The start of a new year is the perfect time to take a few moments and examine what worked and what did not work last year. I often find that development teams spend most of their time scrambling to meet deadlines and crank out product features. In general, I’ve found that across industries and dramatically … Continue reading 3 Engineering Resolutions to Kick-off 2021
Category: Design Cycle
5 Skills Every Developer Needs in 2021
The end of the year is always a favorite time of mine. Yes, I enjoy the Christmas lights, egg nog and the general holiday cheer, but I also enjoy the opportunity to strategize about the upcoming year. The end of the year is a great time to look at what went right and wrong this … Continue reading 5 Skills Every Developer Needs in 2021
5 Best Practices for Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates
In my last post, I explored how OTA updates are typically performed using Amazon Web Services and FreeRTOS. OTA updates are critically important to developers with connected devices. In today’s post, we are going to explore several best practices developers should keep in mind with implementing their OTA solution. Most of these will be generic … Continue reading 5 Best Practices for Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates
Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates with AWS and FreeRTOS
Updating firmware in the field has always been a critical component to nearly every embedded system since the dawn of embedded systems. Access to programming tools like a JTAG or SWD programmer and physical access to the programming port has often necessitated the need to update firmware using an alternative interface such as USB, CAN, … Continue reading Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates with AWS and FreeRTOS
Simplified Software Development using MCU Configurators
When I first started writing embedded software, nearly every project started the same. For the first 3 – 6 months, every single day was spent pouring through microcontroller datasheets and writing a driver for each peripheral that was going to be used on a project. It was a lot of fun. Every microcontroller worked slightly … Continue reading Simplified Software Development using MCU Configurators
3 Mistakes Businesses make in a Crisis
Throughout the course of any technology business, from start-ups to mature, established businesses, periodically crisis hits. These crises could be related to finances, a key employee leaving, industry changes and so on. As I worked with companies in both good times and bad, I have found that there are three mistakes that are often made … Continue reading 3 Mistakes Businesses make in a Crisis
Cyclomatic Complexity Measurements with pmccabe
A common question that I often receive is “What McCabe Cyclomatic Complexity tools should I use?” Now this is always a partially loaded question because while there are quite a few out there that I really like, most developers are really asking what free tools I can recommend to them. One of my favorite ones … Continue reading Cyclomatic Complexity Measurements with pmccabe
5 Boards that Make Rapid Prototyping Easy
There are many instances in a product development cycle where a developer will want to create a rapid prototype. A developer may want to create an entire system, learn how to interface with a sensor or work through an implementation for a new algorithm. I’ve often found that when trying to understand or prove something, … Continue reading 5 Boards that Make Rapid Prototyping Easy
5 Reasons to Develop a Software Architecture
Developing software is complicated! With every passing year, software complexity seems to only be on the rise. More features are expected from stakeholders. Hardware advances, creating ever more complex devices to work with. Even simple applications can have several dozen software modules, an operating system and in today’s environment, internet connectivity. Unfortunately, a lot of … Continue reading 5 Reasons to Develop a Software Architecture
5 Best Practices for Utilizing Open Source Software
Open source software is everywhere and has the potential to help businesses accelerate development and improve their software quality. Achieving these results though can be challenging if care is not taken. Here are five best practices for utilizing open source software that will help leverage open source software successfully. Best Practice #1 – Use an … Continue reading 5 Best Practices for Utilizing Open Source Software