Naming things

According to Phil Karlton there are only two hard things in computer science: Cache invalidation and naming things. We’re currently experiencing how important the latter one is. Finding the right name for something and then sticking to that name.

Joel score +1

From time to time, I check our Joel Score - partly because I see the need to improve on the topics listed there, partly because it reminds me why we do some things we do.

Confessions of a Ruby convert

I have been developing applications in Java for the last 15 years. I know the language, I know the API, I know all the important frameworks and at one point I even felt arrogant enough to talk about the Java internals at conferences.

But since starting at BetterDoc I’m using Ruby as my main programming language. I still try to sneak in a little bit of Java here and there, but Ruby is what I’m doing most of the time.

It feels a little bit like learning how to crawl again after having been an athlete. It’s a mixture between excitement, frustration, and pure embarrassment.

The story I want to write about in this post falls into the last category: pure embarrassment.

Repairing the car while driving it

One of the hardest things you can do in IT is replacing a piece of software that has both 1) significant complexity and is 2) currently in use.

So, how can you do this?

Don't be afraid to learn a foreign language

Like many other professions software engineering has its own language, its own vocabulary and its own conventions. However as software engineers in order to do our job well we need to collaborate with people outside of our own profession - which means we have to find a way to communicate efficiently so that we all understand each other.

DDD Sessions

Observation: when doing a DDD session with someone who is using a system you want to change or replace, you will discover that both language and assumed constraints will follow the mental model people have of the current system.

Open space offices are a nightmare

After having switched my working environment from a large open space office with maybe 30 people sitting in more or less close proximity to a small “classical” office with 5 people I cannot help but wonder who ever got the idea that open space offices may be a good idea for development work (if not any type of work).

What is a digital product company?

Since I’ve been talking a lot about the digital product lately, here’s my definition of what a digital #product is in a #service company (aka the product), versus a people-lead service (aka the operations or OPs).

Complexity is creepy

I admire people that are able to coin terms that other people can attach their own thinking to. Jason Fried seems to have that capability.

Why having good working equipment is not a "nice to have"

As a software engineer having the right equipment (a powerful machine and high quality peripherals) is not simply a “nice to have” but an essential requirement. These are your main tools with which you’re doing your job - and everyone should want you to do that job as best as possible.