Tag: development

Update on 50 projects in 50 days

Carl Setzer
data codes through eyeglasses

So, I took the past couple of days off. I was exhausted after work Thursday, then had long work days Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So, I did two today! Fortunately, they weren’t too complicated. That brings me to day 5.

Today’s first project is titled “Hidden Search Widget“. A very simple project, where we make a search box that expands or contacts (no search functionality yet).

My second project today is “Blurry Loading“, where an image loads blurry, and comes into focus while a countdown timer counts.

Fun projects which are helping refine my HTML, CSS and JavaScript knowledge. I am working towards bettering my coding skills. Slowly but surely growing. Check out my developer site for more details.

Function over Form?

Carl Setzer1 Comment

In the great debate about which is more important, form or function, I prioritize function. Ultimately, I don’t think “important” is the right word. Form, style, design must support and enhance functionality. Then the overall experience is better.

The user experience is what’s most important. “Form” takes functionality higher, makes it better. When done right, it turns users into fans. Neither is more important. Form and function are both critical to creating quality. And that should be the goal.

The Basics Of Scrum

Carl Setzer4 Comments
man in gray sweater standing in front of his colleagues

Over the course of my studies, I’ve heard about Scrum, but we never really went into it. Well, as part of a project a little bit ago, my team dove into Scrum. My part of this was to write up how Scrum is implemented. So, I thought I’d share that with you.

In order to understand how SCRUM is implemented, we need to understand Scrum’s basic roles. There’s the:  

  • ScrumMaster
  • Product Owner
  • And Team Members

The Product Owner is the customer or the customer’s representative. They have the authority to allocate resources, as well as make decisions about product scope and scale. 

Team members are the people tasked with completing the work required to finish the project. 

Lastly, there’s the ScrumMaster. Their role is to advocate for the team’s needs, hold them accountable to timelines and goals, and remove any roadblocks the team comes up against. 

The Scrum process creates three key documents or elements, which are called artifacts. Those artifacts are the:  

  • Product Backlog
  • Sprint Backlog
  • and the Product Increment. 

The Product Backlog is the list of features and requirements that define a successful product. This includes all the functionality the Product Owner needs. The backlog is arranged by priority, enabling the entire team to be aware of what remains outstanding and the importance of each of those items. 

Before we talk about the next artifact, the Sprint Backlog, we need to define what a “Sprint” is. Sprints are distinct periods of focused work. A Sprint is anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. During the sprint, the team only works on a subset of features and requirements. And the Sprint Backlog is the list of those project elements worked on during that specific Sprint. 

The last artifact is the Product Increment. Simply put, it is the product that is being worked on. For example, a web application or database. It is what will be presented to the Product Owner and shipped at the end of the Sprint.

With all that in mind, a SCRUM cycle starts with a Sprint Planning Session. These review the Product Backlog and ascertain which priorities will be focused on during the upcoming sprint. All team roles are present: product owner, team members, and ScrumMaster. Those items that are selected for this sprint are added to the sprint backlog. What is NOT selected will remain on the Product Backlog. It’s important to note that many items will remain in the product backlog, waiting for future sprints. 

During a sprint, there is a daily meeting, called the daily scrum or a “stand-up”. These are short meetings, around 10-15 minutes. During this, the team and ScrumMaster will review what was accomplished the day before, what will be focused on today, and what roadblocks or other concerns have come up. After the daily scrum, work is performed on the product increment. 

At the end of the sprint, a sprint review is performed. This is when the product increment is shared and evaluated with stakeholders, teammates, and the product owner. 

After the sprint review, there will be a sprint retrospective, where opportunities for improvement are identified and implemented. The whole project cycles from sprint review to sprint planning and then back to sprint review until the entire product backlog has been cleared. 

Glaciers, Coding and My Social Media Feeds

Carl Setzer2 Comments

So, earlier today this video appeared in my YouTube feed:

Then this popped up in my LinkedIn Feed:

Tracking the effects of glacial melting at the top of the world

I’m sure Jung would label this synchronicity, but I don’t know what the universe is trying to tell me with this. Anyway, I found the coincidence fascinating.

Growth, Planning, Development, and Seattle

Carl Setzer

​Saturday I had a meeting in south Everett, on 128th to be more specific. Well, traffic on that road was wretched, but I improvised, taking side streets back to Lynnwood. I ended up driving past the door where the Puget Park Drive-In used to be. Now it’s a medical center and apartment complex.

Along this street are now many multifamily/higher-density housing projects. Several duplexes, apartment,s and condos, within this area that was semi-rural single-family homes a generation back.

This got me thinking about density. That we’re going to see the greater Seattle area become increasingly densified (is that a word?). I expect this whole region will become mostly multifamily in the next dozen to two dozen years. The economic forces will drive that hard. I’ve long thought that the Growth Management Act’s limits on development will combine with our region’s continued economic expansion to drive this.

Many will see it as something to lament, and to resist. Me? I see it as a mixed blessing, so to speak. And as something that good planning can make a great thing. Planning for a transit system that will accommodate this load will be crucial. A predominantly car-centric system will not work. When the majority of commuters take transit, things will be more manageable.

So, what do you think?

Thoughts on my latest real estate journey 

Carl Setzer

As you may know, I took on a new role at the beginning of the year: managing feasibility and permitting for a builder. What a journey it’s been! 

I don’t know how clear the title is, but “feasibility” is critical to our company. Can we build at a profit? To state the obvious, in our culture, profitability equals survival. 

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service provides a form specifically for this. I’ve been asked a lot about it lately: most agents never use it. And they don’t understand what it’s for. 

The purpose: time to explore the components of build-ability. For some projects, say a custom home, we’re exploring whether the costs fit into your budget. Will state, county or municipal rules let you build at all? If so, can you afford it?

Construction is cleaner but more complicated. Can what you are able to build sell for for a profit? 

In Snohomish County, well, the whole state, we have challenges related to growth management. Important concerns, for the good of the community, and the ecosystem we draw our life from. I’ll get to that soon. 

Real Estate – Construction Thought Of The Day

Carl Setzer

A client saved a lot of money by buying house plans off the internet. However, the savings are being chipped away at by the needed engineering of the plans in order to make them compliant with local zoning and Washington State laws. Not sure if, in the end, they will still save money or these additional costs will raise bring up higher.

My advice: if you find a house you adore online, then, sure, go-ahead and buy those plans. Recognize that there will, most likely, be some additional costs associated with bringing the plans up-to-code locally. Make it about what you love, vs saving a few bucks here or there.

Hey, I fully support saving money. Just, well, make sure you’re not spending more money to save. Or, as a friend likes to put it, don’t step over dollars to get to nickles.

A week of challenge, growth and development 

Carl Setzer

An interesting week. Much excitement, accompanied, as that often is, by aggravation. My team is moving at a frantic pace. In such circumstances, things get lost in the blizzard. Which frustrates me more than anything. I can deal with most annoyances with grace and patience. Except when the causality is mine. My tolerance is slim towards myself. Strange phenomena, that. I’ve read how compassion towards oneself is the critical first step in developing compassion towards. I seem to be in reverse. As I’m want to do. 

Next month I’ll be taking classes again, bringing my autocad skills into the 21st century. I took autocad back in the mid-90s (DOS based, I should add), used it on a handful of projects, with the last of those ending in the late 90s. From that point forward I used Visio for that sort of work. Mostly just laying out office space, mapping outlets and network jacks, that sort of fun. 

I’m actually quite delighted to get this update, build this knowledge. Construction has been great fun, even with the challenges. Looking forward to continuing onwards. 

There’s a great alignment of my interests within this industry. My time at Starbucks working on environmental issues, as well as accessibility, plenty of opportunity for that here. Studying Seattle and the region’s culture has a place, too. Plus the things I liked most about real estate have a place. Very pleasing, indeed. 

It is interesting that, at 50, I feel like I’m new, freshly learning. I’m blending refreshing old skills and knowledge with the new. Part of what drives that feeling of newness: the mistakes. Fortunately, I’m in a place where real risk taking is encouraged. “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not pushing yourself enough.” As I embrace that, let it pull me forward, there’s positive changes coming forth. I like the way things are moving, the direction I’m growing. 

I can’t think of a better life than that. 

Growth, development, change, and my little suburb, Lynnwood 

Carl Setzer

Went walking this evening. It’s been nice walking in the evenings these past two nights; last Friday I gave my left ankle s mild sprain. That frustrated me as I was starting to do jumping jacks. JUMPING JACKS! I’m a black belt in taekwondo and am limping after jumping jacks. Sigh…
It’s nice seeing the stars. Orion’s Belt crisp and clear in this night’s air. 

On part of my walk there’s some new construction. Working in the industry, I take notice of such things in my neighborhood. 

Now this lot (if you know Lynnwood, it’s on 60th between 176th and 173rd, just south of Meadowdale high school) was a single family home on a decent sized lot forever, or so it seemed. I walked by that house daily from junior high through high school. 

Well, the house is gone. 5 houses are going up. Five. And they’re 5 bedroom homes as well. Well, it was hard to read the sign in the dark, and I didn’t want to use my phone as a flashlight. Just seemed kinda weird. 

Anyway, the surrounding houses are mostly mid-century three bedroom ramblers. Nearby at some larger split levels from the 70s and 80s. These new homes are quite a shift from the existing ones. But that’s what’s bring built in my town right now. All around, and in some large plat developments, too. 

Makes me wonder what the future holds for Lynnwood. I’m expecting many more older homes will get replaced buy these larger homes on smaller lots. What will it look like in a couple years? That’s anyone’s guess. How many will get absorbed by growth, vs how many folks holding out against the incoming tide? There’ll be some hold outs. Perhaps many. But I expect there will be a gradual attrition that will snowball at times. Eventually, my funny little suburb will be as glitzy and shiny as Bellevue. BMWs, glad towers and McMansions. 

It’s the way of things,  I guess.