Our Sources

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At Don’t Panic Labs, we have a pretty well thought out philosophy of software development. Philosophy is the combination of two Greek words philo (or “lover”) and sophia (or “wisdom”). So philosophy could be considered “love of wisdom.” Software development is what we do every day. We want to be wise software developers. We didn’t…

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Top 10 Quotes to Use in Meetings

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#10 – “You’ll thank me later.” You can never go wrong quoting Monk.   #9 – “Plans are worthless, planning is essential.” This famous quote from Dwight Eisenhower is often useful when discussing plans. It gets to the heart that of planning, that the plan isn’t the important outcome, it is the planning.   #8…

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Blog Posts for a Year

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I have officially written one blog post per week for one year! I started this endeavor on August 1, 2017 with the post, PHP Through the Eyes of a .NET Engineer. During that time, I have written many blog posts in a single week, then sometimes take a week or two off. I have also…

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Don't Panic Labs Top Posts of 2017

Our Top Posts of 2017

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The end of the year is a few days away and I don’t think I’m alone when I say that this year flew by pretty darn quick. It’s also time for another end-of-year “Top 10” list. I am again blown away by how this team does such a fantastic job in sharing what they’re learning…

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Agile Is Not A Silver Bullet, Part 1

Hopefully this headline got your attention. I considered trying to come up with a hashtag like #NoTDD or #NoEstimates that seem to be popular these days. I opted for a (hopefully) catchy title instead. The purpose of this post is not to bash agile methods or to somehow suggest that we should not be following…

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What We Mean When We Say “Software Engineer”

It’s very easy to throw terms around in our (or any) industry. In our hurried culture, we latch onto words or phrases that may not fully encapsulate their original intent. I’m afraid that is what has happened to the label of “software engineer”. And it has not been without consequences. I believe the real, working…

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The Quest for Network Security at Home

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Since I started in IT consulting years ago, I’ve always had an interest in network security. It’s amazing how in the last 15 years the nature of threats has radically changed (from simple viruses, to malware, to phishing, to ransomware, and even mass device compromises to create botnets for coordinated Denial of Service or other…

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Development Teams Need a Coach

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I was talking with a colleague recently who is part of an organization that has recognized that their development processes, culture maturity, etc., was holding them back. The conversation went something like this… “As a developer, I would see Don’t Panic Labs as a dream job given the emphasis and adherence to consistent software design…

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Where Are They Now?

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We are not a lifestyle company. This is a sentiment I made clear at a recent Don’t Panic company meeting. It’s not that we have anything against companies where employees settle in for their entire careers, but that’s just not who we are (or ever aspire to be). I’m not saying anything new here. This…

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Fun Through The Years

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We have had a lot of fun since 2010 (when both Nebraska Global and Don’t Panic Labs were founded). This fun has always extended beyond just the Don’t Panic team. If you’ve ever been around Nebraska Global, you know we’re like one big family. We’re just a bit more spread out these days. We have…

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