How software developers can arrange themselves to perform their optimal performance. Over the past few years, I have been engaged in an ongoing discussion with numerous other developers, exploring how we can arrange ourselves to achieve optimal performance in our work. Anecdotally, there’s a feeling that the way we do…

And this is my solution to the software development skills crisis. Putting my Iconoclast hat on temporarily, I just wanted to share a thought that I’ve harboured almost my entire career: why aren’t very small teams (1–2 developers) the default model in our industry? I think back to products I’ve…

A happy programmer is a productive programmer. I will start with a question if you have a spare £400 in your development budget do you : A) Reward your star programmer with a £400 bonus B) Buy him a 24 Inch 1920×1200 LCD screen? If you answered ‘A’ then you…

Working at a high level with awareness of the lower level is much more powerful than working at a high level with no awareness beyond that. X = Acting classes; Y = Any programming language Trust your instincts. Act on the first idea that comes into your head, just to…

Personally, I try not to work on weekends but there are times when it’s unavoidable. A client asked me: Do you work much on weekends? Not wanting to disappoint, I spend Monday writing them a fun reply. (Personally, I try not to work on weekends but there are times when…

Distance yourself from those who don’t share your same beliefs or don’t understand your goals. In August 2019, my first ever iPhone app went on sale. A dream that I had, finally was about to come true. I didn’t know how to program or do app code, so I outsourced…

Encourage Kids to Learn Programming. Programming. What exactly is it? To influence the new generation of innovators to learn such a skill, we must first define it in a way that truthfully illustrates the possible outcomes that stem from it. If you were to look up the definition of ‘programming’…

BLOG INCOME REPORT. These past few years of full-time freelance haven’t been easy for me. In fact, there were times when I wondered if I was cut out for this freelance game at all. Back in May 2020 I was so depressed and lost with my business that I wanted…

The death of engineering is not necessarily a bad thing… During my entire development career, hell my development life, I’ve dealt with programming languages and machines that have allowed me to write less-than-ideal code and get away with it. As I moved into the corporate world of development, I met…