How to professionalize your little work project

Let’s say your main job is not programming, but you managed to automate some everyday tasks with little scripts. Congratulate! You already maintain a code on production & it’s already delivering value. Let’s see how you can move to the next level and gain valuable programming skills along the way.

Most likely, your code is:

• bunch of snippets copied from different places on the internet
• works in most cases, but sometimes fails randomly
• you are the only person able to use it

And on top of that, you have a feeling that it is not actual programming.

There are few things that you can improve in a codebase like this. Benefits are going both ways:

• on the one hand, the company will be able to use the code even after you leave the current position
• on the other hand, you will be able to gain valuable skills & have some achievements to demonstrate it

The things you can add:

1. version control — for example, git
2. documentation
3. automated tests
4. continuous integration

Version control is standard for any serious programming, and it provides you with a quick way of restoring any past code version and allows you to document changes as you progress. If you didn’t set up one for your project, you are wasting company resources…