Damo's Podcast Highlights 2016 #50

I subscribe to many podcasts, you can see the list as it was in 2015 here: Developer podcasts v2 but I thought I would start to keep a weekly log of the episodes that I found interesting or useful in some way.

[No Fluff Just Stuff] The Challenges facing Software Architects http://blog.nofluffjuststuff.com/2016/11/02/challenges-software-architect/

• The title of “Software Architect” is often an ill-defined role. In the pursuit of a software architect role many critical facets of the skill set are frequently overlooked. 
• It is also increasingly difficult to gain necessary experience as a software architect when most software architects focus on an average of one architecture a year-and frequently never see the full lifecycle of their work.

[Scale Your Code Podcast] JavaScript best practices, Node.js and ending poverty https://scaleyourcode.com/interviews/interview/8

• Take your JavaScript projects and turn them into more maintainable and scalable applications. Eric has a background of building apps that scale, and I asked him to teach us how. 
• We also talk about Node.js use cases and how to get started with it. If you've been interested in trying Node out, time to dive in!

[No Fluff Just Stuff] Reflections on Agile in 2016 - What's Wrong and how to fix it http://blog.nofluffjuststuff.com/2016/09/21/reflections-agile-john-borys/

• The agile manifesto was written 15 years ago and many agree the principles reflect the true nature of software development. Despite that, we continue to face challenges in making and maintaining the transition. 
• The low-level details of the implementation are often poorly understood, the organizational buy-in can be challenging and the result is a sort of “worst of both worlds” mashup of waterfall and agile; “Scrummerfall” as our guest John Borys like to call it.

[Software Engineering Daily] Distributed Tracing with Reshmi Krishna https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2016/08/24/distributed-tracing-with-reshmi-krishna/

• In a microservices architecture, a user request will often make its way through several different services before it returns a result to the end user. If a user experiences a failed request, the root cause could be in any of the services along that request path. Even more problematic is the challenge of debugging latency in this kind of request chain.
• What is distributed tracing
• Why use ir
• What is zipkin
• How it works

[Software Engineering Daily] Algorithms to Live By with Brian Christian https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2016/12/05/algorithms-to-live-by-with-brian-christian/

• When you are deciding who to marry, you are using an algorithm. The same is true when you are looking for a parking space, playing a game of poker, or deciding whether or not to organize your closet. Algorithms To Live By is a book about the computer science of human decisions. It offers strategies for how to think through everyday life like a computer scientist.
• Done in a book review style
• Time management
• Sorting vs searching
• Decision making, optimal stopping

[Developing Up] Six ways you can be a more productive developer http://www.developingup.com/5

• Be smart about your time and remove time waste
• Prioritize what you need to get done and focus on the MVP.
• Use goals and set milestones for yourself.
• Plan backwards, start with your end result.
• Be active in your progression and learn deliberately
• Remove distractions and enter the zone.

[Mastering Business Analysis] Episode 016 – User Story Mapping with Jeff Patton http://masteringbusinessanalysis.com/episode-016-user-story-mapping-with-jeff-patton/

• Why Jeff believes the word “requirements” means “shut up”
• What User Story Maps are and how they can create a shared understanding within your team
• How to use Story Maps to create slices of functionality and break a large effort into smaller pieces
• How to avoid the common pitfalls with User Story Mapping
• Why User Stories aren’t a different way of writing requirements

[Mastering Business Analysis] MBA081: User Story Mapping with David Hussman http://masteringbusinessanalysis.com/mba081-user-story-mapping-david-hussman/

• Why story maps are a powerful tool
• How to create a user story map
• What to do with the story map
• How to avoid building solutions people don’t want

[The Tim Ferriss Show] Testing the "Impossible": 17 Questions that changed my life http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/12/07/testing-the-impossible-17-questions-that-changed-my-life/

• “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” — Mark Twain
• What would happen if i did the opposite for 48 hours
• How do i scratch my own itch
• whats my real target monthly income
• can i get back to where i am now
• Empower people
• You dont need to make it back in the same way
• What if i could only subtract to solve problems
• Am i hunting antelope or field mice
• 'Waste' money to improve quality of life
• Non hurry, no pause

[London DevOps] DevOps Transformation in a Large Bank - Nic Ferrier https://youtu.be/JcZOCoUqjBo?list=PL-JvSFEhoWGdv_Cs8c9hY2cYaD1pGXGDZ

• From a release every 3 months to > 4000 a year

[Developer Tea] How We Spend Our Days Is How We Spend Our Lives http://developertea.simplecast.fm/episodes/10038-how-we-spend-our-days-how-we-spend-our-lives-and-one-way-to-get-a-better-grasp-on-time

• How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. But how can we get a better grasp on time? 
• In this episode, I share a simple tip that exploits our brain's natural tendency to take shortcuts to help you better experience time and avoid the feeling of "time flying by" faster than you'd like.