happened this week! The annual thought leadership piece from Jellyfish has dropped. Hear from Engineering leaders, managers and frontline ICs .... we cover a range of topics that matter to great R&D leaders. Key Points: 1️⃣ Engineers are now strategic partners! 🙌 2️⃣ Burnout continues to be a challenge 😱 3️⃣ The talent shortage is spiking back up. 4️⃣ Many teams have embraced #AI 🧠 5️⃣ Others have legit concerns about AI ⁉ If #developerproductivity #genAI #engineeringexcellence are important to you .... have a read! (link in the Comments)

2

1 Comment

If you want to become a great software engineer... you might need to start doing your housework Lots of good thoughts in this talk bringing many ideas I couldn’t articulate front and center Technical Debt is not a cause but the effect of Technical Neglect. You can’t focus on everything, to focus is to attend to one thing exclusively. And therefore neglect / not attend to something else. In much the same way that when we cook to eat we make a mess that needs cleaning, so to does the act of building require tidying up 🧹. Working in a code base is not free unless your Middle Eastern mom/wife bless her soul is cleaning up after you. Software is not kick-able and our mind attends to hard kick-able 🦵 things better than ideas. Neglect is the absence of something happening, you only notice it when it’s debt kicks you Maintenance is a requirement for physical things that wear and tear, our interaction with code with our limited attention causes us to changes things without attending to other things, that is the wear and tear of software Prioritizings new requirements over technical work is a bit of an oxymoron, what are new requirements made of pixie dust? It’s all technical work. Fixing bugs isn’t maintenance, you don’t fix bugs you find them they were already there. Tidying up is. In software we use metaphors, because we don't have matter. metaphors is our matter, but metaphors by definition is similar not exact. Legacy tells you where you spend your time on. If you’re a having a design meeting, the system you built has veto on your decisions References the book your Code is a Crime scene When we're writing new code we have skill issues, we don't know how it should look like, we write what the tutorial looks like, so we incurs some debt, that's fine, we're borrowing, the problem is if we neglect. So why do we neglect, well in analogy to tech debt it would be the equivalent of not having a payment plan. The problem is unmanaged technical debt we could have a payment plan, but that's the managed technical debt, we may have an unmanaged technical debt problem, parts that are not in the payment plan The reason why software engineering has a tech debt neglect problem is because it's composed of people who don't like to do their housework.

37

If you’re an engineering leader, this report about the current state of tech has some great insights. It’s super fascinating to see what the current common themes are.

3

I think I'm coming to realise that one of my more unusual traits as a programmer - and one that has led me to preferring processes like TDD, is I'm obsessed with how code *looks and feels* before I can even make it work. My design process is more "how do I want to express this concept" than "how do I execute this task". Once I find the right form for a concept, I then work backwards and drive out tests that help me make it work. I think a lot of people do the opposite, and try make something work before finding its form. This is reflected in the phrase "working, readable, fast - in that order", but I think I've landed on "expressive, working, fast" ordering now. I'm not making a particular value judgement here - but I think finding the shape in everything is an aesthetic tactic you need if you're going to build software other programmers will consume. It's the design work.

35

14 Comments

I've been doing Codewars katas in Rust to try an cement my (quite limited) knowledge and really thought I was on the right track with the top solution! The problem was to return the sum of all the numbers between a and b. - So I added a mutable sum variable on line 5. - Returned 1 value if they were the same on line 6. - Determined which value was highest/lowest on lines 9-10. - Created an inclusive range between the two on line 12... Then forgot the basics of coding on line 13! I'd been so focused on using the syntax of my new language that I forgot the basics! I failed the very first test! That had passed the values 0 and 1 - should be simple right? I think what I'd been thinking of was mapping over an array in JavaScript, or something..., because I know there are methods like next() in Rust. I thought I was being clever - how do you add one value to the next. 🤔 I ran the code, and was totally puzzling over how 0 and 1 could somehow equal 4. Then I remembered I wasn't using an array, but a simple for loop. One that, for those params, would return 1 for the first iteration, then 3 the last. 🤦‍♀️ And, of course, I didn't figure that out right away. Nope, me, being me, had to question my Rust specific code. So don't forget the basics, like little old me!

16

🪂 Some of the worst projects we've parachuted into have been led by a-hole developers. 📣 They are opinionated, loud, and dominate meetings. They are critical of other people's code and are often afflicted with Not Invented Here (NIH) Syndrome. 🚜 They tend to bulldoze through major architecture decisions and the rest of the team follows along, mostly because they fear their wrath. ⬆️ They also tend to fail up. They spearhead the massive rewrite of "legacy" code and when the cracks start to appear, they jump to a new role at a new company, touting their successes in the previous role. 🤢 Some of the worst architectures I've encountered were created like this: 1. Insisting no JOINs can be used in the database and nothing can be imported between Django apps because they might separate each one into microservices in the future (YAGNI). The result was terrible database performance as a result of serializing all the data whenever it crossed an app boundary. It required a months long rewrite to resolve. 2. Everything must be a microservice and ORMs are evil. This resulted in services sprawling all over which were undocumented and unmaintained. Schema changes were made manually and inconsistently so performance issues would crop up because an index had been added in one environment, but not another. It took the business years before they could reel all these all back in. ☢️ These people are so toxic to an organization. They force out the good people and leave behind a team that is too scared to share ideas or consenting views. Leadership tends get blinded in their smokescreen, so they put up with the bad behavior. 🪓 If you're a leader with someone like this on your team, LET THEM GO. It may feel like the business can't survive without them, but you'll be so much better off without them.

63

4 Comments

MVPs shouldn't go to the bin, unless the business pivots to something else. Way too often I've seen agencies & devs building MVPs in a 'poor' way (and that's a nice way of putting it), because 'who cares, it will go to the bin anyway when you get PMF and fundraise'. I disagree. There's absolutely NO reason that your MVP should go to the bin, unless your business model or product change dramatically. And even then, a lot of boilerplate (like signup, subscriptions management, emails, etc) - can and should stay the same. If done right, that should be a given, with 0 extra effort on the dev side. If someone's quoting you to do a poor job, don't work with them. You can stay agile & lean (as a startup should) without compromising on quality, and forcing yourself to rewrite the next version of your app. When you're investing in something, especially at an early stage when money is tight, it's important to NOT buy garbage.

10

2 Comments

Oy. Yesterday I saw someone present to CTOs a formula for measuring individual #DeveloperProductivity* . Then Laura Tacho kicked off another talk admitting that devs get a 'nervous twinge' because this topic has been 'weaponized' against you. So how do you measure productivity without breaking trust? In this #MustRead, Quotient's Lizzie Matusov tells me it's all about Trust and Transparency. And making it simple to collect Team and Org-level Metrics, to make sure Everyone has the same view, and to offer Suggested Next Steps. *To be clear, while I believe we should privately check in with our own productivity (check in later this month for my column!), but individual productivity measurements are far too likely to be abused. I attended that talk thinking I'd cover it, but I refuse to do any work that facilitates folks losing their jobs.

103

32 Comments

You have to act now whilst the dev team is still asleep. You can still get 10 articles for free on the new Penfriend whilst they’re curled up in bed. Such is the beauty of timezones. It’s 5am for them. It’s free article’s time for you. Appdev dot penfriend dot ai BUT BE AWARE. When they wake up. It’s go time baby. PRICES GO UP. Dev gets moved to live. And the v2 of Penfriend will be available for everyone to buy. This is literally your last warning to lock today’s pricing in forever. I won’t tell you again. Be the early worm. Get the free articles. Lock in the investment. Edit - 15:50 GMT. You have 12-15 hours before dev moves things over. This is the last update you'll get from me. THE LAST ONE.

25

44 Comments

"Not My Job" is My Problem 💡👷 https://lnkd.in/dS_RVQSz It's fascinating to explore the roles of Front-end Developers in today's digitally mature organisations. Typically, these organisations have well-defined roles specifying what responsibilities belong to whom. However, in less digitally mature organizations or those without the financial resources to support diverse roles, developers often adopt the T-shaped model, tackling a variety of problems simultaneously. Their challenges may include developing features, optimizing performance, designing architecture, and managing UI/UX. Consequently, the rise of "Design Engineer" roles in our technical landscapes is not surprising. I am currently working in such a role myself. As some articles suggest, "Not My Job" can indeed become my problem. It’s tempting to hide behind one's role, but ultimately, it’s my team that must address the issue. This isn't to say that everyone should solve every problem that arises, but certain roles are uniquely positioned to bridge gaps between different skills. However, as developers often say, "It depends." 😎

9

My latest on Paragraph: Quickstarts Are Recipes - Developers Are Bakers My plea is that developers stop overcomplicating their quickstart guide when building software. Treat your quickstart like a recipe: - Start with a desired outcome, much like a baked good, and get that developer from 0 -> 1 - Set a 'prep time' and 'baking time' that are clear and won't take someone an entire afternoon - Make limited assumptions and make sure you list every single "ingredient" down to what version of a particular library might be a prerequisite or environment constraints - Finally, don't let your quickstart go stale - you want them to buy your cookbook after they follow your recipe. https://lnkd.in/eFDjGR7U

9

1 Comment

Let's try something: I'm looking for extra motivation to speak on GopherCon UK, 16th August 2024: https://lnkd.in/ezvmdABj Are you in UK and would like to co-speak with me? or you know somebody? Happy to mentor a first time speaker! 😌 We can do talk about anything! Beginner friendly or more advanced: * efficiency, benchmarking * readability * Go code interviews * tricky bits for beginners, practices * observability * mentoring ..and anything else! Maybe something you have trouble with right now? 🤗 This will likely mean it's useful for others! My DM is open, let's chat! (CFP open until 17th May) #gopherconuk #mentoring #golang #go

34

I recently talked with Paz Yanover, VP of Product at Amplication, about creating and managing effective docs. Here is his developer docs success formula (check 1st comment): In this interview, Paz shares his formula to creating developer docs that drive product adoption. You'll learn: - The important role docs plays in support and attracting devs - Tips for balancing technical accuracy with user-friendliness in your docs - Strategies for effective collaboration between technical writers and product teams Check the first comment for the full interview. --- Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Derick Ruiz for more.

19

1 Comment

The secrets of how experienced engineering leaders accelerating growth of new Tech Leads... 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 + 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 + 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 + 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 = 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 Individual focus → 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 I love Andy Grove's definition 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. Although I prefer to use the term 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. It's possible for a team to product a lot of output but not much value! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱? A team scoped Tech Lead can have many flavours. Is team leadership included? What about line management? What about delivery? Clarity is key 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 Engineer → Tech Lead is a tricky transition. Holding more frequent 1:1's initially Seek feedback from team Stay close 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 We all make mistakes when taking on new responsibilities  Provide both reenforcing and corrective feedback Observations + Impact = Actionable feedback Learn from mistakes Celebrate the wins P.S How do you support new Tech Leads?

9

4 Comments

Consolidated my Notion homepage on a custom domain. I'm surprised it's not yet a native feature. I've realised that while pointing my personal website (https://angeloreale.com), I had lost most of my few years old SEO authority. So then, ... we just build it again. :) Recommending this Notion wrapper, and here is my referral link (I get some bucks if you sign-up using it): https://lnkd.in/dNKCuppi