661
The Waterfall Model was a straw man argument from the beginning (2015)
Over the years, I've read a lot of books on software engineering. Agile books in particular like to refute the "Waterfall Model". Every t...
New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 6,086 posts.
662
Why Scrum is stressing you out
Programming today is stressful — way more stressful than I remember it in the 90s and early 2000s when I was just starting out.
663
I give you feedback on your blog post draft but you don't send it to me (2021)
I say to you the same things I say to everyone, but it's good.
664
Be a thermostat, not a thermometer (2023)
As I’ve learned more about how humans interact with one another at work, I’ve been repeatedly reminded that we are very easily influenced by the mood of thos...
665
Why Not Comments
Why not "why not" comments? Not why "not comments"
666
Jerry Neumann: Resignation Letter
I am no longer investing in new companies.
667
Companies need junior devs
Junior engineers are foundational to whether a team can collaborate and innovate
668
Why Don't Tech Companies Pay Their Engineers to Stay?
Why don’t tech companies pay engineers more to stay? The top companies for engineers are transparent and they pay attention to an engineer's salary. Ethena
669
Steve Ballmer's incorrect binary search interview question
In this short video Steve Ballmer talks about a puzzle question he would ask candidates interviewing at Microsoft. Solving it is based on b...
670
The Art of Finishing
My endless battle with the "Project Hydra": why I can't seem to finish projects, and the strategies I'm exploring to finally complete what I start. A personal journey through productivity's thorniest challenge.
671
People can read their manager's mind (2015)
People generally don't do what they're told, but what they expect to be rewarded for. Managers often say they'll reward something – perhaps they even believe it. But then they proceed to reward different things.
672
673
674
Three questions to turn the table during technical interviews
Questions for when your interviewer says “Do you have any questions for me?”
675
Marketing to Engineers (2001)
I am a chemical engineer and have been writing copy designed to sell products and services to engineers for 10 years. Here’s what I know about appealing to this special audience:
676
We found North Korean engineers in our application pile
Cinder is part of a growing list of US-based tech companies that encounter engineering applicants who are actually suspected North Korean nationals. Here's what we're doing about it.
677
You are not dumb, you just lack the prerequisites
I always thought I was too dumb to understand math. During my school years, it was evident to me that for some kids math was easy, and for others like myself: painfully difficult.
678
Cautionary tale on using Chase bank for indie business
A cautionary tale of a business owner's nightmare with Chase Bank, revealing crucial banking lessons for entrepreneurs.
679
No "Hello", No "Quick Call", and No Meetings Without an Agenda
When working remotely, asking for help is often just a few keystrokes away. So it's tempting to "quickly" ask someone for support when you get stuck.
680
Mourning and moving on: rituals for leaving a career (2014)
I decided to leave what had been a promising career in organic chemistry about a year ago. Deciding to leave my program, and then to leave the field entirely, was one of the hardest decisions I hav…
681
Accident Forgiveness
Charging for resources you didn't mean to buy is bad business.
682
Code review antipatterns
Code review seems like a great idea, right? Two developers looking at the same code means two chances to spot problems; it spreads understanding of the way the project is evolving; the reviewer can learn useful tricks from reading the author’s code in detail, or spot opportunities to teach the author a useful trick…
683
The anatomy of a 2AM mental breakdown
Zarar Siddiqi: engineering leader and consultant in Toronto. Building products with care, and helping teams do the same with AI in the loop.
684
On finishing projects
Personal site of Alex Reichert
685
Bug squash: An underrated interview question
I love bug squash interviews.
686
On Being a Senior Engineer (2012)
I think that there’s a lot of institutional knowledge in our field, especially about what makes for a productive engineer. But while there are a good deal of books in the management field about “expert” roles and responsibilities of non-technical individual contributors, I don’t see too many modern books or posts that…
687
Postmortem of my 9 year journey at Google
I started writing this retrospective during my last week at Google, I have already wrapped up everything, had my goodbyes. In the spirit of SRE (as an ex-SRE), I thought it would be fun to write a little retrospective in the form of a postmortem. Introduction I joined Google young and relatively inexperienced and had…
688
Ask for Advice, Not Permission (2015)
The world is full of gatekeepers who think they have veto rights. Don’t believe them. Pitbull got it right when he said "Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get money twice."
689
Interviewing the Interviewer: Questions to Uncover a Company's True Culture
Uncover the true culture of a tech company by asking the right questions during your interview. Learn how to assess company values, employee support, and growth opportunities to ensure the perfect fit.
690
Things I learned from teaching (2023)
This spring, I taught an undergraduate class on chess engines. I probably learned more than any of my students.