June 2019 Summaries

Remote teams have become common in software engineering organizations due to their benefits, including access to a larger talent pool, increased diversity and inclusiveness, and flexibility for workers. However, managing remote teams requires focus on communication, tooling, and culture. Effective communication is crucial, as it involves assuming that everyone is remote, using low-overhead tools like Slack, capturing everything in writing, and sharing information with remote workers. Remote work tools can be built or chosen to support distributed teams, such as virtual team rooms, shared development environments, and collaboration platforms like Google Docs. A supportive corporate culture is also critical, requiring managers to trust their teammates, foster a sense of community, and overcome misconceptions about remote working. With the right approach, remote teams can thrive and bring significant benefits to both employers and workers.

Distributed teams have become essential for software engineering organizations, offering access to a larger talent pool, increased diversity, and flexibility for workers. At New Relic, nearly half of the engineering teams include remote members, necessitating a strong focus on communication, tooling, and culture to ensure effective collaboration. Key practices include using remote-friendly tools like Slack for communication, maintaining visibility with video meetings, and ensuring all information is accessible to everyone. Teams are encouraged to use low-overhead systems for meetings and build custom tools to suit their needs, while also fostering a culture that treats all members equally, regardless of location. Trust and respect for time zones are crucial, as is addressing technical glitches to maintain seamless operations. Despite common misconceptions about productivity and cohesion, with the right strategies, remote teams can be highly effective, bringing significant benefits to both organizations and employees.

The New Relic Synthetics team has released an update to the New Relic Synthetics runtime environment (0.6.x), incorporating Chrome 72, V8 engine v6.6, Node 10.15 LTS, and Selenium Webdriver 3.6.0, which helps modernize testing environments, increase speed, performance, and efficiency for customers. The update keeps pace with the latest web browser updates, allowing users to test their websites and applications using simple and scripted browser monitors. This new runtime environment also enables easier scripting of modern workflows, such as those used in React projects. With this update, Synthetics users can create monitors that closely align with the performance of Chrome 72, ensuring optimum page-load speed and performance. The update includes optimizations like V8 JavaScript engine v6.6, which improves performance and reduces response times for browsers and scripted monitors. Overall, the new runtime environment empowers customers to build modern, efficient monitors that align with the latest customer experiences.

The New Relic Synthetics team has released an update to their runtime environment (version 0.6.x), integrating Chrome version 72, V8 engine v6.6, Node 10.15 LTS, and Selenium Webdriver 3.6.0, to enhance the speed, performance, and efficiency of testing environments. This update allows Synthetics users to keep pace with modern web browsers by supporting the latest Chrome version, which is crucial for accurate site monitoring since Chrome updates frequently. The updated runtime environment supports modern front-end frameworks like React and Angular, enabling users to build efficient monitors without the need for custom code, and aligns with user experiences as they update their browsers. The update also enhances page load speed and performance, helping users maintain optimal performance strategies by using one of the fastest web browsers. Users with older runtime environments must update to prevent slower response times due to the performance optimizations in Chrome 72.

New Relic's sales teams work with customers on their digital transformation journeys, which often involve adopting DevOps, cloud-native solutions, and modern software technologies. However, these journeys are rarely straightforward and may involve a mix of powerful innovation and legacy technologies. Companies may struggle to manage technical debt, adopt modern development practices, and make decisions based on competing metrics. Some teams may be out of control with their spending, while others may have vastly different levels of technological maturity within the same organization. New Relic understands these challenges and can serve as a strategic partner to help ease and optimize the modernization journey, regardless of where companies reside in the modernization maturity landscape.

Navigating the journey towards digital transformation and adopting modern software practices can be complex and fraught with challenges, as illustrated by New Relic's experiences with various companies across industries. These challenges include dealing with technical debt, siloed teams, and inconsistent metrics, as well as managing unpredictable cloud costs despite using advanced technologies like serverless computing and distributed tracing. Companies often find themselves at different levels of technological maturity, with some teams still relying on outdated processes while others strive for modern practices like DevOps and cloud adoption. The piece highlights that while digital transformation and cloud migration offer undeniable benefits, they require strategic planning and support to handle interrelated complexities and finite resources effectively. New Relic offers itself as a strategic partner to guide organizations through these challenges, providing detailed guides and support to optimize cloud-native environments, measure DevOps success, and monitor digital customer experiences.

I regularly review my team's GitHub pull requests (PRs) to stay informed about their progress and identify areas for improvement. This habit helps me gauge the health of my team, assess their communication and collaboration, and detect potential issues before they escalate. By analyzing PRs, I've gained valuable insights into my team's behavior, such as their approach to testing, code readability, and feedback mechanisms. These observations reveal a culture of respect, clear communication, and a focus on quality software development. By fostering an environment where team members feel supported and encouraged to follow best practices, I believe we can maintain a happy, productive, and high-functioning team.

Jen Hammond, an engineering manager at New Relic, discusses the insights she gains from reading her team's GitHub pull requests (PRs) and how these insights reflect on team health and collaboration. Initially surprising her team by reviewing their PRs, Hammond uses this practice not to micromanage but to maintain an understanding of the team's dynamics, code quality, and development practices. By analyzing PRs, she observes that her team maintains respectful communication, ensures clarity and readability, and consistently includes necessary testing and instrumentation in their code. This approach not only fosters a positive and productive engineering culture but also aligns with New Relic's values. Hammond emphasizes that these practices contribute to the team's ability to produce quality software efficiently and highlights the role of established engineering culture in achieving these outcomes.

Mary Meeker's Internet Trends report provides valuable insights into various aspects of the tech industry, including digital customer experience, cloud computing, and DevOps efforts. The report highlights the growing importance of personalized offers and recommendations in online retail, as well as the need for consistent focus on performance, reliability, and innovation in digital experiences. It also notes the increasing adoption of cloud-native technologies, with 22% of enterprise application workloads now taking place in the cloud. Additionally, Meeker emphasizes the role of DevOps and agile methodologies in helping enterprises scale their technology efforts and tackle complex challenges. The report offers recommendations for businesses looking to prioritize their digital customer experience, leverage cloud technology, and adopt DevOps practices.

Mary Meeker's 2019 Internet Trends report, a highly anticipated document in the tech industry, covers a wide range of topics including internet growth, online advertising, fintech, healthcare, and the rise of digital experiences in China. The report delves into the increasing costs of customer acquisition for e-commerce brands and highlights the significance of personalized digital customer experiences, as 91% of consumers prefer brands offering recommendations. Meeker also examines the growth of cloud technology, noting that 22% of enterprise application workloads now occur in the cloud, with cloud deployment revenue up 58% year-over-year. The report underscores the importance of cloud-native technologies and agile methodologies in keeping pace with rapid technological advancements and scalability challenges. Meeker emphasizes the role of data tools in enhancing business processes and responding to customer events at scale, aligning with the objectives of companies like New Relic that focus on data-driven innovation.

New Relic Synthetics offers scripted browser monitors that allow users to track multi-step processes on a website with a real browser. One key feature of these monitors is XPath selectors, which are used to identify specific elements on a webpage. Optimizing XPath selectors can greatly improve the performance and reliability of New Relic Synthetics monitors by reducing the time it takes for scripts to locate elements on the page. XPath syntax is similar to file system paths but with additional rules specific to XML documents. Using relative XPath selectors instead of absolute ones, using efficient and specific selectors, and leveraging tools like Selenium can enhance the functionality of web scraping and testing automation processes. By learning how to optimize XPath selectors, users can improve the readability of their monitors, reduce the likelihood of monitor failures, and make troubleshooting easier.

New Relic Synthetics uses scripted browser monitors powered by Selenium and Google Chrome to track multi-step processes on websites, with XPath selectors being a crucial component for identifying and interacting with specific webpage elements. XPath, a language for selecting nodes in XML documents, is used in this context to efficiently navigate and pinpoint elements within a webpage's HTML structure. Optimizing XPath selectors enhances monitor performance and reliability by reducing script runtime, increasing readability, and minimizing failures due to webpage changes. The text provides guidance on crafting effective XPath expressions, suggesting the use of relative paths over absolute ones and incorporating functions like "contains" and "normalize-space" for flexibility and precision. Proper utilization of XPath in conjunction with tools like Selenium and Python can streamline web scraping and testing automation, offering developers more precise control over element targeting.

The New Relic engineering team uses the platform to enhance their DevOps and reliability practices by leveraging various features such as capacity monitoring, SLA monitoring, SLI monitoring, data health, "dark data", and gameday testing to increase the reliability and availability of their products. They automate part of their capacity planning process using custom metrics and events, calculate and monitor SLAs for notification latency, create an API system called Galileo to detect violations of key system health indicators across all of New Relic, use data apps to track the fidelity of their data stream, gather "dark data" about new features, perform gameday tests to ensure everything works as expected when introducing chaos into the system.

New Relic engineering teams utilize their platform to enhance DevOps practices by focusing on reliability and automating tasks to reduce toil. They manage complex codebases using microservices and containers, and leverage New Relic's tools to improve system reliability and availability. This includes capacity and SLA monitoring to ensure resource use aligns with service level agreements, and SLI monitoring using the Galileo API to centralize system health data. They also address data health issues with data apps, gather "dark data" to test new features, and conduct gameday testing to prepare for potential system chaos, ultimately freeing up time for feature development and improving system reliability.

Building a functional API requires planning and patience, as it's a creative process with no hard-and-fast rules that can work in all cases. A good API should be discoverable, composable, and safe to use. Discoverability is crucial, as users will learn just enough to bootstrap themselves and then figure the rest out on their own. This can be achieved through documentation, conceptual models, and concise language. Conceptual models help users understand how an API works, while symmetrical language provides clear expectations. Composability allows users to select components of the API and use them in various patterns, making it easier to build workflows with the API. Safety is equally important, as APIs should behave in a predictable manner and provide feedback on errors. This can be achieved by practicing the principle of least astonishment, following contracts, designing deterministic and strict APIs, and versioning and deprecating old versions to avoid technical debt. Proper planning and design are critical to making an API a first-class feature that sets a good impression for users.

Designing a functional and user-friendly API requires careful planning and consideration of key principles to ensure clarity, simplicity, and user empowerment. The article emphasizes the importance of making an API's usage discoverable, composable, and safe to use. Discoverability involves providing intuitive documentation and examples, using conceptual models familiar to users, and maintaining consistent terminology. Composability allows users to integrate API components into their workflows, encouraging flexibility and ease of use. Safety is achieved by adhering to the principle of least astonishment, enforcing strict input validation, and planning for versioning and deprecation. Ensuring these aspects helps create a positive first impression, making the API a central feature rather than an afterthought.

Certifications have been a key part of IT operations professionals' resumes since the 1980s, but in today's fast-paced DevOps and cloud computing world, having an appropriate certification demonstrates not only proficiency in key technologies but also a commitment to ongoing learning and skills development. Employers and recruiters pay attention to certifications as they can help individuals stand out among others in the field, increase their value to teams, and even support negotiations for raises or promotions. However, it's crucial to choose certifications wisely, aligning them with personal and professional goals, and doing research to determine which certification will provide the best opportunity to get ahead. The New Relic Certified Performance Pro program is a great example of this, offering a free certification that can help individuals build their skills in areas such as application performance monitoring, observability, and resiliency. While becoming certified is not trivial, it can be a valuable learning experience, helping individuals develop expertise, identify blind spots in their knowledge, and connect with others in the community. To succeed, candidates should read the New Relic documentation, spend time with the product, take their time during the exam process, and tap into the community for support and guidance.

Certifications have long been valuable assets for IT professionals, and in today's DevOps and cloud computing landscape, they signify not only technical prowess but also a commitment to continuous learning. Among these, the New Relic Certified Performance Pro certification stands out as a beneficial program for both current and aspiring New Relic users, as well as other DevOps professionals interested in application performance monitoring and observability. This free certification involves comprehensive training through online videos, tutorials, and exercises, culminating in a challenging 90-minute exam. Successful participants report that the certification enhances their expertise and positions them as go-to experts in their organizations, providing significant value in their roles. The process of obtaining the certification also involves active engagement with the New Relic community, using resources such as the New Relic University and the Explorers Hub to deepen understanding and application of the tools. While challenging, the certification journey offers both personal and professional growth opportunities, encouraging candidates to thoroughly explore product features and documentation to maximize their learning and practical proficiency.