Legacy Code Rocks

Building useful software requires more than just knowing how to write code. It demands curiosity to understand the problem which the software is supposed to resolve. It also requires the willingness to understand the people - not only those who will use it but also those who are building this software with you! Today we talk with Dawn Ahukanna, the design principal and front-end architect at IBM. She leads an integrated and consistent user-focused design across enterprise software focused on data analytics and cognitive user experiences. She shares the methods and the tools she uses when figuring out how people work - an essential piece of knowledge if you want to create the best user experience. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Dawn on Twitter and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Dawn on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dawnahukanna Dawn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnahukanna Dawn's website at http://dahukanna.net

Working together in a team requires a lot of emotional intelligence, adaptability, and empathy. Bringing two teams working together after acquisition and a merger might seem like requiring superpowers on top of that. Today we talk with Matt Dixon, the founder, and CEO of Front Range Systems. Matt is a tech executive helping newly acquired technology businesses create a unified culture within their workplaces. Matt gives us a sneak-peak into his practices of helping teams develop a growth mindset, adapt to new technological challenges, and become high-performing. When you finish listening to the episode, check out the Front Range Systems website at https://frontrangesystems.com, and connect with Matt on Twitter.

TypeScript has been around for quite a while, and its popularity speaks for itself. It has never been more important to understand how to gradually and sustainably shift to TypeScript within the existing code-base. Today we talk with Sam Lanning, an independent software contractor in the humanitarian sector with many years of experience at GitHub and Semmle. Sam's vast experience in using TypeScript to speed up coding, eliminate debugging, and reduce technical debt helps us see the benefits of this popular programming language and foresee how to transition to it. When you finish listening to the episode, find Sam on GitHub and connect with them on Twitter and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Sam on Github at https://github.com/s0 Sam at LinkedIn at https://uk.linkedin.com/in/smlanning Sam at Twitter at https://twitter.com/samlanning TypeScript at https://www.typescriptlang.org

We often use real-life metaphors to make software development concepts more approachable and understandable, especially for the people just entering the field. Sometimes, however, the reverse approach could help a seasoned coder to cope with the real world. Today we talk with Casey Watts, the author of Debugging Your Brain, a clear applied psychology, and a concise self-help book. The human brain is buggy, just as any legacy code is. Casey tells us about techniques that can help us refactor our thinking, speed up our thought processes and ultimately debug our brains. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Casey on LinkedIn and Twitter, visit his website at https://www.caseywatts.com and https://www.debuggingyourbrain.com, and check out his book Debugging Your Brain. Mentioned in this episode: Casey on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywatts/ Casey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/heycaseywattsup Debugging Your Brain at https://www.amazon.com/Debugging-Your-Brain-Casey-Watts/dp/0578755033? Debugging Your Brain Website at https://www.debuggingyourbrain.com Casey's Website at https://www.caseywatts.com Cognitive distortions at https://www.debuggingyourbrain.com/distortions/

Many programming concepts seem too complex and intimidating to outsiders. That is perhaps the main reason why writing code remains such an exclusive profession, even in the age where virtually everything depends on a written code! But does everything have to be so complicated? Today, we talk with Sy Brand, Microsoft C++ Developer Advocate, and a specialist for compilers and debuggers for embedded accelerators. Sy is also known for their YouTube Channel - Computer Science with Sy's Cats - where they explain programming and computer science concepts with household objects and cats. After watching only a few of Sy's videos, you will feel that programming can, and should, be much more approachable and inclusive. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Sy on Twitter, start following their YouTube channel, and check out one of their live coding sessions at Twitch. Mentioned in this episode: Sy Brand on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TartanLlama Computer Science with Sy's Cats at https://www.youtube.com/c/SyBrandPlusCats/featured Sy Brand on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/tartanllama Ivan Čukić, Functional Programming in C++ at https://www.amazon.com/Functional-Programming-programs-functional-techniques/dp/1617293814 Writing Error Messages for Humans at https://www.flutterwave.design/writing-error-messages-for-humans/

Imagine if you could perform static analysis, find bugs, and enforce code standards in more than seventeen languages with a single tool. Imagine if you could scan your code with more than 1,000 community pre-written rules and if you could easily add your own rules to match your code perfectly. Imagine if you could then flag the issues and get results in pull requests, Slack, or anywhere else without as much as a click of a mouse. Well, it appears that you can do all of this and more. Today we talk with Isaac Evans, an MIT alumnus, a former computer scientist at the US Department of Defence, and a founder and CEO of r2c. His company, r2c, stands behind Semgrep, a lightweight, offline, open-source, static analysis tool that profoundly improves software security and reliability to safeguard human progress. When you finish listening to the episode, see how Sengrep can improve your code at https://semgrep.dev, or visit https://r2c.dev if you need enterprise solutions for large businesses. Mentioned in this episode: Isaac Evans on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacevans/ Semgrep at https://semgrep.dev r2c at https://r2c.dev Brian Foote, Joseph Yoder, The Selfish Class at http://www.laputan.org/selfish/selfish.html Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene at https://www.amazon.com/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary-Landmark-Science-dp-0198788606/dp/0198788606/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Many IT industry giants (including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Uber, Airbnb, and Twitter) employ gigantic monorepos to scale build systems and version control software. Although only recently named, monorepos have been around for several decades. Today we talk with Darko Fabijan. Darko is the co-founder of Semaphore CI, where he and his team explore new tools and ideas that improve developers' lives. We dive deep into the benefits and challenges the transition to and utilization of monorepos can bring to your workflow and software development practice. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Darko on Twitter and visit the Semaphore CI website at https://semaphoreci.com, where you will find great solutions for decluttering your workflow. Mentioned in this episode: Darko on Twitter at https://twitter.com/darkofabijan Semaphore CI at https://semaphoreci.com

A big part of dealing with legacy systems is not on the level of software architecture but interior design. The code needs to be welcoming for people who use it and maintain it, free of clutter, clean and tidy. Today we talk with Ester Daniel Ytterbrink. Ester Daniel is a coder who likes to think about how people work as a group to create great software sustainably. They have a blog (Chocolate Driven Development) where they write about software development with human interaction and psychology in focus. They tell us about the main principles of software interior design, guiding you to build more comfortable, functional, and efficient code. When you finish listening to the episode, visit Ester Daniel's blog, where you can connect with them and get some great ideas. Mentioned in this episode: Ester Daniel on Twitter at https://twitter.com/edytterbrink Chocolate Driven Development Blog at https://www.chocolatedrivendevelopment.com Douglas Squirrel, et al, Agile Conversations: Transform your Conversations, Transform Your Culture at https://www.amazon.com/Agile-Conversations-Transform-Your-Culture/dp/B086D5RBWS/ Don Norman, The Design of Everyday Things at https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/

The first step to mastering any skill is demystifying it. However, this is not easy to achieve on your own, and often masters of the craft around you are not as helpful as you would hope. It is easy to forget how it is to be a novice once we achieve expertise in some field, and this leads many of us to lose the ability to introduce the craft to the incoming forces patiently and in simple terms. Today we talk with Sharon DeCaro. Sharon has been working as a software engineer for five years. However, this wasn't her career choice when she enrolled in the mathematics and music program at her university. Listen to Sharon as she tells us about her journey into the software industry, the hurdles she encountered, and the ways she overcame them to become a software engineer. When you finish listening to this episode, make sure to connect with Sharon on LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Sharon on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjdecaro/ Andrea Goulet, Carmen Shirkey Collins, Empathy Driven Software Development at https://www.empathyintech.com

We talk a lot about software on this show. But in this episode, we steer away from our usual practice and look at one piece of hardware that every computer user is in touch with the most. Yes, it is a keyboard! Today we talk with Jesse Vincent - a software developer turned hardware manufacturer. Jesse is best known for his work with the Pearl programming language and the ticket-tracking system Request Tracker. However, since he invented one of the most comfortable keyboards on the market - now sold-out Keyboardio Model 01 - many associate him with hardware production. Jesse doesn't hold back. He reveals many secrets of modern hardware manufacturing and how to use your software experience to organize your production process. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to support the production of the new Keyboardio Model 100 on Kickstarter (ends July 31, 2021), connect with Jesse on Twitter, and visit Keyboardio website at https://shop.keyboard.io. Mentioned in this episode: Jesse Vincent Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Vincent Jesse Vincent on Twitter at https://twitter.com/obra Keyboardio Model 100 Kickstarter Campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keyboardio/model-100?ref=104lo3 Keyboardio website at https://shop.keyboard.io TRON TK1 keyboard at http://xahlee.info/kbd/TRON_keyboard.html FingerWorks TouchStream at https://ergocanada.com/products/keyboards/fingerworks_lp.html Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboards at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards

We seldomly dive deep into discussing any particular programming language on this show. However, today we are making an exception, and we talk with Chrissy LeMaire about PowerShell. Chrissy is a GitHub star, double Microsoft MVP, and a co-author of the book Learn dbatools in a Month of Lunches. She is currently a blue teamer who uses PowerShell to make the world more secure. Chrissy shares some neat PowerShell secrets that transform this framework from an ideal programming language for beginners to a well-rounded and powerful developing tool. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Chrissy on Twitter, get dbatools at https://dbatools.io and check out Chrissy's book Learn dbatools in a Month of Lunches. Mentioned in this episode: Chrissy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/cl dbatools at https://dbatools.io Chrissy LeMaire, Rob Sewell, Jess Pomfret, Cláudio Silva, Learn dbatools in a Month of Lunches at https://www.manning.com/books/learn-dbatools-in-a-month-of-lunches Steve McConnell, Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction, 2nd Ed, at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+code+complete&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

We behave with the cloud as a subset of technology like a teen who just learned how to drive. We are at the point where capabilities have far exceeded the ability to comprehend consequences. We have the power in our hands to change our life and other people's lives both in positive and negative ways. However, we lack the experience to foresee these results. Today we talk with Bobby Allen, Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Turbonomic and cloud therapist. He helps us understand the advantages and pitfalls of the cloud and teaches us how to assess our own needs and the risks we might face while using the technology. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Bobby on Twitter and LinkedIn, and visit his website at https://bobbyjallen.me. Mentioned in this episode: Bobby on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ballen-clt/ Bobby on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ballen_clt Bobby's website at https://bobbyjallen.me Turbonomic at https://www.turbonomic.com

Technical debt is a recurring theme of this show. We talk about it almost as often as it pops out in any legacy code! Today we go back to discussing technical debt with Jim Humelsine. Jim has been a software development professional since 1985. Jim's passion is design patterns, but he recently expanded his interest to software practices and procedures. Jim is also an economics and especially game theory enthusiast, and on top of everything, he is a trombone player! We dive deep with Jim into the economics of technical debt, the root causes of its ever-presence, and the ways to get rid of it. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Jim on Twitter and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Jim on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jhumelsine Jim on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-humelsine-16b0749/ Freakonomics podcast at https://freakonomics.com/archive/

Many legacy systems lack adequate test coverage. They might not have much coverage at all, or the existing tests might be inefficient or paint a wrong picture about the stability of the system. Enhancing test coverage in legacy applications is a complex task with many pitfalls. Today we talk with Floyd Hilton, a software developer with many years of experience in multiple domains, including semiconductor manufacturing, financial aid delivery, energy conservation, and healthcare. He co-founded the Augusta Polyglot Group, which meets once a month to teach and learn new languages. Floyd's current interest is in finding the best strategies for adding testing to existing software systems. He shares with us some of these strategies and the tools he uses when beefing up test coverage in legacy systems. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Floyd on Twitter and LinkedIn, and visit his website at http://www.floydhilton.com, Mentioned in this episode: Floyd on Twitter at https://twitter.com/fhilton Floyd on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/floydhilton/ Floyd's website at http://www.floydhilton.com Augusta Polyglot Group at https://augusta-polyglot.github.io DbUp at https://dbup.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ Cypress at https://www.cypress.io

There has been a noticeable uptick in the adoption of public cloud providers. At the same time, the voices advocating for the abandonment of traditional data centers are getting louder. Keeping servers around to keep running their business might be overkill for many companies. For others, it could be the only reasonable choice. And even if you decide to transition to the cloud, how do you know which of its features you need? Today we talk to Sarah Musick, the systems engineering principal at CloudGenera, a workload placement decision engine, where she spearheads the onboarding efforts with enterprise customers. Sarah is a big believer in the targeted adoption of the public cloud in tech - the approach based on the understanding that the cloud should serve the application rather than the other way around. She helps us understand how to assess our data management needs and how to choose the options that best serve those needs. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure you connect with Sarah on LinkedIn and visit CloudGenera website. Mentioned in this episode: Sarah Musick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlmusick/ CloudGenera Website: https://go.cloudgenera.com

Common Lisp was written in the 80s as a kind of an amalgam of the existing Lisps at the time. To make sure the Common Lisp would stay relevant, it was made backward compatible so that existing legacy systems could run on it. One thing in common to these big old systems like Lisp is a lot more mutation, and the cool thing about this legacy is that it has a baked experience – it learns and it has learned. Today we talk to Eric Normand, an experienced functional programmer, trainer, speaker, and consultant on all things functional programming. He started writing Lisp in 2000 and is now a Clojure expert, producing the most comprehensive suite of Clojure training material at purelyfunctional.tv. He also consults with companies to use functional programming to better serve business objectives. We talk about problems in legacy code basis utilizing functional programming, the abstract nature of programs, the wisdom of Lisp, and more. When you're done listening to the episode, make sure to check out Eric's Clojure training and his podcast, as well as connect with him on LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Eric Normand on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eric-normand-61a70366/ Eric Normand's podcast: Lispcast.com Eric Normand's websites: https://lispcast.com and https://purelyfunctional.tv Eric Normand's Clojure training: Purelyfunctional.tv Eric Normand's book Grokking Simplicity: https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-simplicity?utm_source=lispcast&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=book_normand_grokking_8_20_19&a_aid=lispcast&a_bid=72596968Use discount code TSSIMPLICITY for 50% off.

Software engineers perceive that technology advances in an orderly, linear fashion. This makes the novelties very attractive. However, the reality is that we tend to go through technology in cycles. Recognizing this is crucial for understanding how to make the right technical decisions while preserving the value of the old technology. Is it better to build from scratch or build on what you have? When do you invest in something brand new, and when do you lean onto the foundations of the existing expertise? Today we search for answers to these questions with Marianne Bellotti, the author of Kill It with Fire –Manage Aging Computer Systems (and Futureproof Modern Ones). Marianne is internationally known for tackling some of the oldest, messiest, and most complicated computer systems in the world, and she currently runs identity and access control at Rebellion Defense. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure you follow Marianne on Twitter and get a copy of her book. Mentioned in this episode: Marianne Bellotti on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bellmar Marianne Bellotti, Kill It with Fire –Manage Aging Computer Systems (and Futureproof Modern Ones) at https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Fire-Manage-Computer-Systems/dp/1718501188 Rebellion Defence at https://rebelliondefense.com

For most teams, dependency freshness is a pain that is often ignored. "If it works –don't change it" is the prevailing attitude, but as a lot of applications become web-focused, dependencies inevitably start gaining traction. Why does dependency freshness matter, and how do we proactively stay on top of it? Today we present Freshli - the dependency freshness tool we have been working on. The microphone goes to the team involved: Cassandra Carothers, Technical Sales Manager here at Corgibytes, and Catalina De la Cuesta, Chris Cumming, and Dave Farinelli, our Lead Code Whisperers. The Freshli tool captures historical libyear metrics about a project's dependencies. Freshli stays alongside your codebase and works together with code quality tools, showing where your project is going overtime. It is designed to work with multiple languages, and it currently supports Ruby, Perl, Python, PHP, and .NET. If you are interested to know more about Freshli, make sure you reach out to our team on LinkedIn after you've listened to the episode. Mentioned in this episode: Cassandra Carothers at linkedin.com/in/cassandramcarothers/ Catalina De la Cuesta at linkedin.com/in/catalinadelacuesta/ Dave Farinelli at linkedin.com/in/dfar-io/ Chris Cumming at linkedin.com/in/chris-cumming/ Libyear at https://libyear.com Corgibytes at https://corgibytes.com Freshli at GitHub at https://github.com/corgibytes/freshli-lib

When developers talk about what they find exciting, they usually talk about new things. Very little content is about the actual job, about working in the existing system. When they do talk about legacy, they usually focus on how much they hate it. Where does that animosity come from and how do we confront it? Today we get to the bottom of it with Barry O'Sullivan. Barry is a modern web development contractor with 15 years of experience in legacy web applications. He is the founder of DDIE and the co-organizer of PHP Dublin. We discuss the fear response to legacy code, the mocking of those who created it, and the ignorance of those who are quick to mock. We look at the common mistakes that lead to the fear of legacy code and discuss some common-sense solutions to overcome what is essentially a social and skill-based problem with technology. When you are done listening to the episode, make sure you connect with Barry on LinkedIn, and follow him on Twitter and Github. Mentioned in this episode: Barry O'Sullivan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barryosu/ Barry O'Sullivan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/barryosull Barry O'Sullivan on Github: https://github.com/barryosull Barry O'Sullivan on the web: https://barryosull.com PHP Dublin: https://www.meetup.com/PHP-Dublin/ Matthew Stewart, The Management Myth: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy: https://www.amazon.com/Management-Myth-Debunking-Business-Philosophy/dp/0393338525

We like to think that technology is our objective and neutral assistant, our faithful lieutenant constrained with science and armed with cold, hard data. But this is incorrect. Technology reflects the attitudes of humans who created it. It contains our biases and our preconceived notions. It reflects who we are while distorting our perception of who we think we are, transforming our impulse for binary simplifications into the strict binary framework of ones and zeroes. Inevitably, this leaves some folks out. Today we talk with Erin White, Head of digital engagement at Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries in Richmond, VA, on their fascination with the intersections of equity, justice, and computer systems. Erin tells us how technology can both advance and hamper the achievements of social equality, and how inclusive software design can help us realize our own biases and remove them from our code. After you finish listening to the episode, make sure you connect with Erin on LinkedIn and Twitter, where they write about technology and progressive politics. Mentioned in this episode: Erin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinrwhite/ Erin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/erinrwhite Erin White, Trans-Inclusive Design at https://alistapart.com/article/trans-inclusive-design/

Many analytical models can help you to measure some aspects of the quality of your codebase. However, only a combination of these models can give you complete information about your code's integrity and the real-world necessity for its improvement. Today we talk with Dan Sturtevant, the CEO of Silverthread Inc and a Technology and Operations Management Researcher at the Harvard Business School. Dan shares with us the solutions for diagnosing software health and aligning it with business performance goals and desired financial outcomes. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Dan on LinkedIn, visit Silverthread's website at https://www.silverthreadinc.com, and check out their CodeMRI diagnostics tool. Mentioned in this episode: Dan on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dansturtevant/ Silverthread, Inc at: https://www.silverthreadinc.com CodeMRI at: https://www.silverthreadinc.com/codemri-diagnostics Carliss Y. Baldwin, Design Rules, Vol. 1: The Power of Modularity at: https://amzn.to/39XSGA3

Ruby on Rails is a fast-moving community and it is not always easy to keep up with it. Given the efficiency of the framework, however, it is well worth trying. Today we talk to Robby Russell, creator of Oh My Z Shell, host of Maintainable software podcast, and CEO of Planet Argon – a software consultancy that helps organizations improve their existing Ruby on Rails applications. We chat with Robby about his own beginnings, the creation of the Oh My Z Shell, the early days of Ruby on Rails, and how to keep up with the fast-moving Rails community. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Robby on Twitter and LinkedIn, and make sure to start following his podcast Maintainable. Mentioned in this episode: Robby Russell on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robbyrussell Robby Russell on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/robbyrussell/ Robby Russell on GitHub github.com/robbyrussell Planet Argon at planetargon.com Oh My Z Shell at ohmyz.sh Oh My Z Shell on Twitter at twitter.com/ohmyzsh Maintainable podcast at https://maintainable.fm

Security is a big topic with many facets, and this is especially true for microservices. Microservices deployment has been around for some time, but security didn't get much attention from developers – they simply trusted the network. Today we talk with Prabath Siriwardena and Nuwan Dias, authors of Microservices Security in Action* and deputy CTOs of the WSO2, on the state of microservices security today. We dig deep into the issues of infrastructure, available tools, procedures, and challenges in predicting the threats and integrating security patches into microservices. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Prabath and Nuwan on LinkedIn and Twitter, and book their services at https://wso2.com with a steep 35% discount with the code podlegacy20. And don't miss the opportunity to read their book Microservices Security in Action for free with the codes provided below (codes expire in March 2021). Mentioned in this episode: Prabath Siriwardena on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/prabathsiriwardena/ Prabath Siriwardena on Twitter at https://twitter.com/prabath Nuwan Dias on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nuwandias/?originalSubdomain=lk Nuwan Dias on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nuwandias Read Prabath Siriwardena and Nuwan Dias, Microservices Security in Action at https://www.manning.com/books/microservices-security-in-action?query=nuwan for free with codes: legmic-1CF1 legmic-3460 legmic-13D3 legmic-511B legmic-EEE7 Use WSO2 services at https://wso2.com with 35% discount with the code podlegacy20 * Heads up! If you purchase the book through the link above, we will get a small commission which helps us continue to bring quality content to our Legacy Code Rocks! community. You won't pay a penny more, we receive a small kickback, and you're supporting our friends who wrote the book. Everybody wins!

In the last episode of 2020, we took a stroll through the little known corridors of coding history with Clive Thompson. Clive is a technology and science journalist for the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Smithsonian, and many other outlets. In his new book Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World*, he explores how computer programmers - the people who are increasingly running the world - think and what are their plans for changing the way WE work, think and live. In this episode, he tells us incredible stories of coding past and present, giving us a glimpse into how the future is made. When you finish listening to this episode, connect with Clive on Twitter, visit his website, and enjoy reading his books*. Mentioned in this episode: Clive on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pomeranian99 Clive's website: https://www.clivethompson.net/ Clive Thompson, Coders: The Making of the New Tribe and the Remaking of the World at https://amzn.to/34Kf3pR* About Betty Holberton at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Holberton About Margaret Hamilton at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamilton_(software_engineer) Michael Abrash, Graphics Programming Black Book at https://amzn.to/3mSxoXV* BBC micro:bit at https://microbit.org/ Jordan Mechner, The Making of Prince of Persia at https://amzn.to/2KK7hoZ* * Heads up! If you purchase the book through the link above, we will get a small commission which helps us continue to bring quality content to our Legacy Code Rocks! community. You won't pay a penny more, we receive a small kickback, and you're supporting our friends who wrote the book. Everybody wins!

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work and communicate, some people expected remote work to become more popular. The thought was, however, that the transition will be done by choice, not by force! Today we talk with Johanna Rothmann, a management consultant, speaker, and author of over a dozen reference books on management, agile, team-building, and software development. Just a year before the first lockdown orders descended on the cities around the world, Johanna published with Mark Kilby a fantastic guide on managing remote teams: From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver*. Johanna is our dear guest and a great friend of the show. We invited her today to celebrate together the fifth anniversary of our community. But we couldn't miss the opportunity to pick her brain and seek some advice on remote working and how to manage it. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Johanna on Twitter and LinkedIn, check out her website, and read From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams* and other Johanna's books*. Mentioned in this episode: Johanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/johannarothman Johanna on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannarothman/ Johanna's website at https://www.jrothman.com From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Collaborate to Deliver at https://amzn.to/2K11SJO* Johanna's books at https://amzn.to/3nlcfGR* Legacy Code Rocks: Project Management with Johanna Rothman at https://www.legacycode.rocks/podcast-1/episode/faf2a514/project-management-with-johanna-rothman * Heads up! If you purchase the book through the link above, we will get a small commission which helps us continue to bring quality content to our Legacy Code Rocks! community. You won't pay a penny more, we receive a small kickback, and you're supporting our friends who wrote the book. Everybody wins!

How has COVID-19 affected legacy code based systems, and what do we do to address the issue? Today we talk with Joao-Pierre Ruth, a technology journalist at InformationWeek where he covers DevOps and cloud computing. Joao-Pierre gives us his insights on the topic that inspired his recent article "COBOL, COVID-19 and Coping with Legacy's Tech-debt". After listening to the episode, connect with Joao-Pierre on LinkedIn and Twitter, and check out his articles for InformationWeek. Mentioned in this episode: Joao-Pierre on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaopierre/ Joao-Pierre on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jpruth Joao-Pierre's author profile on InformationWeek: https://www.informationweek.com/author-bio.asp?author_id=5108& InformationWeek at https://www.informationweek.com Joao-Pierre Ruth, COBOL, COVID-19, and Coping with Legacy Tech Debt at https://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/security-and-risk-strategy/cobol-covid-19-and-coping-with-legacy-tech-debt/a/d-id/1337516

Knowing how to prioritize tasks and how to eliminate unnecessary assignments is a crucial skill for successful project management. The more complicated project is, the less obvious its priorities are. If only there were a tool that could help us navigate through this complexity. Today we talk with Jason C. McDonald, CEO, and co-founder of MousePaw Media, about Quantified Task Management, the tool that does exactly that. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Jason on LinkedIn and Twitter, visit his website at https://codemouse92.com, and pre-order his book Dead Simple Python: Idiomatic Python for Impatient Programmers. Mentioned in this episode: Jason on Twitter at https://twitter.com/codemouse92?lang=en Jason at LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/codemouse92 MousePaw Media at https://mousepawmedia.com Quantified Task Management at https://standards.mousepawmedia.com/qtm.html Jason C McDonald, Dead Simple Python: Idiomatic Python for Impatient Programmers at https://amzn.to/3b2XenX Scott Rosenberg, Dreaming in Code at https://amzn.to/32RvG1L Heads up! If you purchase the books through the link above, we will get a small commission which helps us continue to bring quality content to our Legacy Code Rocks! community. You won't pay a penny more, we receive a small kickback, and you're supporting our friends who wrote the book. Everybody wins!

We often talk about the makers and menders dichotomy on this show. But we rarely dived deep into the dynamics of collaboration between these two groups of creatives. Today we talk with Brandon Lewis and Luke Rabin, co-founders of BLDR, a digital agency specialized in creating UI/UX designs, technical docs, and developer teams. Building on the immense contributions of behavioral economics, Brandon and Luke talk about the ways of bringing makers and menders together and ensuring that their collaboration is fruitful and lucrative. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with them on LinkedIn, and visit their website at https://www.startwithbldr.com. Mentioned in this episode: Brandon on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-lewis-design/ Luke on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukerabin/ BLDR at: https://www.startwithbldr.com

As menders working with legacy code, we are focused on identifying and reducing technical debt. But how much easier this task would be if the creator of the code or the previous maintainer left us some breadcrumbs to follow? A simple note on the rationale for a particular decision they have made or a warning about interconnected lines of code would take us a long way! Today we talk with Andrea Goulet, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Corgibytes. Her empathy-driven approach to software development earned her recognition as one of the Top Ten Professionals in Software Under 35 by LinkedIn. She tells us about this lack of communication in software development, the phenomenon she calls the communication debt, and how its reduction can make the software more robust and its maintenance more efficient. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Andrea via LinkedIn, contact her via Corgibytes' website, and check out her LinkedIn courses: Agile Software Development: Remote Teams and Creating an Agile Culture. Mentioned in this episode: Andrea on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreamgoulet/ Andrea on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andreagoulet Corgibytes website at https://corgibytes.com Andrea Goulet, Agile Software Development: Remote Teams at https://www.linkedin.com/learning/agile-software-development-remote-teams Andrea Goulet, Creating an Agile Culture at https://www.linkedin.com/learning/agile-software-development-creating-an-agile-culture Changelog podcast with Katrina Owen at https://changelog.com/podcast/108 Katrina Owen, Exorcism.io at https://exercism.io Indi Young, Practical Empathy at https://amzn.to/3jkDlLH* Legacy Code Rocks with Indi Young at https://www.legacycode.rocks/podcast-1/episode/270edc0e/practical-empathy-with-indi-young Ward Cunningham on technical debt at https://youtu.be/pqeJFYwnkjE Legacy Code Rocks with Arlo Belshee at https://www.legacycode.rocks/podcast-1/episode/c240c45d/naming-with-arlo-belshee Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow at https://amzn.to/3kceRW3* Legacy Code Rocks with Cyrille Martraire at https://www.legacycode.rocks/podcast-1/episode/2fd0fdeb/living-documentation-with-cyrille-martraire Cyrille Martraire, Living Documentation at https://amzn.to/3kd2J7e* * Heads up! If you purchase a book through the links above, we will get a small commission which helps us continue to bring quality content to our Legacy Code Rocks! community. You won't pay a penny more, we receive a small kickback, and you're supporting our friends who wrote them. Everybody wins!

Most, if not all, of the legacy projects feature monolithic application architectures. However, moving to containers can bring many benefits: consistency down the pipeline, no-touch deployment, better support for decomposing the monolith - to name just a few. Today we talk with our own Ben Johnson. Ben is the lead code whisperer at Corgibytes and a developer with over 20 years of experience. We chat about containerization - what benefits does it bring, what challenges could you encounter in the process, which tools are best suited for the job, and what methodology proves to be most reliable. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Ben on LinkedIn or contact him via the Corgibytes website, and read his fantastic blog about containerization. Mentioned in this episode: Ben on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrj Corgibytes at https://corgibytes.com Ben Johnson, Moving a Monolith to Kubernetes at https://corgibytes.com/blog/2020/02/27/monolith-to-kubernetes/?utm_content=buffer43f15&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Dockers at https://www.docker.com Heroku at https://www.heroku.com/home

Our Legacy Code Rocks community is turning five this year. To mark this exciting milestone, we decided to catch up with Woody Zuill, our frequent guest, and a person who always manages to teach us something new and exciting. Woody is best known for introducing mob programming to the world, and so we kick-off the show by discussing mob programming in the age of COVID-19. However, as it is always with Woody, he expands our horizons far beyond any single topic. If you get inspired by this chat as much as we did, make sure to register for the series of Woody's public workshops, which will take place online from 20th to 22nd October. Mentioned in this episode: Woody on Twitter at https://twitter.com/woodyzuill Woody on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/woodyzuill/ Woody's website at https://woodyzuill.com Woody Zuill and Kevin Meadows, Mob Programming: A Whole Team Approach at https://leanpub.com/mobprogramming Mob Programming Workshop 20-22 October 2020 tickets at https://www.eventbrite.it/e/mob-programming-online-workshop-tickets-115876980167?aff=erelpanelorg or https://allevents.in/online/mob-programming-online-workshop/10000115876980167 Graham Wallas, The Art of Thought at https://archive.org/details/theartofthought Winston Royce, Managing the Development of Large Software Systems (Waterfall Paper) at http://www-scf.usc.edu/~csci201/lectures/Lecture11/royce1970.pdf Zeigarnick Effect at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeigarnik_effect

Innovation is the hottest prize in the business. It attracts the most attention. It sells stocks in a blitz. It also distracts from what matters the most - maintaining, caring for, and upkeeping what we have already invented. Today we talk with Lee Vinsel, an assistant professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and Andy Russell, professor of history and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Andy and Lee are technology historians and the authors of The Innovation Delusion, a new book that is coming out on September 8th, published by Penguin Random House. We provide you with a sneak peek into this book, which is already the number one bestseller on all major online bookstores. When you finish listening to the episode, be sure to grab your copy. Mentioned in this episode: Lee Vinsel's website at http://leevinsel.com/about Andy Russell's website at https://arussell.org/ Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at https://liberalarts.vt.edu/ SUNY Polytechnic Institute College of Arts and Sciences at https://sunypoly.edu/academics/colleges/college-arts-sciences Lee Vinsel, Andrew Russell, The Innovation Delusion at https://amzn.to/31wJI8U The Maintainers at https://themaintainers.org Legacy Code Rocks, Proactive Programming with PJ Hagerty at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legacy-code-rocks/id1146634772?i=1000489001499 *Heads up! If you purchase the book through any of the links above, we will get a small commission which helps us continue to bring quality content to our Legacy Code Rocks! community. You won't pay a penny more, we receive a small kickback, and you're supporting our friends who wrote the book. Everybody wins!

When you build a house, you first build its foundations. This is what ensures its durability. The same stands for writing code - if written upon strong foundations, it will not be blown away by the first wind of change. The best way to achieve this is to think proactively. Today we talk with PJ Hagerty, the founder of devrelate.io, organizer of DevOps Days Buffalo, a developer, writer, speaker, musician, and community advocate. PJ tells us the secrets of proactive programming and how it can prolong the life of your code. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with PJ on Twitter and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode PJ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aspleenic PJ on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pjhagerty/ Devrelate at http://www.devrelate.io Open Sourcing Mental Illness at https://osmihelp.org DevOps Days Buffalo at https://devopsdays.org/events/2020-buffalo/welcome/ Chad Fowler, Dave Thomas, Andy Hunt, Programming Ruby: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide (The Facts of Ruby), 4th Edition at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937785491/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1 Leadership from a Dancing Guy at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO8MwBZl-Vc

As we are going through a racial injustice reckoning here in the United States, each of us needs to look in the mirror, actively seek information, and find a way to contribute to a more just future. We can't talk about fixing code before we talk about the neglected voices in the process of building and mending that very code. Today we talk with Bryan Liles, a senior staff engineer at VMware, a team leader, and a code writer who tries to pump goodwill into the world. We talk about racial injustice in America, its origins, its stubborn perseverance, and the ways to combat it and eradicate it once and for all. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Bryan on LinkedIn or Twitter, and take a listen to the speech he gave at RubyNation 2013, which inspired this interview. Mentioned in this episode: Bryan on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bryanl Bryan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanliles/ VMware at https://www.vmware.com Bryan's talk at RubyNation 2013 Why We Do What We Do at https://vimeo.com/103704732 The Kerner Commission Report on Civil Disorders at http://www.eisenhowerfoundation.org/docs/kerner.pdf Ibram X. Kendi, How To Be An Antiracist at https://www.ibramxkendi.com/how-to-be-an-antiracist-1

Staying agile is most important in times of crisis. After more than four months of Covid-19 disruption, it is clear that we are going through one of those era-defining moments. As the crisis drags on, we need to adapt and be more agile than ever. Today we talk with our own Andrea Goulet, Corgibytes CEO and Legacy Code Rocks co-host, about big changes we are going through here at Legacy Code Rocks and Corgibytes. So, take a listen and stay tuned!

Imagine if there were a tool to help you measure your code's complexity, coverage, and smells, blend it all together and present you with an average score assessing your technical debt. SkunkScore is precisely such a tool. Today we talk with Ernesto Tagwerker, founder of Ombu Labs and fastruby.io—and the developer of the SkunkScore—about software maintenance and how to use SkunkScore to identify the most problematic parts of your code and guide you through your refactoring adventure. Mentioned in this episode: Ernesto on Twitter at https://twitter.com/etagwerker Ernesto on GitHub at https://github.com/etagwerker Ombu Labs at https://www.ombulabs.com Fastruby at https://www.fastruby.io Download SkunkScore at https://github.com/fastruby/skunk

The need for speedy delivery is the reality of contemporary business. The requirements of modern software development are no different. However, when writing software we are making decisions based on knowledge, and finding knowledge often takes time. This is where we turn to software documentation, only to find it frustrating, incomplete, obsolete, or misleading. Today we talk with Cyrille Martraire, a software developer, finance business analyst, and the author of the book Living Documentation: Continuous Knowledge Sharing by Design, about how to make your documentation more comprehensive, useful, and intuitive. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Cyrille on Twitter, check out his website, and take a look at his new book! Mentioned in this episode: Cyrille on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cyriux?lang=en Cyrille's website: http://cyrille.martraire.com Cyrille Martraire, Living Documentation: Continuous Knowledge Sharing by Design: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Documentation-Cyrille-Martraire/dp/0134689321 More on stigmergy at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergy Eric Evans, Domain Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00794TAUG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0 ArchUnit: https://www.archunit.org

There are many causes of technical debt - unknown or ill-defined requirements, business pressures to deliver fast, procedural deficiencies during development, and many more. These are often just manifestations of a larger problem - lack of understanding due to limitations of natural language and inability to predict future social and technical developments. Today we talk with Einar W. Høst, a programmer at the NRK, Norwegian public broadcasting company, about these sociolinguistic causes of technical debt. We can't predict the future, but we can adopt strategies to make our code more flexible and resilient. Einar shares with us a few of these strategies. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Einar on Twitter. Mentioned in this episode: Einar on Twitter at https://twitter.com/einarwh?lang=en Norwegian public broadcasting company NRK at https://www.nrk.no/about/ Ward Cunningham on technical debt metaphor at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqeJFYwnkjE Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractus Logico-Philosophicus at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0486404455/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bUv-Eb722FCY3 William Kent, Data and Realit: A Timeless Perspective on Perceiving and Managing Information in Our Imprecise World, 3rd Edition at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1935504215/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7Uv-EbEH73Z2J

Do you ever feel like we are entering the age of democratization of software development? Do you fear that the platforms enabling novices with little coding experience to develop software applications are commoditizing your service as a developer? Today we talk with James Augeri, a serial entrepreneur, Techstars alumni, U.S. Airforce veteran, and a founder of Jingle, where he is working on making better search experiences. James shares with us his passion for low-code platforms - software applications designed to provide a software development environment through GUI and model-driven logic, instead of hard coding. What are their advantages, and where are their limits? When are they useful, and when do they become a liability? James' answers to these questions will help you navigate this incoming disruption. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with James on LinkedIn and Twitter. Mentioned in this episode: James on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dotdotjames/ James on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DotDotJames Jingle at https://heyjingle.com WordPress at https://wordpress.org Drupal at https://www.drupal.org Zapier at https://zapier.com Workato at https://www.workato.com Bubble at https://bubble.io/ Knack at https://knack.com/ Duda at https://duda.co/

When dealing with legacy code, it is easy to forget that the pipeline to deploy that code could be just as much "legacy' as the code itself. So how do you puzzle your way through resurrecting the pipeline, and how do you handle a legacy application from a CI/CD pipeline standpoint? Today we talk with Laura Santamaria, a LogDNA's development advocate, and DevOps practitioner. She shares with us the secrets of reconstructing legacy pipelines from the available logs and data, what to do when no data is available, and how to make legacy application's pipeline more usable for the next maintainer down the line. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Laura on Twitter, and visit her website at https://speaking.nimbinatus.com. Mentioned in this episode: Laura on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nimbinatus?lang=en Laura's website at https://speaking.nimbinatus.com LogDNA at https://logdna.com Rackspace at https://www.rackspace.com

How many pairs of eyes are needed to ensure the quality of a newly written code? When do you send your code to an impartial reviewer? Is a review always necessary? Today we talk with Pranay Suresh, a Silicon Valley startup expert, a former software engineer at Tesla, and a mentor and angel investor about code reviews. Pranay gives us a few tips on how to approach code reviews, both from the perspective of a reviewer and of a coder. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Pranay on LinkedIn, and visit his website at https://pranaysuresh.com. Mentioned in this episode: Pranay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pranaysuresh/ Pranay's website: https://pranaysuresh.com Bolt at: https://bolt.com/ GitHub Pull Approve: https://www.pullapprove.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw5Ij2BRBdEiwA0Frc9aNWlyDBIpQIbPkV0-j31HN5GSiGpkcy54vbIEqa5kY7m5Or8NntPRoCH2wQAvD_BwE GitHub code review: https://github.com/features/code-review/

Switching from a monolithic architecture to microservices has become an accelerating trend these days. Many tech leaders have already successfully transitioned, and many others are planning to follow suit. But is it always wise to abandon the monolith and adopt the services approach? And if the answer is yes, how to make the transition least painful? Today we talk with Rob Zuber, a veteran of software startups, CTO of CircleCI, and a scalability expert. Rob tells us how to choose the right architecture for your business, and how to transition from one architecture to the other without abandoning already invested years of work, knowledge, and experience. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Rob on Twitter and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Rob on Twitter: https://twitter.com/z00b?lang=en Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robzuber/ CircleCI: https://circleci.com Sam Newman, Monolith to Microservices: Evolutionary Patterns to Transform Your Monolith at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1492047848/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Coding with empathy is one of the Corgibytes' core principles, underlying everything we talk about on this show. But not since 2016 have we taken a step back and dived deep into the subject of empathy, what it means, and how to practice it. Today we talk with Indi Young, a speaker, writer, and UX researcher dedicated to empowering makers and menders to know their problem space through empathy and deep understanding of people's purposes. Indi is an author of two books - Mental Models and Practical Empathy. She tells us how to bring empathy to the developer's table and understand the user's needs beyond what data reveals. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to visit Indi's website and connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Indi Young at https://indiyoung.com Indi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/indiyoung?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Indi on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/indiyoung/ Indi Young, Practical Empathy: For Collaboration and Creativity in Your Work at https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Empathy-Indi-Young-ebook/dp/B00RY9R8H8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485488787&sr=1-1&keywords=practical+empathy&pldnSite=1 Indi Young, Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior at https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/mental-models/ Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts at https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking-ebook/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1587223083&sr=8-2

When repaying debt, it helps to know how big it is. The same holds for technical debt. The problem is: how do you measure it? Today we talk with Daniel Okwufulueze, a technology leader, programming polyglot, writer, and senior engineer at dunnhumby. Daniel helps us define technical debt and tells us how to quantify it without falling into usual pitfalls while doing so. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Daniel on LinkedIn and check out his writings at Medium.com. Mentioned in this episode: Daniel on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dokwufulueze/ Daniel on media.com at https://medium.com/@DOkwufulueze Dunnhumby at https://www.dunnhumby.com M.M. Lehman, L.A. Belady, Program Evolution, Processes of Software Change at http://informatique.umons.ac.be/genlog/BeladyLehman1985-ProgramEvolution.pdf Code Climate at https://codeclimate.com

The code is predictable. Binary. It either works, or it doesn't. Working with people is much messier. Their actions and reactions are not easy to predict. Or are they? Today we talk with Claudius Mbemba, a tech leader, public speaker, and the CTO of Neu, about personality tests. How useful they are, which one to choose, is it enough to use only one, and how to use them to increase the productivity and happiness of your team. When you finish listening to the episode, visit Claudius' blog and make sure to connect with him on Twitter or LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Claudius on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mbembaships Claudius on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbembac/ Neu at https://www.neucleans.com Claudius' Blog at https://claudiusmbemba.com Myers-Briggs personality test at https://www.myersbriggs.org iMap Individual Multi-Construct Assessment Profile at https://vnacelle.com/our-services/imap/ The Four Tendencies Quiz from Gretchen Rubin: https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com/ Disc personality assessment at https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/overview/ Personalysis test at https://personalysis.wiredtothrive.com/assessment/ StrengthsFinder at https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx

To paraphrase Lewellyn Falco, when one person is programming, it is that person's best ideas that are being encoded into the software; when two people are programming together, you get the best ideas from both of them. Today we are talking with Harald Reingruber, a software engineer who specializes in visual and spatial computing, about his upcoming pair-programming tour in the US and Canada. Where is he planning to go; how will he travel; who will he pair with; and what benefits pair-programming can bring to you and your team? Be sure to check out the details about his tour at https://dev.to/harald3dcv/pair-programming-tour-invite-me-for-free-sessions-sf-bay-area-5eci. You can also connect with Harald on Twitter and invite him for a pair-programming session. Mentioned in this episode: Harald on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Harald3DCV About Harald's tour: https://dev.to/harald3dcv/pair-programming-tour-invite-me-for-free-sessions-sf-bay-area-5eci Lewellyn Falco's strong-style pairing http://llewellynfalco.blogspot.com/2014/06/llewellyns-strong-style-pairing.html

The easiest way to make your team members feel happy is to give them a sense of personal growth. By expanding their capacities, they exponentially increase the productivity of the team while strengthening their own sense of purpose. On today's episode, we chat with Kwame Thomison. After a decade building software and software teams for companies like Facebook and Asana, Kwame set out as a leadership coach and founded his company, Magnetic, to help other teams build and sustain social learning cultures. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to visit Kwame's web-site at https://magnetic-inc.com and connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter. Mentioned in this episode: Kwame on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwamethomison/ Kwame on Twitter at https://twitter.com/KwameMagnetic Magnetic at https://magnetic-inc.com Asana at https://asana.com LinkedIn Learning's 2019 Workplace Learning Report at https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report

It's never about what you don't know. It's the difference you can bring to the table that matters. Today we talk with A.J. Rendo, a theatre director, a philosophy major, and an enthusiast historian turned software developer. A.J. gives us a wild ride through his story — how can you switch from directing theatrical shows to maintaining legacy software responsible for managing billion dollars a day? What does such a shift do to your self-confidence? And how do you overcome self-doubt? When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with A.J. via Twitter, and check out some of the resources we mentioned in this episode. Mentioned in this episode: A.J. Rendo Twitter at: https://twitter.com/AjAdirondack Michael Feathers, Working Effectively with Legacy Code at https://www.amazon.com/Working-Effectively-Legacy-Michael-Feathers/dp/0131177052/ref=nodl_ Legacy Code Rocks: Defining Legacy Code with Amitai Schleier at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-legacy-code-with-amitai-schleier/id1146634772?i=1000445569710 Developer on Fire: Amitai Schleier - Safe for Programmers and Non-Programmers at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-436-amitai-schleier-safe-for-programmers-non/id1006105326?i=1000446689222 Martin Fowler at https://martinfowler.com Eric Evans, Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321125215/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SxxpEbD60E873 David Thomas, Andrew Hunt, The Pragmatic Programmer, 2nd Edition, at https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Programmer-journey-mastery-Anniversary/dp/0135957052

In a modern fast-moving business environment, we are obsessed with quantitative measurements. But without qualitative data, we might get the wrong impression and incentivize bad behavior. Today we talk with Dalia Havens, Vice-President of engineering at Netlify, about selecting appropriate metrics to measure outputs of your team, increase its productivity, and, most importantly, keep it happy. Building on her experience from Netlify, GitLab, SailPoint and IBM, she shares with us how to promote team health through positive metric-driven management. When you finish listening to the podcast, connect with Dalia on LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Dalia Havens on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/daliahavens/ Netlify at https://www.netlify.com GitLab at https://about.gitlab.com IBM at https://www.ibm.com SailPoint at https://www.sailpoint.com SonarQube at https://www.sonarqube.org Code Climate at https://codeclimate.com John Doerr, Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525536221/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_15ClEbKXXGPGQ

Most of the time, we focus on a specific aspect of software development and maintenance and try to see how these small pieces fit in the big picture of working with legacy code. Not today, however. Today we talk with Abraham Marín-Pérez, an extremely active Java developer with more than ten years of experience in various industries, about THE big picture and why legacy code rocks! Abraham is the author of Real World Maintainable Software and a co-author of Continuous Delivery in Java, a Java news editor at InfoQ, an advisor at the Meet-a-Mentor London Group, and a regular speaker at well-known international events. On top of that, he helps to run the London Java Community. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to visit Abraham's blog From Fragile to Agile! Mentioned in this episode: Abraham on Twitter: https://twitter.com/abrahammarin?lang=en Abraham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abraham-marin-perez-45b88422/?originalSubdomain=uk Real World Maintainable Software by Abraham Marín-Pérez at: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/real-world-maintainable-software/9781492042853/ Continuous Delivery in Java by Abraham Marín-Pérez and Daniel Bryant at: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/continuous-delivery-in/9781491986011/ Software Maintenance is an Anti-Pattern by Sarah Allen: https://18f.gsa.gov/2016/02/23/software-maintenance-is-an-anti-pattern/ https://www.infoq.com https://meetamentor.co.uk https://www.fromfragiletoagile.com