# Paola Ducolin: Building Trust and Communication in Engineering Teams

EP-174 | July 10, 2024 | 45:30




Join Robby as he chats with Paola Ducolin, Staff Engineer at Datadog, about the art of maintaining software, the journey to becoming a staff engineer, and the importance of documentation and stakeholder communication.





## Show Notes

In this episode of Maintainable, Robby chats with Paola Ducolin, Staff Engineer at [Datadog](https://www.datadog.com). Paola shares her insights on the characteristics of well-maintained software, the common struggles teams face, and effective strategies for working with stakeholders to prioritize refactoring.

### Key Topics Discussed:

- **Characteristics of Maintainable Software** : Paola explains the importance of well-documented code and having tests that automatically detect breaks.
- **Challenges in Maintaining Software** : The impact of business pressures on maintaining code quality and how teams can navigate these challenges.
- **Working with Stakeholders** : Strategies for communicating the importance of refactoring and measuring the impact of technical debt on business objectives.
- **Role of Staff Engineers** : Paola’s journey to becoming a staff engineer and the responsibilities that come with the role, including coordination and networking.
- **Documentation and Design Systems** : The power of documentation and how design systems can serve as a model for well-documented and maintainable code.
- **Observability and Monitoring** : An overview of Datadog's tools for observability and monitoring, and how they help in maintaining software quality.

### Resources Mentioned:

- [Datadog](https://www.datadog.com)
- [My Path to Staff Engineer](https://www.poladuco.com/post/my-path-to-staff-engineer)
- [Sarah Drasner: The Art of Code Comments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhF7OmuIILc)

### Book Recommendations

- [Radical Candor](https://www.radicalcandor.com)
- [Crucial Conversations](https://www.vitalsmarts.com/crucial-conversations)

Be sure to follow Paola on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/paola-ducolin-9a892557) and stay tuned for more insightful conversations on Maintainable.

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## Transcript