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Prisoners of Google Android development
A real Android release case study showing how a small API-level update caused production crashes, Google Play delays, and limited rollback options.
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Some mistakes I made as a new manager
the trough of zero dopamine • managing the wrong amount • procrastinating on hard questions • indefinitely deferring maintenance • angsting instead of asking
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One week of empathy training (2019)
I've spent a week cosplaying as a disabled user. And I hate it. A couple of months ago, I attended a private talk given by a disabled colleague of mine. "Everyone should believe disabled people's stories about accessibility problems," she said. "But, given that people don't, here's what I want you to do. Spend one…
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The product manager role is a mistake
The popular model Software product companies aren’t usually started by people with a strong background in building software products. Those who most likely end up founding businesses are good at getting funding, and at understanding their target industry. They’ve been in their industry for a long time, know their…
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How to boss without being bossy
Leaders command people. That’s kind of what a leader is: someone with the authority to direct the actions of others.
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We overestimate our short-term ability, but underestimate our long-term ability
My way of thinking about long-term habit building
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Things they didn’t teach you about software engineering
As a seasoned software engineer, I've discovered that there's so much more to the field than what's taught in school. From the importance of understanding business needs and the value of soft skills, to the necessity of continuous learning and the reality of dealing with legacy code, my journey has been filled with…
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More product, fewer product managers
There has been a lot of discussion about how many Product Managers (PMs) are required in a product team. This conversation gained momentum after Airbnb restructured their product management organization, followed by articles about how startups are thriving without any PMs.
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Quitting the rat race
I'm leaving a comfortable job in a big city because there's more to life than whatever this is.
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The age of cargo cult Agile must end
Via LinkedIn, I learned about an article called “The age of Agile must end” by Michael Burnett, and I’ve since seen it pop up again in…
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Advice for new software devs who've read all those other advice essays
From a person who really shouldn't be giving others advice.
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Can't be fucked: Underrated cause of tech debt
Can’t Be Fucked Aussie slang for not wanting to, or not having the energy and motivation to do something. “Man, i really can’t be fucked changing the channel, let’s just watch Springer.” - Urban Dictionary
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Dropbox to reduce global workforce by about 16%, or 500 staff
Today, our cofounder and CEO Drew Houston shared the difficult news that we’ll be making reductions to our global workforce. He sent the following email to all employees:
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How do I become a graphics programmer?
It is often difficult to know where to start when taking your first in the world of graphics. This guide is here to help with a discussion of first steps and a list of useful websites.
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"No, it's less effort than that"
Ever heard ‘No, it’s less effort than that!’? Learn why challenging Agile estimates can lead to bad planning and how to handle estimate pushback effectively.
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The Staff Engineer's Path – Book Review
The Staff Engineer’s Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change is written by Tanya Reilly and published on October 25, 2022, by O’Reilly Media. Favorite Quotes Early in your career, if you do a great job on something that turns out to be unnecessary, you’ve still done a great job. At the…
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Layoffs push down scores on Glassdoor – how companies respond
Several tech companies face a fresh problem after cutting jobs: their rating on Glassdoor nosedives. But there’s a way they manage to fix this. I show what companies are doing - and why.
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I gave commit rights to someone I didn't know (2016)
(Spoiler: trusting your contributors works) Some years ago, I polished up and released an abandoned project for storing financial data in Django. It let you declare “Money” fields on your models, dealing with proper storage and currencies for you. My use case for the library, django-money eventually faded, but it…
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Remote work on HN: Who is hiring? – 69% jobs in 2023 are remote
Virtual space platform to help remote teams collaborate.
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Two years of teaching high school CS
(This post is also now also listed on the Pickcode Blog) Leaving Teaching I’m posting this on my last day teaching high school computer science. In the pas...
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Learning needs to be effortful to be effective
Online content makes edutainment the norm among curious and intelligent people, who don't realize that they aren't actually learning what they think they are.
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You don't need Scrum, you just need to do Kanban right (2022)
Hot takes and cold truths on software, startups, and the lies we tell ourselves.
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Why do programmers need private offices with doors?
The case for giving programmers private offices with doors — why open offices destroy deep work, how interruptions cost far more than floor space, and what the research actually says.
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How to hire engineering talent without the BS
Best practices for conducting effective interviews and actionable insights to build an inclusive hiring culture and hire top-tier engineering talent