The hottest Best Practices Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

The most neglected words of the Agile Manifesto

Ageling on Agile • 99 implied HN points • 17 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. The Agile Manifesto emphasizes that we are constantly discovering better ways to develop software, not just using established methods. This means we should keep looking for improvements in our processes.
  2. It's important to focus on finding unique solutions that work for your specific organization. No single method is perfect for everyone.
  3. The Agile principles encourage collaboration and adaptation rather than strictly following a set plan. Being flexible helps teams create more value.

80 characters? In this economy?

Bite code! • 733 implied HN points • 17 Nov 25
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Keeping lines of code to 80 characters makes it easier for our eyes to read. It helps us quickly find where the next line starts.
  2. Having shorter lines is useful when using multiple tools side by side, like browsers and code editors. It makes coding and comparing changes easier.
  3. Sticking to the 80-character limit can improve programming habits, like using clear variable names and reducing complexity in code. This helps create better overall code.

What "Parse, don't validate" means in Python?

Bite code! • 1834 implied HN points • 23 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. 'Parse, don't validate' means that we should focus on understanding and converting our input into a usable format instead of just checking if it's correct. This makes our code more reliable.
  2. Parsing is about changing raw data into a structured format that makes it easier to work with, which can also help us avoid mistakes later on.
  3. In Python, the way we structure our data impacts how much work we need to do and how confident we can be in our code. It's important to find the right balance of parsing versus performance.

Code reviews

Basta’s Notes • 286 implied HN points • 05 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Code reviews are crucial for maintaining a clean and efficient codebase. By giving thoughtful feedback, you help improve the team’s overall coding practices.
  2. With the rise of AI in programming, it’s important to not just trust the AI’s output. You need to review and refine its work to make sure it fits well within the overall code structure.
  3. Looking for common issues, like duplicated code, is key during reviews. Small repetitive mistakes can pile up and make the codebase messy, so it's best to address them early.

The Importance of Cybersecurity Training

Rod’s Blog • 535 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Employees trained in cybersecurity are more likely to follow best practices like strong passwords and software updates.
  2. Cybersecurity training is crucial for employees to recognize and prevent cyber threats, like phishing emails.
  3. Implementing cybersecurity training involves assessing employee knowledge, defining learning objectives, using appropriate training formats, providing regular training, and evaluating effectiveness.
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Cybersecurity for Small Businesses: Tips and Best Practices

Rod’s Blog • 496 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Small businesses are prime targets for cyberattacks due to limited resources and expertise, making it crucial for them to follow cybersecurity best practices.
  2. Small business owners should establish a culture of security to involve everyone, implement basic security controls like firewall and antivirus, and develop an incident response plan for cyberattacks.
  3. Seek external help from reputable sources like cybersecurity consultants, organizations, and government agencies to get guidance, expertise, and resources in enhancing cybersecurity measures.

Why security has become easier

Frankly Speaking • 355 implied HN points • 02 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Security tools have improved a lot and are easier to use now. Companies can set up basic security measures quickly without needing huge teams.
  2. AI helps security teams by automating tasks and making their work faster. When used correctly, it can save time on repetitive tasks.
  3. There is now better data on security breaches which helps teams prioritize what risks to focus on. This makes good security practices more accessible and easier to implement.

Unexpected python traps for beginners

Bite code! • 1957 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Python automatically concatenates strings written next to each other, making it easier to break long strings across multiple lines.
  2. In Python, be mindful of the differences between functions like sorted() and list.sort(), as they behave differently in terms of returning values.
  3. Tuples in Python are created using commas, with parentheses being optional for non-empty tuples, but crucial for tuples of one element to avoid confusion.

Level Up Your Transaction Security

DeFi Education • 699 implied HN points • 25 Apr 23
🔮 Crypto Best Practices
  1. To keep your crypto safe, create a cold wallet for most of your assets and an 'ape wallet' for riskier activities. This way, you limit exposure to potential threats.
  2. Minimize the transactions you make with your main wallet to reduce risk. Only use it for important tasks to stay secure.
  3. Be aware of phishing scams and how they work. Educate yourself so you can recognize and avoid falling for them.

Lots of Fancy Tools, and No Idea How to Use Them

Joe Reis • 196 implied HN points • 05 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. There are a lot of advanced data tools available, but many struggle with how to use them effectively.
  2. The main challenge in the data industry today is a lack of understanding of basic data practices and best tool practices.
  3. Data teams need to focus on standardizing their knowledge and competencies to increase the value they provide to the business.

How to apply best practices

Bad Software Advice • 82 implied HN points • 30 Jun 25
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. People often look up to successful figures and want to imitate them, especially in the workplace. This influence can shape our ambitions and desires.
  2. Best practices in software can sometimes feel more like advertisements than helpful guidelines. They might push you to adopt tools that you don't really need just to seem relevant or 'cool'.
  3. Using tools like Kubernetes might be seen as essential by some, but it's important to evaluate whether they truly fit your needs and goals, instead of just following trends.

Securing your Software Supply Chain

Resilient Cyber • 99 implied HN points • 27 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Software supply chain attacks are increasing, and it's important to be aware of them.
  2. Both proprietary and open source software play roles in security, so understanding their impacts is vital.
  3. There are best practices and resources available to help improve software supply chain security.

Microsoft Sentinel SOC 101: Detecting and Mitigating Spear Phishing with Microsoft Sentinel

Rod’s Blog • 59 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Spear phishing is a serious cyber-attack that targets specific individuals or organizations. Microsoft Sentinel's tools can help detect and prevent these types of threats.
  2. Microsoft Sentinel allows for the creation of custom analytics rules based on KQL queries to identify potential spear phishing activities. This helps in early detection of threats.
  3. Automation and playbooks in Microsoft Sentinel enable immediate responses like blocking URLs or initiating password resets upon detecting a spear phishing attempt.

Must Learn AI Security Compendium 8: The CISO Guide to Generative AI Security

Rod’s Blog • 59 implied HN points • 10 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney have revolutionized content creation but also pose significant security risks. Cybercriminals are increasingly using generative AI for sophisticated attacks, requiring CISOs to understand and address these threats.
  2. Generative AI attacks target email systems, social media, and other platforms to exploit human vulnerabilities. CISOs must prioritize user education, deploy advanced email security solutions, and secure vulnerable platforms to counter these attacks.
  3. To mitigate generative AI risks, CISOs should develop an AI security strategy, implement user awareness programs, enhance email security, leverage advanced threat intelligence, use MFA, update systems regularly, employ AI-powered security solutions, foster a security culture, collaborate with peers, and continuously assess and adapt security measures.

How to find your own best practices

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 27 Feb 24
💼 Business Best Practices
  1. Look for best practices inside your own organization first. You've already tested these ideas, so you know they can work for you.
  2. Using what you already have saves you the trouble of making big changes or learning new systems.
  3. Finding internal best practices helps you build on your own successes instead of starting from scratch with outside ideas.

Unicorn Projects

Polymathic Being • 65 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
💼 Business Best Practices
  1. Many teams believe their projects are special or unique, but this mindset can lead to mistakes because they ignore proven methods that could help them succeed.
  2. Looking for what’s common between projects instead of focusing on differences can help teams use best practices more effectively, leading to better outcomes.
  3. True innovation happens when teams recognize common problems and find areas that actually need new solutions, rather than chasing after the idea of uniqueness.

Good Comment, Bad Comment

David Reis on Software • 13 implied HN points • 09 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Many new programmers think that not commenting code is a sign of good practice because of the idea that 'clean code has no comments.' This leads to less readable code.
  2. Good code should be easily understood, but comments can help clarify complex parts when necessary. It's okay to use comments to explain why something is done a certain way.
  3. Writers should be careful with popular ideas that seem easy and convenient, as they can sometimes oversimplify important concepts and lead people to misunderstand or misuse them.

Sort Product Update – July 2024

Database Engineering by Sort • 7 implied HN points • 01 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Sort now has a Change Requests feature that lets users propose fixes to their data, similar to GitHub's Pull Requests. It's designed to help teams review and apply changes easily.
  2. Users can safely make changes to their Postgres databases using this new feature, which is great for managers and tech leads.
  3. The Sort platform has also seen improvements, including bug fixes and updated pricing to reflect its features better.

Tactics to help reign in cloud costs

Brick by Brick • 18 implied HN points • 17 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Start early and consistently optimize cloud costs to control spending
  2. Evaluate and apply tactics for optimizing compute, storage, and networking resources to reduce waste
  3. Delegate cost optimization tasks, introduce review processes for new cloud services, and use cloud tools to support cost optimization efforts

The Case for Nitpicking

David Reis on Software • 2 HN points • 18 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Best Practices
  1. Nitpicking in code reviews can lead to better code quality and a stronger engineering culture. It's important to discuss style and best practices instead of ignoring them.
  2. Good taste in code exists and is based on collective standards among practitioners. Competent programmers can generally agree on what makes code better, like readability and consistency.
  3. Having a style guide helps streamline code reviews and makes discussions less personal. It sets clear expectations and allows for respectful and constructive feedback.