The New Best Practices

Git is essential to our work as software developers, but it can be a tough technology to interact with. In this episode we discuss things that are good to know, and good to teach our team, so that we can all play happily together in version-control wonderland.

How do we keep track of requirements? We talk about user stories, test cases and more. How can we know that we have completed a particular feature?

How do we deliver software? We talk about git branching strategies, as well as automated and non-automated testing and deployment.

In this episode we talk about learning new things. We discuss what got us interested in software in the first place, and how those original motivations still color how we approach learning. Should we learn new things just because we read about them on Hacker News? Should we dive deep and become an expert in a field, or is it just more fun to do new and different things?

Should your company put all of your code in one repository? What are the advantages and disadvantages of one vs. many source code repositories?

In this episode, we talk about version control systems, pull requests, asynchronous work, automated checks, and accepting criticism. We also cover all possible parts of code review - early pull requests, pre-review comments, diff review, and manual testing.

How often should you leave code comments? Is it necessarily a failure to express yourself clearly in the code? Are code comments the best way to communicate with your team? Are your comments helpful, or just cathartic?

Are you building custom software? Are you adding extra features to work tool? Maybe You Arent Gonna Need It. In this episode we debate using off the shelf software vs. building your own. Is your company actually selling software? What is your business model? We also discuss unnecessary complexity in software and the impact this can have on quality.

What are points in Software Developement? Join our hosts as we discuss how points can both useful and harmful when developing. In this episode we cover what points are, their relationship to velocity and how they help with estimates.