We write what we know
Explore the Synapse team's contributions about engineering, product, and work culture in general. (Many of our pieces have even been published in leading magazines and columns.)
Chasing Ghosts: What App Developers Get Wrong About Their Customers
Today, consumers rely on apps to get things done. With more than half using apps to look for products, companies can’t ignore the power of well-built apps to push them forward.
Originally published in
Forbes
Stay Humble and Avoid Failing in Your First Year
To succeed in your startup, you'll need Energizer Bunny-level stamina and the wisdom to know how much you don't yet know.
Originally published in
Inc.
Retaining IT talent: 5 tips for better training opportunities
One of the best ways to retain employees these days is to focus on skills development and training – especially for IT professionals.
Originally published in
Enterpriser's Project
Our Journey to Adopting Continuous Deployment
In order to meet the demands of our customers and clients, our teams had to learn to ship more frequently with higher quality. We share how we tackled this massive undertaking to help other teams learn to be more continuous.
How to Adopt a Coach Mindset With Your Customers to Grow Your Business
Relegating customer success to a separate team of reps is short-sighted. Instead, you should work to implement a coaching model of relationship-building using these practices.
Originally published in
Entrepreneur
What the Open App Markets Act Means for the Future of Big Tech
The act, which would essentially dismantle the app market duopoly held by Apple and Google, would have huge implications for tech regulation.
Originally published in
Fast Company
How to Gain a Competitive Advantage Through an Outcome Mindset
To build a sustainable competitive advantage, it’s essential to adopt an outcome mindset, which allows a business to focus on long-term goals while executing shorter-term strategies.
Originally published in
CEOWORLD Magazine
One key way to prevent employee burnout? Addressing toxic clients
The root cause may stem from the intensity of this type of demand.
Originally published in
Fast Company
Why Automating Everything Might Not Be Your Best Solution
Low-code/no-code development offers a tantalizing future where almost anybody can create workflow automation to streamline operations for a more efficient, productive workplace.
Originally published in
ReadWrite
Transform Your Software Development Strategy: Three Steps to Avoid DevOps Pitfalls
Eager to drive digital transformation, many companies today jump into software development without proper preparation, resulting in low-quality products and wasted time and money. They can increase successful software development with three key steps
Originally published in
Spiceworks
Great ideas will die on the altar of Apple’s fee
Up until the trial between Fortnite publisher Epic and Apple, most people probably weren’t aware of just how astronomically high a fee Apple charges developers for offering in-app purchases through the App Store.
Originally published in
ReadWrite
Building an iOS app? Avoid these critical App Store roadblocks
How to better your app’s chances with the Apple App Store
Originally published in
The Next Web
How to Ensure Your Agile Methodology Is Fully Mature
Is your agile software development methodology truly mature? Start with these questions
Originally published in
ITProPortal
How to hire a developer straight out of bootcamp—without getting burned
Startups are most likely to hire devs without degrees, so make sure you do it correctly
Originally published in
The Next Web
Leaders: Embracing your fear of failure can make your team better. Here’s why
Failure comes with the territory sometimes. The trick is to avoid feeling demoralized by shame.
Originally published in
Fast Company
Successful Business Partnerships Are Rare. Here's How to Pull It Off.
I’ve run my software consultancy company, Synapse Studios, for 18 years come December 2021. But I couldn’t have run it successfully all this time by myself.
Originally published in
Addicted2Success
How to bake QA testing into your software development process
Three steps for an effective software testing strategy that ensures your product won't become a liability
Originally published in
Entrepreneur
I Talked My Way Out of Making $50,000. Here's Why It Was a Good Business Decision
How to say "no" to your clients and earn their trust in the process.
Originally published in
Entrepreneur
Is software strategy (or lack of) holding back your digital transformation?
Technical debt and other digital transformation challenges don't have to bode doom for companies.
Originally published in
ITProPortal
Outcome-Based Roadmaps Empower Teams and Improve Leadership
To stay competitive in technology, you need to adopt a roadmap based on business outcomes, not features. Here’s why and how to do it.
Quality Assurance Outsourcing Done Right: The Risks of Offshoring
There are many ways to incorporate quality into your software development testing plans. Learn more about how to form effective partnerships when outsourcing these important efforts.
Personas in Software Development: The Often-Overlooked Key to Product Success
Persona development simply increases the chances of software development success. Here’s a quick breakdown of how to create a data-driven persona.
How Agile Product Management Can Improve Software Development
Modern agile product management means driving continuous innovation, and it’s tough to get right. Here’s how our product management methodologies help.
3 Ways to Better Anticipate the Total Cost of Software Ownership
Here’s how to get a long-term view of the entire software development lifecycle to plan for a profitable journey with your custom software.
7 Steps to Ensure an Effective Business Process Audit for Software Development
When making the decision to invest in software designed to improve operational efficiencies or reduce costs, learn how to start with an audit of your current processes to identify and reduce risks.
Your Agile Development Model Probably Hasn’t Reached Full Maturity Yet
Agile software development methodology adoption at your technology company is the key to staying competitive, but many companies that think they’ve reached agile maturity still have a long way to go.
Why Context Switching Is the Enemy of Quality in Software Development
When developers constantly shift between projects, it impacts their ability to solve complex problems. Here are the benefits of avoiding context switching.
What Is Technical Debt, Why Should You Care, and How Can You Manage It?
Technical debt's the quality sacrifice you make for faster software development speed. Here's how Synapse helps you manage it prudently.
Which Dev Shop is Right for me
Finding the best development shop for your needs can be a challenge, but with arming yourself with these questions can help you navigate the waters with confidence.
How We Bill
A crystal-clear look at how we bill for our services so you’re never surprised.
Launching your Product
A flawless product launch requires upfront planning and a customer-focused go-to-market launch strategy.
What Adds Cost
Understanding the complexity of software development and what adds cost so you can budget effectively.
Being a Great Client
During initial consultation with a new client, they asked something I’ve never been asked in over a decade of developing software for hire:
QA In Development
Increase code quality and end-user happiness with a dedicated QA team who automates smartly
Writing for UX
Six tips for using words to improve user loyalty, conversions and satisfaction.