April 2022 Summaries

Starting a new role at Unleash, the writer describes the onboarding process as both challenging and invigorating, with a focus on contributing a feature by the end of the first week. This goal-oriented approach begins with defining feature goals and mockups, fostering collaboration, and encouraging experimentation with code and design. The onboarding process is supported by a buddy system, which assists in navigating the company culture and workflow, while the open-source model of Unleash allows new hires to familiarize themselves with the technical environment ahead of time. Although the writer encountered challenges with testing strategies, the company's supportive environment and emphasis on open communication facilitated a swift adaptation and contribution to the codebase. Additionally, the importance of core company values, security practices, and iterative learning were emphasized throughout the onboarding experience.

In a post-mortem analysis, Ivar Conradi Østhus discusses a bug that affected Unleash, an open-source feature management tool, when a user encountered issues after upgrading from version 3.17.6 to 4.4.4. The problem originated from an incomplete database migration file mistakenly included in version 3.13.0, which did not manifest as an issue until the upgrade to version 4 exposed it. This incomplete migration was inadvertently left in the release due to a caveat of using TypeScript, where files not processed by the compiler were not removed from the distribution folder. The Unleash team resolved the issue by creating a new migration to correct the database state and implemented process improvements to prevent future occurrences, such as clearing the distribution folder before building releases and shifting the release process to a GitHub action rather than local developer machines. This approach enhances reliability and simplifies the release process for new team members, ensuring a more consistent and error-free release pipeline.