Insights
The hard parts
Most software writing covers the easy 80%. We’re interested in the other 20% — the failing project, the migration nobody wants to own, the integration wiring together six systems that were never meant to talk. The parts that are too important to get wrong.
Project rescue
Can you build it in one step?
The first thing we check on a troubled project is whether anyone can build and run it. A broken or undocumented build is the smoke — and automating it is often the fastest way to turn a flailing project around.
Jun 15, 2026
Insights
Don't shoot the lamp
Homer Simpson used his new gun to turn off the lights. We're starting to use AI the same way — for things the tool already in front of us does instantly, and for free.
Jun 14, 2026
Insights
The senior skill nobody teaches
Ask how to become a senior developer and you'll get a reading list of technologies. The real answer is stranger, and more useful: learn to estimate.
Jun 12, 2026
Insights
The estimate is the verdict
Two teams ship the same project in six months. One is a hero, one is a failure — and the only difference is the number they named at the start.
Jun 8, 2026
Insights
Quality. Fast.
Speed and quality look like a tradeoff. The evidence — from DORA to Deming — says they're the same thing. Why cutting corners is the slowest way to ship.
Jun 5, 2026
Project rescue
8 Signs Your Software Project Is Failing (and What to Do About It)
The early warning signs that a software project is in trouble—and the first moves to get it back on track before it becomes a crisis.
Jun 2, 2026