As we come to the end of 2024 I'm looking back on my third year of working full time as a software developer. This year I’ve been working on a personal project which helps victims/survivors of domestic abuse across the UK find their local support service. At Common Knowledge I’ve been contributing to a new product called Mapped. I’ve also been concentrating on trying to improve my knowledge of TypeScript and Python. This post explores some of the things I’ve been working on and learning this year as well as what I’m hoping for in 2025.

Photo by Eyestetix Studio on Unsplash

Domestic abuse services mapped

Alongside my job as a developer I am also an advisor on the National Domestic Abuse Helpline. I wanted to combine what I’ve learnt as a developer with my work supporting victims/survivors and so I created a tool that shows all the domestic abuse support services across the UK on a map. The user can filter the type of support they need and any specialisms that might apply for example, services for BAME women or LGBTQ survivors. There is also a postcode search so that victims/survivors and those supporting them can find the services nearest to them.

Learning TypeScript and Python with Execute Programme

Although I’ve used TypeScript and Python in my work at Common Knowledge I knew that there was a gap in my understanding of the fundamentals of both languages. This year I went back to basics and started to learn both from the ground up. To do this I used Execute Programme which is a learning platform built by developers for developers. I’ve been spending a few minutes per day on their Python and Typescript courses and seeing a big improvement in my skills.

Gutenberg plugin development

For many of the organisations we work with at Common Knowledge WordPress is the best choice for their website. Over the last few years WordPress has been migrating to the React based Gutenberg editor. Because our sites often include custom layouts I’ve been learning how to make custom Gutenberg blocks and plugins. One example of this is the custom events calendar I made for the new Pelican House website. It has been really fun to combine the powerful WordPress backend with all of the interactivity that React offers in the editor and on the page.

Mapped

At Common Knowledge in 2024 we have been building Mapped - a tool that helps organisers and activists enhance their membership lists with geographic and political data. I’ve enjoyed getting to work on a codebase over a longer period of time and observing how user feedback makes its way into the product roadmap. I’ve learnt a lot from my colleagues whilst we’ve worked on Mapped during pair programming and in code reviews. Doing more of a deep dive into visualising geographic data in Mapped has also helped with my domestic abuse services map personal project.

What I’m hoping for in 2025

I feel that 2024 was the year I moved past being a junior developer and I hope that in 2025 I can more confidently call myself mid-level. I would like to become as proficient in Python as I am in JavaScript and move on from TypeScript basics to more complex types. There are a few features that I would still like to add to my domestic abuse services map such as identifying a user's local authority based on their postcode. More generally I’d like to progress from just trying to get my code to work to making it more maintainable and extensible. I’m excited to see what the year will bring and thank you so much for reading!