Alistair McKinnell

Alistair has been writing software since the days of punch cards. After reading Kent Beck's Extreme Programming Explained he realized he had found his tribe.

[Mariposa Folk Festival @mariposafolk]

Jake Vaadeland & the Sturgeon River Boys live at the 2023 @mariposafolk festival!

📷Through My Eyes - Photography by Deb Halbot

[Joël Quenneville @joelquen]

Here's a fun heuristic I use on my #Ruby code:

When using `Array#map`, ask yourself would the body of the block better belong as an instance method on each item being iterated?

[Mariposa Folk Festival @mariposafolk]

Attention... SCAMMERS are offering to sell @mariposafolk Festival Camping Passes (which are sold out), PLEASE do not send them any money.
To check the validity of people selling tickets, get their info and call us at: [phone]

[Tessa Alexanian @tessafyi]

Tired of the vertiginous pace of AI progress? Take a break and make yourself dizzy reading about bio progress instead!

[Tessa Alexanian @tessafyi]

5 years ago today, I took the @givingwhatwecan pledge, promising to give away 10% of my income for the rest of my life or until I retire. I'm glad I've committed to redistributing some of my wealth; it's one small way of staying in touch with my values as I grow into the future.

[Kent C. Dodds 🏹 @kentcdodds]

Everyone is saying CRA is dead just because it's not mentioned in the new docs. But it's still being used effectively by TONS of people who won't have the time or inclination to migrate off and it's working fine for them.

And remember there are still humans behind this project.

[Todd Charron @toddcharron]

An estimate is there to help you make a decision

I refer people to my Golden Rule of Estimates:

First, what decision are you trying to make?

Then we only need to know enough and be confident enough to make that decision

The rest is waste

[George Stroumboulopoulos 🐺 @strombo]

"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash"

That's how Johnny started his tv series that ran from '69-'71. On that show, he brought on Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, Merle Haggard, Neil Young and Linda Ronstadt.
His achingly beautiful rendition of I Still Miss Someone with Joni Mitchell is stunning.

[James Shore @[email protected] @jamesshore]

I’ve just learned that @mattwynne is available for technical coaching work. If you're looking for someone to coach your team in technical skills, particularly with an agile bent, take advantage of his availability. I doubt he'll be available for long.

[Kent Beck 🌻 @KentBeck]

Delighted to announce that @OReillyMedia will be publishing #TidyFirst?, the first in my Empirical Software Design series. Watch here for pre-orders & all that social marketing chocolatey goodness.

(Paid subscribers at https://t.co/rNfmg6jf7W get draft chapters as I write them)

[Todd Charron @toddcharron]

What happened to Agile Coaching?

I’ve been in Agile for quite some time now

What I see today doesn’t look anything like the Agile I got involved with

I think it's time we talked about it

[Todd Charron @toddcharron]

If your coaches are saying these things, you're in trouble

‣ “You’re going to have to bring in more coaches”

‣ “You have to follow the process exactly”

‣ “Which certification should I get next?”

‣ “If only we had management buy-in”

‣ “I’m studying to be a life coach…”

[Robby Russell @robbyrussell]

Let's be honest.

WRITING AUTOMATED TESTS IS NOT EASY.

Just because Rails can generate an empty test case doesn't mean we inherently know how to do it within our current business use case.

Yet we tell everyone, "Rails makes it easy for devs."

[Todd Charron @toddcharron]

@CGLambdin OKRs were a mistake

I have yet to see a company that's gotten more benefit than pain from them

[Teresa Torres @ttorres]

Worthy Read: Why Isn’t Agile Working? by John Cutler (@johncutlefish)

https://t.co/ynab0PhSKL

#prodmgmt #ux #engineering

[Alistair McKinnell @amckinnell]

@jasongorman TDD can be a tough practice to follow if you haven't incorporated spike solutions into your practice.

[Toronto’s Global Day of Coderetreat @gdcrTO]

And it’s a wrap for Toronto’s #GDCR2022. A warm thanks to all the volunteers, facilitators, and participants!

[Alistair McKinnell @amckinnell]

@DerailleurAgile @jasonlittle A well compensated SAFe consultant?

[Paul Sobocinski @sobes]

With #GCDR2022 only a week away, we're excited to announce @BrandonByars as our guest speaker for the day!

See the post below for the RSVP link. We still have a few spots left, don't miss out!

[Alistair McKinnell @amckinnell]

Join me at Global Day of Coderetreat next weekend in Toronto. Gonna be fun. Details here: https://t.co/n85nwILXq9