Technical Skills

Navigating Uncomfortable Discussions When Employees Leave

Employee turnover is common in the fast-paced world of technology, and managers must navigate uncomfortable discussions when employees leave to maintain a positive work environment. This involves understanding flight risks, building trust and open communication, encouraging internal mobility, developing soft skills and leadership mentality, identifying and growing leaders, being a supportive manager, and providing practical training. By implementing these strategies, managers can effectively manage employee turnover and ensure the success of their teams.

The Power of 'foo_*': The Art of Balancing Flow and Clarity when Naming Things

The article discusses the challenge of naming things in coding and proposes an incremental naming method as a solution. The method suggests starting with temporary, functional names and gradually refining them as the understanding of the system evolves. This approach allows for maintaining flow and momentum while ensuring code quality. The transition from temporary to meaningful names is guided by considering the core purpose of the component, its fit in the overall system, and its descriptive nature. The temporary names also serve as indicators for refactoring and code review. The article concludes that striking a balance between flow and code quality is essential, and "Good Enough" in the moment can lead to "Great" in the long run.

A 4-Step Structure for Improving Your Pull Request Review Process for Better Code Delivery

The text discusses the importance of providing context in pull requests (PRs) to improve the PR review process and code development speed. It suggests that a strong PR should include sections such as an overview of the problem the change solves, the context for understanding the impact of the change, instructions for evaluating and replicating the change, and additional information like screenshots or documentation. By providing this context, reviewers can better understand the purpose and impact of the change, leading to more effective and efficient reviews.

Crafting Actionable Status Updates: A Guide for Optimal Project Visibility

In the world of software engineering, effective communication is just as important as writing code. One crucial aspect of communication is the status update, which often falls short of providing the necessary insights. Instead of simply reporting completed tasks, an actionable status update should give a comprehensive picture of the project's progress, including potential risks, estimated delivery time, and resource requirements. It should also focus on the significance of completed tasks and the remaining work. By adopting this model of status updates, organizations can promote transparency and proactive problem-solving, leading to better project visibility and increased efficiency.

Balancing Speed and Quality: Best Practices for Engineering Leaders

This article discusses the challenges faced by engineering leaders in balancing speed and quality in software development. It emphasizes the importance of finding the right balance between shipping fast and maintaining high-quality standards to ensure customer satisfaction and team efficiency. The article explores the need for quality, the role of engineering leaders in addressing the challenge, the debate on quality assurance, addressing front-end testing challenges, implementing a retro process, and concludes that prioritizing customer satisfaction and team efficiency is essential for long-term success in software development.