I’m a huge proponent of Continuous Integration and Deployments. I believe that the fast feedback cycle these processes enable is hugely beneficial to a software development team, and allows teams to get beneficial features out to customers faster. However, it is far from a silver bullet, and there are many steps teams need to take before they can be successful in leveraging Continuous Deployments. This is the story of how I learned this lesson the […]
Should a new team focus on moving as fast as possible to get features out to their customers or start with the best practices and processes they know they’ll eventually need? Is it better to move fast and learn from users through a short feedback loop? If so, is a team doomed to suffer poor architectural decisions and accumulate massive tech debt until eventually someone decides to stop features and blow up the system? While […]
Last year I made a resolution to read more non-fiction and seek out books to expand my knowledge for business and leadership. Ready with my library card, Kindle, and of course Audible account, I read an astonishing 80 books in 2018. Many of them focused on business and leadership. I wanted to share some of my favorites from the year here. Some of the best books I read and the ones that stuck with me […]
When I started my new job at Amazon, I had the option to switch laptops. I’d been using a MacBook Pro for the last 5 or 6 years, and decided it was time to go back to Windows. My first day, a brand new HP Elitebook awaited me, and though it’s only been a week, I’m quite happy with the decision. Though I miss some parts of the Mac, I’ve already found a ton of […]
After nearly 7.5 years at Audible, I am moving over to Amazon NYC at the end of January. I’ll be joining the Supply Chain Optimization Technology group, leading a team using some pretty sophisticated Learning Machines – think Machine Learning, Deep Learning and more, as well as building on the latest Amazon technology. I’m super excited for it, but leaving Audible after the better part of a decade is incredibly bittersweet. I’m desperately going to […]
I’ve been playing with the Apple Watch for the last month, putting it through the paces as an everyday watch and a fitness tracker. I’ve had a Garmin Vivoactive for all three generations over the last three years, so I had a great comparison point. With it being a perfect time to test out running, skiing, and the normal daily uses of the watch, I was able to do a great head to head matchup […]
It’s no secret that the engineering industry is hyper-competitive. Finding and attracting the best talent is difficult, but a critical part of any manager’s overall success. Yet, I see far too many managers sit back and rely entirely on their recruiting team to build the hiring pipeline for them. To build the best team possible, hiring managers need to play an active role in building the recruiting pipeline, not just sit in the interview. An […]
Serverless applications are quickly growing in popularity, taking over huge portions of new app development for tiny startups and massive enterprise organizations as well. If the buzz and excitement over new announcements and education on best practices for serverless at AWS reInvent this year is any indication, they will only grow in popularity as time progresses. With no management of servers to worry about, the infrastructure management that cloud providers take care of with serverless […]
A few years ago, it felt amazing that I had figured out to get an unlocked cell phone and pick up a SIM card in Germany to have service and data there. Picking up a card from a vending machine in the center of Heidelberg, I was able to get data on my phone while traveling the country after only an hour or so of figuring out the setup instructions and settings on my phone. […]
With less than a month left until this year’s re:Invent, I wanted to share what I’ve learned about getting ready and making the most of it. This will be my third AWS re:Invent, and the first time I’m speaking. This year’s re:Invent is bigger than ever, and it could already be an overwhelming experience. With a full five days of workshops, sessions, talks, and events to explore, it’s best to prepare ahead of time. These […]