Onboard the AI like you'd onboard a developer
Legacy codebases are messy, undocumented, and full of decisions nobody remembers making. But if you can explain it to a new developer, you can onboard an AI and that changes everything.
Processes
74 posts
Why AI makes engineering teams smaller, but not simpler
AI is changing what small teams can ship, boilerplate gone, prototypes faster, experimentation cheaper. But lower costs of building don't mean lower costs of building the wrong thing. It just means you can do it faster.
Out with multitasking, in with orchestrating
The return of multitasking, but not as we knew it. Running multiple Claude Code instances simultaneously isn't the context-switching productivity killer we've been warned about for years; it's orchestration
Communicate or be micromanaged - the CTO edition
CTOs often come from engineering backgrounds and, particularly when newly promoted, tend to focus on what they know best, the technology. While this is understandable given their previous success, technology is rarely the hardest part of the CTO role.
Communicate or be micromanaged - the engineering edition
Micromanagement rarely starts with bad intent. It usually starts with silence. When nobody knows what you are working on, meetings multiply, trust erodes, and focus disappears. This piece shows how clear, boring communication is your best defence.
The value of code review
Code reviews improve more than code quality. Done well, they shape better problem-solving, expose edge cases, and spread knowledge across teams. Learn how small, focused reviews and AI support help teams ship faster with confidence.
A Rubber Duck’s Guide to Better Engineering: Part 2
Professor Quacks is back with five more principles for better engineering: build tools that help, move with healthy urgency, plan wisely, work well with others, and lead by example. These aren’t just coding tips, they’re culture-shaping lessons.
Fitness for purpose: taking risks with quality
When product teams obsess over perfect quality, they risk standing still, but by embracing a 'fit for purpose' mindset and planning for instability, they can move faster and smarter.
Making progress without a technical leader
Startups without a technical co-founder can still build great products, but only if they avoid the usual traps of overengineering, needless infrastructure, and late developer involvement.