

Beyond Coding
Patrick Akil
For software engineers ready to level up. Learn from CTOs, principal engineers, and tech leaders about the skills beyond coding: from technical mastery to product thinking and career growth. Created by Patrick Akil
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 30, 2022 • 58min
Effective Data Science Solutions with Deena Gergis
“Doing the right thing is not equal to doing things right”. This really stuck with me after discussing how to create effective data science solutions with Deena Gergis.
It would be easy to create a solution ‘just’ from the technical side, but more often than not, your solution might not get used at all that way. Partnering with your stakeholders, and building this solution together is the right way to do it. And it starts by having an equal level conversation with each other.
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order 👇
☑️ The differences between data science academically, and data science professionally
☑️ Doing things right vs doing the right things
☑️ Buy-in from your most important stakeholders and partners
☑️ The right balance of focus and flexibility in creating data science solutions
☑️ Hiring for emotional intelligence and leadership skills, as well as technical expertise
More on Deena:
https://linkedin.com/in/deena-gergis
https://www.youtube.com/c/deenagergis

Mar 23, 2022 • 48min
Cloud Native Software Development with Léon Rodenburg
Cloud technology has made things a lot easier, but it has also introduced new challenges for developers. Together with friend and returning guest Léon Rodenburg we discuss what cloud native software development entails, and share how to be effective.
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order 👇
☑️ What is cloud native software development?
☑️ Team responsibility in handling the cloud
☑️ The problem with cloud courses and trainings
☑️ Iterating on your cloud infrastructure
☑️ Start by understanding your current project in terms of cloud infrastructure
More on Léon:
https://linkedin.com/in/leon-rodenburg
https://twitter.com/lrodenburg

Mar 16, 2022 • 50min
Creating your Own Programming Language with Felienne Hermans
Felienne shares her journey on how she created Hedy, the programming language that helps teach kids how to program.
Creating your own programming language is a big accomplishment, but a language on its own can only go so far. With actual usage, user feedback, and continuous improvements, Hedy can truly improve the way teachers teach, and kids learn how to program.
And it's definitely on its way to do so. Hedy is available in 18 different languages, and is being used globally. Truly remarkable!
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order 👇
☑️ Why Felienne created the Hedy programming language
☑️ Maintaining an open source programming language
☑️ Solving the initial problem, but creating new problems along the way
☑️ Dictatorship vs. Bureaucracy in adding features to programming languages
☑️ Closely listening to user feedback
More on Hedy:
https://www.hedycode.com
https://github.com/Felienne/hedy
More on Felienne:
https://www.felienne.com
https://twitter.com/felienne
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felienne
#tech #podcast #programming

Mar 9, 2022 • 51min
Worthwhile Agile Implementations with Laurens Bonnema
There have been lots of worthwhile Agile implementations within organisations. However, there’s also a dark side to Agile...
Laurens and I discuss how not every organisation actually “understands” it, which leads to forced implementations. Eventually, this lack of understanding can create lots of frustration towards something that’s meant to be helpful.
Where does it go wrong, and how we you fix that?
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order 👇
☑️ Focussing on the single most important thing
☑️ Scrum implementations gone wrong / The dark side of Agile
☑️ Truly acting as a team
☑️ What makes a great leader
☑️ Managers are humans
Laurens is someone I truly could listen to for hours, enjoy!
More on Laurens:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensbonnema
https://twitter.com/laurensbonnema

Mar 2, 2022 • 51min
Remote Company Culture with Alvaro Moya
Want to live and work next to the beach, but stay in the tech space? No problem! Working remote allows you to have the personal life that you want whilst your work life fit around that. That is one of the main drivers why Alvaro started his company in a fully remote setting. He shares how he’s been operating fully remote, some of the pitfalls he’s experienced, and much more!
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order 👇
☑️ Managing and trusting remote teams
☑️ Clear expectations and long-term partners
☑️ Engineers want to work remote, so organisations offer it
☑️ The issues with working remote
☑️ Personal values, team values, and company values
More on Alvaro:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvarormoya
https://lidr.co

Feb 23, 2022 • 55min
Developer Advocacy and Content Creation with Nicolai Parlog
Nicolai Parlog’s passion for learning, content creation and sharing knowledge is what lead to him joining forces with Oracle as Developer Advocate. I love his enthusiasm and had a blast talking to him about his journey, content creation and more!
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order 👇
☑️ Content creation as developer advocate
☑️ Varying responsibilities and tasks of a developer advocate
☑️ Balancing self-employment and content creation
☑️ Combining developer advocacy with war-stories from the field
More Nicolai:
https://nipafx.dev
https://twitter.com/nipafx

Feb 16, 2022 • 48min
AI bias and Diversity in Tech with Kaya Weers
AI is becoming more and more prevalent. It’s already making key decisions in our lives. However someone still needs to create that AI. Kaya explains the dangers of biased AI solutions, and we discuss the importance of increasing diversity in tech and beyond.
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order 👇
☑️ The problem with bias in ai
☑️ Increasing awareness and diversity in tech
☑️ The importance of a safe and welcoming environment
☑️ The impact of your communication
Thoughts that stuck with me:
AI is changing the lives of people, but people still need to create the ai responsibly
Diversity within any sector will not happen overnight, but awareness and lots of small contributions can create big change.
More on Kaya:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayaweers
https://twitter.com/kayaweers

Feb 9, 2022 • 50min
Landing your First Job in Tech with Pamela Juachon & Katherina Darellas
Landing your first job can seem pretty daunting, especially in tech. Luckily, it's possible to get better at "the interview process". Knowing what you want, what to focus on, and what organisations look at will contribute greatly in landing that dream job!
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order:
☑️ Personal stories on landing first jobs in tech
☑️ Realising your personal values and what to look for in a company
☑️ Interviewing to get better at interviewing
☑️ Thriving within a company and being successful in your career
Joining us for this episode are Pamela Juachon and Katherina Darellas, currently working at Palo Alto Networks.
More on them:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamela-ancel-juachon
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherina-darellas-087a35108

Feb 2, 2022 • 44min
Product Lines in Software with Rachel Appel
You'll see lots of product lines when it comes to physical products. For example the automotive industry. But in software, product lines also exist. Think of JetBrains and their IDEs.
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order:
☑️ The ultimate way to reuse software
☑️ Planning for a product line
☑️ Product suites and product lines
☑️ The IntelliJ open source edition just made sense
Joining us for this episode is Rachel Appel, Developer Advocate at JetBrains
More on Rachel: https://rachelappel.com

Jan 26, 2022 • 44min
How Software keeps Evolving and is never Done with Jessica Kerr
Software has become much more like biology nowadays. It's much more about the interactions and about evolving with the outside world.
Some of the topics we cover this episode, in order:
☑️ How software evolves
☑️ Is software doomed to become legacy?
☑️ Rewrite vs Revamp… or both?
☑️ Developers love having impact
☑️ Shared ownership and the software lifecycle
My favourite takeaways from Jessica this episode:
- Rewrite vs Revamp. Why not both?! It doesn’t look efficient, but it’s a lot more cost effective than only working on the rewrite and then throwing it away two years later.
- What we do has evolved and is more analogous to biology than it is to physics. It used to be about getting the computer to solve this logic problem for you. And now it’s much more about the interactions.
More Jessica:
https://jessitron.com/
Enjoy!


