Community

Here’s What Happened: Five Things We Learned About Unit Tests from David Scott Bernstein

Learning, sharing, growth. Those three things are what brought together 60 software crafters on a Thursday evening in Seattle, Washington. David Scott Bernstein, the author...more.

8th Light teams up with Adorable, opens new office in Madison, Wis.

I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to be mentored and influenced by my peers. 8th Light belongs to a community of software that is more...more.

Talking to Yourself: Daily Standups in a Team of One

“Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, you know.” The last time someone said that to me was sometime in the 20th Century. I...more.

Advice for early-career developers

Several times a week I get emails or LinkedIn messages from recent or soon-to-be code school graduates, asking to buy me coffee or jump on...more.

How to Grow a User Group, the Remix

ray hightower
13 Sep 2017
Community

Last week, I had the honor of passing the ChicagoRuby leadership baton to one of my 8th Light colleagues, Nicole Carpenter. Much can pile up...more.

New Leadership for ChicagoRuby

ray hightower
07 Sep 2017
Community

After 10 years as lead organizer of ChicagoRuby, I have decided to step down. My colleague here at 8th Light, Nicole Carpenter, will be taking...more.

Diversity, Inclusion, and 8th Light

8th Light is committed to diversity and inclusion, and the recent conversations in the tech community have been an important reminder that we need to...more.

A Conversation with Jessi Chartier from App Camp for Girls

becca nelson
18 Jul 2017
Community

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jessi Chartier, who is the camp coordinator from App Camp for Girls in Chicago, which we will...more.

Ginny Hendry: A Legacy of Learning

Ginny Hendry, an 8th Light Crafter and Owner, passed away Monday, February 6. Ginny joined 8th Light in 2012 and was a great mentor and...more.

Wolf and Rabbit

I recently stumbled upon a story on Shi Yuzhu, founder of Chinese game developer Giant Interactive and one of the richest people in China with...more.

8th Light Acquires WisdomGroup

I’m excited to announce that 8th Light has agreed to acquire WisdomGroup, the leading voice in Chicago’s vibrant Ruby community. This acquisition combines two powerful...more.

Introducing 8th Light London

When I moved from Chicago to open 8th Light’s London office in January of 2014, 8th Light already had a couple of clients in the...more.

The Multitasking Misnomer

What do you mean I can’t multitask? I can multitask—just ask me! I think I’ve perfected the art form. Like other expert multi-taskers, I got...more.

Los Angeles Mastery Cohort Code Katas

micah martin tom kowal tony baik zach olauson javier saldana jayden sung dave moore
12 Jun 2015
Coding
Community
Craftsmanship
Clojure

8th Light's software craftsmen are bonded together by their singular pursuit of mastery. We challenge ourselves constantly to learn and grow through a combination of...more.

To meet or not to meet

TL;DR - Show up to a meeting with presence and respect, or find a way to not go at all. A meeting can feel like...more.

Reid Draper on property-based testing and test.check

Late last year, Reid Draper came to 8th Light University to give a keynote presentation on property-based testing in Clojure. Reid is a software developer...more.

Using relationships to build your business

I always keep an extra Wisconsin shirt in my car. I grew up in Wisconsin, and I’m an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers...more.

Identifying and avoiding the cargo cult

On small teams, most processes are informal. Everyone has a clear stake in the outcome, and if the work is getting done, who cares how?...more.

A one-day visit at 8th Light

In early October, Markus Gärtner visited 8th Light's Chicago office to give a presentation on "Testing With A Stranger" for an 8th Light University event....more.

Attending a Conference on Your Own

sandro padin
29 Oct 2014
Community

After doing some research and seeing some pictures of Ghent, Belgium, I knew I had to go to ArrrrCamp. ArrrrCamp is a modern software developer’s...more.

Professionals Aren't Self-Taught

As kids, we learned to listen and to speak before we learned to read. We started our lives cooing indecipherable nonsense, and slowly adopted the...more.

Software Craftsmen Are Arrogant, Slow, and Dogmatic

What does it mean to be a software craftsman? You can read the Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship and draw conclusions; but if you posed that...more.

An Appeal to CS Teachers

To: Teachers of all programming languages Over the past year, I have seen the code of many students who are working toward a degree that...more.

SoCraTes 2014—A Vibrant German Software Craftsmanship Community

doug bradbury
12 Aug 2014
Community

I was privileged this past weekend to attend the SoCraTes (Software Craftsmanship and Testing) 2014 conference in Soltau, Germany. I've heard about this Software Craftsmanship...more.

Avoiding the Drift to Low Performance

Estimates are a fundamental part of our business. We rely on them to schedule our workflow and to communicate honestly and openly with clients. We...more.

Stand-ups are Broken, but Should They be Fixed?

Recently I was working with a team of two other developers, remote from each other. I noticed that in the morning they would have a...more.

Finding Team Dignity

In his recent post, Doug Bradbury claims that aiming for gender equality runs the risk of further homogenizing our culture. Instead, he suggests that we...more.

Wearing The Pants

I remember the first day I was bold enough to wear pants to work. I remember hiding in my office all morning, worried about what...more.

The Pipeline is Full of Acid

meagan waller
19 Jun 2014
Community

Last week, my co-worker Doug Bradbury posted on the 8th Light blog to ask about gender equality on programming teams. I've had some thoughts about...more.

Feeling Othered

I recently had the distinct pleasure of speaking with three aspiring software developers. They recently enrolled in a code school that helps facilitate their learning...more.

How Men and Women Think Differently

doug bradbury
18 Jun 2014
Community

I used to ask a question when interviewing apprentice candidates that was designed to discover their passion: “When was the last time you stayed up...more.

Individuals, Not Groups

Doug asked a couple of thought provoking questions in his recent blog post about gender equality: What is unique about women that make them not...more.

Gender Equality is Not Enough

doug bradbury
09 Jun 2014
Community

Throughout my childhood, I have strong memories of my mother, an IT professional, singing “Anything you can do, I can do better” (from the Irving...more.

Yes, you can speak at a conference

It was RailsConf in 2007. Micah and I were between sessions, with me following him everywhere because he knew people and I did not. We...more.

Mindfulness and Stress Relief

What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is an attentive awareness of the reality of things in the present moment. Learning how to be mindful brings the wisdom...more.

Do More of What you Want at Work: Productive Partnerships

I had a drink in my hand and spotify was playing ‘The Neighbourhood’. I sat back on my couch and thought about my career. Ultimately...more.

Conferences, Challenges and Inspiring Great Ideas

ben voss
16 Jul 2013
Community

“The notion that ideas are worthy not merely because they 'solve our problems' — but because they challenge us with problems to which our lives...more.

We are Principled: 5th Edition

We teach anyone with a willingness to learn. We do not hoard our knowledge or practices. —from the 8th Light Principles of A Community of...more.

Mythical Man Month - The Cliff Notes

If you've ever worked on a software development project under a time crunch, then you may have heard the phrase "mythical man month." This phrase...more.

An Apprentice's Community

If there is anything which life as a student has taught me, it is how to learn. Prior to my start as an apprentice, I...more.

Environment Activist

You just found your dream home: it’s vastly spacious, a gym-sized pool with twin jacuzzis, a massive home-theater and game room, along with riverside boat...more.

Your Diet and Workplace Productivity

Take a second and think about how many teaspoons of sugar you may have eaten today. I know it's 5:30pm and I've had about 4...more.

What Careless Code Says

There is a certain type of bug that, when it appears as a result of my code, causes me deep embarrassment. This type of bug...more.

How to Run a Great Conference

I attended CocoaConf on March 16th and 17th. It was one of the best conferences I’ve attended in a long time. Here are some things...more.

Doing a Good Job

What is our job, and how can we do it better? For a while, I've wanted to write a blog about what it means to...more.

Front End Craftsmanship

billy whited
20 Nov 2011
Community

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of speaking at Software Craftsmanship North America on a topic that has been on mind for some time...more.

On Consultancy Acquisition

If you had asked me two years ago, I would have said that purchasing a service company makes very little sense. A service company like...more.

“On Web Typography” Resources

billy whited
26 Jul 2011
Community

I recently gave a talk about web typography titled “On Web Typography: Choosing (and Using) Fonts on Screen,” at Chicago’s first annual Tech Week conference....more.

My proposal for SCNA 2011

billy whited
24 May 2011
Community

This blog post doubles as my proposal for a talk I’d like to give at Software Craftsmanship 2011. The working title is “Front End Craftsmanship:...more.

Agile Manifesto Chinese Translation

At Agile 2010, I shared an airport shuttle bus with Henrik Kniberg and César Idrovo Carrillo, the organizers of the manifesto translation project. They told...more.

MMEmail: My First Clojure Open Source Contribution

While working on website for my sister, I was perturbed that there were no libraries on Clojars for sending email. I was using Leiningen which...more.

Pair Fridays

paul pagel
06 Oct 2009
Community

8th Light has always had an open door policy towards developers. When anyone has asked to come hang out at 8th Light offices, we don’t...more.

Reasons to Attend SCNA

paul pagel
17 Jun 2009
Community

While there are a host of reasons to attend the Software Craftsmanship North America Conference, here’s a list of some of the best: The speaker...more.

Ruby Battleship Sparring Tournament

micah martin
08 Nov 2008
Community
Ruby

Yesterday in my talk at RubyConf2008, I announced the commencement of the Ruby Battleship Sparring Tournament. This is an open tournament. All are welcome to...more.

Agile in Buenos Aires

micah martin
29 Oct 2008
Community

Last week I attended Agile 2008 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was a fun, high energy conference. The highlight was a heated panel discussion at...more.

Selenium on Rails released

eric smith
14 Sep 2008
Community

Remember when I used to post here? Not that I’ve ever been prolific but there is a reason I haven’t posted in 53 days, well...more.

Tag! I'm it!

micah martin
02 Jul 2008
Community

David Chelimsky has tagged me with this “chain-blog.” I have enjoyed reading other peoples’ stories and I thought I would take the time to share...more.

Chirb Presentation

eric smith
06 May 2008
Community

I gave a Chirb presentation last night on RubyCocoa, which went reasonably well. I’ve presented the slide here. Please be aware that the slides may...more.

Limelight at RailsConf 2008

micah martin
04 Feb 2008
Community

Back at RubyConf 2007 I prepared a 1 minute presentation, well…more of a teaser, about an application framework called LimeLight. What is it? LimeLight is...more.

A Snob

eric smith
11 Sep 2007
Community

A little more than six years ago I started my first, and hopefully last, job at a massive cubicle farm. On my first day I...more.

Lending a Hand

jim suchy
21 Aug 2007
Community

At Agile 2007, we put on a workshop called RailsFest. The original intent was to provide a one day session would allow attendees an opportunity...more.

Hello from RailsConf

eric smith
17 May 2007
Community
Ruby

Of course if you’re reading this you’re probably at RailsConf so hello from here. I’m right next to you actually, to your right. Yep that’s...more.

Chirb Statemachine Talk

micah martin
08 May 2007
Community
Ruby

Last night I presented the Ruby Statemachine Gem to the Chicago Ruby Users Group (Chirb) Below are links to download the slides and coding example...more.

Got Real?

micah martin
23 Oct 2006
Community

I heard about the Getting Real workshop from a good friend who is a web designer/developer. We used to talk some time ago about using...more.

Getting Real Review

This past Monday my colleagues and I went to 37 Signals’ Getting Real workshop. Overall I give the workshop a thumbs up. They seem to...more.

Community

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