Becoming an Architect - Matt Sherer
Smash the Bug: Episode 38
Your host: Joseph Maxwell, Founder and CEO of SwiftOtter, Inc.
Special Guest: Matt Sherer, Magento Solution Architect/Tech Lead/Engineering Manager at Blue Acorn iC with multiple Adobe Commerce Certifications
Show Notes
Matt Sherer has been around PHP and Magento development for quite some time now. Having been a part of the Mediotype team before it was swallowed up into Blue Acorn iCi, he came to love the Magento community atmosphere and camaraderie present among eCommerce developers. He doesn’t get much time these days to interact with the community, which is one of the side effects of taking on the responsibility of a technical architect role at a thriving agency. We’re glad to have him on this show to share his experience with us and show us what it really looks like to transition from a senior developer into the responsibilities of an architect!
1:05
What does everyday life look like for a solutions architect at a major Magento agency?
3:16
To quote Matt, “you can’t get into Magento without challenges”, so sometimes it’s hard to find that one tough experience to share. Matt’s most recent difficulty centered around a merchant changing major plans at the last minute. We’ve all dealt with this before, but when it actually happens, it comes down to the architect to identify the changes, make sure everyone understands them completely, set expectations between all parties involved, organize a timeline and project the timeline/potential cost.
5:16
What are the practical differences between being a senior developer and an architect? Matt argues that it is primarily a “social role” and centers around “people management”, but of course it is much more complicated than those very simple descriptions.
8:10
How Matt believes a developer, architect or anyone in the Magento/eCommerce space can stay driven, creative and productive and defend against burnout (which he has faced). Joseph talks about reaching “critical mass” and how a decline into burnout is not a quick thing, but a slow process that can be identified before it becomes a huge problem. Matt’s former boss used to say “the last 10 percent is the hardest (when running a Magento project)”.
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