What are the best techniques for staying organized in software development?

Most of the platforms meet your main requirements. When you want to select a platform you should consider some of the other factors that help streamline the development process and improve collaboration among team members. Therefore, Check integration with other services in order to take advantage of tools with your code base such as (CI/CD) tools, issue trackers, and project management tools.

One uncommon benefit of using version control is its ability to serve as a historical record of project evolution. It provides insights into decision-making, helps identify past issues and their resolutions, and can even be a valuable educational resource for team members, enabling them to understand why certain choices were made in the past. It's like a time machine for your project's development journey.

In my opinion, Regularly back up code and project files. It's essential to have a backup strategy in place to prevent data loss in case of unexpected issues like hardware failures or accidental deletions.

Version control is an absolute must for any software developer. It's like a safety net for your code, allowing you to track and manage changes over time. This not only keeps your work organized but also enables seamless collaboration with team members. Git, Subversion, and Mercurial are powerful tools that make version control a breeze, and platforms like GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab provide the ideal environment to store and share your code repositories. So, if you're not already using version control, it's time to dive in and experience the benefits of a more efficient and collaborative coding process.

I have been programming in various / similar / diverse languages / environments for 40 years... If I had to teach all I have read here with everyone, it will require another lifetime so far... I am extremely organized and a natural analyst in everything, Writes down all references, can track myself across various projects in seconds because of it all...and a perfectionist to boot...Good combination!

Coding Standard is one of the team-facing practices in Extreme Programming's (XP) Circle of Life. Ron Jeffries (one of the Agile Manifesto's 17 authors) mentioned that XP teams follow a coding standard so all the code in the system looks like it was written by a single — very component — individual. This practice promotes another XP one: Collective Ownership. It states that any developer in an Agile team can improve any bit of the code at any time. The team would be more open to this with a coding standard. In DevOps, this can be made even better by automatically checking that the coding standard is adhered to with a linter in a CI pipeline.

Coding standards are guidelines that regulate how code is written and organized, ensuring consistency, readability, and ease of maintenance across projects. These rules, varying by language or framework, cover naming conventions, indentation, comments, and error handling practices. Tools like linters or formatters assist in enforcing these standards, promoting cleaner, more reliable code. They help teams understand code, reduce errors, and simplify collaboration, making the development process more efficient and sustainable.

I would add more emphasis on Linters, Code analysers and design guidelines. - almost all languages documents design guidelines, follow them strictly, be your own mentor and take ownership at this. - all IDE comes with extension support, find linter for your development language and have it installed. - do consider static analysis tools like sonarqube or similar to catch suggestions. - install extensions like error lens - last but not the least, please write good unite test that makes sense (this is important). if you are writing unite test just to showcase just numbers, please stop that. it is better off not writing instead. the reason comes with experiences.

When lots of people are working together on a software project, using the same set of coding rules is like having a common language. It helps in many ways: 1. Easy to Read: These rules make your code easy to read and understand. That means when your team looks at your code, they won't get confused, and things move faster. 2. Quick Fixes: Using these rules for errors and tests makes finding and fixing problems fast and simple. It means less time wasted and less frustration. 3. Better Teamwork: When everyone follows these rules, teamwork becomes smoother. It brings everyone together, and everyone feels responsible for the project's success.

Fantastic suggestions! I would add “Clean Code” by Robert Martin to the list. This book was a valuable resource for me when I was just beginning my journey in software development. In the book, Martin delves into the SOLID principles, which are essential guidelines for our profession. However, it’s also crucial to be mindful of the standards imposed by the company or organization you work for. These standards often arise from past painful experiences, rather than a carefully methodical approach. It’s important to strike a balance between adhering to established practices and continually seeking improvement in your coding skills.

This (Agile) is probably the most important organizing principle. 1. Have a clear idea of what you want to build/fix/refactor. 2. Have a clear "definition of done". 3. Build and test small pieces until you have a working product. Focus on Delivery Always be working on a deliverable piece of code, not learning some shiny technology, or working to understand a piece of code that is tangential to your main task. Step Back and Try Something Different: If you are stuck on something for more than half of a day, ask for help, do a google search, or otherwise look for ways to break your logjam. 10x programmers have zero tolerance for not moving forward, and they know how to come at the problem from a different direction to keep moving.

Extreme Programming (XP) is probably the best Agile process for software development because of its technical practices. It's a superset of virtually all other Agile processes. 5 of the 17 authors of the Agile Manifesto at the Lightweight Process Summit in 2001 represented XP: Kent Beck, Ward Cunningham, Ron Jeffries, Uncle Bob, and James Grenning. They've made considerable contributions to software development! Kent Beck popularised Test-Driven Development (TDD), co-created JUnit (which led to xUnit), and created XP. Ward Cunningham coined the term 'technical debt' and created the world's first wiki. Ron Jeffries created story points. Uncle Bob popularised the SOLID principles and authored Clean Code and Clean Architecture.

Adopting agile methodologies has been a game-changer for our team. Agile promotes iterative development, constant feedback, and collaboration, which leads to better software. It allows us to respond to changing requirements and deliver value faster. However, it requires a management shift and strong team communication but in the end, it's worth it to deliver the software that makes an impact on the end user.

In some cases for instance when you are writing a protocol stack , modular programming approach in a waterfall model would suit the purpose . You need to have fully functional prototype ready to add any business value to the deliverable. In such cases, you may distribute the modules , each of those from each layer, among developers and they can start it all in parallel. Once I very efficiently managed to develop a full product feature release in this approach. One of the feature set required several inter dependent operations with extensive use of a very high speed shared memory mechanism. The design was made modular with well defined i/p and o/p and distributed to several developers for writing code. Finally the integrated all.

When workflow is done manually, some of the steps of the flow are black-box and others may not able to do it. even the person who is responsible for it may forget the steps after a while. Automation makes every step clear and easy to run. Moreover, it is much more secure. Access management can be set between resources and services without giving permission to someone. for example, you can set permissions only your code repository can push your docker images to a specific registry.

Automating workflows in software development eliminates repetitive tasks, enhancing efficiency. Tools like Jenkins, Travis CI, or GitHub Actions help automate processes including testing, deployment, and monitoring, saving time and reducing errors, thereby streamlining production and ensuring consistent code quality. This consistent environment also aids in seamless team collaborations and faster deliverables.

Automating workflows fosters a sense of trust and reliability among team members. As tasks become automated, there's less room for human error, leading to increased confidence in the consistency and accuracy of processes. This trust can boost morale and collaboration within the team, creating a more harmonious work environment.

We can also automate or integrate things like having sonar checks, code coverage checks, etc around the new code being pushed to the master branch.

Memory leak identification and resolution is an integral part of development. Most of the people shy away from this as it needs deep understanding of memory management. C and C++ codes are vulnerable to memory leaks. This can be voided by extensive and dedicated code review, following coding guidelines, using tools to detect memory leaks. Similarly there may be possibility of Memory corruption. This results in core dump. GDB can be used to analyse coredump. It’s shows the frame with corresponding values for the variables. It is very difficult to find root cause of such issues. Especially if the core occurs due to usage of 3rd party libraries. Careful usage of constructors/destructors , exception handling greatly helps.

Software documentation takes various forms, including: 1. Embedded within the code as comments. 2. General processes and guidelines. 3. Guides for end-to-end and unit testing, including test and evaluation instructions. 4. Records of test coverage and bug fixes (changelogs). 5. Documentation for endpoints, like Post requests and Swagger, for backend and frontend communication. 6. Integration documentation covering communication between frontend and backend. 7. Documentation for Herbak development features. 8. Documentation of test cases. Given the breadth of documentation, it's crucial for each team member to diligently document their specific tasks and sections to the best of their ability.

One uncommon benefit of documenting your code and project is that it serves as a time capsule for future insights. Over time, the documentation can reveal the historical context, design decisions, and thought processes that shaped the project. It allows you to trace the evolution of ideas, serving as a valuable resource for learning and fostering a deeper understanding of the project's journey.

Creating a solid documentation template will serve you well for the rest of your career as a dev. I have a Notion template that I've been using for years to document codebases. If you don't know how to get started, think of it like an instruction manual, and use ChatGPT to help you get started with a table of contents. Don't reinvent the wheel. See what's our there, play around with what already exists, and then create something that fits your needs.

Documentation is the unsung hero of coding and project development. It provides clarity, aids communication, helps in troubleshooting, and supports continuous improvement. From code comments to user manuals, it takes various forms and can be efficiently managed with tools like Doxygen, Sphinx, and MkDocs. In essence, documentation is your guiding map through the coding landscape. It ensures your project's success and longevity by making it understandable and accessible to all stakeholders.

Sometimes, obtaining buy-in from business stakeholders for refactoring can be challenging, especially when some individuals with a short-term perspective fail to recognize the value in writing code that doesn't introduce new features. If that's your case, try the "boy scout" method and "leaving the code a bit cleaner than before." So, when you implement a new feature, take a moment to extract a method or add one additional test for the code that is close to the code you modify.

Code review plays a pivotal role in software development, especially as codebases expand and evolve. Throughout the code reviews, teams can spot potential bugs and issues before they infiltrate the codebase, saving time and resources that would be spent on debugging later. On the other hand, Refactoring is the act of continuously improving the code's structure, making it more efficient, readable, and maintainable. Refactoring helps prevent the large code base from turning into an unruly, tangled mess. Both code review and refactoring are essential practices for code management, helping teams maintain the complexity of software development.

Repeat with me: refactoring is not a feature. Refactoring code isn't just making it nicer. Depending on the scale of the codebase, you'd have to refactor production modules, and that's a whole can of worms. Every company has different thoughts on when and how to refactor. Always err on the side of caution and avoid refactoring unless it's in your sprint or agreed upon beforehand. There might be people working from the same branch, and you'll risk throwing things out of whack.

Static analysis tool would help get started here. just search for static analysis tool and you would find many. if you are lazy, just go with sonarqube right on. you can also use docker image and get started within 10 minutes.

From my experience, prioritizing tasks stands out as a crucial element in maintaining organization in software development. It not only brings clarity to your work but also provides transparency to stakeholders. This, in turn, promotes a healthier work-life balance and frees up mental space for a focus on engineering excellence rather than juggling multiple half-finished tasks. Streamlined process management tools like Pronnel and Playbook can be invaluable in achieving this balance.

Reviewing Others' Code and Why Reviewing Others' Code Matters: 1) Quality Assurance: Code review is like a quality control checkpoint for your project. When you review a colleague's code, you're not just helping them find errors or bugs, but you're also ensuring that the code aligns with the project's requirements and coding standards. 2) Knowledge Exchange: Every developer has their unique strengths and approaches. When you review someone else's code, you're exposed to new ideas, best practices, and coding styles. 3) Early Issue Detection: By catching problems during the code review process, you prevent potential issues from escalating into bigger challenges down the line.

Its about people and empathy as much as tools, techniques and processes. Its about how we can leverage the connections to make everything a win-win.

To stay organised in software development, prepare a checklist of your action items, follow it for your activities, keep updating it as you continue with your development journey.

Software development does not only involve coding. Writing and maintaining specifications, tests, and user documentation are part of the development process. To stay organized is to have adequate resources for all roles.