Batch data imports are tricky to build. You need to make sure the data is valid, and, most importantly, you need to correctly map that data to your domain. In my experience, that last part is difficult. Read more on Store Batch Import Metadata to Save Yourself Time Later…
Author: Ryan Abel
Three Ways to Maintain Excellent Customer Experience During a Support Phase
During active projects, we rarely go more than a day or two without talking to our client via Basecamp, a phone call, or in person. Clients appreciate that amount of engagement, and at the end of the project, the relationship is very strong.
Then the project enters a support phase, and communication goes dark. The strong relationship you’ve built starts to fade.
Fast forward a year. That same client is ready for another round of development, but instead of reaching out to you, they shop around and find a new partner. Read more on Three Ways to Maintain Excellent Customer Experience During a Support Phase…
Prioritize Your (or Your Client’s) Projects Using Relative Weighting
I was recently working with a client that was considering many different software projects and struggling to decide which should come first. Each project was valuable in its own way, but when we began comparing them, we weren’t getting far. Then, I remembered an exercise that I did during my Scrum Product Owner training called relative weighting. Read more on Prioritize Your (or Your Client’s) Projects Using Relative Weighting…
When Is a Story Done? Three Criteria to Decide
There’s a saying that what’s done is done. Done is straightforward, clear-cut. It’s absolute. So when we talk about user stories being done, why is it so difficult to agree what that means? Read more on When Is a Story Done? Three Criteria to Decide…
Three Ways to Improve Your Sprint Demo
The demo is one of the most important aspects of the sprint ceremony. At this point, your client has already seen the visual design of new features, but this is their first chance to see features in action.
I’ve been a part of some very successful feature demos, and some that haven’t gone so well. Here are three tips to make your next sprint demo a successful one. Read more on Three Ways to Improve Your Sprint Demo…
Three Ways to Improve Your Client Communication
Effective client communication is the cornerstone of our success as a company. When handled correctly, communication builds client trust. More trust means more decision making power and a better overall relationship. When handled poorly, FUDA can happen, and the relationship can suffer.
Read more on Three Ways to Improve Your Client Communication…
Three Ways To Empower Your Team as a Senior Developer
At Atomic, we work in small, self-managing teams. This means that everyone on the team has the chance to communicate with the client.
Unfortunately, it can be easy for senior developers to become the entire voice of their team and make their teammates feel like their opinions and contributions aren’t appreciated. This may lead to FUDA, poor performance, and low morale within the team. Here are three things I’ve learned that help empower and build trust with your team. Read more on Three Ways To Empower Your Team as a Senior Developer…
Making Your System Tests More Readable
When I ramp onto a new project, one of the first things I do is to look at the system test suite. Because system tests exercise the entire system, they are a great place to document the intent and assumptions built into your application. When they are written well, they can be a source of documentation and a tool to educate others on the behaviors of an application. Read more on Making Your System Tests More Readable…
Twitch Single Sign-On with Ember Simple Auth
I’ve been messing around with some Twitch integrations in my free time. Twitch’s API is well defined and has some very good documentation around it. In this post, I’ll explain how I used an Ember Simple Auth custom authenticator to implement SSO (Single Sign-On) with Twitch. Read more on Twitch Single Sign-On with Ember Simple Auth…
Three Reasons To Keep Your Frameworks Up To Date
Frameworks are constantly changing and evolving—especially open-source ones, which we rely heavily on at Atomic. And it’s not always easy to stay up to date.
Updates sometimes deprecate APIs or introduce new architecture patterns. These changes can require significant rework of a project, and they are expensive for customers. Nevertheless, updates are worth it. In the long run, the expense of keeping your project’s technologies up-to-date greatly outweighs the cost. Read more on Three Reasons To Keep Your Frameworks Up To Date…