Trevor Oke

"I left this presentation with no better understanding of what an SDET is than what I came in with. There were some good recommendations of what NOT to do (ex: converting QA, using "failed" software devs), but I'm still not clear what an SDET is actually *doing* in their role." What an interesting comment after my presentation the other day. How would you have answered? https://lnkd.in/eTs8utSJ

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Scaling a team is often necessary as demand grows, but it’s essential to ensure it’s done effectively. Before adding headcount, consider if scaling is the best approach—sometimes addressing process inefficiencies or architectural issues can yield better results. If scaling is the answer, keep these factors in mind: * Define clear goals for each team. * Ensure accountability and support. * Minimize dependencies and avoid inefficiencies. * Scaling impacts people, process, and technology. Successful team growth requires careful planning to maintain efficiency and productivity. https://lnkd.in/eTkqykmG

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Hi peeps! Does any of you wonderful people have a favourite software to run a mentorship program in medium-sized company? We're looking for some automation, especially for matching mentors and mentees for a group of ~150 people to begin with, potentially expanding to up to 500 or so. At this scale matching folks manually becomes a bit of problem. I would imagine, someone has solved this problem really well by now. What would you recommend? #mentorship #softwarerecommendation #opensource

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What's the real cost of not involving developers early? ...Yes, involving developers early means more meeting hours. But the cost of NOT involving them? ↔ Constant back-and-forth clarifications ⏳ Rework and delays ⛓ Team disconnection 😑 Frustration ❓ Anything you'd add? Question for you Product Leaders out there: What's the costliest 'hidden' expense you've seen from leaving developers out of early product discussions? Do you agree that we should involve developers early on? What positive examples have you seen from involving developers early in the product process? Thank you so much to Eric Cussen for enriching our recent webinar. #ProductManagement #Agile #Leadership #ProductDevelopment #EngineeringCulture #ProductStrategy

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Check out my 1st Medium post! 🚀 Let me know your thoughts https://lnkd.in/gy3qxCC5

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If you are an investor in developer platforms, dev tools or play a role in building any business competing for developer audiences, then you need to pay close attention. 📣 The good folks at DevRel.Agency are committed to elevating the work of Developer Relations and the profession at large (more news on that later). Take my word for it, for a decade now, they have provided the de-facto data driven insights into the talent fuelling developer focused businesses. 📊 This year the State of Developer Relations Report will be richer than ever.🚀 Stay tuned…📺 #developerrelations #devrel #stateofdevrel #developerplatforms #devtools #executivesearch #lawsonbrooke

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New Tutorial: Setting Up Templ Using Nix Flakes. I'm on a little side-quest to see if Go (and/or Rust) are a viable alternative to a NodeJS or PHP heavy stack for small-scope/heavy-traffic websites. While setting up Templ I figured this was a good topic for a Tutorial. P.S. Also peep the new cherry blossom theme! https://lnkd.in/gG8R2QuA

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I can’t believe it’s been almost been 5 years since I lost my sister to Rett Syndrome. This is genuinely really tough for me to talk about, especially in a public forum. I miss my sister, Ashley, dearly, and wish I could see her again. Please consider signing up for our 5th annual virtual 5K (walk, wheel, or run) we hold in her honor, and make any donation you can! All proceeds will go to the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT) to accelerate research for a cure. With this annual event, we hope to spread awareness and raise funding for research to finally cure this thing once and for all. I hope that with accelerated research we can help the families that still have time. Please repost to share with you network! For those who aren’t aware, Rett syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects girls. It causes severe impairments in brain development, leading to difficulties in movement, communication, and cognitive abilities. Imagine a condition where a child gradually loses abilities they once had, such as hand skills and speech, and faces challenges in everyday activities like walking and interacting with others. It's like a puzzle where pieces of development are missing, making life more challenging for both the affected individual and their caregivers. #rettsyndrome #rsrt #5k #researchforacure #rettsyndromeresearchtrust #donateforacause #virtual5k

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What's wrong with this "common" scenario assuming the delivery team got what they needed? - "Hey Platform Team, we've got this one weird thing we need you to support..." (3 months later...) "Hey Platform Team we didn't get that one weird thing in time so we built a new platform that we're going to use going forward." Was anyone in the wrong? What do you think could have been done better to set both teams up for success? What's missing? #platformengineering #developerexperience #devex

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THESE will make you a high quality candidate for software engineering... Coachability. Soft Skills. In my conversation with John Vandivier, he highlights that these two traits of software engineers really help you stand out. John has found the research on post-secondary and alternative credentials highlights a skill gap in soft skills. That is, between traditionally educated and alternatively educated individuals in the eyes of employers, one of the biggest skill gaps observed is not technical... but soft skills! What are your thoughts on this? 👇Check the comments for the full video!👇 ---- 🎬 Check out Dev Leader on YouTube for multiple full-length videos weekly! 🗣️ Share with your network! #SoftwareEngineer #SoftwareEngineers #SoftwareEngineering

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Here in performance review writing season (it's just like the holiday season, except with Lattice and not Santa), I saw a great article about bias in performance reviews - I'll link that in the comments - that referenced this study: https://lnkd.in/eV-Cg_-g . It's full of amazing data about actual performance reviews. The data shows that people are spoken of very differently in their reviews based on their gender and race. For instance: "Both men and women received feedback about the quality of their work. However, the women were also more likely to receive feedback about their personality. Language like abrasive, difficult, friendly, and helpful showed up in the majority of women’s reviews, but in very few of the men’s." My experience is those sorts of comments are often brought up in performance calibration and promotion discussions too. So look, everyone has some amount of unconscious bias and that doesn't make you a bad person; that just makes you human. What I am asking you to do is reread your performance reviews or promotion/calibration comments, and watch out for this stuff. Call other people on it when you see it in theirs. It will help to move the needle on this if we all keep an eye out for it.

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How do you deliver great software at pace when you have limited resources and/or a small team of engineers? I propose some tips and considerations for what to do and a friendly reminder that you're not alone...

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A software bug so secret we can't show it to you. At one of my earliest jobs, I worked with a senior engineer to find the bug that had crept into the payroll software. Then he was told he couldn't look at the data—not even his own because—it was payroll. Never have I heard anyone using hundreds of "what the fuck" as fast as he did. It's like being asked to perform surgery blindfolded while wearing oven mitts. You might eventually hit the right spot, but at what cost? Transparency is not optional. If you want someone to solve the problem, you have to trust developers with the necessary tools—yes, including the data. Otherwise, you're just playing bug roulette and hoping for a miracle. And in software engineering, miracles are in short supply. 👉 Engage with Frank Kanu for bold perspectives on leadership, strategy, and driving growth.

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Nicely said. This is what allows my team to over deliver by a fair margin considering our team size, and one of the primary reasons we can outcompete external vendors for a lot of full stack engineering work with no compromise on quality - go #serverless! I made the decision that we’d be a serverless first shop early on, and while we would still assess every use case on its merits - and there are some that steer away from serverless - most times it’s the best tool suite for the job. I wrote about this in an article recently - ☁️Why FaaS is a better choice than Kubernetes https://lnkd.in/g_bMgv2b

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A lot of organizations are scaling back on engineering talent right now amidst budget cuts without realizing the impact of those decisions - We’re undervaluing our developers. Leadership tends to be quick to place blame, criticize, and cut people when there are problems but fails to remember how important those people are when things are smooth sailing. This happens even more often with engineers because they’re behind the scenes, and only brought into the conversation to resolve major issues. As a result, if everything’s good - if customers are happy - engineering talent is often the first to go because they’re also more expensive. We’re seeing this a lot right now within some of the organizations we serve. Talent’s getting slashed in the name of “operating lean.” Some argue it’s the right (or only) choice they have in service of their business - but what data do they have to support that? Why is putting important projects on pause in the best interest of a company? I’d argue we need to be investing more - whether it’s in recognizing achievements or offering more promotions, we need to respect the value and significance of developers and their work. It takes a lot more than we realize to maintain the status quo, and with the pace of innovation, as it stands, maintenance is not enough to stay competitive. We need our engineers. Appreciate their efforts in good times and bad.

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Why Grilling #SeniorEngineers in #TechnicalInterviews is a Colossal Mistake Verifying #TechnicalExpertise There's a common belief that asking a seasoned engineer to reverse a binary tree on a whiteboard validates their 20 years of experience. It's akin to asking Gordon Ramsay to demonstrate his culinary skills by making instant ramen—hardly a true measure of expertise.   Evaluating #ProblemSolving Abilities The classic scenario of, "Quick! Solve this puzzle while I watch you and occasionally nod!" fails to reflect how senior engineers actually tackle real-world issues. Their problem-solving often involves careful consideration, collaboration, and an understanding of business needs, rather than performing under pressure like a circus act.   Assessing #SystemDesign Skills "Let's design a system to handle millions of users in 30 minutes!" disregards the reality of system design, where context, requirements, and time to think are crucial. Expecting senior engineers to architect complex systems on the spot is unrealistic; real-world design is far more nuanced.   In conclusion, these interview methods are as effective at assessing senior engineers as a fish-climbing contest would be at identifying the best swimmer.

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