[ conversation: #mxf, #mxf @jimrhoskins ]
Jim explains that he is a developer. And more.
TeamTreehouse.com helps you learn about web development.
Tips
- create a boilerplate library (start from a bugless template every time; store in a repository): html5 boilerplate, rails templates
- factor common code into plugins/package
- prototype. (prototypes are products too!)
- test all the time (know what you want first, build it, then start testing; make sure testing is helping you get to the product, not creating friction) [ everyone should take a look at bret victor’s ideas on immediate-feedback, it means you are testing and coding at the same time without the friction ]
- keep building lots of things quickly because practice makes better products (make time for non-critical projects)
- take time to actually learn the tools outside of project time (tmux); teaching is one of the best ways to learn
Treehouse’s “Idea Week”
stop work on projects, take a week to build something—1 week = limited scope—and launch on Friday. Backchannel your awesome ideas—record a bunch of “4-day ideas” into a pool to pick from. It’s a crash-course project: use your experience to figure out what technologies an idea would utilize, split the work up, build (constant changes, all-day live peer reviews, push each other over the finish line), start using it right away, deploy, test on multiple environments, launch.
Excellent way to keep in practice, but even more so a way to introduce new developers to the team.
Code Racer
