So I gave a talk at Bilbostack 2024
Hey folks, it's me again! I know it's been a while since my last newsletter issue. I wanted to write again, but needed an excuse – and I can't think of a...
Pessimism-driven development
A sad but realistic starting point for everything we do: Things can go wrong and will go wrong. Do you know this cool new feature? Unfortunately, users won't...
The minefield of software development
Read this comfortably at https://afontcu.dev/minefield More often than not, we build software based on hope. We plan the features we want and how we’re gonna...
Marginal gains: In favor of continuous improvement
We overestimate what we can achieve in a short period. But, at the same time (no pun intended), we underestimate a long-term improvement process. It's pure...
Embracing unknown unknowns
Hi, folks! It's been a while since my last issue, but here I am again with some random thoughts about… you know, a little bit of everything. Stay safe! (btw,...
Blundering your software
Software development is like a chess game. I like chess. It is a game where principles are paramount and easy to understand. Still, their implications are...
Be predictable, my friend
Hi mate! It’s been a while since I sent you an email. Not sure if I can say “Happy New Year” or if it’s already too late into January. Anyway! I wanted to...
Software development, autonomy, and constraints
Hi folks! It’s been a while since my last article. You know, hard times, a pandemic and all that. But finally, the long wait has come to an end. Here’s a new...
Challenge your assumptions
The status quo is dull. Following is a list of stuff I noticed we tend to accept blindly. 1. Why do we work in two-week iterations? Who decided ten working...
You say slow
I've been told I was going slow in every project I ever participated in. Every. Single. One. You end up developing a hard skin on the subject. It is not...
Fear
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Except when they are. You read books, posts, watch videos, whatever, and that’s cool....
The goal of software development
Why would anyone give money to me to type weird stuff on a computer? Why would anyone do it? I mean, let’s face it. We, programmers, are picky. We want to...
Ron, the shoemaker
Ron is the manager of a small shoe factory. And he's quite good at it, I must say. An excellent small shoe factory manager. Over time, Ron came to the...
Back to Basics
Sometimes we face hard choices, where there’s no clear path or direction. Actually, we might not even have a clear goal. You’ve probably been there before....
A small increment
Someone was pleased with us last week (“us” as in “my team”). Turns out, we deployed a contrived new version of a form they were using. Among other stuff,...
All power to the Teams
Some random thoughts about software development teams: Teams should be the core entity. The primary unit of work within an engineering team. Teams should be...
"But, wait. So you don't write unit tests?"
Recently I’ve been asked how I approach the unit vs. integration vs. e2e debate I’ve answered it twice below: Short answer I don’t really care about names....
Beware the feedback loop
I know, I know. Feedback loops rock the stage. But. Not long ago we agreed that software development is just about feedback loops. Not sure if we actually...
I know testing is important, but
…but, but, but. In a perfect world, we’d face charges for writing untested code. Buuut we are not there yet. We all “know” testing is important. But… ”…but...
It's all about feedback loops
What if everything in software development is about creating feedback loops? Gimme examples Okay, okay. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of examples and some...
Rethinking Agile... to all business?
(Sunday rant ahead) I have just come back from my first Agile Lean Europe 2019 in Porto. As in any other Open Space, there’s no program - the attendees...
I became interested in something. This is how I learned about it
(Read this post in my blog here). I’ve been focusing on testing for the last few months. Here’s a non-compelling list of tools to learn about it. Turns out...
JSCamp 2019 was not about JavaScript
A year ago, in my JSCamp 2018 recap, I listed some of the best talks. You might notice that most of them were "technical". That's totally expected, right?...
Three ways of telling you are not problem-oriented
Antipatterns to tell if you are solving problems or just developing sotware. 1. You can’t tell why something is under development …or the reason sounds like...
Creating a culture of Testing
Let’s say you are sold on the idea of testing. You know it’s essential, and you are struggling to sell it to your team, your managers, and your colleagues....
Are you preparing a talk? Here, take this uncommon tip
Last year I had the chance to give my “Maintainable & scalable CSS” talk in a couple of events: Barcelona Crafters and Commit 2018. In both conferences, I...
Goodbye, Medium
When I was 15 (so 14 years ago, OMFG), I started my personal blog called Buscant a Wally (Where's Wally?). I remember discovering what a blog was thanks to...
Your company is not your family
And that’s a good thing. Photo by joel herzog on Unsplash It looks like a family, though, doesn’t it? You probably spend more time at work than with your...
t3chfest 2019
t3chfest is one of a kind. It is a tech conference, obviously, but some things make it different from the others. Main track during the t3chfest 2019. Looks...
What are some myths that you believed prior to becoming a software engineer?
The newsletter’s title was a Tweet published weeks ago by Amy. I wrote a short response, but the questions have been in my head for some time, so I wanted to...
Neural networks: The apocalypse is (almost) here
AlphaZero has become the ultimate King of the gaming Artificial Intelligences. The algorithm, developed by DeepMind (a.k.a. Google), beat everyone at...
Are you a frontend developer or a frontend developer?
The current big topic in the frontend community is not… new. However, CSS Tricks spiced everything up with their last post, called The Great Divide. In...
Your opinion doesn't count
Ahh, the Internet. You gotta love the Internet. This week, Slack unveiled its new logo. If you’ve been on the Internet long enough, you can easily guess the...
Inversion
When we think about the future, we tend to focus on things that will likely change. We like progress, shining new things. You know, everybody expected flying...
On Microsoft, Internet Explorer, and Chromium
Everyone has an opinion about the topic — So why wouldn’t I? I’ve been a web developer for 10 years. So, when I read headlines such as: “something something...
Horror Vacui
Horror Vacui, “fear of empty space”, is a term used in visual art to describe a tendency of filling the entire surface of an artwork with details. It avoids...
All good things must come to an end
disclaimer: this newsletter goes full personal. Hopefully, you’ll understand..! A few facts about me: December 21st will be my last day at Calidae after a 10...
Learning in public
"Expand my brain, learning juice!" - Homer Simpson, poet (Episode s17e06) When I started this newsletter, I stated that Learning in Public was one of the...
Senior developer? You Keep Using That Word, I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means
Yup, my subject is a meme. I’ve been working in the web industry for 10 years now. Does it make me a Senior Developer? Nah, I don’t think so. I mean, is not...
Getting [someone] to do [something]
Have you ever tried to sell something to someone? Photo by Julian Lozano on Unsplash Remember that meeting where you had a great idea. You thought of a way...
Agile is dead…
…long live agile? I wanted my first newsletter to tell you about my first public talk ever. I talked about CSS at Barcelona Software Crafters 2018. I...
Have you ever sent your own newsletter?
Well, now I do. Hi! 👋 I was wondering how to start. You might have some questions, so what about starting with an FAQ? Let's go! A newsletter? Why starting a...