Code && Beyond
32 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -Code && Beyond is a weekly podcast with Pablo and Alex, two software engineers with more than 35 years of professional experience combined. We talk about creativity, productivity, problem solving, tools, culture, and anything beyond, but still related to the daily life of a software developer.
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Episodes
Product discovery
March 20, 2023 14:52 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBIn this episode amazing Ana Hernández joined us to talk about product discovery. How to find features that would delight users? How to handle failing ideas? What is MVP and how to compare it to PoC? How to collect feedback about your product? Notes: Userlytics Hotjar
How we relax after work and recharge our batteries
September 04, 2022 12:08 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBHello again! It's been a while since we released an episode. But, after a summer break, we are back on track with new ideas. Speaking of breaks, in this episode of Code && Beyond we talk about what we like to do after work to relax and recharge our batteries. What works for us and why. Listen to Pablo talk about mantrailing (training dogs to search for people) and why he likes tending to the trees in his garden more than growing tomatoes. Alex, on the other hand, shares why he loves writin...
Managing a technical product: The role of a product manager in a development team
July 05, 2022 06:59 - 31 minutes - 29.4 MBIn this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex are joined by a very special guest: Robyn Farah, a product manager who has been working with technical teams for over 5 years. We have invited her to talk about her role and how product managers can help guide teams in the right direction. Listen as we discuss topics like: using data to prioritize tasks and features, finding a common language between software engineers and managers, abbreviations and The Cooking Chicken Method. Have any ...
Going cloudless: Our thoughts on cloud-based software
June 07, 2022 09:09 - 18 minutes - 16.9 MBCloud-based software has been a part of our lives for quite some time. So much so, that even some products that currently exist might not have been possible without it. Besides obvious things like apps on our laptops, smartphones and PCs, there are cloud-connected TVs, refrigerators, keyboards and many other gadgets. While cloud-based software definitely provides many great benefits to consumers and developers, it comes at a cost that goes beyond its price tag. For consumers, there are ques...
How to solve problems: advice based on our personal experience
May 08, 2022 15:45 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBThis time around, in Code && Beyond, we share our best problem-solving tips and tricks. Listen to what works for us when hitting a roadblock while developing software: Timeboxing Using the scientific method Experimentation and prototyping Diagrams and sketching on paper Trying to explain the problem in simple words Thinking about and describing the problem, rather than the solution ...and more Check other episodes of the podcast at codeandbeyond.rocks and don't forget to rate us on S...
How to onboard new software engineers?
April 07, 2022 12:13 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBAt Code && Beyond, we are not HR experts, far from that, but we have both been onboarded in different companies, as well as helped integrate new developers into the teams we have worked for. In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex share their experiences with: onboarding buddy systems, discovering and acquiring knowledge in your new team, configuring your new development environment, conventions, consistency, and best practices. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.
Working as a freelancer, consultant, full-time employee
March 16, 2022 08:36 - 27 minutes - 25.5 MBAs software engineers, we aren't limited to just one type of employment. Some prefer to have more flexibility and jump from one project to another focusing on short-term tasks, others value stability and like staying with the company for a long time. We could work as freelancers, consultants, and, of course, full-time employees. What's interesting, though, is that all these different types of employment have a couple myths around them. In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex disc...
Code && Chess
February 11, 2022 19:11 - 42 minutes - 39 MBA very special guest joins Alex and Pablo in this episode of Code && Beyond. José Doval (Pepe) could be best described as a chess player and teacher who writes code for a living, two passions that have a lot more in common than one would think. Where do coding and chess intersect? From machines that play chess to how chess skills can be applied in software engineering, this is an eye-opening discussion that you won't want to miss. Show notes: Pepe Doval on Twitter, https://twitter.com/pe...
Building an effective development environment
January 18, 2022 18:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBAs software engineers, we rely on a lot of tools: editors, IDEs, linters, version control, terminal emulators, virtual machines... Tools we buy, download for free, or build ourselves. They define – or at least affect – the quality of what we produce. They boost our delivery speed and automate boring tasks but sometimes, we must admit, they also drive us crazy. What is clear is that, by using tools every single day, we have come to depend on them. In this episode of Code && Beyond, we tal...
From Rocks to Code: How a Geologist Became a Software Developer
December 16, 2021 09:33 - 44 minutes - 41 MBOn this episode of Code && Beyond, Alex and Pablo welcome a new special guest (and the latter's namesake): Pablo Hernández. A former geologist, Pablo became a software developer a few years ago. Listen as he talks about how he changed careers successfully and answers questions like: What does it take to change your career path and get into coding? Where and how to start a new career as a software developer? How to land your first job in a tech team? Have any feedback? Send us an email a...
Quality in software development
November 30, 2021 08:24 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBIn this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex discuss the topic of quality in software development. How much is "good enough"? How can you maintain the quality of tests in your projects? What tools can be used to automate quality assurance? Have any feedback? Send us an email at [email protected] or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium from Pixabay.
Teamwork
November 22, 2021 12:18 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBIn this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex touch on the topic of teamwork. What is the optimal size of a team? What kind of challenges are facing many teams? What structure should have an effective team? These and other questions are discussed in this episode. Notes: Async is a composable asynchronous I/O framework for Ruby based on nio4r and timers. Have any feedback? Send us an email at [email protected] or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Twisterium fro...
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and software development
November 13, 2021 10:08 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBTo celebrate our 20th episode, Code && Beyond welcomed its first-ever guest: Ana Hernández. She helped us explore the topic of search engine optimization or SEO, what software developers should be aware of, how SEO specialists work together with devs and more. Notes: - Screaming Frog is a website crawler that helps you improve onsite SEO by extracting data & auditing for common SEO issues. - Schema.org is a collaborative, community activity with a mission to create, maintain, and promote ...
Work under pressure
October 26, 2021 07:34 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBJust like Freddie and David say, no man asks for pressure. There is no denying that working under pressure with an upcoming deadline in sight is stressful. However, can it also be useful? Perhaps the stress can help push you forward towards the finish line of a project? The truth is that there is no one answer, it all depends on the situation. In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex explore different types of pressure while working in software development projects, including the...
Productivity tools: Focus
October 18, 2021 08:14 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBIn this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex share their best tips and tricks to stay focused on the task at hand. Listen as they recount their experiences and discuss focus tools like the Pomodoro Technique, meditation, and even crazy time-tracking in great detail. Notes: - "Working from orbit" - Session helps you focus and be more mindful by blocking distractions and tracking your progress. - The Pomodoro® Technique - Headspace Any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyond@pro...
Test-driven development
October 11, 2021 10:22 - 28 minutes - 26.6 MBWriting tests is like flossing your teeth: everyone agrees it's great for your health, but not everyone does it right (or even at all). Nobody denies that it can sometimes be tricky. It requires time, a good understanding of the context, and access to the right tools. In this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex delve deep into the topic of testing in software development, discussing not only why and how, but also common mistakes, and solutions. Let's see how it goes 😃 Notes: - ...
Productivity tools: Planning
September 30, 2021 10:00 - 18 minutes - 17.4 MBIn this episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex talk about their experiences with long and short-term planning as software developers. Also quite unexpectedly featuring some larger topics such as freedom and how life goals can become distorted once you start chasing someone else's dreams. Notes: - NeoVim - telescope.nvim is a highly extendable fuzzy finder over lists. Built on the latest awesome features from neovim core. Telescope is centered around modularity, allowing for easy c...
Monolith vs. microservice
September 20, 2021 20:44 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBOn Code && Beyond, we recently touched on the hot topic of relational and NoSQL databases. To continue with the trendy themes, this time Alex and Pablo discuss monolith and microservice architectures. What are the cons and pros of these approaches? Does it make sense to start with microservices in a greenfield project? Notes: - Syncthing is a continuous file synchronization program. - NeoVim 0.5+ (Lua stuff). - Practical Microservices. Have any feedback? Send us an email at codeandbeyo...
Productivity tools: Tasks management
September 13, 2021 08:31 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBIn the 14th episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex talk about task management. Listen to them discuss their experiences with GTD (Gettings Things Done) with Things and Todoist, Kanban with Trello, pen and paper with Bullet Journal, and Passion Planner. Notes: - Passion Planner - Good notes - Bullet Journal - Notion - Trello - Todoist - Dynalist - Things - Nirvana Have any feedback? Send us an email at [email protected] or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Mu...
Our stories
September 06, 2021 14:11 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MBIn this special episode, Pablo and Alex talk about themselves. Learn about their life, their career, their hobbies, and much more. Find out things like: How we decided to become software developers How Pablo got a job in London speaking very little English How a book changed Alex's whole life All of this and more in the 13th episode of Code && Beyond. Have any feedback? Send us an email at [email protected] or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by John Yasut from Pix...
Relational databases vs NoSQL
August 30, 2021 12:57 - 28 minutes - 26 MBIn the twelfth episode of Code && Beyond, software developers Pablo and Alex touch on the topic of databases. What's the difference between relational and NoSQL databases? What would be a use case for a graph database? Which database type might be better to choose for a greenfield project? Notes: - Amazon DynamoDB - fast and flexible NoSQL database service for any scale. - AWS re:Invent 2018: Amazon DynamoDB Deep Dive: Advanced Design Patterns for DynamoDB (DAT401) - SQLite is a C-la...
Productivity tools: Note-taking
August 22, 2021 16:38 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBThe first step on the journey to being more productive is to clear your head using a technique called "brain dump". The idea is simple: write down your ideas, tasks, and anything else that is taking up space in your brain, either as digital or physical notes. In today's episode of Code && Beyond, Pablo and Alex share how they organize their notes and which note-taking tools they use. From Evernote and Microsoft OneNote to plain-text files in Markdown format, Obsidian, and more. Notes: - Obsi...
Career progression
August 16, 2021 17:19 - 22 minutes - 21.2 MBWhat changes when you get a new job title? Does it make sense to climb the career ladder nowadays? Pablo and Alex try to answer these questions on episode tenth of Code && Beyond as they discuss the topic of career progression and talk about professional and personal growth in the field of software development. Have any feedback? Send us an email at [email protected] or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.
Leaving the comfort zone
August 08, 2021 17:14 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBIn the episode, Pablo and Alex discuss the importance of going out of the comfort zone. Why is it hard to do? How to overcome the fear of leaving the zone of comfort and even extend its borders? All of that and many more with the usual stories from personal experience. Notes: Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwid...
Remote work
August 02, 2021 05:51 - 25 minutes - 23.8 MBIn this week's episode, we talk about the pros and cons of remote work. Featuring personal stories (including our experience with Google Wave) tools, tips on how to set up a home office, be more productive and communicate more efficiently, and more. Plus, we touch on the tricky question of remote salaries. Notes: - Tuple: the best remote pair programming app on macOS - tmate: instant terminal sharing - Google Wave: software framework for real-time collaborative editing online Got any fe...
Experiments
July 25, 2021 18:47 - 22 minutes - 20.5 MBThis episode is all about the topic of experimentation and exploration. Who doesn't like to try a new database technology, play with a new framework, or write "Hello, world" in a new programming language? It's always exciting to play with new shiny things. But how to keep everything under control and get better results in the end? Alex and Pablo talk about their personal experience and share some tips and tricks on how to get even more from experiments and hack projects. Have any feedback?...
Technical interviews
July 19, 2021 05:30 - 27 minutes - 25 MBIn this episode, Pablo and Alex touch on the topic of technical interviews. They share personal experiences and opinions on different aspects of conducting an interview and being interviewed. Code challenges! When and why they might be helpful. What's the true purpose of a code challenge? Have any feedback? Send us an email at [email protected] or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.
Failures, successes, and learned lessons
July 11, 2021 22:05 - 21 minutes - 19.4 MBIn this episode, Alex and Pablo talk about epic failures, life-changing successes, and lessons derived from them. Four very different real-life stories. Notes: - PlantUML is an open-source tool allowing users to create diagrams from a plain text language. - Insomnia - the collaborative API client. Have any feedback? Send us an email at [email protected] or leave a voice message on Anchor. --- Music by Asepirawan20 from Pixabay.
The API Design-First philosophy
July 04, 2021 13:17 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBThis time Pablo and Alex touch on the topic of the HTTP API design. They share a couple of stories from personal experience and explain what The API Design-First approach is and when it might make sense to follow it. Notes: - Stoplight: develop quality APIs with collaborative API-first design. - marginalia Ruby gem: attach comments to your ActiveRecord queries. - OpenAPI defines a standard, language-agnostic interface to RESTful APIs which allows both humans and computers to discover and...
Productivity methods and hacks
June 27, 2021 16:38 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBProductivity is one of the evergreen topics. But what does it even mean to be productive? How to tame procrastination? Does that make sense to worry about that at all? In this episode, Pablo and Alex explore these and other questions, share their personal stories of becoming more productive at work and in their personal life. Notes: - Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top ofa local folder of plain text Markdown files. - gron transforms JSON into discrete assignments to ...
Vim for life?
June 20, 2021 16:19 - 44 minutes - 40.9 MBVim is a text editor. It's the same for everyone, and yet everyone has a different story with it. In this episode Pablo and Alex share their vim-stories, explain why and what they like about the editor, what they wish to see as improvements, and more. Notes: - Hanami is a modern web framework for Ruby. - dry-rb is a collection of next-generation Ruby libraries. - Tim Pope on GitHub. - NeoVim - hyperextensible Vim-based text editor. - Devbook is a search engine for developers that help...
Heroes and mentors
June 13, 2021 05:58 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBIn the very first episode, Pablo and Alex talk about inspirational people and those who guide professional development. It's is about heroes, mentors, life influencers, and role models. Notes: - Sandi Metz is an American software engineer and author. She is the author of Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby. - Robert Cecil Martin, colloquially called "Uncle Bob", is an American software engineer, instructor, and best-selling author. - Adam Savage is an American special effects des...