Dave Hoover

Areas of Expertise:

  • software development
  • Ruby
  • Java
  • agile development
  • programming
Dave Hoover is the Chief Craftsman at Obtiva where he helps lead Obtiva's Software Studio and apprenticeship program. Dave has been developing software since 2000, when he left a career in child and family therapy. In 2002, Dave read Pete McBreen's Software Craftsmanship, which re-framed Dave's understanding of software development and how people become great software developers. Dave has become increasingly passionate about learning and has dedicated several years of his career to thinking, writing, and speaking about apprenticeship. Over the last couple years, on most days, you'd find Dave coding Ruby and Rails as the lead developer for Mad Mimi, one of his clients at Obtiva. Dave also enjoys all sorts of endurance sports.

Apprenticeship Patterns Apprenticeship Patterns
by Dave Hoover , Adewale Oshineye
October 2009
Print: $29.99
Ebook: $23.99

Dave blogs at:
http://nuts.redsquirrel.com/

Ward and the Empty Cup

January 03 2012

Writing a book for aspiring software developers means I end up having a lot of interactions with all kinds of newbies. Some are just unbelievably good, and I was just talking to one of these high potential newbs a couple weeks ago about what sounded like an epic, though embarrassing,… read more

Recapping an Epic 2011

December 31 2011

A Tour I pulled a Corey Haines, left Chicago for a month, and went on a journeyman tour. I incorporated my family into the journey. This is what happens when you bring an energetic nine-year-old to a pair programming session: Here are some thoughts I put together along the way:… read more

Tidbits from the Apprenticeship Panel

November 22 2011

Adam Goucher asked me to blog about my contributions to the apprenticeship panel at SCNA 2011. Here’s my brain dump of what I can remember: The a-hole hat. One topic that came up was how important it was to be an a-hole and hold your apprentices’ feet to the proverbial… read more

"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau

November 16 2011

The following is a quote dump from Walden, a book that inspires me to step away, seek simplicity, and feel comfortable with solitude. Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would… read more

How to stop killing yourself by listening to speeches

November 14 2011

Dr. Nic wrote a great post about how to stop killing people with your public speeches. As someone who tends to “wing” public speaking opportunities, it’s a post I needed to read. And I’m thankful to have a gathering like geekfest where geeks in Chicago can practice our talks. For… read more

100 Days into Groupon

November 12 2011

100 days ago, Groupon bought Obtiva. I am happy to report that my favorite aspects of Obtiva are still alive and well. This is thanks to the hard work and support of both former Obtivians and awesome Grouponers. My favorites aspects: Not long after the acquisition, we carved out some… read more

Autodidactic Programmers Q&A

November 12 2011

My friend Dale introduced me to an aspiring self-taught programmer. This eager learner had a few questions for me, so I figured I’d blog my response. What types of projects are best for someone with little experience? Little projects. Public-facing projects. Projects that scratch your own itch. My first project… read more
Dave Hoover