The road to becoming a Mendix MVP

Colleague Coen Spinhoven was recently named Mendix MVP, in huge part because of the substantial contribution he made to the Mendix community by developing the Bizzomate DevTool. This free suite of tools allow Mendix developers to gain faster insight into their application, its performance and key security settings. This recognition is awarded to the most engaged, active and passionate Mendix developers. In addition, Mendix MVPs are actively involved by Mendix in the development of new products by regularly asking them for feedback, getting early access to new releases and exclusive sessions with product management. A big honor, but for Coen it is mostly a result of his drive to create something to help others move forward.

The Bizzomate DevTool complements the standard functionality of Mendix. It allows developers to check for common vulnerabilities during and after the development of applications. The tool generates tables showing developers what they are allowed to see in a Mendix application, based on their user rights. It also allows developers to quickly browse relevant data, state and information in a user-friendly way and helps to quickly show relations between different objects. In addition, performance monitoring can help identify any potential bottlenecks, allowing for quick troubleshooting.

Coen initially developed the tools as a passion project, looking for ways to speed up his development process: “I just enjoy building and creating things and I’ve always been curious about how Mendix works under the hood. At Bizzomate, we are fortunate to allocate 10 percent of our time on personal projects and one of the things I delved into during this time was to really understand and experiment with the Mendix client. Witnessing its capabilities, the concept gradually formed in my mind to create a tool that could enhance not only my own life but also the lives of my colleagues. This led to the development of the “Bizzomate Mendix DevTools”.

“I developed the initial verion of the DevTools during my personal time and also in my spare time over a span of approximately six weeks. What added an enjoyable twist to the process was that I had the opportunity to beta test my own creation as I was actively involved in a full time Mendix project at the time.”

“When I saw that the tool really helped others in their work, we got together at Bizzomate to see what else we could do with it. After some time we decided to expand on it and share and release it to the community for free so it could help others develop better and more secure Mendix applications as well.”

The Bizzomate DevTool has been out for a year now, and Coen has received a lot of positive feedback from the community. “Many devops engineers have contacted me to say they couldn’t live without the tool anymore, and that it has made their lives much easier. It is getting great reviews in the Mendix marketplace, and people I meet also often tell me how much they enjoy using the tool.”

“My motivation behind applying for the Mendix MVP role was driven by a genuine passion for pushing the limits of the Mendix platform. I was eager to create innovative development tools and openly sharing them with the community. Having previously established contact with the Mendix team and the development community, I was looking forward to getting more actively involved in the development process of the Mendix platform. I aimed to actively contribute by sharing my insights and ideas for potential improvements and new additions.”

After applying, Coen eventually was named Mendix MVP, which comes with a number of advantages: “I enjoy being aware of the underlying technology and to know what the roadmap of the platform is. As an MVP you get more insight into that, and you can get your hands on it sooner because of earlier access to new releases. In addition, feedback from the MVP’s is often taken into consideration, which allows me to contribute to the future of the platform.”

“Achieving the title of Mendix MVP is an acknowledgment of one’s contributions to the community. However, from my perspective, projects such as the DevTools are simply an extension of my curiosity and motivation to create things. Nevertheless, it’s truly fulfilling to be recognized for the effort invested and I’m looking forward to making similar contributions in the future.”