Teams and Processes

Security engineering is a fast-moving field, and getting left behind is not an option. This ask-me-anything-style Q&A covers compliance frameworks, security checks, and the importance of a DevSecOps approach.

Testing doesn’t have to be tedious. With these automated testing best practices and tips, software engineers can leverage automated tests to boost their productivity and make their work more enjoyable.

While good engineering managers can code, great ones can also communicate. Written communication is integral to the management and scaling of engineering teams, says Juan Pablo Buritica, who has led several successful teams of engineers.

Git provides basic branching operations, but advanced patterns are left up to the user. The popular “Git flow” branching model helps, but can also complicate some common procedures.

Thankfully, a new variation retains the benefits, while streamlining everyday work.

One tool that managers can consider adding to their management skill set is a practice called Radical Candor. Radical Candor is the ability to care emotionally about the engineer as an individual and valued contributor, while also expressing honesty concerning their efforts and results achieved by those efforts.

As products and services deploy faster and faster, quality assurance (QA) has to adapt and deliver more coverage in less time while maintaining high quality.

In this article, Toptal Software Engineer Jade Russel Hancox examines how we can use the user flow to boost the speed and efficiency of QA processes without compromising on quality.

Writing multiple native applications for different mobile platforms can be a daunting task, but taking a non-native approach comes with pitfalls of its own.

In this article, Toptal Mobile Developer Joel Frank outlines the concept of Write Once, Deploy Everywhere (WODE) and explains how to choose the right development path for your project.

The quietly growing number of serious Haxe projects have something new to contend with: the first major compiler release in over three years. What does Haxe 4 bring to the table?

Unwanted AI bias is already a widespread problem. Machine learning models can replicate or exacerbate existing biases, often in ways that are not detected until release. So what can be done about it?

Subscription-based apps need a special approach when it comes to analytics. Learn how a variation on the traditional sales funnel helps you work with LTV, subscriber retention, and churn rates to make your app better—and more profitable.

Building a mobile app isn’t cheap—and the harsh reality is that most apps fail. Find out how to leverage fundamental analytics metrics to make sure your app actually turns a profit.

DevOps is an oft-misunderstood buzzword, seen as a trendy must-have in the form of technologies, tools, and staff to acquire. But it’s much more, yet much simpler, than that.

When complex systems are life-critical, it can be extremely difficult to modernize and upgrade them safely. While many engineers will never work on such systems, there is much to be learned from those who do.

In this article, Toptal Solutions Architect Dr. Kyle Kotowick explains how to properly maintain and update systems that are too important to fail.

Join an expert in a look back in horror at his most embarrassing mistakes in his early days as a WordPress developer. He discusses general PHP bugs, WordPress-specific bugs, and also mistakes made at a managerial level while supervising other developers.

Project management tools have dramatically transformed the way software is engineered, but which one should you use, and when?

In this article, Toptal Freelance Developer Juan Carlos Arias Ambriz outlines the differences between Jira and Trello and explains how you should choose between them.

The existence of RESTful APIs is a popular myth in web development—but it’s a myth we can work with. The right tools can help keep documentation consistent and streamline automated testing. In this article, Toptal Freelance JavaScript Developer Alexander Zinchuk explores several time-saving approaches to developing REST APIs, with examples in Node.js and Ruby on Rails.