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We are excited to introduce our new initiative “Talks with Software Development Experts,” a space in which we interview software developers and leaders in the industry to get to know more about their careers, initiatives, interests, and opinions on various topics related to the tech industry.
Through these interviews, we want to provide valuable knowledge and insights to our community and help them navigate the ever-changing software development industry. These interviews are a valuable resource that can be helpful for those interested in starting a career in software development or in listening to expert advice.
Software Development Experts Interviews
Inma Navas
Our first interview of “Talks with Software Development Experts,” was with Inma Navas, a software engineer and the winner of our Software Architecture Metrics book giveaway. Inma started working as a software developer back in 2012, and now she works as a backend competence lead at Mango. Her current stack is Java and Kotlin.
In her interview, Inma explained how 2022 was a year of changes for her, as she started in a new squad where she had the opportunity to learn new technologies like Kafka and MongoDB. In this project, she also developed an interest in software architecture.
Inma enjoys attending software development events, among her favorite ones you may find: Women Techmakers, an inspiring event dedicated to women in technology, Software Crafters Barcelona, and the Global Software Architecture Summit (GSAS), an event organized by Apiumhub.
To stay up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry, Inma likes to read articles on blogs including the Martin Fowler blog and Manuel Rivero’s blog called Garajeando. She finds both of them valuable and interesting. Inma also recommends following experts on social media including, Allen Hollow, who shares content con software development, and Nerea Luis, a Spanish computer scientist who regularly posts tweets on artificial intelligence.
To conclude the interview, Inma talked about the ¨Keep it simple¨ principle and how she believes it is key in software development. She also shared with us the aspects she would like to improve or learn this year. Watch the full interview to discover more about Inma and her career.
Anyul Rivas
Continuing with our “Talks with Software Development Experts” interviews, we also had Anyul Rivas with us. Anyul is a principal software engineer at CloudBlue and a community leader of the BarcelonaJUG community. Anyul shared his extensive professional experience of 15 years in web technologies, including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, C#, and primarily Java. He described himself as a software crafter and artisan, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and continuously improving software over time.
As a member of the Barcelona Java Users Groups, also known as BarcelonaJUG, Anyul actively contributes to the community by mentoring in hackathons and organizing events. BarcelonaJUG is a non-profit association that was founded and 2012 to foster knowledge sharing and learning about Java, Kotlin, cloud, DevOps, and coding best practices.
During the interview, Anyul highlighted the significance of attending community initiatives like meetups, coding dojos, and workshops. In terms of upcoming events, BarcelonaJUG is planning an exciting change. They will rebrand the JBCN conf as DevBcn, expanding the conference to cover front-end, machine learning, big data, cloud computing, and DevOps topics.
Regarding software development books, Anyul highly recommends “Accelerate” by Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim. He also mentioned “Team Topologies” by Manuel Pais and Matthew Skelton and “Continuous Delivery” by Dave Farley as must-reads.
He finds inspiration from influential figures like Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Simon Brown, Gregor Hohpe, Neil Ford, Mark Richards, and Josh Long. These thought leaders and many others contribute valuable knowledge and insights to the software development community.
Henriette Hettinga
We also had the pleasure of having Henriette Hettinga for our “Talks with Software Development Experts” initiative. Henriette is a software Community project manager known for an initiative called Code Women. Although she has a management background, she developed a keen interest in coding later in life. Henriette started by self-learning Python and then received a grant for a web development boot camp.
Her story with Code Women begins during the COVID-19 pandemic. Henriette volunteered with an organization called MigraCode, which offers free boot camps to refugees and migrants. While supporting this organization as an instructor, she noticed that women in the program were hesitant to ask questions compared to their male counterparts. Recognizing the need for additional support and confidence-building for women in coding, Henriette obtained permission from the boot camp to organize extra sessions specifically for women.
These Code Women sessions began on Sunday afternoons, providing a safe space for women to discuss their concerns and gain confidence in coding. The sessions also fostered a sense of community, particularly for migrant women who were new to Barcelona. During the initial phase, there were six to eight women involved, but as the word spread, more women expressed interest in joining. Today CodeWomen has over 700 members! Apiumhub is a proud collaborator of this organization.
Henriette also discussed her goals and interests for the year 2023. She expressed a desire to evaluate the direction of Code Women and ensure it meets the needs and expectations of women in the industry. Strategic planning and collaborations with other platforms like Women in Data are also priorities. She mentioned the possibility of organizing another code challenge, similar to a mini-hackathon, to provide women with a hands-on experience in a supportive environment.
Regarding current topics of interest, Henriette mentioned reading the book “Invisible Women,” which sheds light on the gender disparities experienced by women in various aspects of life, including work, healthcare, and childcare. She emphasized the need for awareness and practical improvements to create a more equitable society. It was a pleasure having her with us!
Nacho Cougil
Another one of our Software Talks with Software Development Experts was with Nacho Cougil, Founder of BarcelonaJUG, co-founder of DevBcn Java Champion & Principal Software Engineer at Dynatrace.
Nacho discussed his involvement with the Barcelona Java User Group, an open community focused on learning and connecting with others in the Java and related technology space. He highlighted the collaboration between Apiumhub and the community, which has helped promote their activities.
Regarding his work at Dynatrace, Nacho talked about the challenges and excitement of building a new platform for observability. He emphasized the need to learn and adapt to new technologies and collaborate with teams to improve the product.
When asked about software development books, Nacho recommended “TDD by Example” by Kent Beck, “Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests” by Steve Freeman and Nat Pryce, and “Working Effectively with Legacy Code” by Michael Feathers.
When it comes to researching new topics, Nacho mentioned using Twitter and visiting DZone as reliable sources of information. He finds valuable content related to microservices, Java, and cloud technologies on these platforms. Looking ahead, Nacho expressed his desire to improve the developer experience by creating platforms that are easy to work with and learn. He also noted the growing importance of AI and its potential for enhancing software development processes.
In the next part of this article, we will share other interviews with Software Development Experts, who also have many years working in the industry. Stay tuned!
