Episodes
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If you look at the title of this episode, you might think that we are going to unveil our details about how we protect the bol.com platform against DDoS attacks. We should be clear about this, we just can’t in the current world we live in. But we wanted to talk about this because the solution used is worthwhile sharing. So we double-checked with our security department and verified what aspects we can share; they are interesting enough.
What this episode covers
DDOS protectionFor an ecommerce site like bol.com, is this a large problem?With DDOS protection in place, what did we still miss? What needed to be improved?Could you give an overview of the solution you came up with?What sets it apart from solutions that are available in the market?Let’s look at the data science partHow do we train the model?Is there a way to validate the model besides just using it in production?How do we deploy the model?Or how do we get the configuration for the servers from the model?How do cloud and DC (data centre) servers work together?How do we leverage for example the scalability of the cloud?Cloud load balancerCloud armourLooking back what did we learn about Cloud that can be used in other innovations?What did we learn about Data Science that can be used in other innovations?
Guests
Barrie Kersbergen – Principal Research Scientist – Data Scientist RecommendationsWas on the episode on the Artificial Research Lab ~RecommendationsFrank Kootte – Product Tech Lead in Shopping/Buying
NotesPythorg
AI Platform (Please check)
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Chantal is on a mission. To make people aware of the buying drip or in Dutch "Koopinfuus". Together with Chantal we dive into this phenomenon and discuss what it is. We find out what the three pillars are that contribute to this drip. We make the connection with Tech. Tech empowers platforms like bol.com to use for the good and bad. Never before it was so important to be aware of this phenomenon and ask ourselves the question how we contribute to this. And just like her first book, it backed by a lot of research. The book will be released on the 17th of May and can be pre-ordered.
What this episode coversWe dive into the buying drip (koopinfuus) by asking ourselves the questions:
What is the buying drip? (Koopinfuus)Is there something in the tech culture in general that's amplifying this?What are the three pillars:Marketing TacticsBrain manipulationHyper personalizationHow this is used for the good and bad
GuestsChantal Schinkels - Social tech & e-commerce | Auteur "Het Koopinfuus" & “De IT Girl" | Professioneel Spreker | Columnist | LinkedIn Top Voice
Notes
7 principles of persuasion Robert Cialdiniinfluence is your superpowerDark patternsEarlier Episode/Blog posts:
Women in Tech Women in tech encourage inclusion in tech -
Missing episodes?
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The Tech Radar is a tool to inspire and support Engineering teams at Bol.com to pick the best technologies for new projects; it provides a platform to share knowledge and experience in technologies, to reflect on technology decisions and continuously evolve our technology landscape. Based on the pioneering work of ThoughtWorks, our Tech Radar sets out the changes in technologies that are interesting in software development — changes that we think our engineering teams should pay attention to and use in their projects.
What this episode coversWe will answer questions like:
What is a tech radar?What are we trying to achieve?What were the hurdles to get this technology radar?How do we maintain the techradar?
Guests
Rogier Lommers – a regular on this podcast – Space Tech Lead in our Tech Enabling spaceAnthony Moendir – Discipline & Community Leader of the Tech LeadsRemco Overdijk – Has also been on our podcast before – Product Tech Lead for our Compute & Networking Infrastructure within the Shared Technical Platform
Noteshttps://www.thoughtworks.com/radar
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Neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences, such as autism, ADHD, Tourette syndrome and dyslexia, should be recognized and respected as a natural form of human diversity, similar to cultural and ethnic diversity. The neurodiversity movement advocates for the rights and equality of individuals with neurological differences and promotes the idea that these differences should be celebrated and not stigmatized.
What this episode coversWe structured this episode about neurodiversity into a couple of main topics:
Introduction of the topic of neurodiversity and providing some background information about what it is and why it is important.Share personal perspectives on neurodiversity; two very personal stories from the guests of our show.Key Issues, Actionable Advice, conclusions and Call to action.The famous closing round; what are the key takeaways from our guests?
Guests
Koen Suijkerland – Systems engineer for our TPS (Technical Platform Space).Krissie Prusinskaite – Software engineer in Logistics.
Notes
(Image: https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qxrxmo3r/techlab-prd/66a43f26137fbbb9c23c31cde7e15acd3dafe715-1045x255.png)In this episode, we refer to the episode about the Inclusion of introverts
In the Netherlands you can also check out Neurodivergence and Mental Health in IT on Meetup
One of our listeners pointed out to a closed channel on Slack as well. Let us know if you want to know more.
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The guest of our show presented the Data Build Tool, DBT, in one of our knowledge-sharing sessions. Especially the fun part is what I recognize when I look at this knowledge-sharing session. The guest of the show presented it in an enthusiastic way and used terms like: the macro functionality makes DBT awesome and Ephemeral is the Unique Selling Point.
What this episode coversIn General
What is a Data Build Tool?What problems does it solve?What are the two versions? Cloud, CLIWhy is it much more interesting to use than other ETL, transformation tools?Analytics EngineeringExplain a bit more in debt the Basics of a DBT project: dbt project data pipeline, data model, tests, macros.Model dependenciesDBT-packages ecosystemOne of the powers of DBT is Jinja.What could you compare Jinja to?Is it easy to comprehend and learn?Ephemeral (CTE) was the unique selling point for you, why?An engineer enthusiastic about a documentation feature… that asks for an explanation.Within bol.com
Usage started as an experiment, how are we using it in bol.com?Can you share some learnings you and your team had when you started using DBT?
GuestsSander Boumeester – Software Engineer in the experimentation team.
NotesOn the website of getdbt there's a cool picture that explains the framework really well.
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Five years ago, Chantal found out she got a lower salary than a male colleague with less experience. Till that moment she was ok with the male-dominated Tech world. But this triggered her. She started reading about this topic, interviewed many people and decided to write this book. She became very passionate about this important topic which you can already feel when reading the book. And while interviewing her, Peter Paul and Peter were triggered many times by this passion.
What this episode coversThe Book
The book is an excellent combination of research, examples, tip&tricks and even a dedicated chapter for men.
It’s structured in three main parts:
I: Voordat je het ziet - before you see it; there is a lot of information about why the situation is like it. It is going back to the past and explains why it is such an important topic.
II: De ladder op – climbing the stairs; A lot of different work situations explained covered with tips to deal with this in a way close to yourself.
III: Breek het system – breaking the system; last but not least the way forward to make a huge step. A dedicated chapter for men, a manifesto for more women in Tech and ideas to deal with the broader picture in and outside the company.
Guests
Chantal Schinkels – Author of “de IT Girl”Years of experience in the world of Tech. Supports companies in e-commerce ventures. Speaker at tech events. Trainer. Author
Notes
Cynthia Nixon - Be a lady they said (short film)Women and inclusion in Tech -
Order Sourcing Simulation is needed to enable capacity steering over our warehouses, network of sellers and logistical partners. Data Science is used to predict customer behavior and simulate capacity impact.
What this episode coversWhat is:
Order SourcingCapacity Steering (multiple warehouses, locations, etc)What is needed to do this well?IntakeEtc.Now the context is clear, we can dive into the issue
What do we need to solve/achieve?
And when the why is clear, we can dive into the Data Science part:
When did Data Science popped up?How do you use this for this issue?What challenges do you need to deal with?BusinessTech
Guests
Bart Terpstra – Data Scientist LogisticsTimo van Hooijdonk Business Analist en Product Owner
NotesWe refer to earlier episodes on the use of Data Science in our logistical area and for forecasting:
Digital Twin of our Warehouse
Predict the unpredictable
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What is a product-led organization? If you google it you will find a definition in the 1.4 billion answers similar to this:Product-led means being guided by the potential of products and product teams, and breaking down the silos between “the business” and “the product”. The business IS the product.At bol.com, we are on our own journey to discover what product-led means. And we see similarities with the other journeys like becoming Agile, implementing DevOps, move to the cloud we went through. Only when we start to ask our Engineers what they need it really starts to fly
What this episode covers
From your perspective what is a product-led organization?Organization and roles.How work comes to the team of how the teams find work.Questions that are asked of engineers.How people in teams collaborate.How is it different for a software engineer compared to our Agile way of working?Design and preparationImplementingExperimentingBringing to productionHow did you get your first experience with this way of working?Does it require new skills and habits from our engineers?Or a more or less completely new mindset?Was there something you struggled withTaught you something newLed to new insightsIf there were one blog post, book, or video that engineers should consume, which one would it be?
GuestsWerner Hofstra, Product Tech Lead in Assortment & Selling
Notes
Empowered by Marty CaganContinuous Discovery Habits by Teresa TorresExperimentationInnovation RhythmProduct ArchitectureProduct-led by Tech Lead and Architect -
Many know the retrospective from the agile way of working. It's one of the most important sessions in working agile. If done correctly and followed up it will make you better step by step. This is also the reason many people use it as instrument to improve after for instance an emergency. But what if retro's become boring? Some might recognize this so time to dive into this and make retro's great again.
What this episode coversThe topics of the episode are:
What were the symptoms of these boring retrospectives for you?Why are these bad for our teams? And our people?Could you share with our audience why this topic was important to you?Why do we need good retrospectives?What are the elements of a good retrospective?What were the alternatives or additional styles and structures you came up with?Could you share some insights on the struggles you had and what you learned from them?
Guests
Erik van der Kieft - scrum master in Assortment & SellingJake de Oude - Software engineer and scrum master in Assortment &Selling
Notes
The Spotify Retro Kit -
With 2 of our engineers, we look into how we keep enhancing the quality of our webshop using canary testing and analysis, contract testing and end-to-end testing in isolation.
What this episode coversWe have quite some communities within bol.com. One of those focuses on quality. For this episode, we invited 2 engineers from this community to share some of our latest developments on this topic. They share their knowledge and experience with canary testing and analysis, contract testing and end-to-end testing in isolation.
We go over questions like:
What is canary used for?What is a canary deployment?When should end to end testing be done?What is End 2 End test?How do you perform end to end testing?What is the purpose of doing end to end testing?
Guests
Sonja Nesic; Test Engineer in the buying domainRonald Nikkels; Test engineers in the buying domain
NotesRonald shared a link to a meetup/youtube video: Pactflow and Cypress (End-to-end Tests in Isolation using API contracts with Cypress and Pactflow).
Sonja shared an article in the quality community about Deployment Validation and Graceful Degradation at Pinterest.
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In the introduction mail, it said: “Having a culture in which we all can thrive, is one of our most valuable assets. To celebrate and cherish our unique tech culture, we are organizing events throughout the month of June. ”From Meetups to Games, from Tech talks to sessions with the IT management and most important of all, interactions. That's in brief Tech Culture Month. We hope to inspire you to have one yourself or participate in these tech community-building events.
What this episode coversWe discuss Tech Culture Month.
What is Tech Culture Month?Why is a series of events like this important?What was the feedback from the community?During this month our Tech Culture Manifesto got introduced.
What is it?You Build It, You Run It, You Love It!Have FunWhy do we have or need this manifesto?What did we learn putting this on paper?
Guests
Babiche de Jong – Software Engineer in LogisticsJonna Hietkamp – Principal Engineering Manager in Assortment & SellingTim van Hardeveld – Coordinator Onboarding, Learning & Development
Notes
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This experiment triggered so many questions with us: Creating a pop up warehouse with Google Glass implementation, how much time does it cost? Why are we doing this? Is this totally new in the market?
What this episode coversWe dive into the experiment with this business usage of the Google Glass in a popup warehouse.
(Image: https://cdn.sanity.io/images/qxrxmo3r/techlab-prd/1ee7d3b5ecc11dc4ba0e0f381665fc820b5ee8b2-4032x3024.jpg)
Guests
Turan Bulmus – AI/ML Practise Lead at Google for the BeneluxNiels de Vries – Data Scientist at bol.com within Logistics – stock allocationMelih Gultekin – Software engineer/Android developer at bol.com – decide to buy
Notes
Google glass, Own OS (oreo, android)Figma – design - https://www.figma.comGoogle cloud visualizer on laptop - https://www.vysor.io/Jackpack compose (google library for android dev.s, Kotlin)https://developer.android.com/jetpack/compose/documentation Customer cases: Samsung, DHL and outside logistics: Health SectorGoogle guidelines for color schemas -
Over three years ago we published our third podcast episode. The topic of the episode was the Go programming language. We noted, “When you listen to the stories our two enthusiastic guests share in this episode, you might even believe Go is the future.” So, let's check in and see how things have evolved.The number of feature teams in bol.com using Go has grown. What else has happened? Our guests share their experiences and provide solid advice for starting your journey with Go.
What this episode covers
Introducing the Go programming language in an organisationWhat do we like about Golang?How to onboard people in the Go experience?What is a good approach to deal with boilerpate code in Go?Should you generate it? Or use a "framework"?What frameworks are available?
GuestsPatrick Akil – Consultant, Software Engineer, Trainer in Go, Podcast Host
Albert Brand – Consultant at Xebia – Software Engineer, Go Trainer
Goos van den Bekerom – Software Engineer
Hannes de Jager – Software Engineer
Kevin van den Broek – Software Engineer
Notes
Our 1st podcast episode on GolangThe power of GoAxleThe Functional toolkit for Kotlin HTTP applications - http4kCookie cutterGo kit -
We discuss the way of working of the Tech Lead and Architect in the Marketing Domain. Functional- and Technical aspects need to be taken into account when defining the direction of the development teams.From our guests Alexandra and Lennart, we learn what cooperation means in these relatively new functions.
What this episode coversProduct-Led is adapted more and more as a way of organizing for innovation. In bol.com we are shifting towards this concept. One important topic in the adaptation is forming the leadership in a product organisation. Given the nature of the innovation teams we both need to focussing on functional- and technical aspects.
Guests
Alexandra Egher ; Product Tech Lead in the marketing domainLennart Billekens;Product Architect in the marketing domain
Notes
Learn more on the introduction of Tech Leads at bol.com.Product architecture for the product organization.Check how we adapted out innovation rhythm when introducing a product led approach. -
A few months ago we noticed a message that stood out on our internal platform. Basically, it stated: "I'm back". Naturally, it happens every now and then that employees explore their horizons but still return to bol.com.
What this episode coversHowever, the number of software engineers that turn to indie game developer and come back, is quite limited. That sparked our curiosity since for a vast group of engineers it is some kind of dream job to develop games. That must have something to do with the large number of gamers among software engineers.
There are some interesting learnings and experiences in our conversation with Roy. Listen and check what is in it for you.
Have you always been intrigued by creating (computer) games?How did you prepare for your adventure to make games for a living?What were the obstacles you had to overcome trying to make a living crafting a computer game?What did you learn?Please share also some examples of how you learned this?What will you take with you now that you are back at bol.com?How is it to be back at bol.com?
Guests
Roy Kok – Software engineer at bol.com in Buying and former Indie game developer.
Notes
Unity -
Everybody can go to bol.com and check the Front-End of our webshop. But what if you are a seller, supplier, partner or internal employee? What is your view when interacting with our IT systems? In general, you will use one of our Portals. These portals made a long journey to get to the stage where they are today.
What this episode coversNot only does the backend site, mainly covered by SWAP's (Small Web APplications) rely on different frameworks, also the Front-End work does. How to adapt to a new 'Look and Feel'? How to be consistent? How to make the lives of Software Engineers easier? Listen to this episode and find out yourself.
What does the Portal and SWAP architecture look like in bol.com?What is a front-end framework?What role play Design Systems like Figma, Storybook, Zeroheight, Frontify, Stencil?What are design tokens?How do UX Designers, Front-End Developers and Back End Developers work together and profit from a framework?
Guests
Jake de Oude - Front-End Software EngineerRobin Aldenhoven - Software Engineer within Logistics working on Front-End applicationsRobin Cijvat – Product Tech LeadRens Jansen – Visual designer \ design system designer – new bol.com style in the component libraries
NotesIn an earlier episode back in 2019 we already talked about SWAPs and a blog on this topic is available here.
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Welcome to episode number 100!A special show with a very interesting topic: Inclusion of Introverts and Introversion. We asked our CEO Margaret Versteden for a quote for this number 100. She surprised us with the fact that this topic is so important for her as she is dealing with this her whole life, as an introvert.So if you are an extrovert, we think this is a "must listen".
What this episode coversIt will help you to understand and to make the world and your environment safer for introverts. It is about the inclusion of everyone and the inclusion of introverts
Why is it so much harder for an introvert to be included than for an extrovert? To understand this, we first dive into questions like:
What is an introvert?And what it is not, what are the common misunderstandings?Why is it so important to be more aware of these differences?We touch upon neurodiversity and neuro non-typical persons, as some of the requirements for a safe environment also applies for these groups.After this understanding we dive into the environment:
What creates a safe environment? How to include diverse people?What can you do as a facilitator?We talk about meetings, presentations, standups, dealing with feedback, spark meetings and many more examplesWe discuss tips and tricks to build a more inclusive environmentAnd we are confronted with our own bias, more than once.
Guests
João Martinelli - Software Engineer and Scrummaster in one of the Payment TeamsSarah Gruneisen - Engineering Manager, Agile Coach and LiberatorReena Choudhary - Software Engineer in one of the Payment Teams
NotesLiberating Structures: https://www.liberatingstructures.com/
Other shows on Diversity and Inclusion:
Cultural Diversity
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We are not only the hosts of the show but so far we also do the selection of the topics ourselves. Research what’s interesting. Find diverse subjects and guests, etc.
What this episode coversAnd sometimes guests make it easier for us. They post on our internal platform a message….
“What is the superlative of bragging? I don't think I can go any further than telling you that I co-wrote a book. And of course, it's about experimentation Yesterday I received the first copy in my hands, and it is of course for sale at bol.com ”
The book is called “Steering on results”, how to work together on the greatest ambitions. Work smarter not harder. (So far only available in Dutch but English translation is being worked on). And since this week we know that the book is on the long list of books to become Management book of the year in 2022. A Dutch award organized by one of our partners managementboek.nl. (how can I check if this is true?)
This triggered us in two ways:
First – what is the book about?
Learning by three elements
DataTangible ObjectivesIntroduction of CRAFT: Create, Refine, Align, Finalize & Transmit (CRAFT)Introduction of Objectives, Progress Metrics & Estimates (OPME’s), in bol.com we refer to this one as OKR's.3. thorough research methods
Second – How is it to start writing a book?
So we know how it started, let’s find out what it is to become an author next to your jobWhen did it start?Why did you choose to do it?How did you work together?What steps did you take?Did you already have experience in writing?Was it according to expectations?What were the learnings?Do you advise others to write a book?
GuestsWe have an award-winning guest:
Denise Visser; According to Linked in it says Product Manager Experimentation at bol.com and freelancer.
You probably know Denise from a previous show about experimentation.
NotesSturen op resultaat website
The Book Sturen op Resultaat
Blog on experimentation
Podcast Episode on experimentation with Denise and Maarten
Longlist management boek van het jaar
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This episode is 2021 Techlab Wrapped. Inspired by one of the platforms that host our podcast Spotify.It is the end of Season 3 and the end of 2021. Time to look back and to look ahead.
What this episode covers2021 Wrapped and maybe a glimpse into 2022.
We look back at 2021 by the numbers.Top 3 listsTop 5 countriesWe discuss the topics and episodes that really got us.For instance the one on Log4j and the PMC member who is working in bol.com.We share the plans of 2022 and the OKR we set ourselves: "we get on TikTok and you get to decide what dance we should perform if we double our listeners on the best episode ever"
GuestsPeter Brouwers
Peter Paul van de Beek
ShownotesTop 3 according to Blubrry
Episode 91 - Retailer APIEpisode 93 - The Programmers BrainEpisode 81 - Data Maturity and Data LiteracyTop 3 according to Spotify
Team TopologiesThe Data-Driven Approach to supporting products with KPI's and OKR'sCuriosity is the common denominator for our business analystsThe new Bol.com ECOmerce podcast about sustainability
Notes
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During the recording of this episode, we are in the week of Black Friday. An exciting week for people hunting for bargains. And also for a lot of our colleagues.
What this episode coversWhether that is from a commercial point of view or an engineering one.
All the eyeballs on our website, bring a lot of traffic. And consequential a lot of load on our systems. In this episode, we focus on one aspect of preparing for a large load: Load Testing. In this episode, we are going to talk about Load Testing with Locust. An open-source load testing tool.
Triggered by our guest's presentation during the spaces summit, we wanted to know more about this and share it with you.
What is Locust?Why did we start using Locust for Load Testing?Examples of Load tests and Performance tests performed with this toolWhat did we need to setup for it?How to configure your Locust testsHow to run your tests on KubernetesWhat were the challenges?How does it make use of the cloud benefits like scalability?
Guests
Leon van Wijk; Full Stack Software Engineer at Craftsmen and engineer in our Logistics Team
Notes
Distributed load testing with LocustLocust presentation at the Spaces SummitPerformance testing the Chat App - Show more
