Latest Posts - Page 87 of 192

May 19, 2020August 10, 2020 Become a Better Developer

Using a Pause As a Launching Pad

There are points in our careers that are down-times. We have less to do or maybe even some time period that leaves us with the freedom to do what we choose. When we hit such a time we can use the pause as a launching pad for new or better things. These may be new goals or simply completing a task that has been on our plate far too long. Take Time To Breath And Plan The biggest value we get from using a pause as a launching pad is that we have time to think. We can plan out our steps, assess the required effort, and move forward with confidence in realistic goals. This time can also allow us... Read more

May 15, 2020May 6, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Turning Extra Effort Into A Better Career – Season Review

A better career has ben the underlying topic for this season. As we bring this season to a close, it seems like a perfect time to hit the high points. We revisit some tips that are important to utilize in making that extra effort. It takes time and effort to become a better developer, so productivity is a key indicator of long-term success. Stacking Up Effort Our day job, side hustle, and career improvement work will have overlap. That is part of becoming a better developer. Therefore, we can take advantage of where overlap occurs to help us advance in multiple areas at one time. We can work on these areas in parallel at times. That is an essential consideration... Read more

May 13, 2020May 5, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Surge Effort and Just In Time Work

The steady effort we put in to become a better developer can be redirected when needed. This surge effort can provide us the extra steam we need to get a project done. Likewise, it can provide a steady flow of effort that allows us to avoid the usual ebb and flow of IT work. All of that can lead to less exhaustion, more productivity, and a generally better mood. Happy and healthy are traits most of us prefer to have. The Surge Effort There are horror stories about the “pointy-haired boss” that decides to cancel vacations, weekends, and even going home to hit a deadline. While these are sometimes a reality, it is more common to be asked to work... Read more

May 12, 2020February 21, 2020 Integrate Testing Into Your Development Flow Testing

Selenium In TestNG: Taking Your Web Tests To The Next Level

Welcome to the next episode in our new series “Integrating testing into your development flow”. Today we are going to be looking at “Selenium In TestNG: Taking Your Web Tests To The Next Level “. In our last presentation, we went over how to expand on the logging and reporting tools provided by testNG to generate more meaningful reports. In addition, we covered several examples on how to write your own custom logger and reporters. So that you can create your own custom HTML and XML reports that make sense to the end-user. Today we’re going to take our tests to the next level by looking at using Selenium in TestNG. Specifically, how Selenium in TesgNG can be used to... Read more

May 11, 2020May 5, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Giving Back And Building a Brand

We have often looked at ways to provide content as part of a side-hustle. Thus, we will skip that topic this time around. Instead, let’s look at giving back and providing things for free. However, before you move to the next article, we will focus on how free to others does not mean it lacks value for you. We might even see situations where an altruistic approach is very beneficial to us and our brand. Start With Giving Back Before we look at the benefit of this type of action, we should focus on what we are doing. The goal for tasks like we discuss in this episode is to share our experience with others. This process is how we... Read more

May 8, 2020April 26, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Mastering Skills In Under Ten Thousand Hours

There is a well-known book that describes mastery of skills as needing ten thousand hours. The ideas put forth in the book have many arguments for and against, but that is for another time. In this episode, we look at ways for mastering skills in under the ten thousand hours mentioned in the Outliers book. This theory is critical for our daily exercises in getting better because we do want to reach mastery at some point. Complementary Skills We can assume that there is some amount of hours typically needed to master a skill. Likewise, many skills are related in ways that allow us to learn multiple skills in less time. The whole hours required are less than the sum... Read more