

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

Aug 19, 2019 • 46min
Jonathan Cutrell: Healthy Teams Know How to Eradicate Fear
This week Robby interviews the host of the Developer Tea podcast, Jonathan Cutrell. They discuss what constitutes debt, how to build a strong team, and more!Helpful Links:Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanDeveloper Tea PodcastFollow Jonathan on TwitterJonathan on LinkedInSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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.

Aug 12, 2019 • 36min
Karolina Szczur: The Importance of Documentation for Remote Developers
This week Robby chats with Karolina Szczur about what people get wrong about technical debt, best practices for documentation for remote developers, and more.Helpful Links:Book: Radical CandorSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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.

Aug 5, 2019 • 24min
Liran Haimovitch: The Benefits of Observability
This week Robby chats with Liran Haimovitch, co-founder of Rookout. Liran discusses things like how the term "technical debt" is misused, as well as how to overcome it.Helpful Links:Contact LiranRookoutBook: The Phoenix ProjectSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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 29, 2019 • 45min
Robert Meaney: Building Software That is Easy to Test
Robby speaks to Robert Meaney, Head of Testing & Test Coach at Poppulo. Robert explains the difference between technical debt and testing debt, the importance of observability, and more!Helpful Links:Follow Robert on TwitterRobert on LinkedInTestability BookFollow Testability Book on Twitter3X with Kent BeckAgile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers and Agile TeamsSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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 22, 2019 • 48min
Melissa Eaden: It's Never a One Person Job
Robby speaks with Melissa Eaden, Tech Lead in Quality at Unity 3D. She shares her experience working with legacy code as it relates to testing.Helpful Links:Follow Melissa on TwitterMelissa's blogMelissa on LinkedInA Vigilante for Quality[Book] Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are HighUnitySubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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 15, 2019 • 33min
Steve Poling: The Real Enemy is Murphy
Robby speaks with Steve Poling, Senior Technical Consultant at Excelon Development and long-time Software Developer. Steve describes whether he's team rewrite or team refactor, shares his definition of technical debt, and why uniformity of code matters.Helpful Links:Steve Poling on LinkedInExcelon Development[Book] Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented SoftwareReduce Technical Debt by Using Unit Tests as DocumentationSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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 8, 2019 • 28min
Matt Weagle: What Will It Enable Us to Do in the Future?
Robby speaks with Matt Weagle, Engineering Manager at Lyft. Matt discusses how his engineering teams have handled technical debt in small iterations vs. a major rewrite, why a whiteboard is the best tool for architectural challenges, and the most common mistakes he sees when engineers approach legacy code bases.Helpful Links:Follow Matt on TwitterMatt on LinkedInSome Thoughts on Security After 10 Years of GmailA Taxonomy of Yak Shaving[Book] The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier[Book] Release It!: Design and Deploy Production-Ready Software by Michael T. Nygard[Book] The Phoenix Project, A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim , Kevin Behr[Book] The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity by Alan Cooper[Book] Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations by Nicole ForsgrenSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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 1, 2019 • 30min
Mariah Howard: How To Discuss Technical Debt With Product Managers
Robby speaks with Mariah Howard, Senior Product Manager at Thinkful, to discuss technical debt from a product management perspective. Mariah touches on Google's metrics framework, leading vs. lagging indicators, and technical debt in products outside of the world of code. You'll also learn more about Thinkful's mission and methodology as an online school for engineers.Helpful Links:ThinkfulMariah on LinkedInGoogle HEART framework[Book] Design Thinking[Book] The Principles of Product Development FlowSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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 24, 2019 • 23min
Anne Marie Kirby: Selling the Upside of Improving your Codebase to Management
Robby speaks with Anne Marie Kirby, CEO & Co-Founder of CoreHealth Global. She shares questions to ask before a software rewrite, evolving 10+ year old code, and proving a business case when pitching software improvements as a developer.Helpful Links:Core HealthFollow Anne Marie on TwitterAnne Marie in ForbesSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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 17, 2019 • 47min
Marco "Ocramius" Pivetta: What Senior Devs Should Spend More Time On (It's Not Writing Code)
Robby speaks with Marco "Ocramius" Pivetta, a software consultant specializing in PHP. Marco gives his input on different types of technical debt he's seen, working with less experienced developers as a senior, and getting "kicked in the teeth" as a developer. He also shares what great senior devs should spend more time on (hint: It's not writing code).Helpful LinksFollow Marco on TwitterMarco on Github[Book] Effective Java by Joshua Bloch[Book] Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!: A Beginner's Guideby Miran LipovacaSubscribe to Maintainable on:Apple PodcastsOvercastOr search "Maintainable" wherever you stream your podcasts.Join the discussion in the Maintainable Discord CommunityLoving Maintainable? Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to help grow our reach.Brought to you by the team at Planet Argon.
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.


