Building useful software requires more than just knowing how to write code. It demands curiosity to understand the problem which the software is supposed to resolve. It also requires the willingness to understand the people - not only those who will use it but also those who are building this software with you!  Today we talk with Dawn Ahukanna, the design principal and front-end architect at IBM. She leads an integrated and consistent user-focused design across enterprise software focused on data analytics and cognitive user experiences. She shares the methods and the tools she uses when figuring out how people work - an essential piece of knowledge if you want to create the best user experience.  When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Dawn on Twitter and LinkedIn.  Mentioned in this episode: Dawn on Twitter at https://twitter.com/dawnahukanna Dawn on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnahukanna Dawn’s website at http://dahukanna.net 

Working together in a team requires a lot of emotional intelligence, adaptability, and empathy. Bringing two teams working together after acquisition and a merger might seem like requiring superpowers on top of that.  Today we talk with Matt Dixon, the founder, and CEO of Front Range Systems. Matt is a tech executive helping newly acquired technology businesses create a unified culture within their workplaces. Matt gives us a sneak-peak into his practices of helping teams develop a growth mindset, adapt to new technological challenges, and become high-performing.  When you finish listening to the episode, check out the Front Range Systems website at https://frontrangesystems.com, and connect with Matt on Twitter. 

TypeScript has been around for quite a while, and its popularity speaks for itself.  It has never been more important to understand how to gradually and sustainably shift to TypeScript within the existing code-base.  Today we talk with Sam Lanning, an independent software contractor in the humanitarian sector with many years of experience at GitHub and Semmle. Sam's vast experience in using TypeScript to speed up coding, eliminate debugging, and reduce technical debt helps us see the benefits of this popular programming language and foresee how to transition to it.  When you finish listening to the episode, find Sam on GitHub and connect with them on Twitter and LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Sam on Github at https://github.com/s0  Sam at LinkedIn at https://uk.linkedin.com/in/smlanning  Sam at Twitter at https://twitter.com/samlanning  TypeScript at https://www.typescriptlang.org 

We often use real-life metaphors to make software development concepts more approachable and understandable, especially for the people just entering the field. Sometimes, however, the reverse approach could help a seasoned coder to cope with the real world.  Today we talk with Casey Watts, the author of Debugging Your Brain, a clear applied psychology, and a concise self-help book. The human brain is buggy, just as any legacy code is. Casey tells us about techniques that can help us refactor our thinking, speed up our thought processes and ultimately debug our brains.  When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Casey on LinkedIn and Twitter, visit his website at https://www.caseywatts.com and https://www.debuggingyourbrain.com, and check out his book Debugging Your Brain.  Mentioned in this episode: Casey on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywatts/ Casey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/heycaseywattsup Debugging Your Brain at https://www.amazon.com/Debugging-Your-Brain-Casey-Watts/dp/0578755033? Debugging Your Brain Website at https://www.debuggingyourbrain.com Casey’s Website at https://www.caseywatts.com Cognitive distortions at https://www.debuggingyourbrain.com/distortions/

Many programming concepts seem too complex and intimidating to outsiders. That is perhaps the main reason why writing code remains such an exclusive profession, even in the age where virtually everything depends on a written code! But does everything have to be so complicated?  Today, we talk with Sy Brand, Microsoft C++ Developer Advocate, and a specialist for compilers and debuggers for embedded accelerators. Sy is also known for their YouTube Channel - Computer Science with Sy's Cats - where they explain programming and computer science concepts with household objects and cats. After watching only a few of Sy's videos, you will feel that programming can, and should, be much more approachable and inclusive.  When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Sy on Twitter, start following their YouTube channel, and check out one of their live coding sessions at Twitch.  Mentioned in this episode: Sy Brand on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TartanLlama Computer Science with Sy’s Cats at https://www.youtube.com/c/SyBrandPlusCats/featured  Sy Brand on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/tartanllama Ivan Čukić, Functional Programming in C++ at https://www.amazon.com/Functional-Programming-programs-functional-techniques/dp/1617293814   Writing Error Messages for Humans at https://www.flutterwave.design/writing-error-messages-for-humans/ 

Imagine if you could perform static analysis, find bugs, and enforce code standards in more than seventeen languages with a single tool. Imagine if you could scan your code with more than 1,000 community pre-written rules and if you could easily add your own rules to match your code perfectly. Imagine if you could then flag the issues and get results in pull requests, Slack, or anywhere else without as much as a click of a mouse.  Well, it appears that you can do all of this and more. Today we talk with Isaac Evans, an MIT alumnus, a former computer scientist at the US Department of Defence, and a founder and CEO of r2c. His company, r2c, stands behind Semgrep, a lightweight, offline, open-source, static analysis tool that profoundly improves software security and reliability to safeguard human progress.  When you finish listening to the episode, see how Sengrep can improve your code at https://semgrep.dev, or visit https://r2c.dev if you need enterprise solutions for large businesses.  Mentioned in this episode: Isaac Evans on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacevans/ Semgrep at https://semgrep.dev r2c at https://r2c.dev Brian Foote, Joseph Yoder, The Selfish Class at http://www.laputan.org/selfish/selfish.html Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene at https://www.amazon.com/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary-Landmark-Science-dp-0198788606/dp/0198788606/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Many IT industry giants (including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Uber, Airbnb, and Twitter) employ gigantic monorepos to scale build systems and version control software. Although only recently named, monorepos have been around for several decades.  Today we talk with Darko Fabijan. Darko is the co-founder of Semaphore CI, where he and his team explore new tools and ideas that improve developers’ lives. We dive deep into the benefits and challenges the transition to and utilization of monorepos can bring to your workflow and software development practice.  When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Darko on Twitter and visit the Semaphore CI website at https://semaphoreci.com, where you will find great solutions for decluttering your workflow.  Mentioned in this episode: Darko on Twitter at https://twitter.com/darkofabijan Semaphore CI at https://semaphoreci.com

A big part of dealing with legacy systems is not on the level of software architecture but interior design. The code needs to be welcoming for people who use it and maintain it, free of clutter, clean and tidy.  Today we talk with Ester Daniel Ytterbrink. Ester Daniel is a coder who likes to think about how people work as a group to create great software sustainably. They have a blog (Chocolate Driven Development) where they write about software development with human interaction and psychology in focus. They tell us about the main principles of software interior design, guiding you to build more comfortable, functional, and efficient code.  When you finish listening to the episode, visit Ester Daniel's blog, where you can connect with them and get some great ideas.  Mentioned in this episode: Ester Daniel on Twitter at https://twitter.com/edytterbrink Chocolate Driven Development Blog at https://www.chocolatedrivendevelopment.com Douglas Squirrel, et al, Agile Conversations: Transform your Conversations, Transform Your Culture at https://www.amazon.com/Agile-Conversations-Transform-Your-Culture/dp/B086D5RBWS/  Don Norman, The Design of Everyday Things at https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/

The first step to mastering any skill is demystifying it. However, this is not easy to achieve on your own, and often masters of the craft around you are not as helpful as you would hope. It is easy to forget how it is to be a novice once we achieve expertise in some field, and this leads many of us to lose the ability to introduce the craft to the incoming forces patiently and in simple terms.  Today we talk with Sharon DeCaro. Sharon has been working as a software engineer for five years. However, this wasn't her career choice when she enrolled in the mathematics and music program at her university. Listen to Sharon as she tells us about her journey into the software industry, the hurdles she encountered, and the ways she overcame them to become a software engineer.  When you finish listening to this episode, make sure to connect with Sharon on LinkedIn. Mentioned in this episode: Sharon on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjdecaro/ Andrea Goulet, Carmen Shirkey Collins, Empathy Driven Software Development at https://www.empathyintech.com 

We talk a lot about software on this show. But in this episode, we steer away from our usual practice and look at one piece of hardware that every computer user is in touch with the most. Yes, it is a keyboard!   Today we talk with Jesse Vincent - a software developer turned hardware manufacturer. Jesse is best known for his work with the Pearl programming language and the ticket-tracking system Request Tracker. However, since he invented one of the most comfortable keyboards on the market - now sold-out Keyboardio Model 01 - many associate him with hardware production.  Jesse doesn't hold back. He reveals many secrets of modern hardware manufacturing and how to use your software experience to organize your production process.  When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to support the production of the new Keyboardio Model 100 on Kickstarter (ends July 31, 2021), connect with Jesse on Twitter, and visit Keyboardio website at https://shop.keyboard.io.  Mentioned in this episode: Jesse Vincent Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Vincent Jesse Vincent on Twitter at https://twitter.com/obra Keyboardio Model 100 Kickstarter Campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keyboardio/model-100?ref=104lo3 Keyboardio website at https://shop.keyboard.io TRON TK1 keyboard at http://xahlee.info/kbd/TRON_keyboard.html FingerWorks TouchStream at https://ergocanada.com/products/keyboards/fingerworks_lp.html Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboards at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_ergonomic_keyboards