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How-to guides, tooling tips and real-world advice for developers and product managers tired of broken software. Let’s fix this mess together.

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Dark illustration showing a tangled gray scribble labeled "AI" resolving into a glowing green line that climbs upward through icons for code, systems, communication, and metrics before reaching a glowing star labeled "The Plot (Again): Meaning. Impact. Direction.

Software engineering and AI: Finding the plot(again)

Is "clean code" still the point when an agent writes it? River Bailey unpacks quality, tech debt, and what it means to be a product engineer.

River Lynn Bailey

River Lynn Bailey

Communication & teams

An airy bridge with complex structural foundations deep in the ground

Why quality software is expensive (to build)

Shawn Rinehart

Maximize software investment

Dominoes falling over in a pattern

AI amplifies everything (including what's broken). Start there.

Jen Tedrow

Agentic trainer Dave working on Ride with Dave

The moat is made of people

Double Takes

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Double Takes

TDDing with Claude is like having a pair that removes all the failing assertions every time you go to the bathroom.

Steve Jackson

State machines are the answer for those seeking determinism in the era of AI agents.

Dave Mosher

A Slack conversation left Doc reflecting on what bug bashes say about the systems we work in.

Doc Norton

Test-driven development is to programming what double-entry bookkeeping is to accounting.

Neal Lindsay

The fundamental character flaw of the software creator is not the misguided belief that they can solve any problem with software. Instead, it is the belief they can understand how their own software works before they create it.

Steve Jackson

We may need a SaaS appendix for Zawinski's law:

Any SaaS platform attempts to expand until it is a social network.

Matt Jones

Author photos

How effective pull request reviews transform your team

Steve Jackson

Communication & teams

teams

communication

professional-growth

How to turn lagging statistics into leading indicators

Explore the process of transforming lagging statistics into leading indicators for better decision-making and business growth. Learn practical steps for tech leaders.

Justin Searls

Maximize software investment

professional-growth

consulting

kpi

Avoid these two mistakes when recruiting for Product

Struggling to find top product talent? Learn why product leaders need to be directly involved and how to build a diverse talent pipeline.

Shawn Leitner

Recruiting & careers

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Intent isn't enough: the impact of language in tech

What good is my intent if the words I'm using are causing real harm to people?

River Lynn Bailey

River Lynn Bailey

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

communication

community

How to protect against AWS S3 misconfiguration breaches

Dive into our simple guide to safeguard your AWS S3 buckets from common security oversights and keep your data secure!

Keith McCanless

Keith McCanless

DevOps & security

regulatory-compliance

security

aws

cloud

infrastructure

Author photo

Shape Up: Mastering pitch writing for 6-week project cycles

Discover how to effectively write pitches in Shape Up, prioritize problems, and complete scoped projects in just 6 weeks. These techniques will help you reduce churn and achieve success in every cycle.

Dayton Nolan

Communication & teams

agile

consulting

teams

testing

Activism for developers: Tools and tips for real change

Learn how developers can drive impactful change with limited time and resources. Explore tools and strategies to support nonprofit organizations and make a difference.

Josh Klina

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

professional-growth

How to offer emotional support, not emotional labor, in times of crisis

In times of crisis, intentionally listening to those who are affected is a simple act of kindness and care. Unfortunately, it also has the potential to be fraught with problems.

River Lynn Bailey

River Lynn Bailey

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

communication

community

You're N.E.A.T.!

Technology is a means to an end: answers to very human questions. We want to connect with other folks who share that belief.

Ways to connect

Test Double Executive Leadership Team

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