Production vs. Developement for Debugging

Recently, we ran into an issue on a Rails application we are hosting on Heroku, which caused a dreaded 500 error.

In the development environment, Rails spits out a helpful HTML page showing information about the error and the stack trace from the request. There are also many tools to help you debug your application, but normally I just use a combination of the stack trace HTML, the detailed server logs and the Rails console.

The production environment is different, though. It doesn’t make any sense to show all that information to a user, so Rails will serve a stack 500 error page in the event of an error. Also, since production code should be bug free, the server logs are much less detailed by default.

So how do we track down what is causing our error on our Heroku application?

Heroku Setup

Using some trickery in our environment files and the environment variables on Heroku, we made it easy to control the error behavior of our servers.

We have two separate applications running on different environments:

• Production environment (ruby-1.9.3, rails 3.2.12)
• Staging environment, (ruby-1.9.3, rails 3.2.12), nearly identical to production*

In order to get more verbose logging output, we added this line to both config/environments/staging.rb and config/environments/production.rb

# staging.rb, production.rb

# Log detail is configurable on the server
config.log_level = ENV['LOG_LEVEL'] ? ENV['LOG_LEVEL'].to_sym : ('info').to_sym

This checks our Heroku config for a LOG_LEVEL variable. If it’s not set, we default to the ‘info’ log level. Now, to get more verbose output on our Heroku staging server logs I can do this:

$ heroku config:set LOG_LEVEL=debug --remote staging
$ heroku logs --tail --remote staging

When I have figured out the error, I can switch the server back to its default logging by

$ heroku config:unset LOG_LEVEL --remote staging
or
$ heroku config:set LOG_LEVEL=info --remote staging

*BONUS POINTS:

To make debugging even easier on the staging server, we changed a line in config/environments/staging.rb

#staging.rb
config.consider_all_requests_local = ENV['CONSIDER_REQUESTS_LOCAL']

Now I can set CONSIDER_REQUESTS_LOCAL on the server like this:

$ heroku config:set CONSIDER_REQUESTS_LOCAL=true --remote staging

and the staging server will now serve the application trace as an HTML page when there is an error. We did NOT do this on the production server, as we never want to show that detail to a real user of the application.

With this setup, it was really easy to figure out that we had a configuration setting stored in the database that needed to be updated, and we were off to bigger, better problems!

Here at Uplifted, we don’t love the word ‘scrum’ but we love what it has done for our clients. Below is a case study of how we utilized scrum methodology in order to transform a one-time website creation into an ongoing website development project.

After building a website for our client, we worked with them to continually optimize and grow the site. Without project framework in place, the process was chaotic and unpredictable. Changes were requested one by one and we were reacting rather than strategizing. After several months of this craziness, we decided to try out a simplified scrum method in order to stabilize the project.

What is Scrum Methodology?

On a basic level, scrum involves creating a running list of changes to be made which are then grouped together into shorter, ongoing projects known as sprints. At the end of each sprint of our project, a set of changes were deployed to the website and then you evaluate, prioritize, and start the next sprint cycle. The results had shown that the relationship had completely turned around and became one of our most dynamic, rapidly-growing projects.

This is how Scrum can work for your team:

1. Create a project backlog

Create a comprehensive wish-list of all the changes and updates needed to be made to the product.  This is called the “product backlog.”  This is a live document that the client can add to at any time. The items on the backlog can start off as very high-level, but when you’re ready to move them into a sprint, they need to be broken down into specific, testable changes that can be completed in a timely deadline (for our sprints we use three weeks time-frames).

2. Set up the scrum calendar

Plan ahead for several sprints. For our three week sprints, the timing is structured like this:

Day 1: Backlog planning meeting – meet with the client to evaluate the last sprint and define what to include in the next sprint.

Day 3: Start coding – developers have all the information they need to get started.

Day 17: Ready to test – all the requested changes are on the test environment, ready for the client to test.

Day 21: Deploy to production

3. Measure and adjust

Keep track of how much gets done within each sprint to make sure the pace is ideal for you and your client.  For us, three weeks was the ideal amount of time that allows us to complete significant changes to the product, while giving the client the flexibility to evaluate and re-prioritize frequently.

Overall, the benefits have been huge for both us and our client.  Our client is happy because of how quickly their site is evolving.  They know exactly what to expect at the end of each sprint and have the flexibility to re-prioritize every three weeks. Our developers are happy because they can plan their work instead of putting out fires and doing constant deployments. By using a core strategy for your development changes, not only are you strategizing, but you are in control of your projects.

WordPress is not only one of the most popular blogging platforms these days, but also a powerful and highly customizable CMS (content management system), making it a smart (and popular) choice for a very wide range of sites – from e-commerce and magazines to your typical personal blog. Both free and paid themes makes it relatively simple for just about anyone to quickly launch a nice looking, fully functioning site. But, of course, clients want their website to stand out from the rest and express their unique personality, so we offer our clients an economical compromise which lies between the out-of-the-box template and the built-from-scratch one.

 We purchase a theme (or you can download a nice quality, free one) and make customized changes to the colors, fonts, layout, functionality, etc. The code and backend structure are determined primarily by the theme you choose, or even by the structure of WordPress itself, and have their own list of pros and cons; but, for the purpose of this post, we’ll just be focusing on the design perspective only.

Advantages

+ In addition to the code, existing themes often come with a psd document that helps you quickly lay the groundwork for your layout, even if you plan to make a lot of changes. This leaves you more time to spend thinking about design and less time wasted, laying out your grid, lorem ipsuming in content blocks, etc.

+ Many templates these days come already optimized for responsive design, which streamlines the design process. Even if you make tweaks, the basic layout is already structured to adapt well to other screen sizes, leaving you with prepared solutions to tweak or even improve.

+ Many templates also include powerful plugins, such as slider banners and add-ons for specific types of sites (ie. e-commerce, classes, restaurants, etc). Although as designers we are primarily creators, it’s not always necessary to reinvent the wheel. These plugins can offer at least basic layout options, leaving you free to embellish as needed.

+ There are thousands of themes to pick from. Not all themes are created equal, but with so many options, there are some really nice designs out there. You can think of this theme-tweaking process as a collaboration with another designer and can even add more variation to your portfolio.

 Disadvantages

- Many themes, even purchased ones, only provide the psd for the homepage. Although this is a great start, if you’re going to be customizing the theme in any level of depth, chances are you’ll be changing elements on the interior templates as well and will need to create your own templates more or less from scratch.

 - Many themes don’t include the fonts used in the original design. So if this was one of the elements you were planning to keep, you will still need to find fonts yourself. Depending on the font, this could increase your cost dramatically, waste your time hunting for obscure fonts.

- Some elements and tools offered by WordPress are frequently built into themes and can later prove an impediment to the design on interior pages. For example, widgetized sidebars put restrictions on how you utilize those spaces and add unique content, such as banners, without creating another template.  It can also cause problems that make it difficult to manage content in the future.

- WordPress is not just a CMS – it’s a blog, which can be a negative for clients who want a simple brochure site and have no plans of blogging. Since the backend is structured for and uses the language of a blog, clients can get a bit confused when they go in to manage content on their own. Be sure to educate your clients early on in the project, so they know exactly what they can expect.

 There are times, though, when you want to have the latest version of a file rather than the stored version on your computer.  Let’s say for example that your designer makes a change to the CSS file for a page, changing the background color from bright pink to a much more palatable soft gray.

Much better.

If this change is done and uploaded to the web server without changing the filename, you will be stuck with old file.

In this case, you need to get rid of the cache for this page.  Most browsers have an option in the settings to clear the entire cache, but this is overkill.  Chrome has in its documentation that Ctrl+F5 or shift+F5 should reload the page without the cache, but there are many users reporting that this doesn’t always work for them.

What does work is a little trick using the browser’s built in developer tools.  These are a set of tools that allow you to view the HTML structure of the page and do fun things like execute javascript on the page. For our purposes, we only want to adjust one option in the settings. There are keyboard shortcuts to open the developer tools, but it’s probably easier just to right-click anywhere on the page and select “Inspect Element.”

The next step is to disable the cache in the settings. By disabling the cache, chrome will reliably ignore cached material whenever the development tools window is open. This means your browser will function normally unless you open the dev tools.

With that simple change, the process for ignoring your cached content is

1. Right click anywhere on the page

2. Select “Inspect Element” to open the developer tools

3. Refresh the page

Leave the developer tools closed to use your cache normally!  Happy developing/browsing!

We recently used the concept of a ‘red team‘ to perform a thorough review of our everyday work processes. It was super easy and the results have been incredible. What is a red team you ask? Traditionally the concept revolves around having a third-party team go through your processes in order to identify any potential weaknesses or gaps. Remember Robert Redford in the movie Sneakers? Yeah, that’s a red team.

Wikipedia defines a red team as an independent group that seeks to challenge an organization in order to improve its effectiveness.

Here’s a quick guide for how you can create your own red team.

A) Commitment: The first (and most important) thing to do is to really commit to the idea of a red team. It is very tempting to cut corners, especially if you are busy with client-related work. A red team typically is an independent team, so it is important that you treat your red team exactly as if they were real clients. This includes doing the paperwork things like contracts and invoices. In order to seal the commitment, we had a brief team meeting to go over the concept and get buy-in from the team members.

B) Select Red Team: You’ll need to select a team of people from your existing staff that will comprise the red team. These people should not be involved at all in the work that needs to be done (contracts, design, etc), as it is important that they are able to truly act independently of the actual team. Theoretically you could also solicit an external red team, but we think it is just as good to use existing team members.

C) Identify the Scenario:  Every client is different, and this is equally true to your red team. You’ll need to identify who the fake client is and what it is they are looking for. The more detail you can put into this scenario definition the better. In our example, we pretended the ‘red team’ was a development studio looking for a site design.

D) Get Started!: Getting started is the easy part. Just have your red team send an inquiry through email and/or your contact form just as a normal customer would

E) Define Processes Every Step of the Way: This could be the most critical and important part of the entire effort. As you go through the process, it is strongly recommended that you create repeatable processes for every aspect of your business. Be extremely critical of yourselves. If, as you go, you identify a part of your business that is especially sloppy, then stop, design the process, and start again. We use Lucid Charts to document process flows and we love it. Here is an example of a process flow that we came up with during our red team. At the end of the process you should have clear process flows that define the different parts of your business (e.g. client acquisition, development, invoicing, etc).

Random side note: Process definition can be extremely annoying for employees, especially if you are a nazi about it. It is critical that your employees have a certain amount of flexibility so they can be creative. So when you define processes we recommend finding your own ‘sweet spot’ of specificity.

F) Complete the Job: As you go through your red team exercise there will be a very real possibility that something more critical will come up. Maybe client X has yet another super duper emergency that you need to handle. That’s fine, the customer should always come first. Just don’t half-ass your red team. Finish the job!

G) Wrap it All Up: We recommend holding a wrap-up meeting with all of the parties involved to go over what you have learned. Ideally this would start as a presentation from the leader of the team reviewing what happened and what was learned. Follow that by a team-wide discussion about both the red-team concept and about what changes will come out of the review.

We’ve found that a red team is incredibly useful for our business. In some ways it was like therapy for the business.

TweetAdder is a downloadable, automated software for Twitter that is loaded with useful management and search tools. The key to successfully using the software is to first find the most influential people in your market niche and then begin following their accounts and their followers. It is recommended not to follow more than 200 people a day when you start. After two or three days the people you followed will start following you back and then two or three days after thatTweetAdder will start unfollowing anyone who did not follow you back, and the process repeats. Simply put – it is one of the easiest ways to gain followers on Twitter in a short amount of time and the best part is your new followers are more likely to share the same interests as you.

Here are a few of the other advantages TweetAdder has over other automation services:

• Manage multiple accounts in one window without having to log-in and out of your Twitter profiles.
• Complete control over what you want to automate and what you want to keep manual
• Extensive search tools (tweet search, profile search, location search, profile data search, search by follower or following).
• Automate tweets and direct messaging .

A large increase in followings may still take some time to achieve; however with more followers and continually sharing your blog posts or website pages on Twitter, you can increase your social reach and drive more traffic to your site.

The Top 5 Things NOT to Share on Social Media

1. Personal Data
This means your phone number (telemarketers will take it), your full address (city is OK), any credit card pictures (someone will steal that), and any passwords (we all reuse passwords, so someone can now access your bank account). Keep all of that information to yourself; you’ll be better off, trust me.

2. “Personal” Photos
I love seeing new baby pictures, but the ‘baby peeing outside’ picture can stay on your computer album. This also goes for fall down drunk pictures (aren’t you applying for jobs?) and any obscenities. Keep it to yourself, maybe email it to friends, but don’t post that on social media.

3. Something to Piss off your Boss
It’s online – we can all access it. Posting ‘too lazy to go to work’ on Facebook then calling in sick will come back to haunt you. Pictures of your chugging a beer on your boss’s desk is something that can get you fired. So before you hilariously post something about work, ask yourself: Would my boss be offended by this? If yes, delete immediately.

4. Vacation Dates
Did you post ‘Greece July 10-August 2!!!’? Well now robbers know that they have almost a full month to check up on your house. Some people think this one is really a stretch, but if you aren’t careful about what you have on your social media profiles, you could put yourself and valuables at risk.

5. Complaints
Are you that person complaining about the weather, your job, your horrible luck, etc? Then you have probably had a lot of people hiding your posts. That’s not so bad, until you really want to use social media and get the word out about something — you have no audience. Don’t be overly negative, even if you’re feeling down. Pick up the phone and call a friend instead.

Work Virtually. Office space can be one of the biggest expenses for any startup. Try working from a home office until you start making money, and always be on the lookout for ways to cut down on your operational costs. When the time does come for needing more space, try a shared workplace.

DIY Networking. Networking and getting connected can be a tedious task, but doing it yourself at the beginning can save you tons. If you can, train yourself in basic marketing, sales pitches, and other work that can later be outsourced once your startup begins to grow. Keep an eye out for any free local networking events and be ready to pitch your idea and make connections at any given moment.

Re-invest any Profit. It is not wise to start taking huge salaries the moment your startup starts generating money. Take out what is needed to cover the basics then re-invest the rest of your profit back into your business.

Automate. Make note of the tasks you do repetitively and find ways to make them more automatic. You can save time and delay hiring outside help if you can pinpoint how to automate daily tasks.

Social Media Marketing. The best way to market your startup for free is to utilize free social media. You can target your potential customers and stay connected with them without costing anything more than the time you put into it.

Be Patient. The key to any bootstrapped startup is keeping with it and being patient. Remain consistent with your daily actions and keep focused on your long-term goals.

Growing a business can be slower with bootstrapping, but the best part is that it stays your business!

Pin Tip #1: Create pin-worthy content
Pinterest is an excellent tool to share your personality and view of the world, all while building relationships with potential and existing customers. Ideally you want to mix personal content while marketing your business, so it is best to try to incorporate your Pinterest content into your blog or website as well. You want people to find something on your board they can relate to and repin to their board. This will increase exposure to your board and ultimately your brand.

Pin Tip #2: Optimize your website for pinning
Adding a “Pin it” icon to all the pages of your website will allow and encourage your visitors to re-pin any images on your website they might like. You should first test pinning images yourself to be sure that your site images are “pinnable.”

Pin Tip #3: Start pinning
The more you can show your audience what a great source you are in your niche by pinning related content, the more you will establish yourself as an inspiring pinner. It is important to visit other websites and pin or re-pin quality content to avoid just pinning your own images (this can become spammy). By creating a good mix between sharing your own content, as well as inspiration from others, you can grow a loyal following.

Pin Tip #4: Promotion
Once you have an active account and a decent following, be sure to place “Follow on Pinterest” buttons on your website, blog, email signature, and anywhere else so you can attract more followers. You can also link back to your website in Pinterest by adding your company’s website and other social media links to your Pinterest profile.

Pin Tip #5: Keep at it
All social media sites require consistent attention in order to be successful and Pinterest is no different. Use free time to browse and add new pins daily or dedicate the job to someone else to keep your account updated so you can attract new followers!

Three main things to understand from the start:

1.) You need to create a voice for your company. What angle are you going to take when approaching your particular market? Funny, serious, informative, etc.?

2.) Once your social media pages are created, add linked buttons on your company website to these outlets in order to increase the number of people following your pages.

3.) Post regularly. Once launched, your social media pages need to stay up-to-date and continuously posted on and added to in order to keep your content interesting, but don’t spam us! Typically 1-2 posts per day in the beginning is just fine.

Now for some more outlet-specific tips!

Twitter

• Make sure to pick a name and handle that reflect your business and logo so it is easily recognizable.
• When writing your page description, include only the most important information and add the web link to your company site.
• Don’t post every two minutes. It is easy to go overboard on Twitter, so make sure you are not overloading or spamming your followers with information.
• Be sure to follow other people of interest, tweet, re-tweet, and reply to tweets that are related to your business or industry.
• Use Hootsuite or another scheduling service, so you don’t need to spend too much time on this.

Facebook

• The face of your page is your picture, so pick something that is suitable, appropriate, and eye-catching.
• Include your company overview and your mission in the page description, but keep it short and to the point to maintain viewers’ interest.
• Facebook is a great place for more involved conversations, so tailor your posts and tone to reflect your brand and the people you are attempting to reach out to.
• Post at peak times. It has been seen that Facebook receives the most views between 1 and 4 pm, and Wednesdays at 3pm is the best time to post.

Blog

• It is recommended that you post a minimum of 2-3 times a week. If you want to acquire loyal readers, you must be continually coming out with new blogs for them to stay informed and interested. But hey, we get it, you’re busy, so try for at least one per week when starting out.
• Do not use your blog as another marketing tool for advertising or self-promoting. Focus your posts on experiences, recent news, insights, etc.
• Remember to use the same voice throughout all of your posts. This allows readers to identify with your company and the writer while also giving a personality to your company.

Now that you have this awesome and simple outline, get out there and join the world of social media!