In this edition: How not to scrum, when to use dependency injection, Octopus Deploy 3.3, handling criticism effectively, PayPal scams, and why one developer hates the Lord of the Rings.

Sharpen the Saw is a somewhat delayed repost of a weekly newsletter of information I publish for the professional development of software developers. While targeted primarily at developers working with the Microsoft technology stack, content will cover a wider range of topics.

To subscribe, send me an email and I’ll put you on the list. Membership is moderated.

Techniques

How NOT to Run Scrum Meetings

Six good tips on how not to run your daily scrum.

  1. Don’t Address Too Much
  2. Don’t Sit Down
  3. Don’t Lose Focus
  4. Don’t Neglect the Coach
  5. Don’t Do It All Alone
  6. Don’t Forget Your Boots!

Find out more

When to use a Dependency Injection Container

Dependency injection is one of those techniques that doesn’t fare well in a demo - the overhead seems to far outweigh the return. Move beyond the trivial demo, however, and you can find a new realm of productivity. Mark Seemann’s post talks about why DI is valuable and what forms of DI provide the most value.

Read more

Software and Updates

Octopus Deploy 3.3

A pre-release of the excellent Octopus Deploy tool. New features include support for non-windows deployment, for ASP.NET Core and for Azure Resource Manager. Regular users aren’t left out, with improvements for script execution.

Release notes

Being Professional

Ignore the Delivery to Handle Criticism More Effectively

To deal with criticism more effectively, put aside your instictive emotional reaction and focus on how you can improve.

Read more

Staying Secure

Paypal and the zero dollar invoice spam

Spammers (yes, spelt with a “p”) have worked out how to use PayPal’s online invoicing system as a vehicle for spam delivery.

Read more

Video of the week

I hate the Lord of the Rings

A software developer explains why the Lord of the Rings is too much like work, and why Middle Earth exists in every office.

Watch now

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