Collaborative Web Development

Having learned their craft as a thought-intensive, independent activity, many web developers typically begin their careers by working as a team of one. Yet, in today’s dynamic workforce, web development is a highly social endeavor where developers collaborate with one another to build complex systems. This report provides guidelines for working effectively with other developers, particularly when it comes to making compromises, writing documentation, and interacting with open source in ways you can’t achieve as a solo learner.

Author Adam Scott explores widely accepted methods for writing quality code, contributing work to open source, improving your documentation practices, and—perhaps most critical—respecting and involving every member of your team. As part of the series on ethical web development, this report emphasizes how empathetic development practices like these will help you create empathetic products.

You’ll learn guidelines to help you:

• Produce quality code by leveraging coding standards, version control, testing, and automated checks in a team environment
• Release your project code as open source, complete with clear documentation and codes of conduct
• Write useful code documentation that’s comprehensive, welcoming, and collaborative
• Create an inclusive and safe environment for fellow developers, both at work and at group events

This is the fourth report in the Ethical Web Development series from author Adam Scott. Previous reports in this series include Building Web Apps for Everyone, Building Web Apps That Work Everywhere, and Building Web Apps that Respect a User's Privacy and Security.