Good Morning!, its time for practiseSafeHex's most incompetent co-worker!

Todays contestant is a very special one.

*sitcom audience: WHY?*

Glad you asked, you see if you were to look at his linkedin profile, you would see a job title unlike any you've seen before.

*sitcom audience oooooooohhhhhh*

were not talking software developer, engineer, tech lead, designer, CTO, CEO or anything like that, No No our new entrant "G" surpasses all of those with the title ..... "Software extraordinaire".

*sitcom audience laughs hysterically*

I KNOW!, wtf does that even mean! as a previous dev-ranter pointed out does this mean he IS quality code? I'd say he's more like a trash can ... where his code belongs

*ba dum tsssss*

Ok ok, lets get on with the show, heres some reasons why "G" is on the show:

One of G's tasks was to build an analytics gathering library for iOS, similar to google analytics where you track pages and events (we couldn't use google's). G was SO good at this job he implemented 2 features we didn't even ask for:

- If the library was unable to load its config file (for any reason) it would throw an uncatchable system integrity error, crashing the app.
- If anything was passed into any of the functions that wasn't expected (null, empty array etc.) it would crash the app as it was "more efficient" to not do any sanity checks inside the library.

This caused a lot of issues as some of the data needed to come from the clients server. The day we launched the app, within the first 3 hours we had over 40k crash logs and a VERY angry client.

Now, what makes this story important is not the bugs themselves, come on how many times have we all done something stupid? No the issue here was G defended all of this as the right thing to do!

.. and no he wasn't stoned or drunk!

G claimed if he couldn't get the right settings / params he wouldn't be able to track the event and then our CEO wouldn't have our usage data. To which I replied:

"So your solution was to not give the client an app instead? ... which also doesn't give the CEO his data".

He got very angry and asked me "what would you do then?". I offered a solution something like why not have a default tag for "error" or "unknown" where if theres an issue, we send up whatever we have, plus the file name and store it somewhere else. I was told I was being ridiculous as it wasn't built to track anything like that and that would never work ... his solution? ... pull the library out of the app and forget it.

... once again giving everyone no data.

G later moved onto another cross-platform style project. Backend team were particularly unhappy as they got no spec of what needed to be done. All they knew was it was a single endpoint dealing with very complex model. There was no Java classes, super classes, abstract classes or even interfaces, just this huge chunk of mocked data. So myself and the lead sat down with him, and asked where the interfaces for the backend where, or designs / architecture for them etc.

His response, to this day frightens me ... not makes me angry, not bewilders me ... scares the living shit out of me that people like this exist in the world and have successful careers.

G: "hhhmmm, I know how to build an interface, but i've never understood them ... Like lets say I have an interface, what now? how does that help me in any way? I can't physically use it, does it not just use up time building it for no reason?"

us: "... ... how are the backend team suppose to understand the model, its types, integrate it into the other systems?"

G: "Can I not just tell them and they can write it down?"

**
I'll just pause here for a moment, as you'll likely need to read that again out of sheer disbelief
**

I've never seen someone die inside the way the lead did. He started a syllable and his face just dropped, eyes glazed over and he instantly lost all the will to live. He replied:

" wel ............... it doesn't matter ... its not important ... I have to go, good luck with the project"

*killed the screen share and left the room*

now I know you are all dying in suspense to know what happened to that project, I can drop the shocking bombshell that it was in fact cancelled. Thankfully only ~350 man hours were spent on it

... yep, not a typo.

G's crowning achievement however will go down in history. VERY long story short, backend got deployed to the server and EVERYTHING broke. Lead investigated, found mistakes and config issues on every second line, load balancer wasn't even starting up. When asked had this been tested before it was deployed:

G: "Yeah I tested it on my machine, it worked fine"

lead: "... and on the server?"

G: "no, my machine will do the same thing"

lead: "do you have a load balancer and multiple VM's?"

G: "no, but Java is Java"

... and with that its time to end todays episode. Will G be our most incompetent? ... maybe.

Tune in later for more practiceSafeHex's most incompetent co-worker!!!

Privacy & security violations piss me off. Not to the point that I'll write on devRant about it, but to the point that coworkers get afraid from the bloodthirsty look in my eyes.

I know all startups proclaim this, but the one I work at is kind of industry-disrupting. Think Uber vs taxi drivers... so we have real, malicious enemies.

Yet there's still this mindset of "it won't happen to us" when it comes to data leaks or corporate spying.

Me: "I noticed we are tracking our end users without their consent, and store not just the color of their balls, but also their favorite soup flavor and how often they've cheated on their partner, as plain text in the system for every employee to read"

Various C-randomletter-Os: "Oh wow indubitably most serious indeed! Let's put 2 scrumbag masters on the issue, we will tackle this in a most agile manner! We shall use AI blockchains in the elastic cloud to encrypt those ball-colors!"

NO WHAT I MEANT WAS WHY THE FUCK DO WE EVEN STORE THAT INFORMATION. IT DOES IN NO WAY RELATE TO OUR BUSINESS!

"No reason, just future requirements for our data scientists"

I'M GRABBING A HARDDRIVE SHREDDER, THE DB SERVER GOES FIRST AND YOUR PENIS RIGHT AFTER THAT!

(if it's unclear, ball color was an optimistic euphemism for what boiled down to an analytics value which might as well have been "nigger: yes/no")

One job I picked up was for an IoT Start Up. It was quite interesting work, reporting to the technical director, who was an electronics engineer, who was designing the hardware himself, they had a couple of firmware guys already, and just needed someone to take care of the software.
So they said they needed something in Azure that they could stream their data to and provide analytics for their clients. It had to be Azure, and it had to be Azure Native, and was to be Multi-client, as they had a deal with Microsoft to showcase how well Azure works in the IoT space at an exhibition/conference in 3 months time.
So I worked flat out for 3 months, on a whole variety of technology, from C++ to get the radio packets from their IoT chip, Python to run on the hub to take the data from the C++ and stream it to the cloud, Azure IoT Hubs in every continent to receive the data and store it an a Cosmos DB, and then Power BI analytics wrapped up in an Angular front end that the clients could log into.
Got it finished 2 days before the show, and they were so pleased I got flown business class to Singapore to be on the stand and talk to customers.
The first sign of trouble was when we arrived at the show to find we just had one of those little circular tables with two stools in the middle of the floor, about two feet across and no power.
No problem, I was able to sort that, swapping laptops in and out.
Microsoft were really happy with what we had, and couldn't believe I had thrown it all together in 3 months.
We picked up a potential customer for the system, a major Asian Telecoms company.
Then when we got home, the CEO swooped in. I had never met this guy before. Imagine one of the VC guys from Silicon Valley, or the CEO from the IT Crowd. You get the picture. Could talk the hind leg of a donkey, and real street smart, but no brains. He insisted on "taking it from here" and flew alone to strike the deal with the customer. Came back with an MOU in his pocket and said to me, their guys will be in touch with you.
Then I got a call. Can you send us the source code and tell us how what servers we have to run this on?
Um, its cloud native.
No, we can't use a cloud it has to be on our servers - your CEO told us that was no problem..
He hadn't even taken the trouble to find out what it was we had built, and what he was selling.

Alright... how the FUCK is an IP address considered personal data by GDPR????

Fucking boomers don't even know what an IP is. Guess what, every website you've ever been to has your IP! It's in your router, your fucking ISP's registry, and in every DNS server within 1000 miles of you!

Imagine thinking your IP gives up private information, god, just fuck me, I hate all of it, idiotic fools fumbling around with shit they don't understand.

...WKO making every developer's life a living nightmare because fucking GOOGLE FONTS stores a copy of your IP for their stupid analytics. You know what? Just don't use the internet either, that needs your IP too. In fact, don't pay taxes either, the tax office has a copy of your address, that's pretty personal information if you ask me! Just live in the woods and survive with the wolves.

I already know the future 'resolution' to this one - store fonts locally, resolve this dangerous "issue"... "waaaahhh fullStackClown! the site is slower now!!!"

...an infinite circle of clownshipness continues...

tune in next week as the world continues to approach it's circus fate!

!rant

Adding those final touches (basically last minute bug fixes) before releasing my app to the store. Aiming for the weekend if everything goes as expected...

Right now, adding analytics...

Sooooo close now 😁👍

In the fast-paced world of retail, understanding customer behavior and optimizing store operations are key to success. Retail footfall analysis provides valuable insights into how shoppers interact with your store, helping you make data-driven decisions to enhance performance and drive growth. Here’s how leveraging footfall analysis can revolutionize your retail marketing analytics consulitng strategy.

What is Retail Footfall Analysis?
Retail footfall analysis refers to the process of measuring and interpreting customer traffic patterns within a retail environment. This analysis involves collecting data on the number of visitors, their movement within the store, and their dwell times. By examining this data, retailers can gain a deeper understanding of shopper behavior, store performance, and the effectiveness of marketing strategies.

Benefits of Retail Footfall Analysis
Optimize Store Layout: By analyzing how customers navigate through your store, you can redesign layouts to improve traffic flow and increase the visibility of high-margin or promotional items. Strategic placement of products can enhance the shopping experience and drive sales.

Enhance Customer Experience: Understanding peak traffic times allows you to manage staffing levels more effectively. Ensuring adequate staff during busy periods can improve customer service and satisfaction, while reducing labor costs during quieter times.

Evaluate Marketing Effectiveness: Footfall analysis helps assess the impact of marketing campaigns and promotions. By comparing traffic data before, during, and after a campaign, you can determine what drives the most foot traffic and adjust future marketing strategies accordingly.

Improve Inventory Management: Analyzing foot traffic data helps with inventory planning by identifying which products attract the most customers. This insight allows you to better manage stock levels and avoid both overstocking and stockouts.

Drive Sales Growth: With detailed insights into customer behavior, you can make informed decisions to boost sales. For example, adjusting store layouts, optimizing product placement, and fine-tuning promotional strategies based on footfall data can lead to increased revenue.

How Retail Footfall Analysis Works
Data Collection: Footfall data is collected using various technologies such as infrared sensors, video cameras, and Wi-Fi tracking. These tools capture information on the number of visitors, their movement patterns, and the time they spend in different areas of the store.

Data Analysis: The collected data is analyzed to uncover patterns and trends. Key metrics include foot traffic volume, peak shopping times, customer dwell times, and the effectiveness of different store areas.

Insights and Recommendations: Based on the analysis, actionable insights are provided. This might include recommendations for store layout changes, staffing adjustments, or marketing strategies to better align with customer behavior.

Implementation: Retailers implement the recommendations to optimize store performance. This may involve reconfiguring store layouts, adjusting staffing schedules, or launching targeted marketing campaigns.

Ongoing Monitoring: Retail footfall analysis is an ongoing process. Continuous monitoring allows retailers to stay responsive to changes in customer behavior and market conditions, ensuring sustained improvements in store performance.

Why Retail Footfall Analysis Matters
Enhanced Customer Understanding: Provides a clear picture of how customers interact with your store, leading to better decision-making.
Increased Efficiency: Helps optimize store operations and resource allocation, improving overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Data-Driven Decisions: Enables retailers to make informed decisions based on concrete data rather than intuition or guesswork.
Conclusion
Retail footfall analysis is a powerful tool for optimizing store performance and driving business growth. By understanding customer behavior and traffic patterns, retailers can make strategic adjustments to store layouts, staffing levels, and marketing efforts, ultimately enhancing the shopping experience and boosting sales.

Leverage the insights from retail footfall analysis to transform your store operations and stay ahead of the competition. With the right approach, you can unlock new opportunities for success and achieve your retail goals.