Hi, I’m Raimo

I’m a self-employed Software Crafter from Berlin, Germany. I help companies build a culture suited to grow and empower people and have them enjoy their work. I also write a lot of code (mostly in JavaScript, React, Redux lately), am fond of Domain-Driven Design and an advocate for Test-Driven-Development.

I owe a lot to the communities out there, which is why I’m trying to give something back, by sharing my experience through this blog (read here why it’s called YMMV) and by organizing the SoCraTes Day Berlin, the Global Day of Coderetreat, the worldwide Software Craftsmanship Slack and I’m also helping out at the Domain-Driven Design Meetup Berlin.

What I believe

My beliefs haven’t changed since I became a freelancer almost two years ago, so that announcement still stands as of today. I’m still fond of testing, will still work tirelessly on bringing developers and users closer together, shorten every feedback loop that I see and do my best to support people so they enjoy their work.

More than ever though, I believe that great environments foster great teams, that developing is still means to an end and that the best code is the one that’s never written.

What I do

I’m happy to consult in all the aspects of a team working together to create software. I’m a proficient programmer, but also an experienced coach and trainer..

Coaching / Training

Companies hire me to bring my sense of agility and my experience with crafting software into their teams. This includes establishing retrospectives and productive daily stand-ups in the teams, listening to people and their concerns and bridging the gap between developers and users. Putting it short: When I see something where I can help and have an impact, I won’t hesitate but get to work.

I also give workshops where I create a space for teams to explore e.g. Pair Programming as a tool in their agile toolbox. These workshops don’t just happen out of the blue, but I’m making sure they’re well prepared and revised afterward and fit what the team wants to do and needs. There shall be no prisoners in my workshops!

Programming

The ecosystems I’m most knowledgeable in are JavaScript/Node.JS and Java/JVM-languages. I’m maintaining a few libraries for JavaScript (expect-redux, flowtypify, simple-eventstore) and can coach and train people in both ecosystems.

Further, I’ve worked with a broad range of development environments throughout my professional career, from C++/Qt desktop applications to custom JavaScript interpreters embedded into CRM systems; from self-written event-sourced Scala back-ends to full-fledged Spring Java applications talking to message queues running on mainframes. With this broad experience and understanding of the underlying principles of software engineering, I am able to get into new ecosystems very quickly.

My way of working is deeply aligned with the XP Principles, so refactoring, testing and continuous integration and deployment are a necessity for me.

How I like to work

I’m very fond of a professional relationship with my clients. Mutual trust and openness are crucial aspects of a business relationship for me. I will ask you to expect me to challenge and change aspects of your company where I see the potential for improvements.

If you’re interested in working with me, please send me a mail at hello@craftswerk.io. I prefer talking to the people I’d work with, so I’d kindly ask external recruiters to not contact me.

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Imprint/Impressum, because §5 TMG.