Use Cases – Engineering
8 Best Software Documentation Tools for 2025
In September 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter burned up upon entering the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Poor software and technical documentation practices were the culprits. The system failed to convert measurements from imperial units to metric units, resulting in a $125 million loss for NASA and a seven-year delay in studying Mars’ climate. The fallout from […]
7 Top Software Development Collaboration Tools for 2025
You’re deep in a project, trying to address a bug in your codebase. Each fix you try causes ripple effects in modules other team members are working on, which leads to even more chaos. Coordinating in real time feels like an uphill battle, and searching for updates across various platforms only adds to the frustration. […]
How to Improve Developer Productivity: Metrics and Tips
Developer productivity balances producing quality code quickly with managing daily project demands. Key factors include writing sufficient code, fixing bugs efficiently, and delivering features on time. For engineering leaders, enhancing productivity requires metrics, tools, and processes that drive efficiency without burdening the team. This guide explores programmer types, effective output measurement, and strategies to overcome […]
9 Top Bug Reporting Tools for 2025
Your workspace is a tornado of 47 scattershot bug reports, and your email is spilling over with messages and screenshots. Slack, texts, and deadlines are closing in, and you’re stuck playing detective with messy reports instead of squashing bugs. Between all the emails and checking in on project statuses and updates, you’re more than a […]
9 Best Developer Productivity Tools in 2025
Developer productivity tools aren’t that different from the tools found in a master chef’s kitchen. Your development tech stack needs the same level of precision and purpose as the masterfully crafted equipment used in top-tier restaurants. And in both environments, efficiency is key. From powerful IDEs to AI assistants and documentation solutions, the right software […]
9 Software Documentation Best Practices + Real Examples
Imagine if every time your team faced a bug or needed guidance on a feature, the solution was just a click away—clear, concise, and exactly what you needed. No endless Slack threads, no back-and-forth emails, just clear-cut solutions. That’s the promise of well-crafted software documentation. When done right, it serves as a lifeline for teams, […]
7 Code Review Tools to Balance Quality and Speed
Your developer team has strict code quality standards they need to meet, but other teams have been pestering you lately about when you’ll deliver the latest round of codebase updates. Many dev teams must balance quality and speed as two opposing goals—and finding the right balance can mean pushing your product into the market leader […]
How to Write an SOP: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide
It’s your company’s busiest time of the year, and deadlines are piling up. Every department is hustling to get things done, but without a defined Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), you struggle to keep all your teams aligned. Marketing is using one approach, sales is doing something else, and operations is entirely out of sync. The […]
15 Smart Strategies for Engineering Better Scrum Meetings
You get a notification that it’s time for your team’s latest scrum meeting. Everyone hops on a call, goes through the motions, and ticks all the boxes. Each team member’s update echoes the last, “I did this yesterday, I’m doing this today, I have no blockers.” Are your scrums truly benefiting your projects, or have […]
4 Ways to Streamline Code Review Checklists with Video
Your engineers have made significant headway in their latest project, and now it’s time to review their code. They can’t help but feel some level of dread, making sure every API call goes as expected, and every dependency is passed into your development environment. Your code review checklist doesn’t go into enough depth or guide […]
Code Review Best Practices: Increase Code Quality With Video
Most developers see the value in a code review. Developers can identify bugs before they become a bigger problem and ultimately improve each line of code. But if your team lets out a collective groan when they hear the words “code review,” they aren’t alone. Software consultant Jacob Beningo comically paints what most developers feel […]
Your Guide to the Ultimate Remote Pair Programming Tool
Writing code is hard. Figuring out how to fix your code when you’re stuck can be even harder if you’re working solo. That’s where pair programming comes in. Traditionally done in person, this collaborative approach involves engineers pairing up to write or debug code. The rise in remote work brought us a new approach: remote […]
Explain, Document, & Review Code With Video Messages
As Loom’s CTO, I have witnessed how our video messaging tool greatly improves the asynchronous communication and performance of our team as well as those of the engineering leaders I speak with in sales and partnership meetings. I’d like to share some of these use cases with the hopes that it will help other Engineering teams run […]
Opening a Black Box: A Nondescript Video Error on the Android WebView
One of our core engineering values is Open Black Boxes. At Loom, We prefer “let me see” over “I don’t know.” When strange things happen, we dig, and we dig deep. Here is a story of Loommates working together, following the breadcrumbs, and uncovering the truth. One day in June, we saw a sudden drop […]
Quick Tips From Loommates: Providing QA to Engineers
Providing quality assurance (QA) to engineers is much easier when you can “show and tell” them what you’re asking to change. Organized playlists for multiple, related video messages In doing rounds of QA, I like to record several Loom videos, including valuable context such as the user state or the specific device. Then I add quick descriptions […]