Code && Beyond

In this episode amazing Ana Hernández joined us to talk about product discovery. How to find features that would delight users? How to handle failing ideas? What is MVP and how to compare it to PoC? How to collect feedback about your product? Notes: Userlytics Hotjar

Hello again! It's been a while since we released an episode. But, after a summer break, we are back on track with new ideas. Speaking of breaks, in this episode of Code && Beyond we talk about what we like to do after work to relax and recharge our batteries. What works for us and why. Listen to Pablo talk about mantrailing (training dogs to search for people) and why he likes tending to the trees in his garden more than growing tomatoes. Alex, on the other hand, shares why he loves writing software for fun, after writing software at work. Links: What is mantrailing? Fun with concrete. Just some ideas ;) --- Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com. Check other episodes of the podcast at codeandbeyond.rocks and don't forget to give a rating on Spotify ;) Music by penguinmusic from Pixabay.

In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex are joined by a very special guest: Robyn Farah, a product manager who has been working with technical teams for over 5 years. We have invited her to talk about her role and how product managers can help guide teams in the right direction. Listen as we discuss topics like: using data to prioritize tasks and features, finding a common language between software engineers and managers, abbreviations and The Cooking Chicken Method. Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com. Check other episodes of the podcast at https://codeandbeyond.rocks and don't forget to give a rating on Spotify ;) Music by penguinmusic from Pixabay.

Cloud-based software has been a part of our lives for quite some time. So much so, that even some products that currently exist might not have been possible without it. Besides obvious things like apps on our laptops, smartphones and PCs, there are cloud-connected TVs, refrigerators, keyboards and many other gadgets. While cloud-based software definitely provides many great benefits to consumers and developers, it comes at a cost that goes beyond its price tag. For consumers, there are questions about privacy and personal information, freedom of choice, necessity to be always connected. For developers, it might mean increased complexity of the things they work on. In this episode of Code && Beyond, we aren't going to fanatically blame or defend cloud computing, but try to analyze what works and doesn't work for us personally, what alternatives we use and why. When would it make sense to go cloudless?

This time around, in Code && Beyond, we share our best problem-solving tips and tricks. Listen to what works for us when hitting a roadblock while developing software: Timeboxing Using the scientific method Experimentation and prototyping Diagrams and sketching on paper Trying to explain the problem in simple words Thinking about and describing the problem, rather than the solution ...and more Check other episodes of the podcast at codeandbeyond.rocks and don't forget to rate us on Spotify ;) Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

At Code && Beyond, we are not HR experts, far from that, but we have both  been onboarded in different companies, as well as helped integrate new developers into the teams we have worked for. In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex share their experiences with: onboarding buddy systems, discovering and acquiring knowledge in your new team, configuring your new development environment, conventions, consistency, and best practices. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

As software engineers, we aren't limited to just one type of employment. Some prefer to have more flexibility and jump from one project to another focusing on short-term tasks, others value stability and like staying with the company for a long time. We could work as freelancers, consultants, and, of course, full-time employees. What's interesting, though, is that all these different types of employment have a couple myths around them. In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex discuss some of the myths and are trying to prove or bust them using their personal experience. Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com. Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

A very special guest joins Alex and Pablo in this episode of Code && Beyond. José Doval (Pepe) could be best described as a chess player and teacher who writes code for a living, two passions that have a lot more in common than one would think.  Where do coding and chess intersect? From machines that play chess to how chess skills can be applied in software engineering, this is an eye-opening discussion that you won't want to miss. Show notes: Pepe Doval on Twitter, https://twitter.com/pepellou Pepe Doval on Twitch, https://www.twitch.tv/pepellou Pepe Doval on GitHub, https://github.com/pepellou Chessable, https://www.chessable.com "How Life Imitates Chess" (book), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Life_Imitates_Chess AlphaZero is a computer program developed by artificial intelligence research company DeepMind to master the games of chess, shogi and go. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaZero MuZero is a computer program developed by artificial intelligence research company DeepMind to master games without knowing their rules. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MuZero. Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correspondence_chess Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

As software engineers, we rely on a lot of tools: editors,  IDEs, linters, version control, terminal emulators, virtual machines...  Tools we buy, download for free, or build ourselves. They define – or at least affect – the quality of what we produce. They boost our delivery speed and automate boring tasks but sometimes, we must admit, they also drive us crazy. What is clear is that, by using tools every single day, we have come to depend on them. In this episode of Code && Beyond, we talk about our favourite tools and try to define how we would build the most effective development environment with them. Starring a special guest: Juan Ibiapina, who has built one of the most advanced development environments. Notes: - Alacritty - a fast, cross-platform, OpenGL terminal emulator.  - NixOS is based on Nix, a purely functional package management system.  - fzf is a general-purpose command-line fuzzy finder.  - Juan's dotfiles. - null-ls.nvim  - Starship - the minimal, blazing-fast, and infinitely customizable prompt for any shell!  Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

On this episode of Code && Beyond, Alex and Pablo welcome a new special guest (and the latter's namesake): Pablo Hernández. A former geologist, Pablo became a software developer a few years ago. Listen as he talks about how he changed careers successfully and answers questions like: What does it take to change your career path and get into coding? Where and how to start a new career as a software developer? How to land your first job in a tech team? Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex discuss the topic of quality in software development. How much is "good enough"? How can you maintain the quality of tests in your projects? What tools can be used to automate quality assurance? Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex touch on the topic of teamwork. What is the optimal size of a team? What kind of challenges are facing many teams? What structure should have an effective team? These and other questions are discussed in this episode. Notes: Async is a composable asynchronous I/O framework for Ruby based on nio4r and timers. Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

To celebrate our 20th episode, Code && Beyond welcomed its first-ever guest: Ana Hernández. She helped us explore the topic of search engine optimization or SEO, what software developers should be aware of, how SEO specialists work together with devs and more. Notes: - Screaming Frog is a website crawler that helps you improve onsite SEO by extracting data & auditing for common SEO issues. - Schema.org is a collaborative, community activity with a mission to create, maintain, and promote schemas for structured data on the Internet, on web pages, in email messages, and beyond. - Core Web Vitals is an initiative by Google to provide unified guidance for quality signals that are essential to delivering a great user experience on the web. - Ahrefs is an All-in-one SEO toolset. - Semrush is a platform for SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC and social media marketing Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.

Just like Freddie and David say, no man asks for pressure.  There is no denying that working under pressure with an upcoming deadline in sight is stressful. However, can it also be useful? Perhaps the stress can help push you forward towards the finish line of a project? The truth is that there is no one answer, it all depends on the situation. In this episode of Code  && Beyond, Pablo and Alex explore different types of pressure while working in software development projects, including the accountability that comes from building in public and the relief of getting rewards for achievements. Notes: - gRPC-Gateway - Building in public - The Billion Dollar Code Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.

In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex share their best tips and tricks to stay focused on the task at hand. Listen as they recount their experiences and discuss focus tools like the Pomodoro Technique, meditation, and even crazy time-tracking in great detail. Notes: - "Working from orbit" - Session helps you focus and be more mindful by blocking distractions and tracking your progress. - The Pomodoro® Technique - Headspace Any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.

Writing tests is like flossing your teeth: everyone agrees it's great  for your health, but not everyone does it right (or even at all). Nobody  denies that it can sometimes be tricky. It requires time, a good  understanding of the context, and access to the right tools. In this  episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex delve deep into the  topic of testing in software development, discussing not only why and  how, but also common mistakes, and solutions. Let's see how it goes 😃 Notes: - Armada is a science fiction novel by Ernest Cline. - Dune is a 1965 science-fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert. Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.

In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex talk about  their experiences with long and short-term planning as software  developers. Also quite unexpectedly featuring some larger topics such as  freedom and how life goals can become distorted once you start chasing someone else's dreams.   Notes: - NeoVim - telescope.nvim is a highly extendable fuzzy finder over lists. Built on the latest awesome features from neovim core. Telescope is centered around modularity, allowing for easy customization. Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.

On Code && Beyond, we recently touched  on the hot topic of relational and NoSQL databases. To continue with the  trendy themes, this time Alex and Pablo discuss monolith and  microservice architectures. What are the cons and pros of these approaches? Does it make sense to start with microservices in a greenfield project? Notes: - Syncthing is a continuous file synchronization program. - NeoVim 0.5+ (Lua stuff). - Practical Microservices.   Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.

In the 14th episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex talk about  task management. Listen to them discuss their experiences with GTD  (Gettings Things Done) with Things and Todoist, Kanban with Trello, pen and paper with Bullet Journal, and Passion Planner.   Notes: - Passion Planner - Good notes - Bullet Journal - Notion - Trello - Todoist - Dynalist - Things - Nirvana Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.

In this special episode, Pablo and Alex talk about themselves.  Learn about their life, their career, their hobbies, and much more.  Find out things like: How we decided to become software developers How Pablo got a job in London speaking very little English How a book changed Alex's whole life All of this and more in the 13th episode of Code && Beyond. Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@protonmail.com or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by John Yasut from Pixabay.