Hi. I’m Gary Bauer, a freelance software developer with thirty-odd years of experience. My focus is on processes, tools, frameworks and techniques that help my teams and I deliver robust, concise, maintainable software that makes customers happy.
About 15 years into my career, I considered myself a capable, experienced developer. My software had tests, was well-designed and got me repeat business. Then I joined a team like none I’d ever encountered before. It intensely applied a collection of processes, techniques and tooling that I’d read about, but hadn’t really practiced. Suddenly I was a junior again. Initially I was intimidated and felt quite out of my depth. The learning curve was steep and rapid, but by the time we completed the project I was enjoying software development like never before. I learned the importance of a well-refined requirement as the basis of effective communication between customer, developer an QA. I wrote tests like a story that told my IDE what the world was going to look like, and then let that IDE help me make it reality. I discovered the joy of refactoring with confidence and the concept of common-code-ownership that meant we fixed or improved code as we encountered the opportunity. I understood how to build a resilient, performant team without knowledge silos. I gained a greater appreciation for the power of automation in streamlining the path to production in a predictable, repeatable way.
Since that time, I have strived to practice, update and expand that knowledge and skills, coaching others as I go. This is an exciting industry with a constant stream of innovations. I love assessing those that I think have most potential to help my teams in their drive to consistently deliver great software. Sometimes I find one that I can incorporate into my daily work straight away. Others I enjoy knowing they are there for when I get a chance to use them.
This blog is my attempt to share some of my enjoyment and excitement with a wider audience. I hope it works!