As most know I moved from Melbourne to Singapore at the end of 2008. It is now time to move back to Melbourne and experience four seasons in a day!
My time in Singapore so far has been a really good learning experience. I have been the lead for doQer, a startup launched by Remarkable Innovation. It is really exciting as it makes it easy for people to manage and view user manuals. No more downloading huge PDF files and not find the information you were looking for, or being stuck in a flash window inside your browser.
I have been priviledged to have a lot of say in giving direction to the project alongside Mark Reilly. Don’t mind my beloved and super comfortable Aeron Chair (my back thanks you), or really nice dual monitor setup. Finally I was able to mold my development practices to the Joel Test.
For those who don’t know the Joel Test, it is a list of good practices a Software company should have:
1. Do you use source control?
2. Can you make a build in one step?
3. Do you make daily builds?
4. Do you have a bug database?
5. Do you fix bugs before writing new code?
6. Do you have an up-to-date schedule?
7. Do you have a spec?
8. Do programmers have quiet working conditions?
9. Do you use the best tools money can buy?
10. Do you have testers?
11. Do new candidates write code during their interview?
12. Do you do hallway usability testing?
I must confess that not all items were ticked off, specially since lots don’t apply to web development. However it is very (very much) satisfying to see development moving to have more solid practices put in place!
Now with my moving back to Melbourne I have to start job hunting. A browse for jobs in Seek was not very exciting. The jobs section at Stack Overflow seems like a better place to start. Too bad most jobs are in the United States.
I am determined to take the inverse approach, find an awesome work place and drop them a note instead.
I would love to know what companies have good development practices in Melbourne. Would appreciate if anyone could drop me a note in the comments, or in this thread I started in Whirlpool!
