Shruti Kapoor: How Slack is Built and Tested, How Patents are Filed

Links

- Codecrafters (sponsor): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- Shruti on X: https://x.com/shrutikapoor08

- Slack Kit design system: https://slack.engineering/the-gradual-design-system-how-we-built-slack-kit/

- Tejas on X: https://x.com/tejaskumar_

Summary

Shruti Kapoor, a member of technical staff at Slack, discusses her role, the impact of Slack on users, and recent redesign efforts. She covers the patenting process, technical implementation of features like clips and huddles using Amazon S3 and Chime SDK, and front-end development practices at Slack.

Shruti also shares insights into Slack's interview process and compares it to Tejas' experience at Spotify, discussing the use of 'for' loops in interviews and her approach to code review. She concludes with thoughts on choosing between startups and big tech companies and the importance of diversity and inclusion in the industry.

Takeaways

1. Slack ships code frequently, even on Fridays, and rolls back quickly if issues arise.

2. The redesign aims to reduce cognitive overload and enhance user experience.

3. User feedback is crucial and actively gathered from social media, Zendesk tickets, and user research.

4. Slack's interview process includes breaks and at-home assignments, focusing on both technical skills and empathy.

5. Diversity and inclusion are vital, with efforts to ensure equal representation in technical discussions and panels.

Chapters

00:00 Shruti Kapoor

09:39 Working at Slack and Impact on Users

18:35 Redesigning Slack and User Feedback

33:00 Patenting and Inventing

42:39 Clips and Huddles

51:40 Design System and Front-end

56:02 Testing and Iteration

57:59 Career Journey and Joining Slack

01:00:38 Slack's Interview Process

01:01:38 At-Home Assignment

01:02:35 Comparison with Spotify's Interview Process

01:03:34 Technical Interview Experience at Spotify

01:05:02 Preference for Functional Programming

01:05:43 Using 'for' Loop Instead of 'reduce'

01:06:39 Approach to Code Review

01:08:35 Code Review as a Learning Experience

01:09:58 Testing Code during Code Review

01:11:10 Choosing Between Startups and Big Tech

01:11:39 Advantages and Trade-offs of Big Tech

01:16:57 Advantages and Trade-offs of Startups

01:18:47 Changing Teams in a Big Company

01:22:51 Navigating Conversations about Changing Teams

01:25:40 Role of Diversity and Inclusion in the Job

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