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Calvin Hendryx-Parker, co-founder and CTO of Six Feet Up, appeared as a guest on a three-part series of the CTO Podcast detailing his perspectives on advancing stages in software development. The series explored strategies for solidifying software development foundations, creating resilient systems, embracing automation, and fostering innovation.

At the heart of the discussion was Six Feet Up’s BEST™ Framework which comprises four crucial stages in software development: Build, Execute, Streamline, and Transform. The framework, designed to accelerate the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), helps companies continuously improve their teams with constant feedback.

Calvin dives into each stage, offering valuable insights about developing efficient and innovative software systems.

Stage I: Build

The initial stage, Build, is focused on setting up the groundwork for a successful software development team, encompassing strategies for team building, environment setup, documentation, and coding standards. Calvin encourages organizations to have systems in place so that new developers can onboard quickly and efficiently — so quickly that developers can write a line of code and make a pull request within an hour of getting a new laptop.

“That’s a goal that CEOs and CFOs would definitely appreciate,” says Calvin.

Stage II: Execute

The Execute stage, likened to a "software development treadmill," stresses continuous development, skill enhancement, and internal mentoring. Important areas of focus include source control management, system instrumentation, and security considerations.

Stage III: Streamline

The Streamline stage involves the importance of automation and avoiding the pitfalls of hastily introducing new technology without adequate team support. Calvin reinforced prioritizing understanding, reusability, and maintainability in software development.

Stage IV: Transform

The final stage, Transform, emphasizes tracking and forecasting KPIs related to developer happiness and fostering a culture of innovation. Calvin warned against skipping to this stage without effectively navigating the prior three stages.

The podcast concluded with a glimpse into Six Feet Up's impactful mission, with an example of an innovative approach to predicting lightning strikes.

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Listen

Listen and read show notes from all three episodes of the CTO Podcast featuring Calvin:

• Part 1: Solidifying software development foundations
• Part 2: Build resilient systems
• Part 3: Optimize development with automation

The CTO Podcast, hosted by 7CTOs founder and executive chairman Etienne de Bruin, explores the worlds of Chief Technical officers as they manage the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of technologists in the C-suite.