What is in a manager’s toolbox? Published in Better Programming · 5 min read · Oct 20, 2022 -- I’ve been writing about how to use systems thinking in software engineering management . I want to contin
Not that long ago, I’d written about how I write an internal newsletter at work, as part of a wider piece on how to make sure that you’re being visible . This week’s post extracts a couple of the idea
The latest market correction has been a long time coming. For over a decade now, low interest rates and easy access to capital fueled a period of unprincipled growth in Silicon Valley. “Cash flow posi
T om Mustill was kayaking with his friend Charlotte in Monterey Bay, California, when an animal three times the size of the largest Tyrannosaurus Rex hurtled from the water and crashed down on their t
We are trying a different format for our blog post this week. We decided to interview Clo S. and our very own Carlo Cilento on deceptive design, how to spot it in the wild, and what its future looks l
The 1960s heralded all kinds of innovations—lava lamps, bubble wrap, the birth control pill, and the BASIC programming language, just to name a few. Today, most of us use more modern versions of the i
To solve a problem, you first need to understand the problem. As Irish author Derek Landy puts it: “Every solution to every problem is simple. It’s the distance between the two where the mystery lies.
This article is part of a series on managing managers . Life as an IC, or as a manager of ICs, usually follows a predictable cadence. Perhaps you plan your time and your activities around fixed period
👋 Hi, this is Gergely with the monthly free issue of the Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter. If you’re not a full subscriber yet, you missed How Uber is measuring engineering productivity , the one on Cons
In this guest post, Product Manager Vignaraj Gadvi delves into what Hick’s Law is, why it matters in the world of UX/UI design, and how to implement it effectively. If you’re a product manager or a de
I'm essentially a believer in You Aren't Gonna Need It – the principle that you shouldadd features to your software – including generality and abstraction – when itbecomes clear that you need them, an
When it comes to error handling, it truly is a team sport Published in Wix UX · 8 min read · Sep 12, 2022 -- Error messages are part of our daily lives online. Every time a server is down or we don’t
This week I read Maximizing Developer Effectiveness , a paper by Tim Cochran who is a Director at Thoughtworks. Tim opens his paper with an argument that resonated: “a primary reason for [low producti
T he Hawaiian rainforest where Gloria Doerr has lived since 2017 is a sort of magnet, she says, for people who are running away from something. But even there, in the shadow of an active volcano, some
Summary: Infinite scrolling minimizes interaction costs and increases user engagement, but it isn’t a good fit for every website. For some, pagination or a Load More button will be a better solution.
A key part of maximizing leverage for any business is making good hiring decisions. A stellar new hire generates impact for the team, value for the business, and an opportunity for leaders to broaden
1st October 2022 Gergely Orosz started a Twitter conversation asking about recommended “software engineering practices” for development teams. (I really like his rejection of the term “best practices”
Summary: Antipersonas help anticipate how products can be misused in ways that can harm users and the business. By Sara Ramaswamy Sara Ramaswamy on 2022-09-11 September 11, 2022 Topics: trust and cred
Blinking takes approximately 100–400 milliseconds . That’s fast, but it’s two to eight times longer than most people will accept when interacting with a rendering web page. Any longer than 50 millisec
Most people I know haven't even heard of it, but mcmaster.com is the best e-commerce site I've ever used. McMaster-Carr is an industrial supply company. They sell nuts, bolts, bushings, bearings – pre
Pair programming is one of the most important tools we use while mentoring early talent in the Dev Degree program. It’s an agile software development technique where two people work together, either t
This week I read Today Was a Good Day: The Daily Life of Software Developers by André N. Meyer, Earl T. Barr, Christian Bird, and Thomas Zimmermann. Their large-scale study at Microsoft looked to unde
I recently read Invent and Wander , a collection of speeches and letters from Jeff Bezos to shareholders. In the book, Jeff says, “I frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next te
If someone tells you a fact you already know, they’ve essentially told you nothing at all. Whereas if they impart a secret, it’s fair to say something has really been communicated. This distinction is
M eg Lethem was working at her bakery job one morning in Boston when she had an epiphany. Tasked with choosing the day’s soundtrack, she opened Spotify , then flicked and flicked, endlessly searching
How technical should a CTO/VPE be? It’s a question you might think contains its own answer—aren’t Chief Technology Officers or Vice Presidents of Engineering…always technical? You would be surprised h
When you’re juggling multiple projects with several stakeholders, it’s easy for things to feel out of control. You try to rein it in with strict deadlines, frequent meetings, and maybe even a bit of m
My friend Molly has had an impressive career. She got a job as a software engineer after graduating from college, and after kicking ass for a year or so she was offered a promotion to management, whic
The first time Anthony Gomez saw one of SpaceX’s Starship prototypes take flight, he watched it on a projector. He was far away from the humid Texas coast, where the actual launch was taking place. In
From far-flung expeditions to deep fireside chats , travel has the power to change us. When done well, it can also positively change the places we visit—a fact I learned during a recent safari in sout
Published in UX Collective · 11 min read · Sep 21, 2022 -- In recent years I’ve developed an interest in mechanical watches and how the aesthetic and product design decisions, made over a hundred year
Quality Is Systemic Here’s a hot take on software quality: Software quality is more the result of a system designed to produce quality, and not so much the result of individual performance. That is: a
Editor’s note : This story contains inputs from the team that brings you Paradigm Shift, a podcast hosted by Harsha Bhogle. This story and the podcast are brought to you in partnership with Microsoft
The most recent smartphone, the latest tool, the hottest trend… Humans are naturally attracted to novelty, whether it’s new objects or new ideas. In the modern world, our desire to be on the cutting e
Ezra Klein What Joe Biden Knows That No One Expected Him To Sept. 18, 2022 By Opinion Columnist We need better technologies to enable a better politics. But we need better politics to create better te
This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic , Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here. This summer, a frie
Over the past six days, Ukraine’s armed forces have broken through the Russian lines in the northeastern corner of the country, swept eastward, and liberated town after town in what had been occupied
Brendan Leonard (Photo: Brendan Leonard) Semi-Rad Sep 8, 2022 An essay on hope Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the ap
We were pushing through head-high willows along a brushy caribou trail, five days into our week-long trek across Alaska’s Noatak valley, when my hiking partner, Brad Meiklejohn, startled me with a com