DEV Community: Isabel Nyo

Choosing a Tech Stack: 10 Important Factors to Consider

Isabel Nyo — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 01:09:02 +0000

Choosing a tech stack is a complex decision especially for engineers and developers because sometimes, we tend to favour what we know and love instead of being objective about the decision. To help you with that, here are the ten most important factors to consider when selecting a tech stack for your SaaS product.

I remember back in the day, for my own startup, I chose jQuery over React. I then chose ElasticSearch over Redis, I chose PHP over .NET, and so on. Then I chose a public Cloud solution that was super expensive because I thought I needed extra support. Some if those decisions were good, but some not so!

Choosing a tech stack for a Software as a Service (SaaS) or a web product is a critical decision that can significantly impact the product's success. It's not a one-size-fits-all situation, and what works well for one project might not work as well for another. A tech stack is essentially the combination of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools used to build a software application. It's all about finding the right balance for your specific needs.

1. Product Requirements

The technology stack should be able to fulfill the needs of the product. This includes the complexity of the product, its scalability, and other specific needs like real-time updates, multi-platform support etc. It's crucial to take a close look at what your product specifically requires and ensure that your chosen tech stack can meet these requirements.

Once you have identified the specific needs of your product, it's important to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different technology options. Consider factors such as ease of development, maintenance costs, and availability of talent when making your decision. It's also important to assess the long-term viability of the technology and its ability to keep up with changing trends and user needs. By carefully considering all of these factors, you can choose a technology stack that will not only meet your current needs, but also ensure the success of your product in the future.

2. Team Expertise

The knowledge and experience of your development team is crucial. Using a tech stack that your team is familiar with can speed up the development process and reduce errors. Therefore, it's important to consider your team's strengths and expertise when selecting a tech stack.

Furthermore, it can also improve the quality of the codebase as the team has a deeper understanding of the technology being used. However, it is also important to remain open to new technologies and tools that may enhance the development process and offer new solutions to existing problems. Encouraging team members to continuously learn and expand their skillset can lead to innovation and growth within the organization. Ultimately, the success of a project relies not only on the technology being used, but also on the expertise and collaboration of the development team.

3. Scalability

Your tech stack should be able to handle growth in terms of data volume, user load, and transaction frequency. This includes both horizontal and vertical scalability. As your business grows, your tech stack should be able to grow with it and handle increased demand without compromising performance or security.

One way to ensure your tech stack is scalable is to prioritize the use of cloud-based technologies. Cloud computing allows for flexible and on-demand access to computing resources, which means that you can easily scale up or down as needed. This approach also allows for easy collaboration and integration with other technologies. In addition, it can be beneficial to prioritize the use of open-source technologies and APIs, which can provide flexibility and reduce the risk of vendor lock-in. Ultimately, choosing a tech stack that is scalable and adaptable will help position your business for long-term success.

4. Performance

Depending on the product, you might need a tech stack that can handle high-performance computing, real-time processing, high-traffic loads, or other performance-related factors. Therefore, it's important to evaluate the performance capabilities of potential tech stacks and ensure they align with your product's needs.

When it comes to measuring the performance of a tech stack, there are several metrics that can be used to evaluate its effectiveness. Here are a few examples:

Response time: This refers to the amount of time it takes for a system to respond to a user's request. A fast response time is crucial for delivering a positive user experience. For example, if a website takes too long to load or an application takes too long to respond to user input, it can lead to frustration and discourage users from continuing to use the service.
Memory usage: This measures the amount of memory a system uses to perform its tasks. A high memory usage can slow down a system and lead to performance issues. For example, if an application is consuming too much memory, it may cause other applications to slow down or crash.
Error rate: This is the number of errors that occur in a system over a given period of time. A high error rate can indicate that there are issues with the system that need to be addressed. For example, if an application is crashing frequently or producing incorrect results, it may be due to errors in the code.

5. Community & Support

A strong, active community and good support can be invaluable for resolving issues quickly. This includes the availability of libraries, tools, and resources for the chosen tech stack. So, check out the developer community around your chosen tech stack and ensure that there's plenty of support available.

To give you a specific example, React and Kubernetes are two popular open-source technologies that have gained a large following in recent years. Both of these communities are vibrant and full of passionate developers who are constantly working to improve their respective technologies.

6. Cost

The financial aspect of the tech stack is also an important consideration. This includes the costs of development, maintenance, hosting, licensing, and other potential expenses. You'll need to consider your budget and ensure that your chosen tech stack aligns with your financial constraints.

7. Security

The tech stack should be able to support the necessary security measures to protect the data and overall system. In today's world, security is paramount, and your chosen tech stack should provide robust security features to protect your product and your users' data.

8. Long-term Perspective

Consider whether the technology is currently growing or declining, whether it's likely to be supported in the long term, and how it fits into the future plans of the project. You don't want to invest in a tech stack that's on its way out, so it's important to consider the long-term viability of your chosen tech stack. If you're aiming to sell your startup one day, you may also like to consider what investors and other big tech companies prefer.

9. Integrations

The tech stack should be able to integrate easily with other technologies you are using or plan to use. This can save you a lot of time and effort in the long run, so it's worth considering the integration capabilities of your chosen tech stack.

10. Testing & Debugging

Consider how easy it is to test and debug within the chosen tech stack. Some stacks come with built-in testing and debugging tools which can greatly speed up development. Therefore, it's important to consider the testing and debugging capabilities of your chosen tech stack.

Choose it wisely

Choosing the right tech stack for your SaaS product requires careful consideration of many factors. By taking into account product requirements, team expertise, scalability, performance, community support, cost, security, long-term perspective, integrations, and testing capabilities, you can make an informed decision that will set your product up for success.

If you want more advice and best practices on the topic of startup and product development, you can grab my Tech & Product Knowledge ebook or view Startup Blueprint Slides.

Common Challenges Faced By Women In Tech

Isabel Nyo — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 05:12:08 +0000

I feel like a broken record but unfortunately, we are not making enough progress to be truly inclusive and equitable for women in tech. I say we because I believe all of us, especially engineering managers, are responsible for it. While there is more awareness about the lack of women in tech, engineering managers seem to spend so much time learning about the problems than thinking of and implementing sustainable solutions.

To create an inclusive and equitable workplace, engineering managers need to understand common challenges faced by women in tech and take actions. So without any further ado, let’s take a look at eight common challenges and how managers might eliminate these challenges for their underrepresented team members.

Challenge #1: Not feeling good enough in their jobs

The Tech industry is a complex environment, there are new technologies, new frameworks, and new practices coming out every day. Normalizing that they are not expected to know everything and they can figure things out will help. For new hires and team members, their managers should give them early wins and reiterate things that they’ve done well.

Challenge #2: Not having strong social connections with team members

Many tech companies have begun their remote work journey since Covid-19 and almost three years on, many are continuing this journey in some shape and form. Regardless of whether a company calls itself hybrid or fully remote, it has not been easy for employees. None of us have figured it all out, especially when it comes to replicating the social aspect of work. Social time tends to focus on activities that the majority wants, which are more geared towards games. Encouraging diverse and hobby-focused activities that are more gender-neutral such as painting, cooking, or photography could help underrepresented team members build social capital with the rest of the team.

Challenge #3: Not speaking up in meetings

This is an easy solution, but it does require conscious effort. The solution is as simple as giving every participant in meetings a chance to speak out. If the facilitator goes around the room in order and set the expectation up front, it helps.

Challenge #4: Not being put up for visible assignments and stretch opportunities

Underrepresented folks often feel uncomfortable putting their hands up. For visible assignments and stretch opportunities, managers should ensure there is always at least one underrepresented folk being considered for such assignments.

Challenge #5: Not having the confidence to challenge ideas

Providing them extra support behind the scenes 1:1 as well as asking for their point of view in 1:1s and advocating for them will make them feel heard.

Challenge #6: Not being treated in the way they want

Underrepresented folks get treated differently due to the other party not knowing how to treat them. Education and awareness of unconscious bias are needed. Note: Maybe some want to be treated differently. Or some want to be treated the same. Unless you spend time getting to know them, you won’t know their preference.

Challenge #7: Being the one (and often, the only one) doing mundane work

Underrepresented folks often end up doing glue work such as organizing stuff, planning social things, general team admin, and not to mention, DEI outreach. They also do a lot of necessary but mundane work such as cleaning up old code, investigating failures, alerts, etc. With this kind of work, underrepresented folks often take this on as it can make them feel like they are contributing to something they are good at, especially if they aren’t confident about their technical skills. As a result, they end up doing glue work to feel like they are doing something of value and are contributing positively to their team. Managers should ensure glue work is distributed equally. Making sure they are getting recognition for technical contributions first and foremost will also help.

Challenge #8: Not enough representation

This is the biggest issue and the hardest one to solve. Underrepresented folks feel like there is nobody just like them in the room, and often they are not wrong. They don’t have people like them they can talk to or look up to. We need to bring more diverse people to the mix when we have an opportunity to hire and promote.

Culture fit or culture add?

I was recently asked this question; should tech companies hire for culture fit or culture add?

I vote for cultural add, however, companies should be conscious about retaining these folks, ensuring that they are set up for success and feel a sense of belonging.

As a woman in tech, I know for a fact that underrepresented folks feel like there is nobody just like them in the room, and often they are not wrong. They don’t have people like them they can talk to or look up to.

This is a hard mental burden to cope with and it has an impact on employee engagement and career growth opportunities.

So, culture add is great, but only if the companies and managers are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace.

The post Common Challenges Faced By Women In Tech appeared first on Career Resources For Technology Leaders.

90-Day Plan For A New CTO

Isabel Nyo — Sun, 23 Jan 2022 00:45:34 +0000

Failing to plan is planning to fail, especially when starting a senior tech leadership role in a remote environment

Starting a senior tech leadership role in a remote environment comes with a new set of challenges, one of them is showing visibility and progress of your contribution.

However, you won't get much done in the first few days apart from introductions and getting to know people. At the same time, you don't want to be in a situation where casual chats and intros take up all your time and before you know it, a quarter or 3 months had passed and there was nothing to show for it. So let me share with you what a new CTO should aim to accomplish in the first quarter (ie: 3 months, 90 days).

Day 1 - Day 15

Get to know your peers, direct reports, and leadership
Listen more than talk
Use the company's product and play around with its features

Day 15 - Day 30

Learn more about current projects and follow updates
Learn about the technical architecture and tech stacks
Understand how the current projects contribute to the organisation's success
Observe current systems, processes, ways of working, and people and identify strengths and opportunities for improvement

Day 30 - Day 60

Form your own opinion around how things work
Monitor progress of engineering excellence* via essential metrics such as uptime, response time, error vs success rate, number of incidents, etc
Put together a 6 month and a year plan, starting with outcomes
Talk to customers and end-users

Day 60 - Day 90

Share your plan with leadership and key individuals in the organisation
Make small changes^ that are aligned with the future direction, eg: introducing code review process, implementing structured hiring approach
(^You may check out CTO Toolkit for sample dashboards, best practices, and templates.)
Do the first of many quarterly reviews with your direct reports and share your observation about them

Lastly, remember when you're starting a new role that it's not a marathon but a sprint. You want to make sustainable changes that will enable your engineering organisation to scale effectively.

You can download this free checklist that contains the above information in a Google Sheet where you can customise with your own start date and tick interactive checkboxes to keep track of your own progress, The 90-Day Plan For A New CTO.

The 90-Day Plan For A New CTO

How to Hire the Best Freelance Developers in the Gig Economy

Isabel Nyo — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 03:54:00 +0000

Leverage the most significant development in the future of work

Over the last two decades in my career in the technology industry, I have had experience in both sides of the gig economy, as a freelancer and technology leader hiring freelance developers. Back in my developer days, I had worked as a freelance developer to expand my skill set and knowledge and since becoming an engineering manager, I've hired freelance developers for the companies that I worked for.

Today, I want to share with insights around hiring freelance developers and best practices to finding and hiring the best freelance developers in the gig economy. As engineering leaders, it's important to understand and take advantage of the gig economy as it has emerged as one of the most significant developments in the way we work. Outsourced workforce is going to be part of the future of work, whether you like it or not.

Hiring a freelance developer

When should you hire a freelance developer

Firstly, if you have not hired freelance developers before, you might be asking - why the need for freelance developers? There are five common reasons for companies to hire freelancers.

Access to a variety of skills, across different tech stacks and niche; for eg: iOS mobile development, e-Commerce website development, etc.
Freelance developers are more readily available; developers who are freelancers are usually available in a few weeks notice.
Freelance developers are more affordable; even if hourly rate may be higher in some cases, compared to having a permanent developer, it's going to end up more affordable as there will be no extra spending like insurance, 401k or superannuation.
We do not have the need for a long-term permanent developer; last but not least, a company may decide that there is a project that can be done once and will not required continuous maintenance or work. Or there might be a project that requires a specific skill for a specific milestone, for example, setting up devOps infrastructure, refactoring an old tech stack to a new one, redesign of UI for a web application, small bug fixes, etc.

Over the last year, a new common reason has been surfaced. This is due to the rise of remote work:

You have a distributed team

However, it's important to note that insights show that affordability is at the top of the list for smaller companies, even if they are not a fully distributed team.

When shouldn't you hire a freelance developer

On the flip side, hiring freelance developers may not be the answer for the following reasons.

Preference - prefer working with people in the same office/timezone, data shows that a large population of freelance developers are in Eastern Europe and North America, followed by Asia and Middle East.
Lack of trust on skill and quality.
Intellectual property and security implication.
Negative impact potential value of the company for startups trying to get funding.

Important factors to take into consideration when hiring freelance developers

There are multiple important factors to take into consideration when hiring freelance developers. Understanding and applying these best practices are crucial in producing successful outcomes to the company via freelance workforce. Therefore, to be successful, engineering leaders need to think holistically to bring organisation and technology together as closely as possible in decision making.

Think value over deliverable

Before hiring, think about the value that you would like to get from this person. For large organisations, more often than not, short-term contracts (anything less than 3 months) do not add a lot of value as it takes a while for most people to get a hang of various technologies, large codebases, tools and processes used in big organisations. For small to medium organisations, processes and codebases are not as complex and shorter contracts work better. This also depends on the nature of work, for example: whether the developer is working on a specific project or whether she is doing ad-hoc, business as usual tasks.

Set correct expectation

Well-defined list of tasks or projects is important to get the most out of the developers as they know the expectation and perform their tasks more efficiently. This can also be used to decide whether the developer meets your expectation.

Enforce standards

It is not enough to just tell freelance developers about your organisation's coding standards and conventions. It is also important to review the work that they have done so the standards and conventions are followed accurately. Therefore, code review is essential, especially for the first few tasks they work on. This needs to be done to ensure the developer conforms to coding standards of your organisation.

Eliminate any possible bottleneck

If you are providing tools of trade to do the job, such as a workstation, ensure they are fast enough so they don't become a bottleneck in getting the most out of developers. If possible, ensure that all software, IDE, Graphic software, etc, are set up on their workstation before they start so the developer won't need to spend time setting up software when they could be doing something more productive, for example, learning about your company's codebases and coding standards, understanding current architecture and so on.

Be pragmatic

Keep in mind of the time that someone will need to spend on getting these developers up to speed, and this relates back to my first point about thinking value over deliverable or project. If an existing employee or employees (for example, developers, product managers, designers, analysts) need to spend a few hours every day with freelance developers to get them up to speed, and they are only with the organisation for a month, is it really worth having them?

Invest in tools and processes

If your company already do not have tools and processes to support remote and async work effectively, you absolutely must invest in them. The future of work is here to stay and it's a good time to set up processes and tools as such as ticket tracking, workflow management, time tracking, communication tools and so on. It's also worthwhile to have standard procedures for the team so freelance developers can read up on these resources to onboard effectively; eg: How to start a sprint, How to run a retrospective, how to triage bugs, how to manage incidents and outages, how to roll out a feature, and so on. When there are best practices and templates to follow, freelance developers will know what's expected in each situation without having to check with you often.

Alway hire the right people

The best freelance developers for your company are the ones that are the right fit and only you as an engineering leader can assess who are the best. So my advice is short and sweet: always hire the right people for you, by understanding and applying the best practices that I've shared in this article.

While they are freelance developers and may not be with the organisation for a long period, follow a similar selection process that you have for other full time employee in terms of assessing their technical skills as well as their willingness to be a good team player. After all, those freelance developers will still need to perform their jobs well and they shouldn't be getting a special pass because they are freelancers.

Author's bio

Isabel Nyo is a technology leader with almost 20 years of experience in the tech industry, with startups to Fortune 500 tech companies. She is the author of The Engineering Manager’s How-to Guide, Nail That Interview and Career Guide for Software Developers. She provides career advice & resources for software engineers and engineering managers via her website.

Thank You For Your Support!

Isabel Nyo — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 10:56:27 +0000

Dear Dev.to Community,

This Thanksgiving, I want to share my genuine appreciation with you. Without you, I would not be where I am today, and I am so thankful for all of your support throughout the year.

Thank you for engaging with me on social media, reading my books, leveraging my digital assets, and entrusting in me to accelerate your career in tech.

I hope you have a joyous holiday and I look forward to support you in your career.

You’re welcome to use coupon code thankyou21 to get 20% off everything on my online store. Coupon code valid until November 30, 2021.

All the best,
Isabel

How to Transition From Being a Software Engineer to an Engineering Manager

Isabel Nyo — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 13:37:13 +0000

Today, I am not going to go into why you might want to become an engineering manager but I am going to share with you how you can approach this career transition.

Note that I use the word "transition" quite intentionally here. The path to engineering management is not as simple as you may have hoped. In fact, it's not even a career progression, hence the usage of the word "transition."

Some tech companies put senior engineers on the same level as their engineering managers for this very reason. Engineering management is a linear and alternate career track to software engineering.

Somehow, in our heads, we have this illusion that once you've mastered the technical skills required for your roles and you have been senior engineers for a few years, the next step for you is to become an engineering manager.

Being promoted to be an engineering manager is actually not a step up, nor a promotion. It's a lateral, separate track.

With that important information out of the way, let's talk about how you might step into an engineering manager role.

By building on the skills required for the managerial role.
By taking on leadership and management related tasks voluntarily, eg: mentoring, facilitating meetings, project management, etc.
By letting your manager know that you're interested in a managerial path.

My Personal Story

Let me share with you my personal story of how I transitioned from a software engineer to a manager.

I started my career working as a web developer for a small web agency, doing everything from gathering requirements from customers, designing websites in Adobe Photoshop, building backend applications, coding frontend interfaces, to looking after domain name registration, hosting, and so on.

Throughout my career, I've had many different job titles that are similar yet different in many ways, such as developer, technical lead, technical director, startup CTO (my story as a CTO), head of engineering, software development manager, and engineering manager.

My journey to management is not unusual but not one that I had anticipated or planned for. I've always considered myself to be entrepreneurial and I had co-founded a startup and ran my own consulting business before, so I always thought I'd work for myself one day rather than climb the corporate ladder and take on a managerial role.

But at one point in my career years ago, I was in a place where I was really excited to mentor developers in my team, helping them with their career development and helping build a good engineering culture for the company I worked for. All those activities made me feel happy because I was feeling like I was making a bigger impact than I had ever made as a developer. Long story short, I took a leap of faith and officially became a people manager.

I found that I really enjoyed the role of an engineering manager because I was able to make a positive impact on the careers of many software developers and strengthen and build on my T-shaped skills, by collaborating across disciplines with experts in other areas other than my own, and deliver business results.

Make a Mindset Shift

Remember, engineering managers are people managers first and technical managers second. This means your main responsibility is to look after your direct reports, coach and support them in their career development, and challenge them to step outside their comfort zone to grow and excel. It sounds like a hefty goal but it really isn't. It's the minimum expectation of an engineering manager.

Another important responsibility of an engineering manager is to build a high performing team that delivers on meaningful outcomes. Companies at different stages of their growth have different concerns and measures of success.

For example, a startup company at its infancy stage may say their measure of success is the number of engaged customers. On the other hand, a profitable public company may say their measure of success is their stock price. Some companies may even say their success is determined by their employee retention rate. Not all success measures for companies are financial, and they can change as companies evolve and mature.

As an engineering manager, you might like to think your ability to deliver quality software through a team of developers is what matters the most to your company, but the truth is it is likely not.

A team of developers could be busy with so many activities - agile rituals, pair programming, estimation and planning meetings, architecture designs, coding, testing, refactoring, and the list goes on - and it's the responsibility of the team's engineering manager to ensure those activities contribute towards a desirable outcome for the company. But you can only rally people behind any goal with passion and enthusiasm if you look after them and care for them personally first.

Develop Horizontally Related Skills

Having horizontally related skills are now more important than ever for engineering managers as technology is the center of our lives and software is used in many industries across the globe. As technology products become more sophisticated and complex, engineering managers with horizontally related skills are a razor that can cut through all the complexity and manage software development teams effectively at tech companies.

Here are ten horizontally related skills and attributes that engineering managers at tech companies need.

Analytics.
Finance.
Presentation.
Writing.
Psychology.
Project Management.
Design.
Resourcefulness.
Adaptability.
Entrepreneurship.

Pave Your Path Towards Engineering Management

Once you've done the above two, it's time to start taking the matter into your own hands. This doesn't mean looking for a new job, although it could mean that. But firstly, speak to your manager and let them know your career aspiration so that they can find the right opportunities for you.

While there is no guarantee that your manager will be able to find something for you right away, all good managers will try to help you by providing constructive feedback, advice, and the next steps.

The important takeaway I'd like you to remember is that good engineering managers are people managers and leaders for software developers, who have a strong understanding of technical details combined with competency in adjacent domains.

If you enjoyed this article, you might like to check out my latest book on engineering management.

The Engineering Manager's How-to Guide is very targeted for engineering managers, and in this book, you won't find generic advice like having regular 1:1's, giving feedback, etc. Yes, those things are absolutely important, but they are not specific to an engineering manager's role. It's my goal to make sure this book provides a concise and actionable guide for engineering managers, the specific and niche content for engineering managers that you won't find in other leadership and management books.

Your First 30 Days as a Software Developer at a Tech Company

Isabel Nyo — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 12:45:24 +0000

How to onboard well as a software developer by knowing and nailing the expectation of your role

Recently, Microsoft surveyed 30,000 workers in 31 countries about work, and according to the survey results, 41% of workers globally are thinking about quitting their current jobs. It doesn’t require a genius to figure out that tech companies are going to be the ones most impacted by this as the tech industry is one of the fastest-growing industries amidst the global pandemic. So if you are a software developer, you will likely be joining a new company in the next 12–18 months.

—

Changing to a new job can be quite stressful - but it’s also a good thing. It puts you outside of your comfort zone and stretches you. It makes you see and think about things that you wouldn’t normally think twice about at your previous job - such as making a commit to the company’s repo, seeing your work live on production, joining your team stand up, and asking someone to review your pull request. When you are too comfortable at your workplace and you have gotten used to the process and tools, you tend to take things for granted and operate on an auto-pilot mode. Changing your environment, be it a new team within the same company or a new job altogether at a different company, makes you become more aware of yourself and what you do day to day as a developer.

Besides generic new hire questions like What time should you start work? How friendly should you be in your first week?, this article aims to provide answers to all the software development-related questions that you, as a new developer, wanted to ask your fellow developers or your development manager but were too afraid to.

—

I am referring to the questions like:

When should you add your code to the company repo?

When should you expect to see your work live on production?

When should you share your view on a particular design pattern?

As an engineering manager who has hired and onboarded many developers and tech leads, let me share with you some of the most commonly thought of (and sometimes asked) questions and my answers for them. I hope they will help you as you, as a new developer in a new job, make the best first impression and at the same time, let everyone know the real you and what you’ve got to offer.

I will be providing two answers to each question: one for startups and small companies and one for medium to large enterprises. This is because, from my experience as a technology leader with almost 20 years working in the tech industry with startups to Fortune 500 tech companies, I know that the size of the company and the environment play a large role in expectation. Also, note that my answers are just guidelines as there may be some nuances that you might encounter. Regardless, I hope they are helpful in giving you a perspective on what you need to aim for as a newly hired software engineer at a company.

Part I: it all about the code

When should you set up your development instance on your machine?
Small startup: On the first day
Large enterprise: Within the first two weeks

When should you make your first commit?
Small startup: Within the first three days
Large enterprise: In the first two weeks

When should you expect to see your work live on production?
Small startup: Within the first ten days
Large enterprise: It depends. The next release cycle after your first month.

When should you learn about best practices and coding standards?
Small startup: Within the first week
Large enterprise: Within the first two weeks

When should you understand the architecture of the system(s) that you’ll be contributing code to?
Small startup: In the first week
Large enterprise: In the first month

When should you be independently picking up and completing a task from your team’s backlog?
Small startup: Within your first sprint.
Large enterprise: Within the first month.

Regardless of whether you’re a junior software developer or a senior one, your tech lead or engineering manager should have some tasks that you should be able to pick up independently based on your seniority level. Make sure you communicate this with them.

When should you start contributing to story estimation?
Small startup: After your first sprint*.
Large enterprise: After two sprints*.

One sprint=Two weeks.

Part II: It’s About the Process

When should you start being an on-call person for your team’s services (especially if the company practices YBIYRI)?
Small startup: Within the first month.
Large enterprise: After you’ve shadowed an on-call rotation. Usually after a few months.

When should you put your hands up to drive a team activity, e.g., running a retro?
Small startup: After you’ve seen how it’s done at least two times.
Large enterprise: Same as above.

When should you be comfortable being an Approver for someone else’s Pull Request?
Small startup: Within 15 days
Large enterprise: Within 60 days

When should you know about the build and release process?
Small startup: Within the first week
Large enterprise: Within the three weeks

Part III: It’s About the Big Picture

When should you start being an active participant in various guilds and charters, e.g., Frontend Guild, Technical Architecture Guild, etc.
Small startup: In one month
Large enterprise: In three months

When should you start contributing to technical discussions?
Small startup: In three months
Large enterprise: In six months

When should you learn about the product (as an end user) especially its features and capabilities?
Small startup: Within the first three days
Large enterprise: Within the first seven days

When should you have good knowledge of operational aspects of the engineering?
Small startup: Within the first 20 days
Large enterprise: Within the first 60 days

When should you start talking about your career aspirations with your manager?
Small startup: Within 30 days
Large enterprise: Within 90 days

Keep Your Own Onboarding Checklist

Your manager may provide you with an onboarding document, but it’s also important to keep your own to make sure you’re keeping track of your own progress and are meeting the minimum expectation for a software developer role in your first few weeks.

Apart from coding and technical tasks, you should also add the following important items to your checklist:

* Join necessary Slack, Microsoft Team, or any other communication channels
* Ask to be included on important mailing lists and calendar invites
* Set up a regular 1:1 with your manager
* Learn about social groups and make connections with fellow employees
* Find out about the expectation of your role and what success looks like from the point of view of your manager

Here is a checklist to help you find your feet in your first 30 days as a software developer at a new company.
⬜️ Dev instance set up
⬜️ First commit made
⬜️ Code live in production
⬜️ Drove a team activity
⬜ ️Actively contributed to estimation
⬜ ️Have been on-call
⬜ ️Independently completed a task from the backlog
⬜ ️Shared your career aspirations with manager
⬜ ️Approved a Pull Request
⬜ ️Understood build and release process
⬜ ️Participated in a Guild
⬜ ️Contributed to a technical discussion
⬜ ️Understood the architecture of the system(s)
⬜ ️Learned about the product
⬜ ️Learned about best practices and coding standards
⬜ ️Gained operational knowledge

⬜ ️Joined important communication channels
⬜ ️Included on necessary mailing lists and calendar invites ️
⬜ ️Set up a regular 1:1 with manager
⬜ ️Made social connections with likeminded groups
⬜ ️Understood the expectation of your role

Make a Great First Impression

We all know this: First impression matters. Your first impression with your engineering manager and fellow developers starts the moment you join the company, and that impression lasts for a long time, sometimes for the duration of the entire time you’re with the company. So set the bar high by knowing what is expected from you as a software developer and keeping track of your progress.

—

Career Guide for Software Developers

If you enjoy this article, you might like to check out my ebook for software developers - Career Guide for Software Developers.

The technology industry is one of the fastest-growing industries today. The future of work has arrived for developers. I know for a fact that it is different than work we know previously and thus requires different mindsets and skills from developers to be effective in their role. Check out the ebook and apply the strategies and tactics in your professional life to have a successful career as a software developer.

The post Your First 30 Days as a Software Developer at a Tech Company appeared first on Career Resources For Professionals In Tech.

Author's bio

Toolkit for technology leaders

Isabel Nyo — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 11:46:40 +0000

Almost two decades ago when I was an engineer, I took great pleasure in getting things done, and being on the ground to execute tasks.

When I first became an engineer manager, I missed that, in fact, I missed that a lot. I felt that if I wasn’t doing any hands-on work, I wasn’t being productive.

It took me a while to understand and accept that planning, strategic thinking and making sure my team can deliver and execute effectively is much more important for an engineering manager.

Being a leader is a privilege.

With that, I encourage you to enjoy your role as an engineering leader. If you are in a situation that is less than ideal, use your privilege and energy to make things better instead of feeling helpless.

Leverage this Toolkit as a guide and use the master checklists consisting of steps & recommendations to help you think through important factors.
Explore the resources provided to dig deeper into any particular topic.
Use templates, posters and decks provided to fast-track your application of knowledge.

However, remember that no tool can replace your critical thinking and empathy.

As a CTO, VP of Engineering or a Senior Technology Leader, you have the power and responsibility to make a great impact on your people, your teams, your organisation and your customers.

This Toolkit is not just about strategy nor is it just a list of steps; it is about how to think, plan, lead, communicate and execute in a way that encourages accountability, improves creativity, and moves your technology organisation forward in the post-Covid future.

Use coupon code gift to get $50 off as a DEV reader.

8 Golden Rules for A Successful Software Developer Career

Isabel Nyo — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 12:22:26 +0000

Here are a collection of my articles for software developers and engineers to help you in your tech career.

1. Always be learning

Tutorials fatigue — it’s real. If you think you’re learning something by going through endless books, videos and tutorials then you’re simply wasting your time. Pick a few options, be it books, videos or any other format and stick with them. Chances are what you learn in a video will be very similar to another tutorial that you’re reading on the same topic. To give you another example, I did a quick search on Amazon about React Javascript framework and there were about 700 books on the topic, a few of them even have the exact same book title, Learning React. There is no way you can get through all the books, and even if you did, it is no guarantee that you’ll become an expert at React or is it a good use of your time.

Common Learning Mistakes That Developers Make And How to Avoid Them

2. Build lasting habits

Bias towards action. When you’re stuck, when you’re given a new piece of information, or when you’re feeling dissatisfied being in your comfort zone, take an action, however small that action may be.

Forty Daily Habits To Transform Your Life (Even When You WFH)

3. Protect your time & energy

Albert Einstein once said that, “If you feed your mind as often as you feed your stomach, then you’ll never have to worry about feeding your stomach or a roof over your head or clothes on your back.” Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We need to constantly feed our mind and soul with new ideas, new ways of thinking and new information. In this day and age, we have no excuse not to learn. Information is at our fingertips; whether you prefer to read a book, read a magazine, listen to an audiobook, listen to a podcast and even browse social media, as long as you choose what you consume mindfully and carefully, you’ll be feeding your mind with good knowledge.

How to Still Be a Maker When You’re a Manager

The art of finding a good balance and being at peace relies a lot on control - and surprisingly, it is not about having a lot of control. It is about giving up control and not trying to control what you can’t. There are some things in life that just cannot be controlled.

Your Guide To Conquering Burnout and Eliminating Overwhelm

4. Eliminate limiting beliefs

I Am Going to Fail When I Get Promoted Because I Don’t Know How to Do Everything That the Next Level Requires

This limiting belief is very common and also quite relatable for high achievers and women. Funnily enough, I belong to both categories. The underlying reason for this limiting belief is a fixed mindset. Having a fixed mindset means you think a person’s qualities and attributes are fixed and cannot be changed or developed.

But we all know for a fact that nobody was born with all the skills and knowledge that they would need in their life. Similarly, while you don’t know everything that the next level requires, you can learn and develop the necessary skills and attributes.

Replace this limiting belief with: “My ability to learn and grow is limitless.”

Six Limiting Beliefs That Are Holding You Back From Getting Promoted and How You Can Conquer Them

5. Showcase your skills via a killer resume

What’s one thing that you’re known for in the industry? It could be a specialised skill or a specific type of company or environment. For example, improving website performance or working at finance-related companies. Not sure what you’re known for? Look back at the last few years of your career, the projects that you’ve worked on, the companies that you’ve worked for and identify some patterns. The thing with becoming better at anything is the amount of consistent practice, so it’s more than likely that your speciality is something that you’ve been doing repeatedly.

5 Steps to Creating a Resume for Tech Jobs

The Perfect Resume Template: gum.co/perfectresume

6. Pursue a side hustle

Idea 2: Teach technical skill via an online course

Online learning has been around for a while, but with the increase of remote working, work from home, and social distancing, it has become increasingly popular, and the preferred medium for sharing knowledge.

Ten Side Hustle Ideas For Web Developers To Make Extra $1k A Month

7. Set strategic career goals

Strategic career goals are those that will propel you towards where you want to head professionally, in one year, two years, or even five years. They have a purpose, reflect your professional vision, and have a significant impact on your career success.

Strategic career goals can be categorised as:

– Technical goals

– Job goals

– Entrepreneurship goals

– Leadership goals

– Community goals

10 Strategic Career Goals For Software Developers To Have In 2021

Code repository works as a place to showcase your capabilities in technical craft, how you stay involved and active in changes in technology landscape and what kind of tinkering you do outside of work (eg: hobby projects).

How To Increase Your Visibility As A Developer Via Your Personal Brand

8. Know how to interview well

Never say, “Code reviews are a waste of time. Everyone should just write good code.”

Firstly, code reviews are a good thing. If you have never had a commercial experience with code reviews before because you have just graduated or your previous companies didn’t use it, it is ok to say so but as a technical person and a developer, you are expected to at least understand why it exists. Code reviews are not there just to detect code smells. It is also for knowledge sharing and for ensuring that coding standards and requirements are met.

Interview Skills For Software Developers

The post 8 Golden Rules for A Successful Software Developer Career appeared first on Career Resources For Professionals In Tech.

The 4 Types of Career Planners, Which Type Are You?

Isabel Nyo — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 10:20:19 +0000

Which type are you? Knowing will help you understand what you need to do in your career development

Over the past two decades of my career, I've met quite a number of people. While everyone is different, when I analyse their career goals and ambitions, I realise that most people belong to one of four groups. Unlike with personality types, people can and will fall into different groups at different points in their careers.

The four common groups that I've identified are:

S.M.A.R.T group: Those who know what they want and how to get it.
Dreamers group: Those who know what they want but don't know how to get it.
Chameleon group: Those who don't know what they want.
Happy-go-lucky group: Those who are just happy and content.

You may also take this quiz to find out your type!

Group 1 - S.M.A.R.T Group: Those Who Know What They Want and How to Get It

This is a dream group, and sometimes I'm lucky enough to have people who belong to this group as my direct reports.

People in this group are often high achievers, but they are also pragmatic and have S.M.A.R.T goals (the acronym S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). They dream big and understand that it takes hard work, a good plan, commitment, and a little bit of luck to realise their dreams.

People in this group inspire others and show others how it can be done.

Want to be in this group? Start with a self-assessment.

Group 2 - Dreamers Group: Those Who Know What They Want but Don't Know How to Get It

People from this group know what they want from their careers. They might say they want to be a CEO, CTO, general manager, supervisor, expert, and so on.

If Group 1 is a dream group, we could say Group 2 is a dreamers group. Just knowing what you want is not the best state to be in. Knowing how to get there - identifying steps that need to be taken, seeking help, experience, education, and knowledge - is crucial to achieving goals. Having good coaches, mentors, and managers really helps people in this group, as they can provide guidance and advice.

Over time, with experience and the right mindset, people in this group usually end up in Group 1.

Group 3 - Chameleon Group: Those Who Don't Know What They Want

As a manager and a mentor, I've had a few situations where I asked others what they want and received a blank stare in response. When prompted, I often received the answer, "Oh, I don't know what I want. Can you tell me?"

Earlier in my career, I'd think to myself, "How can I possibly help someone if they don't even know what they want for themselves?" But as I've gotten older, I've also become wiser.

I've learned that we can help people in this group if we take enough time to know and understand them and if they have the right mindset. Asking the right questions, showing them opportunities, and giving them examples can all help identify what they might want for their career. This may seem like hard work, but it can actually be quite rewarding to be a mentor or manager of people in this group.

If you belong to this group, try to seek advice from a good manager, mentor, or even consider hiring a career coach.

Group 4 - Happy-Go-Lucky Group: Those Who Are Just Happy and Content

People in this group sometimes also belong to Group 3 or are an extension of it. These are the people who don't know what they want because they are perfectly content where they are. Other times, they can belong to Group 1 in that they know what they want and how to get there, so they are perfectly happy and satisfied with what they are doing in the meantime.

I've actually worked with a few people like that, and they respond well to genuine support - whether in helping them refine their skills, becoming better at their current role, or getting stretch assignments that are in line with their long-term goals.

While being content with what you have is wonderful, I believe that happiness and job satisfaction are infinite feelings and there is always room to feel happier and more satisfied with your career.

Career Growth Is a Deliberate Act

Did you feel like I was speaking directly to you as you read more about your group? As I mentioned earlier, we can fall into different groups at different times. Sometimes, I'm perfectly happy and fall into Group 4. Other times, I have a strong desire to be more, to do more, and to become a better version of myself. When that happens, I find myself in either Group 1 or Group 2. It can be quite exhausting yet motivating.

I don't claim to be a know-it-all in career development. However, knowing which group I currently belong to has helped me understand myself and seek out the right support that I need. It is my hope that you find this helpful in the same way. Take time to think about your career and plan thoughtfully because career growth isn't an accident. It's a deliberate act.

You may take this quiz to find out your type and follow the recommendation to start planning for your career growth.

Thanks for reading! Happy planning!

Sample Questions To Ask In An Interview As A Software Developer

Isabel Nyo — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Impress the interviewer with a thoughtful question when they ask you, “Do you have any question?” at the end of an interview.

You might be wondering, “Why should you ask good questions as an interviewee?” First impression matters and last impression – for lack of a better word – lasts. You want to start the interview with a good impression and leave it with a great one. And you can do that by asking really thoughtful and insightful questions at the end of an interview.

There are usually 4–6 interview rounds and at each interview* for software developers, the interviewer(s) is looking for different competencies. Remember to be authentic and real. Don’t ask questions that you have no interest in knowing the answer to or they are just plain irrelevant. For example, if your interviewer is an HR personnel and you’re applying for a developer role, asking, what’s a typical day like in their role isn’t a good question if you have no interest in actually knowing. Also, don’t waste time by asking a too technical question like what IDE do developers use in a cultural interview.

*The interviews are:

Screening interview / Phone inteview
Coding interview
Technical/System Design interview
Manager interview
Cultural interview

So, let’s take a look at what questions you should ask in each interview.

Company related questions

Culture of the company
How do big decisions like (insert a relevant example) get made?
Learning and development opportunities
Flexibility
Diversity & inclusion efforts
Innovation mindset

Team related questions

Team composites and setup
Roles in each agile team
Size of each team
Onboarding process
Decision making – Who decides what to work on?

Engineering practices related

Code review process
Tools used
How tech debt gets prioritized
Way of working / Agile rituals
Build vs buy – when & how

Role related

Measurement of success
Performance measurement
Primary responsibilities
A typical day

12 Sample Questions To Ask In An Interview As A Software Developer

Who are your customers and how do you find out about their pain points?
What’re the biggest opportunities on the horizon for the company?
How does the performance review process work?
What learning opportunities are available for a software developer?
What are the primary role & responsibilities of a software developer?
What’s a typical team size and who is part of a team?
What does success look like for the role?
How do you balance between tech debt and feature delivery work?
Who’s responsible for the product roadmap?
What is the culture of this company?
What do you like most about working for the company?
What is the most challenging thing about working here?

Golden Rule

Think about what you’re interested in AND what would be relevant to the interviewer.

Want more interview tips?

Interviewing is a skill that requires understanding & practice. I have written a book on interviewing skills, especially for interviewing well at tech companies for roles such as software development managers, software engineers, product managers, and designers!

10 Strategic Career Goals For Software Developers To Have In 2021

Isabel Nyo — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 05:24:41 +0000

Learning new skills is part of a software developer's role due to the frequent changes and advancements in technology and frameworks. I personally know quite a few developers who are learning Rust right now. However, just learning programming skills isn't enough if you want to succeed and get ahead in your software developer's career.

What are strategic career goals?

Strategic career goals are those that will propel you towards where you want to head professionally, in one year, two years, or even five years. They have a purpose, reflect your professional vision, and have a significant impact on your career success.

Strategic career goals for software developers

They can be categorised as:

Technical goals
Job goals
Entrepreneurship goals
Leadership goals
Community goals

Here are some specific examples of strategic career goals. These goals will get you ahead in your career as a software developer.

1) Technical goals

Example #1 :

become an expert in a domain, technology, or language such as Performance, Machine Learning, or Javascript

Example #2 :

work on a system that has X scale or complexity, such as 3 millions of requests per second

2) Job goals

Example #3 :

get to a specific job title, such as architect, senior engineer, CTO, developer evangelist

Example #4 :

work at a prestigious tech company, such as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google (FANG)

3) Entrepreneurship goals

Example #5 :

start a side hustle, such as freelancing

Example #6 :

make your first sale of a software you wrote

4) Leadership goals

Example #7 :

mentor someone and see them get better over time

Example #8 :

help a new person on your team onboarded and get started

5) Community goals

Example #9 :

give a talk on a technical topic that you're passionate about at a meetup, conference or event

Example #10 :

write a useful blog or an article that gets shared a lot

Conclusion

To summarise, strategic career goals that software developers should aim for in 2021 are:

become an expert in a domain, technology or language
work on a system that has X scale or complexity
get to a specific job title
work at a prestigious tech company
start a side hustle
make your first sale of a software you wrote
mentor someone and see them get better over time
help a new person on your team onboarded and get started
give a talk on a technical topic that you're passionate about at a meetup, conference or event
write a useful blog or an article that gets shared a lot

The future of work is here

The technology industry is one of the fastest-growing industries today. The future of work has arrived for software developers. I know for a fact that it is different than work we know previously and thus requires different mindsets and skills from software developers to be effective in their role.

Get ready for the future now

What’s more — it is estimated that sixty percent of all new jobs in the twenty-first century will require skills that only twenty percent of the current workforce possesses. What this means is that you will need to be flexible, adaptable and always be learning and growing in your career to thrive in the future of work. So set strategic career goals in 2021 and set yourself up for success in your role today and beyond!

💻 YouTube video of 10 Strategic Career Goals For Software Developers To Have In 2021