“Work On Your Code” Workshops
Real-World Guidance to Make Software Better
You’ve sat through courses and workshops, picking up great ideas and new skills. But then you get back to your desk, face your actual codebase – whether it’s production code or your testing and automation code – and suddenly, those “simple” exercises from class feel a million miles away. Writing tests for existing code, refactoring it to be more testable, or making it cleaner doesn’t look quite the same as it did just a day ago.
This is where my “Work On Your Code” service comes in. It’s designed to bridge that exact gap, giving you and your team a crucial push to implement new ideas directly on your own code, with an expert mentor by your side. This service can be delivered in a single focused session or, as often recommended, across multiple shorter sessions to maximize learning and integration.
What “Work On Your Code” Covers
This isn’t just about theory; it’s about practical application. We roll up our sleeves and work directly on your code. Topics we can cover include:
- Analyzing Testability Issues: Identifying where your code is hard to test and why.
- Writing Effective Tests: Applying modern testing practices to your existing codebase, for both new features and legacy components. This includes unit, integration, API or UI tests as applicable.
- Refactoring for Testability & Cleanliness: Guided sessions on how to safely refactor your code to make it more testable, maintainable, and ultimately, cleaner.
- Automation Code Improvement: Enhancing your existing test automation frameworks and scripts for better reliability, speed, and maintainability.
- Strategic Discussions: Brainstorming and outlining next steps for continuous improvement, especially for interconnected areas of your codebase.
The goal is always to equip your developers and testers with the confidence and practical skills to apply development and testing principles directly to their daily work, helping you consistently make software better. The code we work on can even be merged into your development branch afterward, delivering immediate value.
How We Work Together
This sessions are highly collaborative and context-driven:
- Small Groups: We work with small groups (up to 5 developers and/or testers) to ensure everyone gets hands-on experience and their questions are answered.
- Your Code, Your Context: We use code that is familiar and current to your team. This speeds up the work and ensures the learning is immediately relevant. The code should be buildable and preferably have existing tests that can be run quickly.
- Expert Collaboration: We’ll need access to your team’s experts (e.g., architects, designers, product owners) to answer questions about design boundaries, risks, and potential impact of changes.
- Flexible Delivery: Available remotely or on-site, with a strong recommendation for multiple, focused short sessions over a few long ones, allowing for better absorption and application between sessions.
Production or Testing Code
To get the most out of our time, we’ll need to ensure a few things are in place:
- Familiar Code: The team should be familiar with the chosen code.
- Current & Relevant: The code should be actively worked on or planned for soon.
- Quick Build: The code should be quickly buildable (and ideally testable) in a dedicated branch.
- Challenging but Manageable: The selected code should present real challenges but not require major architectural overhauls that can’t be addressed within the session’s scope.
- Dedicated Branch: Work will be done on its own branch to ensure safety and allow for potential merging later.
Ready to Apply New Ideas Directly to Your Codebase?
If your team is ready to bridge the gap between learning and doing, and wants hands-on guidance to make software better in their daily development and testing work, let’s connect.
Contact me to schedule your “Work On Your Code” session!