Topology
The best thing about building a product in a startup is working with early adopters. Getting fast feedback, being able to build/redesign/implement new stuff and try it on real use-cases makes development easier.
Working directly with end-users as a consultant in a customer integration developers team has been a real game-changer. We use Apache Camel Karavan and Talisman Platform together to build and manage integration microcontainers. We eat our own dog food. It's not just a catchy phrase; it's a practice that keeps our development cycle rapid and ensures we're creating solutions that actually matter.
Topology view was born as part of my onboarding process. Faced with a real project featuring dozens of integration routes spread across various files. It was quite a challenge to understand what logic was implemented there. To tackle this, we crafted a top-level diagram illustrating only the routes, their relationships, and connections with external systems.
The impact was clear in the next project onboarding – it streamline the process to mere minutes, eliminating the need for extensive explanations from fellow team members.