Skip to content
Notes from the field

Notes from the field

Using an ephemeral MongoDB single node replicaset in a devcontainer or codespace

Using an ephemeral MongoDB single node replicaset in a devcontainer or codespace

2023-09-29

I love using devcontainers to manage my development environment. They make it super easy to ensure a consistent development stack is in place. Recently i started developing against a MongoDB instance. For node.js, i use mongodb-unit to spin up a standalone server on the local client. But there’s no equivalent package for Python. Although…

Read More Read More


how-to
From RICE to ICE: which framework for your project?

From RICE to ICE: which framework for your project?

2023-03-22

I’ve previously explained the RICE and ICE techniques for prioritisation. Both techniques are frameworks used to evaluate and rank projects or tasks based on their potential impact, feasibility, and difficulty. However, I wanted to highlight the two key differences between them to help you chose the right tool for your project. The ICE technique…

Read More Read More


Uncategorised
Ice, Ice Baby: Chill Out and Prioritise with the ICE Technique

Ice, Ice Baby: Chill Out and Prioritise with the ICE Technique

2023-03-21

Yesterday, i talked about the RICE technique for prioritisation. Today, i want to introduce ICE technique, another prioritisation framework used to evaluate and prioritise tasks or projects based on three factors: Impact, Confidence, and Ease. Tomorrow, i’ll compare them both. To use the ICE technique, each item is assigned a score out of 10…

Read More Read More


Uncategorised
You want RICE with that?

You want RICE with that?

2023-03-20

Imagine that you are a product manager at a software company, and you have three potential features to prioritise for the next development cycle. How do you pick between them? There are many ways, but one i recently learned about is the RICE model – a prioritisation framework used by product managers, teams, and…

Read More Read More


Uncategorised
Are you A senior developer, or THE lead developer

Are you A senior developer, or THE lead developer

2022-07-06

In our world, we organise in Pods – an autonomous group of 6-9 people with all the skills needed to solve a problem. Multiple Pods form a Team. Within a Pod, there can be multiple Senior Developers, but only a single Lead Developer. They have different and overlapping responsibilities and accountabilities. Every project must have exactly one Lead Developer,…

Read More Read More


Uncategorised
Names change, and so do email addresses

Names change, and so do email addresses

2021-05-17

We’ve recently been rolling out a new internal application. At our organisation, users have an email address which is generally [email protected], or something like that. When a user logs in to the application, the app will look them up using their email address and figure out what parts of the application the user should…

Read More Read More


advice
The ‘two email rule’

The ‘two email rule’

2021-03-15

When i think back to the deepest of the many deep holes i’ve dug myself in to over the years, they almost all start with an email. When working through my inbox, it’s all too easy to just bash out a reply and hit send. Usually, that’s fine – a quick email is all…

Read More Read More


advice
How to: LetsEncrypt in standalone mode for Unifi on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

How to: LetsEncrypt in standalone mode for Unifi on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

2021-01-08

This is an update of my previous post, now that cert-manager is more mature, and i’ve rebuilt my server on Ubuntu 20.04 (from 18.04). install certbot install script to update unifi certificate Test Issue full certificate Install cron jobs to automate renewal Install certbot Certbot installation instructions are at online of course but here’s…

Read More Read More


how-to
Can you do that new job?

Can you do that new job?

2020-12-22

Generally when evaluating someone for a role, I look for 5 things: Behaviours – how do they operate in a team? Do they admit to mistakes and learn from them? Do they help others? Communicate and live to their personal values? Are those values ones I want people in the team to live to?…

Read More Read More


advice
Fix: AccessToKeyVaultDenied when using KeyVault with Function App application setting

Fix: AccessToKeyVaultDenied when using KeyVault with Function App application setting

2020-09-01

After following the instructions on the MS website to establish a KeyVault reference and place that in my App Settings, I set up a Managed Service Identity and grant that identity access to my KeyVault key. Next, wishing to follow Microsoft’s advice and secured a firewall around the KeyVault, ensuring that I checked the…

Read More Read More


fix

Posts navigation

OLDER POSTS

Archives

The standard disclaimer…

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the me, and not necessarily to the my employer, organization, committee or other group that I belong to or am associated with.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
© 2023 Rob Aleck, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0