10 Actionable Items To Improve Developer Skills

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10 Actionable Items

Be sure to tailor these to your interests and expertise. Sometimes it is the small things you do on a daily basis that have the biggest impact. Start making best practices become habits.

1. Incorporate a new technology or methodology in an existing project that would add value to that project

ie: TDD, unit testing, automated UI testing, a particular design pattern

2. Read a book about something you are interested in but haven't had time for

ie: Code Complete 2, Pragmatic Programmer

3. Create a rigorous testing routine

I like to use checklists (see iOS Testing Checklist) for new code changes. You could also set a code coverage goal or anything that will help you to check-in new changes with less bugs.

4. Start reading blogs of people who are experts at your field of work

For iOS some good ones are: NSHipster and Mike Ash's Blog

5. Start journaling or some form of documenting important things

You could also use a wiki or blog. You are going to likely run into the same problems over and over again so it would save you time to have notes to refer to when you need them.

6. Join an open source project or developer team with people who are smarter than you

It is really important to see how other developers solve problems.

7. Do a fun side project that will also be challenging and make you grow as a developer

8. Learn about user interface design via blogs or videos

I personally enjoy the WWDC videos. I think as developers a little big of knowledge about good user interface design can go a long way.

9. Watch Open Courseware videos in a topic that you know little about

It is good to get exposed to some theoretical knowledge. Try learning about Machine Learning, Visualization, Artificial Intelligence, Probability and Statistics, Big Data, or anything else you find interesting.

10. Improve math skills

Solid problem solving skills in math is invaluable. Try Khan Academy or the learning medium of your choice.