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Joshua Paling
Joshua Paling

10 Followers

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Aug 27, 2018

Breaking Prod

When I’ve broken production apps, stakeholders have often asked: “What can we do to ensure this doesn’t happen again?” The relationship between development speed and bugs looks something like this: Rushed pace & poor testing means many bugs. Slow down, and at first you’ll drastically reduce bugs. But slow down…

Software Development

1 min read

Breaking Prod
Breaking Prod
Software Development

1 min read


Dec 22, 2016

Data imports done right

I’ve been bitten more than once by data imports consuming an unreasonable amount of time in software projects. Here are some lessons. Know what to expect The client (or whoever is sourcing the data) will give you poor quality data from disparate sources, and they’ll drip-feed it over a period of way-too-long. Each version…

Programming

5 min read

Programming

5 min read


Sep 28, 2016

How to make fixed price work

Customers want fixed price. Here’s how to make it a fair deal for yourself. I recently read the tweet-storm below. It continues with: Unless you’ve done the job 20 times, and can estimate how long it will take with a high-degree of certainty, fixed-price is suboptimal. Like the over-under…

Freelancing

5 min read

Freelancing

5 min read


Aug 28, 2016

Questions for potential employers

Unexpected circumstances have meant I’ve done two job hunts in recent months. I usually scribble down a handful of questions to ask or consider prior to each interview. Here they are so I can remember and refine them over time. What does the business do? Who’s the target market? What’s…

Tech

2 min read

Tech

2 min read


Mar 22, 2016

What makes a good talk?

After Ruby Conf AU, I came away noticing a few common traits of good talks: Excellent delivery On stage, you’re not just speaking, you’re performing. Turn the enthusiasm up a few notches from what you’d use in a face-to-face conversation. Don’t just stand behind the podium and read. A story Don’t present points. A…

Public Speaking

1 min read

Public Speaking

1 min read


Feb 15, 2016

Perfectionism is a disease

In year 10, my art teacher stopped me. “Stop! You’re a perfectionist! And perfectionism is a disease!” Having been praised for my perfectionism all my life, I dismissed her advice. It took more than a decade for me to realise just how right she was. Perfectionism exists in maths tests and multiple choice comprehensions. It doesn’t exist in real life, and it certainly doesn’t exist in business or software. “Perfect” is the good-enough trade off between countless goals pulling in different directions.

Self Improvement

1 min read

Self Improvement

1 min read


Feb 15, 2016

Getting noticed

I took my own advice at Ruby Conf and introduced myself to several of the better known speakers. One thing I asked each was: what is the common trait between yourself and others who are ‘famous within the community’? Interestingly, none thought it was a matter of being significantly smarter, or better at programming. All told me essentially the same thing: it’s a matter of fearlessly and repeatedly putting yourself out there in public, and providing as much value as possible to the community.

Programming

1 min read

Programming

1 min read


Feb 15, 2016

Keep the company of the wise

In India, one of the top recommendations for young yogis aspiring to enlightenment is “keep the company of the wise”. I gave up on enlightenment a while ago, but the same applies to any aspiration. Sometimes there’s a tendency — at conferences, meetups, and in the work place— to want to stick to your own crowd. I’m a junior, I should stick with other juniors. Actively fight that urge. Find the best people. Find the ones with the most wisdom to share. Then pull them off that pedestal, because you should never have put them up there in the first place, and talk to them.

Software Development

1 min read

Software Development

1 min read


Feb 4, 2016

Three rules for good software

I was once told three rules for good writing: Stern logic Clear connections Utter simplicity The same apply to writing software. Forget design patterns and best practices — they’re a means to an end, not an end in themselves. If your code adheres to these three rules, it’s good code. No matter what anyone says.

Programming

1 min read

Programming

1 min read

Joshua Paling

Joshua Paling

10 Followers

Software engineer / engineering manager.

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