Cloud computing powers most of the digital services you use today. Listen to this podcast episode to learn what it is and why it matters.
Learning notes from this episode:
This is a picture of servers ran by a cloud...
To lead in the Digital Age, you need a network of developer friends. They can help you understand the latest tech trends and decipher jargon.
But to build the right network, you need to act intentionally. Don’t just hunt down anybody who has ever taken a python course.
There are two types of developers: managers and specialists.
All developers start off as coders, but as they progress in their careers, they come to a fork in the road. Some decide to specialise deeper in a particular aspect of technology, whereas others go the management route.
Engineering managers lead teams of engineers, and rarely write code themselves.
In fact, a Chief Technology Officer is unlikely to have written any code for quite some time. Their task is to manage the team, and to work with non-technical teams to align technology strategy to business needs.
Engineers on the management route must take business courses to progress in their careers.
Just as the non-techies need to speak tech, the techies...
Software updates can have weird unintended consequences that the company doesn't even know about. Existing features that worked perfectly can stop working, leading to lost revenues and annoyed customers.
Listen to this episode to learn why this happens and how non-technical leaders deal with it when it does.
Learning notes from this episode:
When an app has too many features and pop ups, most users get confused and frustrated. This is feature creep: when the product’s core functionality becomes hidden in too many options and things to do.
Feature creep happens when a team is determined to stay productive, but loses sight of its strategy. Sometimes stopping is better for the product than doing more.
Learning notes from this episode:
Developers don't work in the same ways as non-technical professionals. If you don't know how to work with developers, you can waste thousands of dollars and get very frustrated, as you'll see from the story Sophia shares on this week's episode.
Learning notes from this episode:
The terms coding and programming are ubiquitous, yet many non-technical professionals do not know what they mean in practice. Why are there different coding languages? What do developers actually do?
This is what you'll learn in this episode.
Learning notes:
Agile is now a ubiquitous management term, but few people understand what it means in practice.
For some products, agile is THE BEST system, for others, it is THE WORST.
Listen to this week’s episode to find out what it is, how it works in practice, when to use it and when to avoid it.
You’ll hear how WhatsApp used this methodology to release its first product, and learn how to use it yourself.
Learning notes from this episode:
Every app and site is made up of lots of different tech tools and languages. Like a house, one part is built on top of another and they need each other to function. If one part of the structure breaks, the rest can fall down too.
These are called dependencies. To keep a product working, all the dependencies need to work together. This is part of the invisible work that software engineers do.
Learning notes from this episode:
“Come to developers with good research and understand your customer. If you don’t understand your customer, how can you expect the developer to build features for that customer?” says developer Ariana Waller, founder of Wally Tech.
Ariana works with non-technical founders and helps them bring their visions to life. But, many founders want to hire developers too early or make the wrong hires.
Listen to this episode to avoid falling into that common trap.
Learning notes:
Every time you send a message on Whatsapp, it goes through the server. Every time you look back at your old Instagram photos, the server brings you your data.
Servers are a key component of almost all apps, and they work like the brains of the operation. Their main task is to enable communication and store data.
If you want to build tech products or invest in them, you need to know this key concept.
Learning notes from this episode:
The front end is a computer that speaks to humans. The bit of an app or site you interact with is called a front end. If you can touch it, swipe it or speak to it, it is a front end.
The back end (the server side) is the bit of the app that you cannot interact with yourself: it is a computer that only talks to computers.
The server is the brain of your operation: it enables communication and stores data.
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