Developers know how powerful the right tool for the job can be. Augmenting the development process with some tested and proven tools can directly translate into the level of success for a project. This is especially true in the agency environment where timelines can be tight. We urge everyone to reach out and take advantage of some of the amazing tools created by our wonderful development community. Here are some of the tools that we really enjoy using that make our day to day that much sweeter.
MixPanel Analytics
Knowledge is power in app development, especially in the early phases of an applications development life cycle. MixPanel gives you the keys to the house of infinite knowledge in your app. You’ll never again wonder how users are using your application, or how many users are using that key feature you loved building so much, or what your user retention numbers are looking like. MixPanel gives you that extra bit of insight you need, so you know how you should focus your next development push.
MixPanel’s abilities go much further than just how many people checked out a page in your application or website. It can track as many events as you want to throw at it. For example, if your application has a feature such as a compass, it can tell you anything from how many people were pointing north, where they started, how long they navigated, how many turns they made, device info, what their favorite color is… well, maybe not that last one, but you get the point. The possibilities are endless with this fantastic tool.
MixPanel’s integration is made incredibly easy with their libraries. You can have MixPanel up and running within minutes using their integration guide.
ZShell + Oh My ZSH
As with many developers, the terminal window can be found on at least one workspace at any given time. I spend more time staring at that window than the windows in my car, so why not make it something pretty to look at and give it a little power boost.
Oh My ZSH is described as an open source, community-driven framework for managing your Zsh configuration. With hundreds of powerful plugins, your terminal window can become that Ferrari you have been wanting. A list of those plugins can be accessed here.
Some of my favorites on that list are:
AutoJump - A tool that calculates a weight of where you have been in your directories so you can shorthand jump to you most popular ones. For example, if you frequently visit your
/work_projects directory, you can easily jump to it from anywhere in your file system by typingj work. This is a huge speed boost in my workflow.Jira - This allows you to view and modify your JIRA tickets directly through the command line.
Also, this gives you the ability to view your branches and branch status directly in the command line prompt. It appends information such as ~/Projects/Transmissions|master⚡ which lets me know that I am on the master branch and I have unstaged changes on my local branch. No more spamming git status to see if I forgot to stage something or if something was modified.
Setup can be a little tedious, but absolutely worth your time. Check it out here.
Fastlane
Fastlane became the cream of the crop about a year ago when we realized how time consuming some of the basic required tasks of iOS and Android development can become, such as battling signing certificates, fumbling around with screenshots, remembering to increment your build number and upload, and running against CI platforms. FastLane simplifies the process by giving you all these features with a simple to use toolchain.
Fastlane tools are broken down into their individual tasks which makes configuration incredibly easy. It also allows you to set up multiple “lanes” for development, testing, and release. An example of a release lane could utilize a few of these powerful tools to increment build number, test, sign, upload, and deliver. These steps could cost you hours if done manually, but with Fastlane, you can let it do the lifting for you. Fastlane advertises that they have saved developers over 10 Million hours by cutting out these tasks, and I wholeheartedly believe their claim!
Looking Ahead
Here at TEEPS, we're constantly looking at new tools that can help us be better at what we do. It is our mission as developers to identify and resolve the pain points that we face and support the growth of the community. I encourage you to take advantage of some of the amazing tools that have been produced for us, and to also produce some of your own.
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