best practices


  • From Default to Delightful: AI-Assisted Data Visualization

    I can never remember the exact syntax for visualization libraries. AI changes this. Now I describe what I want in natural language, iterate in conversation, and let the model handle the boilerplate. Five prompts transformed default charts into a visual story of WordPress’s 20-year evolution.

  • ExPlat’s Development Principles and Practices

    When we started working on Automattic’s new experimentation platform (ExPlat), it became clear that we needed to agree on the development practices for the project. Achieving consensus was critical, given Automattic’s fractal nature and its strong emphasis on autonomy. In practice, these attributes lead to a high variability of project development cultures across the company, depending…

  • SQL — a Common Language for the Whole Data Team

    Today, I wanted to share how we’ve empowered colleagues outside the data engineering team to write their own data transformations by overcoming coding language barriers. Within our Data team, there are several specializations: Data Analysts create dashboards and analyze data for business leads and product teams across the company. Data Scientists apply machine learning technology at…

  • Teaching Python to Beginners

    Vicki Boykis shares some tips on how to teach beginners to code.

  • How to Avoid Statistical Bootstrapping Pitfalls

    Yanir Seroussi shares some insight into the common pitfalls of statistical bootstrapping and how to avoid them.