The Bike Shed

Our Bike Shed trio check back in with one another to follow up on some topics that caught their attention over the course of season 1. Sally covers her time working with React over the last few months and the challenges it still presents to her workflow, Joël goes back over typescripts and the benefits he’s found when debugging, and the cast reflect on the first season as a whole, what they liked, what went well and what they’d like to improve on for season 2. — You can read up on some of the topics mentioned in this episode here - Constructive vs Predictive Data - Aji’s Keynote - Aji’s Recommended Keynote from 2022 Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville, Sally Hall and Aji Slater If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Joël and Sally compare various note taking styles as they set out to find which ones work best for them. The pair break down the different ways of formatting their notes and what they’re used for, Sally explains her struggles with note taking in general and the work arounds she’s found to achieve similar results instead, and Joël provides a small update on his book as he examines the different use cases for all his notes. — Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. Read about Joël’s note taking in depth through his thoughtbot blog posts - Blog 1 - Blog 2 Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville and Sally Hall. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Joël and Sally analyse their job titles as they try to figure out exactly which borrowed labels best define their work at thoughtbot. Together they break down the components of commonly used titles such as engineer, architect and consultant to see which element reflects their work best, how they would describe their roles at thoughtbot, which industries they’d draw from if they came up with their own titles, and what does Lil Wayne have to do with all this? — For a deeper dive into today’s episode consider checking out Hillel Wayne’s post “Are we really engineers?” and Henrik Kniberg’s article on Minimal Viable Products. Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville and Sally Hall. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Joël and Sally grab a flashlight to share some scary dev stories with each other to celebrate spooky season. Sally tales the tale of the missing production database, Joël flees from some corrupted data, and each recall instances of haunted code and heart stopping moments from projects gone wrong. — Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. If you’re ever in Amsterdam consider checking out Joël’s museum recommendation. Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville and Sally Hall. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Aji gets their priorities straight as they talks with fellow thoughtboter Jared Turner about his recent article titled The President’s Doctor. Jared breaks down the thought process behind the president’s doctor and the wasted time we accrue when working on a project, where we can minimise pauses and delays in our workflows, and why watching cat videos while you wait may actually be the most productive thing you can do! — Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. Read Jared’s article to get a full breakdown of The President’s Doctor theory. Your host for this episode has been Aji Slater and was joined by fellow thoughtboter Jared Turner. If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Aji and Sally set out to crack the problems surrounding remote working as they share their thoughts on the various aspect of working from home. Together they discuss their time at the recent thoughtbot summit in Amsterdam, how they felt about working in-person again, what they took away from the experience, the best remote solutions they’ve found to recreate that in-person feeling, and what friction points about remote working still linger for them both. — Thanks to our sponsors for this episode Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way (check the link for your free gift!), and Scout Monitoring. Sign up for thoughtbot’s open summit at the end of the month. Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Sally Hall and Aji Slater If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website. Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: hosts@bikeshed.fm This has been a thoughtbot podcast. Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky © 2025 thoughtbot, inc.Support The Bike Shed

Aji and Sally dive into their personal experiences with ADHD, revealing effective systems they use for work. They discuss how coping methods evolve over time and share innovative tools like Obsidian and tactile note systems. Sally highlights the importance of avoiding multitasking and managing attention, while Aji emphasizes clear team communication. They also touch on the benefits of consulting for maintaining focus. The duo hilariously navigates the intricacies of Slack reminders, blending humor with practical advice for a productive workday.

Joël and Aji dive into the complexities of change management and data migrations. They explore the risks involved with data changes versus code changes, highlighting the permanent nature of corrupted data. Incremental migrations and the Strangler Fig pattern offer strategies for smooth transitions. The importance of planning zero-downtime changeovers is emphasized, along with handling in-flight requests during migrations. Joël shares insights from past migration experiences, while discussing innovative solutions like ID exchange endpoints and canary deploys.

Joël and Sally dive into the art of PR reviews, discussing the importance of concise descriptions and manageable sizes for code diffs. They explore the balance between human judgment and AI support in code review, emphasizing clear rationale for changes. The duo also highlights the value of readable methods and managing levels of abstraction. They caution against overly complex tests and debate the nuances of splitting work into meaningful tickets. Tune in for insights that blend technical expertise with practical advice!

Sally and Aji delve into the concept of invisible mentorship, particularly within code reviews. They discuss the nuances of providing feedback, including when to initiate conversations and how to tailor insights based on developers' experiences. The duo highlights the importance of empathy and communication styles, and the value of draft pull requests as tools for collaboration. They also touch on neurodiversity and the crucial role of context in feedback. Join them as they explore the dynamics of mentoring in tech!