Topics Discussed

Characteristics of Well-Maintained Software: Tekin emphasizes the importance of software that is easy to change and tailored to the team's needs.
Balancing Complexity and Team Size: Tekin discusses how his small team manages complexity and features to maintain sustainable work practices without overburdening the developers.
GovUK Project Insights: Tekin shares his experiences working on the GovUK project, highlighting the challenges and breakthroughs in rationalizing the UK's government digital real estate.
Version Control Best Practices: Tekin and Robby delve into the importance of well-written Git commit messages and how they preserve institutional knowledge.
Connecting with End Users: Tekin advocates for developers to get closer to end users to better understand their needs and deliver more effective solutions.

Key Takeaways

Maintaining software sustainability is crucial, especially for small teams.
Intentional decisions about growth and complexity can prevent burnout and maintain productivity.
Direct interaction with end users can significantly improve software quality and usability.
Effective version control practices help preserve valuable institutional knowledge.
Organizations should balance parallel work to avoid overburdening development teams.

Resources Mentioned

GovUK GitHub Repository
Programming as Theory Building by Peter Nauer
User Story Mapping by Jeff Patton
A Branch in Time (a story about revision histories)
Tekin on Ruby.social
Join Together Cooperative
Book Recommendation: Palestine +100: Stories from a Century After the Nakba

Don't miss this insightful conversation with Tekin Suleyman as he shares his journey and best practices for maintaining sustainable software within small teams.

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Tekin Süleyman: Balancing Complexity and Team Size

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