How to become a dev

• Self-teach

  • Pros

    • Learn at your own pace, as-needed

    • Many low-cost options available

  • Cons

    • Entirely up to your decisions

    • Many low-cost options available. Lots of sifting

How to become a dev

• Bootcamp

  • Pros

    • Deep-dive on many topics

    • Guided learning on relevant topics

  • Cons

    • Very fast-paced, not everything will sink in

    • Very competitive

How to become a dev

• College

  • • Pros

      • Well-rounded education, may discover other things that interest you

      • Learn how you learn

    • Cons

      • Not always the most up-to-date information

How to become a dev

• Any way you go:

  • Important to be solid on the basics, need a strong foundation

  • Things are constantly changing, always learning - exciting and frustrating at times

  • Build (break) things, play, experiment

What does a Kenzan FED do?

What do I need to know?

• HTML

  • Structure, accessibility

• CSS

  • Styles (Sass, LESS)

  • RWD

What does a Kenzan FED do?

What can I do with this knowledge?

• Websites, apps

• Native apps, Electron

• IoT

• Examples of each?

What does a Kenzan FED do?

What do I need to know?

JavaScript

• More than just writing functions, it can interact with the DOM and CSSOM to make websites interactive

What does a Kenzan FED do?

What do I need to know?

JavaScript

• Open-source libraries - leverage other people's’ code to make our development cycles faster

  • jQuery, AngularJS, React, Lodash

  • Node.js/Gulp.js

  • Npm, Bower

• AJAX

• Unit, E2E testing

What does a Kenzan FED do?

Roles

• Front-end developer - (mostly) browser-based

• • UI: markup/structure, styles, functionality

  • Testing

Roles

• Back-end developer - server-based

  • Microservices

    • Databases

    • Middle: Heavy-lifting, abstracted away from API layer

    • Edge: APIs send data from the database to the browser

      • Node.js, Java

  • Interactive developers - specific to Kenzan

    • Both! Though not necessarily on the web, sometimes on SmartTV apps

  •  

Roles

• PMBA

  • ​PM - Facilitates a project’s development, interface between the client and the development team. Making sure it’s done on time and within budget
  • BA - Helps the client determine their needs, determines requirements for a project. Ensures the requirements are met.

Roles

• Technical architects

  • Develops a plan for implementation of the requirements to be followed by the developers, ensures plan is followed

  • Code reviews

  • Release management

Roles

• QA

  • Test our sites on all kinds of browsers, machines, and devices, making sure there are no unintended bugs and that the code meets the client’s expectations

Roles

• Copywriters

  • They write the copy on the site geared towards the client’s audience

• Technical Writers

  • Write how to use the pieces of the software being developed

Roles

Designers

• They are the ones who come up with the look, feel, and (often) the user experience

• Devops

  • When a website is ready to be launched, the devops will facilitate getting the tested code to the server.

Roles

• Designers
  • They are the ones who come up with the look, feel, and (often) the user experience

• Devops

  • When a website is ready to be launched, the devops will facilitate getting the tested code to the server.
  • Help with build environments for testing

Roles

• Marketing, Administrators, HR, etc.

Process

• Requirements gathering - user stories, acceptance criteria.

• Ticket grooming - what stories get done and when

• Sprints

  • Planning Poker

  • X weeks of development

  • X weeks of testing, bug fixes

  • Demos

  • Deployment

  • Retrospective

Process

Typical Day

• Coffee, check/respond to emails, messages. Prepare for the day

• Scrum - Review, goals, blockers. Kenzan.io

• Work through task list, communicate in Hipchat as needed. Iterative process:

  • Work on tickets

    • Bug fixes, add new features, cleanup/investigation tasks

  • Write tests as needed

Typical Day

• PR reviews

  • Deployment

  • Send to QA

  • Take another ticket

• Log hours