

Maintainable
Robby Russell
Do you feel like you're hitting a wall with your existing software projects? Are you curious to hear how other people are navigating this? You're not alone.
On the Maintainable Software Podcast, Robby speaks with seasoned practitioners who have overcome the technical and cultural problems often associated with software development.
Our guests will share stories in each episode and outline tangible, real-world approaches to software challenges. In turn, you'll uncover new ways of thinking about how to improve your software project's maintainability.
On the Maintainable Software Podcast, Robby speaks with seasoned practitioners who have overcome the technical and cultural problems often associated with software development.
Our guests will share stories in each episode and outline tangible, real-world approaches to software challenges. In turn, you'll uncover new ways of thinking about how to improve your software project's maintainability.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 7, 2020 • 59min
Magda Miu: Building a Technical Leadership Career Around Teaching
Robby speaks with Magda Miu, Squad Leader Developer at Orange. They discuss the benefits of a healthy pull-request & review process and the unique challenges of mobile device app development. Magda also shares how she transitioned from being a day-to-day code contributor to team leader, as well as her strategies for keeping her technical skills sharp when she is not coding on a regular basis.Helpful LinksMagda on TwitterMagda on LinkedInMagda's WebsiteMagda on dev.toMagda on Medium[Books] Why Motivating People Doesn't Work . . . and What Does: The New Science of Leading, Energizing, and EngagingPractices of an Agile Developer: Working in the Real WorldSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
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Aug 31, 2020 • 45min
Gant Laborde: Technical Debt — Trading Risk for an Advantage
Robby speaks with Gant Laborde, CIO of Infinite Red. They discuss the unique challenges of maintaining React Native apps and the importance of sync points in an asynchronous work environment. Gant also shares an overview of the types of projects that Infinite Red focuses on and his experience being an open-source maintainer.Helpful LinksGant on TwitterInfinite Red on TwitterGant's WebsiteAI-FYI Website[Book] The War of ArtSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
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Aug 24, 2020 • 49min
Karen Lee Rigg: Where Are the Bad Habits Coming From?
Robby speaks with Karen Lee Rigg, Engineering Lead at Permutive. They discuss being a good guest in another team's code base and dealing with imposter syndrome. Karen also shares how she moved from the consulting world to a startup working on a product, along with her journey from being a code contributor to a team lead.Helpful LinksKaren on TwitterKaren on LinkedIn[Book] How to Win Friends & Influence PeopleSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.

Jul 13, 2020 • 44min
Gianluca Arbezzano: Technical Debt Beyond Code & Your First Contributions to Open Source
Robby speaks with Gianluca Arbezzano, Sr Staff Software Engineer at Packet. They discuss the value of consistent documentation (and why deciding where to document something is so difficult for developers!), how Gianluca began contributing to open source projects early in his career, and share tips for those who are intimidated about the idea of contributing to open source.Helpful LinksFollow Gianluca on TwitterGianluca's websiteConnect with Gianluca on LinkedIn[Book] Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One by Emily HeywardSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.

Jul 6, 2020 • 47min
Ali Spittel: Junior Developers and Helping Unlock Their Potential
Robby speaks with Ali Spittel – podcast host at Ladybug Podcast, writer, and Faculty Lead at General Assembly. They discuss mentoring Junior Developers, how she built a community around her written content and daily coding puzzles, how to build your writing as a developer, and her experience being a digital nomad.Helpful LinksFollow Ali on TwitterFollow We Learn Code on TwitterAli Spittel's websiteZen of ProgrammingLadybug PodcastFollow General Assembly on TwitterWhat Productivity Looks like to MeSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
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Jun 29, 2020 • 1h 11min
Robby Russell: Turning the Mic Around with Kayla Reopelle
The mic is turned around on Robby for this special episode of Maintainable. Robby is interviewed by guest host Kayla Reopelle, a Ruby on Rails Developer at Planet Argon. They discuss the need for more conversations about improving existing code in the community, learning to manage client expectations as a consultant, and when he learned he was a mender, not a maker.Helpful Links:Robby's Maintainable Rails email coursePlanet Argon's Rails Upgrade service[Book] Never Split the Difference by Chris VossOh My ZshFollow Robby on TwitterAbout Robby RussellConnect with Robby on LinkedInConnect with Kayla on LinkedInSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.

Jun 22, 2020 • 48min
Ryan Cromwell: Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?
Robby speaks with Ryan Cromwell, Technical Director at Sparkbox. They discuss the importance of simplifying deployments, technical debt in the client-services industry, and the traits to seek when hiring software engineers for client-services based work.Helpful LinksFollow Ryan on TwitterSparkbox[Book] Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOpsMichael Feathers on Maintainable[Book] Working Effectively with Legacy CodeSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
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Jun 15, 2020 • 47min
Camille Fournier: How Does a Developer Become a Manager?
Robby speaks with Camille Fournier, Head of Platform Engineering at Two Sigma and author of The Manager's Path. They discuss the importance of avoiding overly clever code, onboarding developers to existing software projects and teams, and how to start approaching mentoring others and be a good mentoree. They also discuss topics from her book, like determining if a path toward management is right for you and navigating career growth in a technical role.Helpful LinksFollow Camille on TwitterCamille on MediumThe Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and ChangeCamille's Blog: Elided Branches[Book] What Got Your Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the ExpertsSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.

Jun 1, 2020 • 45min
Gonçalo Silva: How A Fully-Remote Team Builds and Maintains Software
Robby speaks with Gonçalo Silva, CTO at Doist. They discuss embracing continuous improvements, having a healthy level of skepticism about rewrites. Gonçalo also shares how Doist onboards new engineers to their team, along with the challenges of hiring remote junior developers.Helpful LinksGonçalo on TwitterLaws of software evolutionDoistDoist's blogOpen positions at DoistTwist App[Book] Atomic Habits[Book] The Art of LearningSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.

May 25, 2020 • 44min
Tudor Girba: Moldable Development and Software Environmentalism
Robby speaks with Tudor Girba, CEO and Co-Founder at Feenk. They discuss how engineers work in the decision-making business, what skills are essential to build in engineers, and get an introduction to the concept of Moldable Development and the Glamorous Toolkit.Helpful LinksGlamorous ToolkitFollow Girba on TwitterFollow feenk on TwitterGlamorous Toolkit on Github[Book] Man's Search for MeaningSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord Community
Subscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsSpotifyOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Keep up to date with the Maintainable Podcast by joining the newsletter.