To TOX or not to TOX

How technical and operational excellence is achieved

(illustration made by Lukas Hanke)

In our very first blog post, we introduced you to Elli’s guiding principles for achieving engineering excellence. In this article, we delve deeper into one of the practices our engineering teams use on a per-sprint basis to maintain a high level of code quality and to upskill technically. It’s a practice we call “TOX”, and it stands for “Technical and Operational Excellence”.

What are TOX stories?

TOX are driven from engineering teams, and can be seen as a parallel stream to feature development. Each team dedicates some proportion of the time to work on such tasks. The amount of the time spent for TOX depends on the team and their priorities for the current sprint.

The time spent on TOX stories depends on the team itself. (illustration by Lukas Hanke)

Such topics usually come to the team from the Tech Lead role, however all engineers are encouraged to initiate a TOX. The key is to understand what is included in such a task.

Boundaries

TOX is not about repaying technical debt that has been introduced as a consequence of feature pressure or to fulfil the “Definition of Done” for business requirements tasks.

There are guidelines about Do’s and Don’ts when creating TOX stories. (illustration by Lukas Hanke)

Examples of TOX topics

  • Minimising the risk of technical debt
  • Improving developer’s experience
  • Knowledge sharing within Elli
  • Improvements in the CI/CD pipelines
  • Testing improvements (introducing black box testing for example)
  • Upgrading software package dependencies
  • Automating the repetitive

Examples of non TOX topics

  • Product improvements
  • Fixing bugs
  • Tech debt that has been deliberately accepted by feature pressure or tight deadlines
  • Operational tasks that are vital to the product
  • Supporting existing / implementing new internal business processes
  • Supporting customer care
  • Preparing presentations / demos for sprint reviews
  • ISO related topics

The gist of it

“Leave your code better than you found it” — The Boy Scout Rule.
(illustration by Lukas Hanke)

The main point of following this principle is to maintain the quality and sustainability of the codebase. Additionally, we initiate TOX stories for several other reasons:

Improving CI/CD experience

We want to continuously work on CI/CD automation and improve our pipelines. This helps us in identifying and fixing bugs early in the development process. It also supports us in speeding up the delivery of software updates and new features to our users. By automating such repetitive tasks, it results in cost savings for organisations and ensures that the software being delivered to users is of high quality.

Improving developer experience

As engineers, we also want to boost our productivity. Improving our experience enables us to work more efficiently and produce higher quality code in less time. Delivering faster and better reduces the likelihood of costly errors and downtime. Additionally, a positive developer experience enables us to collaborate better with other team members.

Codebase housekeeping

In order to improve the quality of code, we focus on refactoring to make it more readable, maintainable and scalable. In this way, we reduce technical debt and increase efficiency of future development.

Knowledge sharing

Last but not least, we highly embrace the power of knowledge sharing. TOX stories are also used to initiate lightning talks so that we learn more from each other about a new tool, technology or anything else that promotes clean architecture and code.

To Sum Up

The practice of “TOX” or “Technical and Operational Excellence” is used by engineering teams to maintain high code quality and to upskill technically. TOX stories are tasks that are not directly related to feature development, but rather focus on improving developer experience, automating tasks, minimising technical debt, improving CI/CD pipelines, and sharing knowledge. The article emphasises the importance of maintaining code quality and sustainability through practices like TOX and refactoring, and encourages engineers to continuously improve their skills and productivity.

Learn More

At Elli, we are always in search of improving the way we work together as a team. If you are interested in finding out more about how we work, please subscribe to the Elli Medium blog and visit our company’s website at elli.eco! See you next time!


To TOX or not to TOX was originally published in Elli Engineering on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

More
Back

More News

  • Press Release
    Oct 09th, 2024

    Volkswagen Group brand Elli launches smart charging product offensive for Europe

    More
  • Press Release
    Sep 17th, 2024

    Elli presents new charging products for e-fleets and companies at the IAA Transportation 2024

    More
  • Press Release
    Jul 01st, 2024

    "Elli Drive Plus" – New charging tariff to kick off holiday season in Europe

    More
  • Press Release
    Jun 07th, 2024

    Introducing the all-new Elli Charger 2: cost-effective charging to drive the energy transition at home

    More
  • Press Release
    Jun 07th, 2024

    Elli enters the industrial energy storage business

    More
  • Image
    Jun 07th, 2024

    Large Storage

    Download
  • Image
    Jun 06th, 2024

    Charger 2 on garage wall

    Download
  • Image
    Jun 06th, 2024

    Charger 2 on Wall

    Download
  • Image
    Jun 06th, 2024

    Charger 2 on wall 2

    Download
  • Image
    Jun 06th, 2024

    Charger 2 Isolated

    Download
  • Press Release
    May 27th, 2024

    Elli presents its first smart energy tariff: Volkswagen Naturstrom Flex empowers customers to save on electricity costs

    More
  • Press Release
    Apr 22nd, 2024

    Hannover Messe 2024: Pioneering Research Project – Charging Electric Vehicles with Wind Energy

    More
  • Press Release
    Apr 09th, 2024

    "Charging Site Management" – Elli launches new commercial product

    More
  • Press Review
    Mar 28th, 2024

    VW macht Lade- und Energiegeschäft schick für Investoren

    More
  • Press Release
    Mar 05th, 2024

    New partnership with SIXT – Elli opens its charging network to external partners

    More
  • Press Review
    Feb 22nd, 2024

    Elli: Ladenetz wächst auf 600.000 Ladepunkte

    More
  • Download (.zip)
    Feb 18th, 2024

    Elli Logo

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 17th, 2024

    Giovanni Palazzo, CEO Elli & SVP Volkswagen Group Charging and Energy

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 16th, 2024

    Flexpole_1

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 16th, 2024

    Flexpole_2

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 16th, 2024

    Flexpole white background

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 16th, 2024

    Wallbox_1

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 16th, 2024

    Wallbox_2

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 16th, 2024

    Wallbox_3

    Download
  • Image
    Feb 16th, 2024

    Wallbox_white_background

    Download
  • Press Release
    Dec 28th, 2023

    Elli expands to 600,000 charging points across Europe

    More
  • Press Release
    Nov 02nd, 2023

    Elli launches pan-European charging solution for electric fleets

    More
  • Video
    Sep 13th, 2023

    ICNC23 Keynote by Giovanni Palazzo

    Beyond the Plug- Elli’s Evolution into a Holistic Energy Ecosystem

    More
  • Video
    Sep 08th, 2023

    IAA MOBILITY 2023- Giovanni Palazzo speaks about Elli´s position and potential

    More
  • Press Release
    Sep 05th, 2023

    Elli at IAA 2023: Showcasing Elli’s new e-mobility products, and future projects

    More
  • Elli Insights
    Aug 03rd, 2023

    Navigating the Evolution of Stream-Aligned Teams: Lessons from Our CI/CD Journey

    When they fly like a bird and when they hit the unexpected window hard (illustration made by Lukas Hanke) Introduction and Scope At Elli we aim for “stream-aligned teams”. According to the book “Team Topologies”  — by Manuel Pais and

    More
  • Elli Insights
    Aug 03rd, 2023

    On Communities of Practice

    When they fly like a bird and when they hit the unexpected window hard (illustration made by Lukas Hanke) Introduction and Scope At Elli we aim for “stream-aligned teams”. According to the book “Team Topologies”  — by Manuel Pais and

    More
  • Press Review
    Jul 26th, 2023

    Rethinking mobility

    More
  • Press Release
    Jul 13th, 2023

    Volkswagen Group and Elli launch electricity trading on the European energy exchange

    More
  • Press Release
    Jul 10th, 2023

    Volkswagen Group pushes ahead with strategic realignment of charging and energy business

    More
  • Press Release
    May 04th, 2023

    Shell and Volkswagen push ahead the expansion of charging infrastructure: Opening of the first innovative Flexpole charging station

    More
  • Social Media
    Apr 18th, 2023

    Elli’s charging network has now exceeded a remarkable 500,000 charge points

    We’re incredibly proud to be at the forefront of Europe’s e-mobility service providers. And it’s especially gratifying that our customers enjoy easy access to charging stations across 28 European countries.

    More
  • Video
    Mar 31st, 2023

    Wind and sun do not depend on charging times

    How can the batteries of electric vehicles contribute to make better use of renewable energies.

    More
  • Video
    Mar 30th, 2023

    Elli Fleet Charging

    The simplest way to manage your company e-cars

    More
  • Social Media
    Mar 29th, 2023

    „Flotte! The leading fleet trade fair“ in Düsseldorf

    Visit Elli at booth K23-27

    More
  • Elli Insights
    Feb 01st, 2023

    Parlez-vous OCPP?

    How charging stations communicate with their central backend system OCPP, c’est quoi? If we observed a group of people with different native tongues trying to engage in discussion, we would likely observe them consolidating to the language that is

    More
  • Social Media
    Jan 12th, 2023

    Elli Expands Charging Network in Europe with 400,000 Points

    More
  • Social Media
    Jan 12th, 2023

    New Ellians Start Their Journey in January 2023

    More
  • Social Media
    Dec 01st, 2022

    What are ELLIans doing after the first company meeting?

    More
  • Social Media
    Dec 01st, 2022

    New benefits for our ELLIans!

    More
  • Social Media
    Dec 01st, 2022

    All the MSP Business Unit on site in Munich

    More
  • Social Media
    Dec 01st, 2022

    We welcomed the new Ellians joining in December

    More
  • Elli Insights
    Dec 01st, 2022

    Catch Me If You Can — Memory Leaks

    Catch Me If You Can — Memory Leaks A retrospective on a memory leak Elli engineers vs. memory leak (illus. by Jane Kim) Introduction Memory leaks are one of those things that, when they happen, can really throw you in at the deep end. Diagnosing

    More
  • Elli Insights
    Oct 04th, 2022

    Don’t Do Small Pull Requests

    How asynchronous reviews and wait times harm throughput and code quality Smaller the pull request, the better? (illustration by Jane Kim) Introduction In this blog post, I share my learnings in the last couple of months regarding the delivery process of

    More
  • Elli Insights
    Aug 01st, 2022

    Electric Vehicle Charging for Newbies

    A quick read for all newbies to EV charging! Creating a sustainable future means changing the way we get around. Perhaps this means switching to “greener” modes of transportation like commuting by bike or public transit. It could also mean reducing

    More
  • Video
    Nov 07th, 2022

    Discover Cupra Plug & charge.

    Making the street charging easier for you.

    More
  • Video
    Nov 07th, 2022

    How to use Cupra Plug & Charge.

    The fast, easy and secure way to charge your Cupra born.

    More
  • Press Review
    Oct 25th, 2022

    Dank einer Vereinbarung zwischen Elli und Vattenfall gibt es jetzt über 24.000 neue Stationen

    More
  • Video
    Oct 16th, 2022

    Collect points with this app and charge your vehicle for free.

    Thanks to the partnership between Elli and &Charge, users can collect "&Charge kilometers" via the &Charge app and redeem them as € vouchers to use them in the Elli app for free charging kilometers. There is more information in this video by Un Gallego en Munich.

    More
  • Video
    Oct 10th, 2022

    The Elli app: the most convenient workflow ever to charge your car.

    Unlock over 340 000 charging stations across Europe with the Elli app. Watch this video by Jonah Plank to discover more.

    More
  • Press Review
    Oct 06th, 2022

    The Wallbox is now available at any Volkswagen dealer

    Now you can get your Wallbox directly from Audi, Seat, Cupra, Škoda and Volkswagen.

    More
  • Video
    Oct 01st, 2022

    Flexpole: Yes! The most flexible charging station for you.

    With the Flexpole there are no complicated grid connections, just choose a location and start charging your cars. Watch a full review of the Flexpole in this video by Stefan S.

    More
  • Press Review
    Sep 27th, 2022

    Das Elektroauto als mobile Powerbank

    More
  • Elli Insights
    Jun 01st, 2022

    Introduction to Elli Engineering: Our Guiding Principles

    The six guiding principles for technical excellence Elli is a brand of Volkswagen Group providing energy and electric charging solutions. Software and hardware engineering are key to the business. We as engineers focus on creating and maintaining awesome

    More