Archive for the ‘Improving Process’ Category

REST worst practices. Following on the heels of Guzzle, I’ve just read this piece on REST worst practices. As it happens, technology tends to be abused from time to time, REST included. I’m far from a REST expert, so reading a piece like this helps to give me some context and guidance for the future. [...]

I’ve become a true fan of Sass, and a lot has to do with Compass. More than that, though, I’ve got a new approach to the way I’ve been structuring my Sass as a method of writing more efficient, targeted styles that are more adaptable and easier to maintain.

As I’m writing more advanced software, I’m more consistently reflecting on the importance of testing. Specifically automated testing. Humans are far too likely to get lazy and cut corners, and testing is the worst time for that to happen. I’ve been thinking a lot about regression testing lately and how to implement it in my workflow. I thought about writing my own suite, but quickly remembered that it had already been done.

I recently spent some time at the dentist’s office and through my anxiety, took some notes to compare my experience to our client work. There are a lot of parallels aligning our industry with other service industries, and it’s rare that I get a conscious, extended look from ‘the other side’.

Programming workflows have always been especially interesting to me. It may be due to the wide spectrum of detail that can be achieved from a workflow, and I’d like to see what’s truly useful and valuable as you go about writing code. Debugging is something I plan on researching further.

Many designers and developers I’ve observed over the years have a particular way of tackling a new project. I approach new projects in a specific way, working from the inside out, in an effort to be as forward thinking as possible on as detailed a level as possible.

Estimates are the life blood of our industry. If anyone out there is getting jobs consistently without having to go through an estimation process, you’ve got some dark magic going on that I’d love to know more about. Estimates are a double edged sword though; we need them to get jobs, but the work is non-billable.

I’m becoming increasingly comfortable with the idea that at least some form of style guide, whether on a team or individually, is an extremely important part of the process. It helps with everything from readability to quality control and especially helps a team become that much more cohesive.

Time is very important in Web design. Here are a few tips to keep that time to a minimum, allowing for budgeted experimentation and polish.

It’s important to constantly improve yourself, even when you’ve become completely comfortable with it. CSS is a simple technology, but putting proper thought behind it can make a stylesheet beautiful.