Tech Done Right Table XI
-
- Technologies
The Tech Done Right podcast is a show by and for people who care about what they build. We don't just build software, we build teams, companies, careers, and communities.
Each episode features host Noel Rappin talking to interesting people in the tech community about building something the right way. We’re not just going to give you our thoughts on the topic, but tools, processes, or references that you can use immediately to build better software and communities.
-
Episode 72: Teaching Testing and Design
Teaching Testing and Design
Guests
Betsy Haibel: CTO at Cohere. Blogs at betsyhaibel.com.
Avdi Grimm: Head Chef at RubyTapas. Blogs at avdi.codes.
Penelope Phippen: Works at Google, makes Rubyfmt, helps make RSpec, and is on the board of Ruby Central. Blog.
Summary
After the discussions on testing and design in episodes 68 and 69, I had so much I still wanted to talk about in testing, design, and teaching testing and design. So I convened a panel with previous Tech Done Right Guests Avdi Grimm, Betsy Haibel, and Penelope Phippen to help me think through all these topics. I was very happy to have all of them on the show, and I think it's a great conversation. Stay tuned until the very end for an update about the show.
Related Episodes with These Guests
Avdi: 20 Years of Web Development, Ruby Tapas and Avoiding Code
Betsy: Diverse Agile Teams, How Set Design Can Inform Software Architecture
Penelope: Code Style and Community, Back in the Testing Weeds, In The Testing Weeds
Notes
00:50 - Previously On: Re: Testing
Pragmatic Programmer at 20 with Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt
Teaching and Learning with Sandi Metz
02:53 - Testing and Design
99 Bottles of OOP
05:43 - TDD
Test Driven Development
Do We Need Constants
09:36 - Testing, But Not Developer Testing + Sliming The Test
WikiWikiWeb
13:41 - Why + How Did You Learn TDD?
20:24 - TDD: Not a Robust Process
24:19 - Rails + Unit Testing
27:41 - Is TDD really dead?
35:06 - Keeping Code In Your Head
37:32 - Approaching the Testing and Design of Code
38:59 - What would convince you to stop doing TDD?
Special Guests: Avdi Grimm, Betsy Haibel, and Penelope Phippen. -
Episode 71: Supporting Innovation With Mike Todasco
Supporting Innovation With Mike Todasco
Guest
Mike Todasco: Senior Director of Innovation at PayPal
Summary
Today on the show we have Mike Todasco, the Senior Director of Innovation at PayPal. We talk about what innovation means at a company, and how to encourage innovation both if you are a PayPal sized company and if you aren’t. Mike also shares some information about PayPal’s internal innovation tournament and how they offer incentives for innovation.
Notes
01:38 - What does the Senior Director of Innovation at PayPal do?
02:32 - Why should companies innovate?
04:29 - Who should be innovating?
08:26 - Assisting and Guiding in Innovation
11:15 - Introducing Innovation to Companies and Teams: Vulnerability
16:06 - Encouraging Innovation
18:44 - The Concept of Global Innovation Tournaments
24:34 - Giving People Opportunity and Exposure
28:40 - Innovation Tokens
30:59 - Innovation For Small Companies
32:39 - Interesting Innovations
Special Guest: Mike Todasco. -
Episode 70: How To Buy Software With Ashley Quinto Powell
How To Buy Software With Ashley Quinto Powell
Guest
Ashley Quinto Powell: Director of Business Development at Table XI.
Summary
Today on the show, we have Ashley Quinto Powell. Ashley and I have run a workshop together called How to Buy Software aimed at people who want to buy custom software but aren't sure what the process will be like. In this episode, we try to compress a four-hour workshop into a 45-minute podcast. Ashley will talk about what to expect from the sales process and then Ashley will interview me about what it's like to work with a development team. I hope you like it.
Notes
01:40 - How do you buy software?
02:47 - Common Misconceptions When Starting the Process
04:20 - Preparing for a Conversation About Buying Software
06:42 - Terminology To Know
Offshore / Nearshore
Agile / Waterfall
Time and Materials Contract / Fixed Contract
16:08 - Interacting with a Development Team
18:28 - Estimation
28:16 - Signs Things Are Going Well / Red Flags
Special Guest: Ashley Quinto Powell. -
Episode 69: Teaching and Learning with Sandi Metz
Teaching and Learning with Sandi Metz
Guest
Sandi Metz:: Author of Practical Object-Oriented Development in Ruby and 99 Bottles of OOP. sandimetz.com
Summary
Today on the show we have Sandi Metz, author of Practical Object Oriented Design in Ruby and co-author of 99 bottles of OOP. I’ve literally been trying to get Sandi as a guest since we started recording the show and I’m thrilled that we’ve finally been able to connect. We talk about OOP and TDD, maybe going down a test-driven rabbit hole for a while, and also talk about what it’s like to teach and coach about OOP and TDD. I enjoyed this talk very much and I think you will, too.
Notes
02:46 - Keeping Up With Tech
04:58 - Object-Oriented Design
09:53 - Why do we write tests?
17:53 - Teaching Yourself TDD
22:11 - Procedures and Patterns
34:07 - CI
Jim Weirich
39:23 - Approaching TDD
44:49 - What should we be doing as a community to share knowledge?
The Magic Tricks of Testing
Special Guest: Sandi Metz. -
Episode 68: Pragmatic Programmer at 20 with Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt
Pragmatic Programmer at 20 with Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt
Guests
Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt: Authors of The Pragmatic Programmer and publishers of The Pragmatic Bookshelf.
Summary
I’m very excited to have Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt on the show today. Dave and Andy are the authors of the Pragmatic Programmer, which has a 20th anniversary edition that is out now, and they are the publishers of the Pragmatic Bookshelf, where they have (full disclosure) published my books a time or two. We talk about what’s changed in the new version, what being a Pragmatic Programmer means, whether there’s still a role for tech books, and how to make automated testing pragmatic. Somehow I avoid telling the slightly embarrassing story about the bad impression I made the first time I met Dave. Enjoy.
Notes
02:52 - Revisiting the Book 20 Years Later and What Has Changed/Hasn’t Changed
06:41 - What it Means to be a Pragmatic Programmer
08:39 - Software Development as a Team Sport
12:56 - Extreme Programming Explained and The Pragmatic Programmer; Similarities and Differences
Extreme Programming Explained
Agile Manifesto
22:09 - Finding The Pragmatic Programmer Voice/Tone
24:55 - Roles for Dead-Tree Technical Books
30:36 - How To Make Automatic Testing Pragmatic
Special Guests: Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas. -
Episode 67: Civic Software with Alex Pedersen and Abhi Nemani
Civic Software with Alex Pedersen and Abhi Nemani
Guests
Alex Pedersen: Co-founder of Polco.
Abhi Nemani Founder of EthosLabs.
Summary
This week, we have Alex Pedersen of Polco and Abhi Nemani of EthosLabs. They're both involved in various uses of technology to increase civic engagement. We'll talk about how technology can improve the public sector and why technologists should be interested in public sector work.
Notes
02:09 - Technology and Civic + Political Engagement
06:14 - Risks of Making the Government More Technological
10:01 - Balancing Conversations Amongst Citizens
12:18 - Building and Designing Software for Government vs Commercial Use
14:39 - Getting Involved in Government, Civic Engagement, and the Public Sector
Code For America
Chi Hack Night
Abhi's Course Notes in Civic Tech
Special Guests: Abhi Nemani and Alex Pederson.