Systems Thinking for Developers
Here’s my keynote for 2021, a sequel to Camerata. Follow this link to the video, abstract, and references over at: systemsthinking.dev.
yargs –do-things-right
Sometimes the obvious, default API is never what you want. That’s when you have to memorize the “do things right” flag. For yargs, the command-line argument parser for Node.js, specify options and subcommands like this: There. Next time I can cut and paste this instead of scouring the internet for how to make yargs do …
Those pesky pull request reviews
No one wants to review pull requests. This is a sign of a deeper problem than “people aren’t following the process”
One key trick to becoming a wizard developer
Why dig into problems that you could work around? Three reasons: one about my work, one about the team, and one about me.
When costs are nonlinear, keep it small.
Batching work is more efficient … until cost rises nonlinearly with batch size. Then smaller batches are the most efficient. So don’t delay maintenance!
10x developer: work->knowledge->work
The most productive developer on a team is usually the one with the most knowledge of the system. Of the code, the business domain, the other software this code interacts with, and the people in the organization who can help. How did they get that knowledge? By working on the system. Weinberg remarks that when …
10x engineers: the Purple Developer
One way to be a 10x developer is to write the system, so you know more about it that anyone else. I call this person the “purple developer.”
Nonlinear increases in complexity make unification excruciating.
TL;DR: When you want to build one platform for all your lines of businesses: stop. Don’t. Build systems for each instead. Keep the integrated parts as small as possible. This minimizes costs, while enabling change. A global, unified platform to support all our lines of business! Doesn’t that sound glorious? CIOs puff out their chests. …
Read moreNonlinear increases in complexity make unification excruciating.
UX request: Tell, don’t hide
Y’know how sometimes a particular logged-in user isn’t authorized for some option, so you don’t show it to them? Don’t do that to people. Tell me it’s there, tell me I can’t do it, tell me who can. This is what happens when you hide it: Dave and I exist in different worlds, and we …
Every level is different
I wanted it to be turtles all the way down. (where turtles are objects, or functions)
But it isn’t…