Razor Modal
GraphQL, from excitment to deception.
Should you consider GraphQL?
Raphael Moutard
I am an Engineering Director with 15+ years of experience in development. I worked for Amazon for 5 years and lead a the growth of the engineering team for a french fintech Unicorn 🦄 called Spendesk. In this blog I talk about technology and management.
Track billions of items in a warehouse
Have you ever wonder what happens inside of an Amazon warehouse? As a software engineer, the supply chain field has plenty of technical challenges like running one of the largest catalogs in the world, associated with one of the biggest inventory.
Writing the Amazon Way
10 actionable piece of advice to make your writing impactful that I learned from my 5 years at Amazon.
Sherlock Holmes and the Remote Policy
As a manager, if you struggle with the transition to full remote since the lockdown, you are not the only one, and this article will give you one tool to cope with the distance.
Managers, Do you wait for the doorknob effect?
If you are not sure what a Doorknob phenomenon is, you probably want to keep reading. Either you’ve seen it before and didn’t act properly, or worse you just missed it.
Developers don't aim too big
Have you ever been in a meeting to add a feature to the product, and the meeting evolves into an endless debate in front of a 20 feet wide diagram of the architecture with arrows pointing in all directions?
Constraints brings creativity
Last month, I was watching a famous culinary show, where contestants have to cook a dish given a limited set of ingredients. I was wondering how they could be so creative?
How I became customer-obsessed
For my first week at Amazon, my manager sent me to pick boxes in a warehouse. I travelled to the countryside early in the morning and started my shift like every other warehouse worker, but I was a software engineer.
Norman Door and C/CI Pipeline
A Norman door is a poorly designed door that confuses or fails to give you an idea of whether to push or pull.
Scrum was the root of our frustration
First I have to acknowledge that I am not a huge fan of scrum. I tried with 5 different managers, 3 different teams, 10 different projects and I have a simple assessment. It never worked for us.
5 years on-call, Lessons Learned
It’s 2h07 am, I am sleeping when the loud alarm noise of my pager rings in the room. I wake up in seconds, my eyes are dry, and my back is sore. I take a look at my phone. The screen is blinking with an error message, “Database - CPU is reaching 80%, higher than the 70% threshold.” Looks bad. Something is probably hammering our database. What I didn’t know yet, is that it will go worse and my night will be short…
Good CVs are specific
Your CV is the first interaction you have with recruiters. GAFA receive hundreds per week, to stand out, yours should be distinctive and informative.
How to talk about Security
I realize that the word “Security” is not really glitzy. It’s a topic difficult to approach, as many people think it’s dull or too complex, they don’t feel concerned. That’s a mistake.
Make your engineer shine in the dark.
Have you been to a play recently? A concert? You probably only remember the main actor or the lead singer. But actors are not enough to make a play. You need costume designers, make-up artists, sound engineers. Think about everyone involved and working backstage.