Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Nobody in this world can do EVERYTHING, but there are specialist in everything among us. Just like free-trade theory, if specialist engage in work trade, both parties benefit. This is why it’s important to understand the things you are reasonably capable of doing, and things you aren’t. Then you can harness other people’s specialties. This …

Harsh on self, Harsh on others

I realize that in my world, there is working or broken, completed or incomplete, one or zero. A delivery is not complete until it is delivered and proven working, until then, it’s incomplete. I don’t like making promises until I’m relatively certain that it can be delivered, and this certainty can only be obtained through …

Testing, Delivery, and Confidence

I’m often asked regarding how likely a code deployment will deliver the expected results. It’s actually a very simplistic formula, the answer is a neutral answer, but people often think of it as either over positive, or over negative, more frequently the later. Chance of delivering on time is a function of: testing, how recent …

Responsive Design: Fixing misconceptions

I’m exposed to more of the web than most people, not only on the usage front, but also from the development front. A lot of people employ a technique called “word salad”. Roughly, the spout a bunch of words, and pray that they have some sort of meaningful connotation. One of these words is “responsive …

The Ten Commandments of Project Management

Following at least these 10 commandments will be a big step towards becoming a well-respected, trusted, and optimal project manager: Always treat the person that’s working with you with respect. Always assume that your team is working as hard as they can, as fast as they can, and as well as they can. Always ask …

Invest in Your Business: Time is Money

Everybody knows time is money, but it seems to be a very important concept that seems to escape a lot of developers’ mind as we strive towards code utopia. One of the strengths of developers as Larry Wall, the father of Perl, has put it, is laziness. We’re willing to go through great distances to …

Facebook’s Phone Number Search

Like everything Facebook, the new search feature is cool, creepy, and easily abused. Have Just A Phone Number? iOS 6 Facebook Integration Can Fill In The Blanks [Corrected] Even though I like the feature, I think it’s a feature that Facebook is ultimately better off not having. Given the elevated status of Facebook, a lot …

Project creation, specification, and sizing

There are couple things that every single developer needs to know in a project: 1. How it looks 2. How it functions To figure out how to code something, I generally one, talk to the “client” and figure out what they want. In this process it’s very important to figure out what the client wants …

MVP Minimum Viable Product

Most Valuable Player? That’s what I originally thought, but in the start-up space, it means “Minimum Viable Product”. The LEAST you can do, to get your product to market. The concept behind MVP is to test and collect data as soon as possible, saving time and resources. To construct a MVP, what you need to …