15 avsnitt • Längd: 40 min • Månadsvis
On The Bike Shed, hosts Joël Quenneville and Stephanie Minn discuss development experiences and challenges at thoughtbot with Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, and whatever else is drawing their attention, admiration, or ire this week.
The podcast The Bike Shed is created by thoughtbot. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Start taking notes in this episode as Joël and Valerie discuss the different ways in which they structure their note taking systems to improve their workflows.
Together they cover the best ways to get started with serious note taking, how to best map out your thoughts so they make the most sense when you come back round to them, as well as examining the different use cases they have for them both over the course of a working day.
—
The Sponsor for this episode has been Judoscale - Autoscale the Right Way. Check out the link for your free gift!
Take notes like a pro with Obsidian and then read what Joël has to say on his own note taking.
Your guest this week has been Valerie Burzynski, and your host for this episode has been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky
© 2025 thoughtbot, inc.
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Credit: Ad-read music by joystock.org
Joël and thoughtbot colleague Sally Hall set out to find an answer to the question, what exactly are the differences between paper data structures and digitals ones?
They compare the different ways humans store and access data, from rolodexs to the dewey decimal system, browsing a system vs searching it, and how the digital age has changed the way we assess and look at data stored in those systems.
—
Change your organisational workflow and get yourself a Rolodex!
Find out more about the Dewey Decimal System.
Your guest this week has been [Sally Hall](linkedin.com/in/sallyannahall), and your host for this episode has been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - BlueSky
© 2025 thoughtbot, inc.
Joël and fellow thoughtboter Aji Slater examine the unfamiliar world of Typescript and various ways of working within it’s system.
They lay out the pros and cons of Typescript over other environments such as Ruby and Elm and discuss their experience of adopting LLM partners to assist in their workflows. Using ChatGPT and Claude to verify code and trim down syntax, all while trying to appease the type checker.
Discover the little tips, tricks and bad habits they picked up along the way while working with their LLM buddies in an effort to improve efficiency.
—
Check out Ruby2D for all your 2D app needs!
You can connect with Aji via LinkedIn, or check out some of the topics they have written about over on thoughtbot's blog.
Your host for this episode has been Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Bluesky
© 2025 thoughtbot, inc.
Joël enlists the help of thoughtbot colleague Sally Hall as they dive into the complex world of time zones, daylight savings, measurements and coding.
Together they discuss their struggles with daylight savings throwing off their recent project reporting, the constant struggles of writing for different time zones and why writing your own code is never worth the hassle, and the similar battle of writing for different units of measurement.
—
Check out the idea behind "If Hemingway Wrote Javascript" and how it could help you with your coding.
Watch Tom Scott’s own slow decent into madness over timezones and coding.
Your guest this week has been Sally Hall, and your host for this episode has been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Bluesky
© 2025 thoughtbot, inc.
Joël turns to fellow thoughtboter Jimmy Thigpen as he looks to expand his knowledge about the wide world of Typescripts.
Together they discuss the differences between Typescript and other common systems such as Elm and Javascript, how to best handle their edge cases and error flags, as well as the benefits of using Zod as your typescript library.
—
Just starting out in Typescript? Try enabling Strict Mode!
Try out Zod for yourself in their browser playground, or check out Zod's homepage for more info.
If you’d like to contact Jimmy about all things Typescript he can be found over on LinkedIn
Your host for this episode has been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Instagram
© 2025 thoughtbot, inc.
Joël talks with fellow thoughtboter Fritz Meissner about the thinking process behind his latest kata project and the vast world of coding problems.
Fritz explains why he developed the noisy animals kata and how it helped to better understand and streamline his code, the best ways to break down conditionals and how to clean them up efficiently within your workflow, as well as knowing where the limits of improvement are in each project you work on.
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Refine your conditional logic technique with a copy of 99 Bottles of OOP and then test your skills with Fritz’s Noisy Animals Kata. Compare notes with Joël and Fritz to see how you stack up once you’re done!
Listen to Joël’s RailsConf talk The Math Every Programmer Needs or check out some previous episodes for a refresher on some of the logic and math topics discussed in this show - Ep 398 - Ep 353 - Ep 418 - Ep 428
If you’d like to contact Fritz about his Kata or anything else programming related he can be found via LinkedIn
Your host for this episode has been thoughtbot’s own Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Instagram
© 2025 thoughtbot, inc.
Joël is joined by fellow thoughtboter Aji Slater as they discuss their previous experiences in designing content for workshops.
Learn how to best structure your workshop for an audience, the benefits of a workshop over a talk and vice versa, as well as how to tackle the different hurdles your audience might face when working through your presentation.
—
Try your hand at Joël’s recommendation of visualising your Git Branching.
You can watch Ali’s Enigma Machine workshop here, Or connect with him via LinkedIn
Your host for this episode has been Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Instagram
© 2025 thoughtbot, inc.
Happy New Year from The Bike Shed!
Tune in to the one wrapped edition that really matters this holiday season, The Bike Shed Wrapped! Recap the year with Joël and Stephanie as they reminisce over their favourite moments of 2024.
The pair discuss ways they’ve stepped outside their comfort zone to gain a different perspective on their work, the growth they’ve each achieved as a result, and their ambitions for 2025 and beyond.
Discover Joël and Stephanie’s favourite episodes from the year as well as Joël’s favourite blog post of 2024.
—
Re-listen to Joël and Stephanie’s top four episodes of 2024
432: The Semantics and Meaning of Nil
435: Cohesive Code with Jared Norman
421: The Idealistic Vs. Pragmatic Programmer
441: The Pickaxe Book with Noel Rappin
Want to hear Joël’s gnome voice? Watch his RailsConf Talk!
Prefer to hear Stephanie give a talk like a regular human? Watch her RailsConf Talk!
Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Stephanie Minn and Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - YouTube - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Instagram
© 2024 thoughtbot, inc.
Stephanie is joined by follow thoughtbot-er Steve Polito as they discuss his latest GitHub resource, Botcasts.
Find out why Steve was so keen to make the app, what he learnt about Hotwire in the process and why he thinks you should stop listening to the show in your current pod-catcher and pick it up in Botcasts instead!
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Try building Botcasts for yourself over on Github!
Your host for this episode has been thoughtbot’s own Stephanie Minn, and was accompanied by Steve Polito.
You can find more of Steve’s work over on GitHub, or read what he has to say about his work on thoughtbot’s blogs. If you want to connect with Steve you can do so through LinkedIn.
Interested in birds instead? Why not check out Stephanie’s book recommendation!
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Instagram
© 2024 thoughtbot, inc.
It’s officially the holidays at the Bike Shed! Defrag your hard drives and take a break with Joël and Stephanie as they breakdown different ways to manage your focus during the day.
The pair discuss separating coding time from thinking time when working, the pros and cons of blocking out time for different tasks and clever ways to move seamlessly from one project to the next without losing momentum.
Joël has some more timezone facts to share, while Stephanie reveals her worst enemy when it comes to productivity.
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Try out the Pomodoro system in your workflow and let us know if it works for you!
Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Stephanie Minn and Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Instagram
© 2024 thoughtbot, inc.
Joël and Stephanie go back to fundamentals as they pick apart some recent conversations they’ve been having around the office.
Together they discuss the advantages of GraphQL over a REST API, how they utilise JSONB over a regular column or table, and the use-cases for and against a frontend framework like React.
But what’s the theme that ties all these conversations together?
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The article mentioned in this episode was Why I’m over GraphQL
Your hosts for this episode have been thoughtbot’s own Stephanie Minn and Joël Quenneville.
If you would like to support the show, head over to our GitHub page, or check out our website.
Got a question or comment about the show? Why not write to our hosts: [email protected]
This has been a thoughtbot podcast.
Stay up to date by following us on social media - LinkedIn - Mastodon - Instagram
© 2024 thoughtbot, inc.
One of the most challenging things about starting out as a developer is how much you need to master all at once. And with so much to learn, it can be difficult for experts to guide fresh developers and advise them on where to focus first. Luckily, some skills will always be useful, no matter what language you’re coding in. In today’s episode, Stephanie and Joël tackle this topic by unpacking several key evergreen skills that will always be valuable, from reading error messages to deciphering a stack trace. They break down how new-ish developers can start acquiring these skills, key obstacles they’re likely to encounter, and how to ask for help when you hit a block. Their conversation covers the ins and outs of debugging, how to feel comfortable in your editor as a new developer, the art of asking for help, and much more. They also share plenty of valuable tips to help you on your journey – including one that will help you commit more frequently. Tune in now to hear it all!
Key Points From This Episode:
Stephanie’s time at the Ruby Conference in Chicago.
The challenges of advising new-ish developers as an expert.
Broad evergreen skills that are always valuable to learn.
Tips on mastering debugging as a core skill.
How to improve your ability to read error messages.
Our approach to resolving errors and isolating what is wrong.
Advice for learning to read a stack trace (even though it’s intimidating).
Strategies for fixing different types of bugs.
The value of editor mastery and version history.
Tips on how to commit more frequently as a new developer.
Learning to ask for help when you hit a block.
The art of structuring your questions when asking for help.
Breaking down large tasks into smaller sections.
Learning to find focus as a new developer.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
What technologies should I learn?
Debugging blog post series
Asking about solutions rather than problems
The Bike Shed
Joël Quenneville on LinkedIn
Joël Quenneville on X
Support The Bike Shed
Mailtrap
[WorkOS](workos.com/)
How can tests serve beyond just catching bugs in code? In this episode, Stephanie and Joël dive into the various roles that tests can play in a developer's toolkit. Covering all the fundamentals, from aiding knowledge transfer and documentation to ensuring accountability in code reviews, they explore the unexpected ways that tests support developer workflows. They also explain the balance between writing detailed tests for documentation and managing complex code, and how effective testing practices can help developers become more confident and informed in their work. Gain insights about the impact of test suites on team collaboration, code readability, and project handoffs, and discover how tests can provide a “living specification” that evolves with your application. Join us to learn how to make the most of your tests and unlock new ways to elevate your development process. Tune in now!
How test suites can act as living documentation that changes with the codebase.
Using tests to document complex code before handing off a project.
How backfilling tests can reveal critical edge cases in legacy code.
The benefits of tests for developers working with complex code areas.
Why a balance between comprehensive coverage and “good enough” testing is essential.
Challenges associated with reading tests as documentation in certain codebases.
Techniques for improving the readability of test suites for documentation.
Advantages of using tests as a tool for accountability in code reviews.
The concept of test-first code reviews to improve understanding of pull requests.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Mailtrap
'Unlock the value of tests in understanding your codebase'
Good Enough Testing
'RailsConf 2024: So writing tests feels painful. What now? by Stephanie Minn'
'Algorithms we develop software by'
[Exercism](exercism.io)
WorkOS
The Bike Shed
Joël Quenneville on LinkedIn
Joël Quenneville on X
Support The Bike Shed
For developers, impersonation can be a powerful tool, but with great power comes great responsibility. In today’s episode, hosts Stephanie and Joël explore the complexities of implementing impersonation features in software development, giving you the ability to take over someone’s account and act as the user. They delve into the pros and cons of impersonation, from how it can help with debugging and customer support to its prime drawbacks regarding security and auditing issues. Discover why the need for impersonation is often a sign of poor admin tooling, alternative solutions to true impersonation, and the scenarios where impersonation might be the most pragmatic approach. You’ll also learn why they advocate for understanding the root problem and considering alternative solutions before implementing impersonation. Tune in today for a deep dive into impersonation and the best ways to use it (or not use it)!
Key Points From This Episode:
What’s new in Stephanie’s world: how Notion Calendar is helping her manage her schedule.
Joël’s quest to find a health plan: how he used a spreadsheet to compare his options.
A client request to build an impersonation feature, and why Joël has mixed feelings about it.
What an impersonation tool does: it allows you to take over someone’s account.
When it’s useful to use implementation as a feature, like for debugging and support.
Potential risks and responsibilities associated with impersonation.
Why the need for impersonation often indicates poor admin tooling.
Technical and security implications of impersonation.
Solutions for logging the audit trail when you’re doing impersonation.
Differentiating between the logged-in user and the user you’re rendering views for.
Building an app that isn’t as tightly coupled to the “current user.”
Suggested alternatives to true impersonation.
The value of cross-functional teams and collaborative problem-solving.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Mailtrap
Notion Calendar
'Implementing Impersonation'
Sustainable Web Development with Ruby on Rails
The Bike Shed
Joël Quenneville on LinkedIn
Joël Quenneville on X
Support The Bike Shed
WorkOS
When is it time for a rewrite? How do you justify it? If you’re tasked with one, how do you approach it? In today’s episode of The Bike Shed, we dive into the tough question of software rewrites, sharing firsthand experiences that reveal why these projects are often more complicated and risky than they first appear. We unpack critical factors that make or break a rewrite, from balancing developer satisfaction with business value to managing stakeholder expectations when costs and timelines stretch unexpectedly. You’ll hear about real-world rewrite pitfalls like downtime and reintroducing bugs, as well as strategies for achieving similar improvements through incremental changes or refactoring instead. If you’re a developer or team lead considering a rewrite, this conversation offers a pragmatic perspective that could save your team time, effort, and potential setbacks. Tune in to learn how to make the best call for your codebase and find out when a rewrite might actually be necessary!
Key Points From This Episode:
Accessible selectors versus test IDs: best practices in Capybara and React Testing Library.
Balancing test coverage with pragmatism and risk tolerance with Good Enough Testing.
Software rewrites and the tough questions around deciding when they're necessary.
The importance of prioritizing business value over frustrations with the current codebase.
Drawbacks of rewrites, such as downtime, data loss, and reintroducing past bugs.
Risks of “grass is greener” thinking and using mocked data in demos.
Unrealistic expectations of full feature parity and why an MVP approach is better.
How incremental refactoring can achieve similar goals to a complete rewrite.
The appeal and hubris of a “fresh start” and why it’s much more complex than that.
Balancing innovation with practicality: ways to introduce new elements without rewriting.
An example that illustrates when a rewrite might actually be necessary.
Reasons that early prototypes and test builds are the best candidates for rewrites.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Mailtrap
WorkOS
Matt Brictson: ‘Simplify your Capybara selectors’
React Testing Library Guidelines
Capybara Accessibility Selectors
Good Enough Testing
‘RailsConf 2023: The Math Every Programmer Needs by Joël Quenneville’
‘Testing Your Edge Cases’
'Working Iteratively'
'Technical Considerations to Help Scale Your Product'
Dan McKinley: ‘Choose Boring Technology'
The Bike Shed
Joël Quenneville on LinkedIn
Joël Quenneville on X
Support The Bike Shed
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.