Posted on Become a Better Developer

Embracing and Making the Most of the Agile Process

There is a lot that has been written about the Agile process.  Thus, it has been a hot topic that all the cool kids are discussing for several years.  While there is nothing wrong about that, there are still a lot of aspects of Agile to embrace outside of the buzz.  This is a software development process that can improve productivity, quality, and reduce risk.  It is not a silver bullet.  Nevertheless, we can find many ways for it to help us build better solutions. Improve Velocity With the Agile Process The critical part of the Agile Manifesto is not a reduction of paperwork.  It is a reduction in things that matter less.  We have often mentioned the Pareto principle... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Lessons Learned From Consulting

Learning New Tech Skills On The Job

An IT career demands that we include learning new tech skills as part of our regular routine.  This requirement often leads to a lot of time spent on career development.  However, there are ways to make progress on this goal in our daily work.  Thus, allowing us to kill two birds with one stone as the saying goes. Learning New Tech Skills – Startups The best situation for drinking from the firehose is a startup.  You will have more to do than you can handle and that equates to learning.  Yes, it is not the easiest way to advance your career.  On the other hand, it may be the fastest way to get ahead.  There is a reason so many Internet... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Lessons Learned From Consulting

Playing Your Professional Role as An Employee or Consultant – Career Intangibles

We all have seen situations in our career where we are asked to play a role.  The role is sometimes a broader one than we are used to.  However, we can also be asked to play a role that is only a piece of what we can provide.  In either case, we need to fulfill the desired role and add value without overstepping our boundaries.  Employees are often given more freedom in this area which can make a large challenge as a consultant. Playing Your Professional Role Is About Expectations Every member of a team (whether in sports, business or otherwise) is expected to play a role.  That is the function of a team.  We bring together disparate skills and... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Lessons Learned From Consulting

Best Practices For Travel and Related Expenses

A side hustle does not preclude travel.  Thus, sooner or later you will face the question of how to handle travel and related expenses.  You might not have to wait.  Your employer may send you away for your day job and you will be faced with the same challenges.  Where large companies often have highly detailed processes, procedures, and limits for travel, smaller ones often do not.  Therefore, we are left to use our common sense and set expectations. Common Travel and Related Expenses We have to eat and expect a place to stay along with transportation when we travel.  These are all standard expenses.  However, we can cover these needs on the cheap, or we can live like a... Read more

performance tuning
Posted on Become a Better Developer

Performance Tuning Tips and Tricks for Any Code

One of the recurring tasks I see inside projects is performance tuning.  The focus is on a database or queries at times but more often it is a code cleanup.  We can dig into someone else’s (or our own) code after it has gotten unusable.  However, we can also follow the best practices and make it easier on ourselves. Performance Tuning Loops The largest area of tuning opportunities is always going to be in the code that is repeated most often.  Thus, loops and similar code constructs should be our first step in improving speed or reducing memory.  There are a number of best practices to consider when reviewing the looped code.  These suggestions include pulling everything out of the... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Lessons Learned From Consulting

Consulting Intangibles – Building Relationships

An excellent measure of long-term success is how much your customers like you.  Thus, building relationships are a critical part of your job.  You may have the skills to be able to stay busy without the “personal touch.”  However, life will be simpler when you create some advocates along the way. Building Relationships Organically Your primary focus should be solving problems.  When you do this, it is hard for people to not be positively biased towards you.  We have a hard time disliking those that remove our pain points.  On the other hand, a doctor with a bad bedside manner may end up being an alternative decision rather than a primary physician.  The good news is that your normal schedule... Read more