With each new software release that I’m fortunate enough to contribute to, I usually take some time (or lots of time) to reflect on a few different things that I think are critical to the project and myself:
- What went right?
- What went wrong?
- What did I learn?
- What can I do better?
With BuddyPress 2.2 imminent, here’s a brain-dump of my random and unrelated thoughts for January 2015, in no particular order:
- Significant improvements have been made to cache-coverage, but many more are necessary, and some of our existing implementations are not ideal.
- User statuses are pretty messy. A user’s status is a numeric value in the users database table, and there is no API in WordPress for interacting with it. Just like post statuses, anyone concerned with workflow (or activation flow in this case) is pretty much on their own.
- The Member Type API is sweet, and I’m excited to see how developers use it. Hopefully I get to use it myself soon.
- It seems like each ticket takes longer to test, confirm, fix, patch, and push.
- How strictly do we enforce cache coverage, unit-test overage, inline documentation coverage, and all of the other nuances? I fear we are over-complicating each others lives with anti-progress and slowly forgetting what made BuddyPress fun to work on in the first place.
- I need to write more unit tests.
- I need to increase cache coverage.
- I need to write more inline documenta… Ehh… maybe I’m okay here.
- I sure wish PHPUnit were faster and easier to run. Netbeans has decent integration, but I haven’t figured out how to efficiently implement it into my workflow.
- It’s been really great not juggling immense client and customer expectations in January, thanks to the funders of my recent IndieGogo campaign.
- The old BuddyPress Default and Legacy templates are starting to look really out-of-date to me now. I wish we didn’t have so many templates to style and that creating themes was easier.
- I continue to struggle with the cost of switching contexts during the day, between writing code, impromptu meetings, and random pings. Working nights used to help with this, and I need to come up with a healthy plan to improve my ability to come back to things once I switch away from them. I feel like I used to be better at this when I was younger.
- That squirrel outside my window is looking pretty well fed considering it’s January.
- I bought too much Lego over Christmas.
- I need to take more small breaks and be more physically active during the day.
- I need to prioritize blogging.
- I need a nap, and it’s only 11am.
- BuddyPress 2.2 is going to be sweet.
- Boone did a really good job juggling both WordPress and BuddyPress core development. Note: be more like Boone, at least in this capacity (I don’t think I can eat that much pizza anymore.)
- I’m excited for a vacation my wife and I are planning in March to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It will probably be much needed by then.
- I broke my ankle 1 year ago, and it’s still not quite right. Likely won’t ever be the same I suppose. Guess I’ll never play the piano again.
- Penny (our new rescue puppy) tested positive for heart-worm. Poor thing. Hopefully it’s not too bad and we get her all fixed up.
- You are great. <3
