The Essence of Shipping Code
Plus, what seniors software engineers do at Amazon, more on Stack Overflow's traffic collapse, an A+ take on continuous merge, and more.
On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, host Dan Lines speaks with Mike Hamrah, CTO at Flowcode. Together, the two detail the fundamental responsibility of developers and tech leaders: shipping code.
Mike shares a candid view of the industry's current state, lamenting how the focus on code shipping is getting lost amidst the complexities of agile methodologies, stand-up meetings, and sprint planning. He urges developers and leaders alike to recenter their conversations on the essence of their roles, serving as a call to action in the episode and reminding listeners of the importance of understanding what code needs to be written and the purpose it serves, all while avoiding detrimental practices that can hinder long-term development success.
Dan and Mike end the episode with a conversation on goalsetting and OKRs, translating classic business goals into engineering execution and emphasizing the need to turn general business goals into concrete, actionable plans.
Episode Highlights:
(2:20) Mike's start in engineering
(9:00) Pursuing projects you're passionate about
(14:05) Shipping code is being abstracted away
(20:55) No engineer wants to be a code monkey
(26:30) Don't be afraid to refactor
(28:00) Goalsetting & OKRs
(32:15) Crafting and setting business goals
(38:20) What's going on at Flowcode
The Download
The Download is engineering leadership content we’re reading, watching, and attending that we think you might find valuable.
1. The Difference of Being a Senior Software Engineer at Amazon vs. Wise
In our industry, the same job title can mean drastically different responsibilities based on the company you find yourself in.
The same way we pride ourselves on getting insights into how elite engineering teams work and think,
uses his considerable sway to get clarity on what individual engineers actually do at influential companies. This article comparing senior software engineers at Wise and at Amazon has great takeaways, even if you never send them an application.
2. Inside the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad 18 months at Stack Overflow
Last week, we told you about the launch of Stack Overflow’s new AI. This week, we want to tell you about why Stack Overflow needs it to work.
has done a stellar job at breaking down how what was once the most vital site in the daily lives of engineers has seen a massive drop in influence.
3. A Case Study in Continuous Merge
The broader tech world is in its year of efficiency. In the world of platform engineers, this year is about completing the promise of CI/CD with continuous merge. DevCycle has put their thoughts on the subject down in a great blog.
Read: Everything You Need to Know About Continuous Merge
This week’s Download is sponsored by “The Continuous Merge Guide to Merge Standards: A Free Guide To The Merge Standards That Empower Policy-As-Code In Elite Orgs.”
The Continuous Merge Guide to Merge Standards covers where CI/CD falls short, the importance of establishing merge standards on your team, and how LinearB workflow automation can help.
Inside you'll find:
A breakdown of Continuous Merge philosophy and its many benefits
13 of our favorite merge standards that enforce quality and boost efficiency
Tactical advice on how to implement merge standards on your team
4. Save This Infographic Created by the DI Community
A few days ago, we sent you the blog “3 Proven Ways To Improve Dev Focus.” In under 24 hours, a member of the DI community, Pamela Iskra Mejía Estrada, turned around & made it into an infographic 👇
5. Go BADge-crazy
Never doubt the power of recognizing your team’s work—and doing it with humor. Combine those two things and you get BADges. Funny, quirky badges that recognize that development is at its core a human pursuit.
Check it out: BADges
Nice tidbit on refactoring. I thought that was a really good way to frame a discussion that so many teams try to avoid.