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Articles by Josh Clayton

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  1. Reducing Leaky Abstractions Introduced by ActiveRecord

    ActiveRecord provides a comprehensive interface for querying the database, but at what cost?

    Josh Clayton
    March 30, 2022
    • Rails
    • Ruby
    • Web
    • Good Code
  2. Another opportunity to learn how to supercharge your Rails app with a Code Audit

    We’re re-running our online workshop “How to Supercharge Your Rails App with a Code Audit” and you’re invited!

    Josh Clayton
    May 20, 2020
    • Workshops
    • Code Audit
    • Rails
  3. New Online Workshop: How to Supercharge Your Rails App with a Code Audit

    Learn thoughtbot’s approach and process around conducting code audits on Rails apps for our clients.

    Josh Clayton
    March 30, 2020
    • Workshops
    • Code Audit
    • Rails
  4. Services are Not a Silver Bullet

    If your codebase is complex, services might not be the appropriate solution.

    Josh Clayton
    March 20, 2019
    • Service Oriented Architecture
    • Refactoring
  5. Empathize with Your Customer

    When you’re stuck in the weeds of a particular problem, don’t forget to take a step back and hear from those most impacted by your work: your customers.

    Josh Clayton
    March 19, 2019
    • Consulting
    • User Research
    • Interviews
  6. The 90/10 Rule

    Avoid siloing information by spending time communicating.

    Josh Clayton
    March 11, 2019
    • Consulting
    • Communication
  7. Updating Our Technical Interview

    When our technical interview began to feel “off”, we identified pain points and crafted a new experience, resulting in less bias, reduced variance, and a more accurate representation of day-to-day work.

    Josh Clayton
    May 11, 2018
    • Web
    • Rails
    • Hiring
    • Interviews
  8. Shaping Values with Types

    Elm types like String can represent an infinite number of possible values. Let’s use types to reduce that number and better declare intent.

    Josh Clayton
    April 13, 2018
    • Elm
    • Types
  9. “Build vs Buy” Considerations for New Products

    Exploring a new product or venture? Know when to build, buy, and hire.

    Josh Clayton
    January 30, 2018
    • Business
    • Product Design
    • Boston
  10. Bridging Elm and JavaScript with Ports

    Elm is strongly-typed; JavaScript is not. Communication between the two is paramount for large applications and ports enable this.

    Josh Clayton
    October 25, 2017
    • Elm
    • JavaScript
    • Web
1 2 3 4 5 … Next › Last »

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