Tech Lead Journal (Henry Suryawirawan)
Explore every episode of Tech Lead Journal
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Feb 2024 | #163 - Becoming an Intentional Engineer and Tech Leader - Jeff Perry | 00:51:46 | |
“The whole idea of being intentional is instead of being reactive or unintentional and just letting your life come to you, we have this opportunity to choose what we want to do and who we want to become." Are you tired of feeling uninspired and disengaged in your engineering career? If so, this episode is for you! Jeff Perry is back again for a second episode with his latest book, “The Intentional Engineer”. In this episode, Jeff uncovers the keys to building a meaningful, fulfilling career by cultivating more intentionality. We dive into the ‘quiet quitting’ phenomenon happening worldwide, and Jeff shares his personal story of disengagement during a particular stage in his career. Learn Jeff’s Intentional Engineer model to assess your current situation and start becoming more intentional toward your lives and career. You will also learn the importance of identifying your core values, the power of mindsets, getting your career clarity, finding your genius zones, and a few core skills you should learn for living more intentionally! Listen out for:
_____ Jeff Perry’s Bio Jeff received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington. Follow Jeff:
_____ Our Sponsors Miro is your team's visual workspace to connect, collaborate, and create innovations together, from anywhere. Sign up today at miro.com/podcast and get your first 3 Miro boards free forever. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/163. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 11 Mar 2024 | #166 - The Kanban Guide You Should Know About - Colleen Johnson | 00:48:51 | |
“Kanban is a strategy for optimizing the flow of value to your customers by focusing on three main goals: efficiency, effectiveness, and predictability." Colleen Johnson is the CEO of ProKanban, and in this episode, we delve into the fundamentals of Kanban and how you can use it to optimize your workflow. We start by defining Kanban and exploring its core principles. You’ll learn why work item age is the single most important aspect you should track in Kanban. Colleen then explains the concept of Service Level Expectation (SLE) and how it can improve predictability and client satisfaction. We also discuss the importance of smaller batch sizes, defining workflow policies, handling blockers, and the benefits of completing already started work items to optimize flow. We also touch on scaling Kanban beyond an individual team and discuss why Kanban is suitable for navigating unpredictable situations like the current economic climate. Towards the end, Colleen shares Women in Kanban, a community and scholarship programme to empower women to excel in Kanban. Listen out for:
_____ Colleen Johnson’s Bio Follow Colleen:
_____ Our Sponsors Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/166. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 23 Sep 2024 | #192 - Brain Refactoring: Overcoming Your Common Bugs & Obstacles in Tech Career - Dagna Bieda | 01:00:13 | |
“The four common obstacles that are stopping engineers in progressing in their journey are the imposter syndrome, burnout, trouble dealing with other people, and self marketing struggles." Dagna Bieda is an engineer turned coach and the author of “Brain Refactor”. In this episode, Dagna discusses the common obstacles that prevent engineers from progressing in their careers. She also introduces her latest book, “Brain Refactor,” which offers strategies for overcoming these obstacles and achieving success in tech. Dagna emphasizes the importance of understanding our “legacy mental code” and how it can impact our career growth. She outlines an algorithm for reprogramming our legacy mental code, discussing practical steps for identifying the root causes, planning the refactors, scripting new responses, and continuously executing improvements. Towards the end, Dagda dives deeper into handling burnout and dealing with other people and provides practical tips to resolve those common bugs. Listen out for:
_____ Dagna Bieda’s Bio Follow Dagna:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 12 Aug 2024 | #187 - The Tao of Microservices - Richard Rodger | 00:59:33 | |
“Just because the network is unreliable doesn’t mean a monolith is reliable either. It’s a fallacy to assume that you can build an error free system. You deal with it by accepting that the system overall has a baseline error rate, and that’s a business requirements issue." Richard Rodger is the author of “The Tao of Microservices”. In this episode, Richard shares a unique philosophical and practical approach to microservices, focusing on core concepts such as messages first, component-based, pattern matching, and transport independence. Our discussion also covers the choice between monoliths and microservices, discussing the challenges of network unreliability and data consistency. Listen out for:
_____ Richard Rodger’s Bio Richard Rodger is the founder and CEO of voxgig.com, a professional network and tool suite for speakers and event organizers. Richard was previously a co-founder and COO of nearForm.com, the world’s largest specialist Node.js consultancy delivering next-generation enterprise software, with a focus on Node.js and microservices. Before that, Richard was the CTO of FeedHenry, a mobile application platform provider that was acquired by RedHat in 2014. Richard holds degrees in Mathematics, Philosophy, and Computer Science. Follow Richard:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 05 Dec 2022 | [Best of 2022] #100 - Modern Software Engineering - Dave Farley | 00:15:48 | |
“Engineering discipline is the most effective, efficient way of doing high-quality work. If our software development practices do not allow us to build better software faster, we should really change them because they are not engineering." Today's clip is from Tech Lead Journal episode 100 with Dave Farley, the one who runs the popular "Continuous Delivery" YouTube channel, and also the author of "Continuous Delivery" and the latest book, "Modern Software Engineering". In this clip, Dave explained his view on modern software engineering and why it emphasizes on the practices for building better software faster. Dave described the foundations of the software engineering discipline and explained the core competencies we need to succeed by becoming experts at learning. Listen out for:
_____ Dave Farley’s Bio Follow Dave:
_____ Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference! Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 03 Aug 2020 | #1 - Startup Tech Leadership - Jerome Poudevigne | 00:46:51 | |
"Leading others is leading yourself first. That's a very big work of self awareness, and you should always do that." Jerome Poudevigne is a serial CTO who has co-founded multiple startups with multiple successful exits. Recently, he has been working at Google Cloud and AWS to help startups grow and make the most of cloud technologies. In this very first episode of Tech Lead Journal, Jerome shares with us his startup wisdom from his lessons learned; advice for hiring, building culture, pitching, and managing stakeholders. He also shares with us his "Rule of 50%", a practical strategy that you can use to build your startup/product from zero scale to planet scale. Moreover, Jerome shares his interesting anecdotes about cultural differences between different regions based on his experience. Listen out for:
_____ Jerome Poudevigne's Bio
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| 24 Apr 2023 | #130 - Remote Work Insights & Leading Engineers as a Non-Engineer - Sarah Milstein | 00:51:10 | |
“Understand the stage of your company and the kind of risks you face at that stage, make decisions that are appropriate, and remind other people about that all the time." Sarah Milstein is the VP of Engineering at Daily and has run remote teams for 25 years. In this episode, Sarah started by sharing some remote work insights we may not have heard before, such as why remote distributed teams often have higher propensity of trust, how remote work could help make difficult conversations easier, and how leaders can establish swift trust by having more intentional communications. In the second half of our conversation, Sarah shared about her experience of leading engineers as someone from a non-tech background. She explained why a lack of technical expertise can sometimes be useful and pointed out some leadership qualities an engineering leader should have to balance out the need for technical acumen. Sarah also shared her few tips on how to upskill herself in technical stuffs and her perspective on whether a company should consider having non-tech engineering leaders. Listen out for:
_____ Sarah Milstein’s Bio Follow Sarah:
_____ Our Sponsors Are you looking for a new cool swag? Tech Lead Journal now offers you some swags that you can purchase online. These swags are printed on-demand based on your preference, and will be delivered safely to you all over the world where shipping is available. Check out all the cool swags available by visiting techleadjournal.dev/shop. And don't forget to brag yourself once you receive any of those swags. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/130 Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 15 Feb 2021 | #26 - Experience Design—Apple's Best Kept Secret - Tim Kobe | 00:57:59 | |
"Most people confuse a technical capability with technology. Ultimately, technology is a technical capability plus the human outcome that it creates." Tim Kobe is a design leader, author, and founder of Eight Inc., a global award-winning strategic design firm also widely recognized as “Apple’s best kept secret”. In this episode, we looked at how successful brands build radical impact by creating ground-breaking human experiences with design. We started off with Tim’s career journey, the founding of Eight Inc., and how he ended up working with Steve Jobs for over 12 years, including coming up with the original design of the iconic Apple’s flagship stores. Tim also shared how he sees Steve Job’s mission to democratize technology and how he helped Apple built a unique branded experience. We then dived deep into Experience Design (XD), starting with understanding the human outcomes to building the strategy and tactics to create value with a unique human experience. We also discussed how Asia is evolving in Experience Design and how COVID has been dramatically changing the world. Tim also spoke about the massive impact of AI & ML that is yet to be witnessed. Towards the end, Tim shared insights about some future trends that he is currently working on to transform the industries and shape the future in human connection from retail, banking, real estate, telecommunication, and even government! Listen out for:
_____ Tim Kobe’s Bio For almost 30 years in design and a leader in Innovation and Branded Experience, Eight Inc. has worked with companies such as Apple, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Nike, Coke, Knoll and Citibank. The firm takes on an interdisciplinary and holistic approach, working across traditional disciplines including strategy, architecture, exhibition, interior design, product, communications and branding. Many projects have received international design awards and have been published across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Eight Inc. has studios in San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, Tokyo, London, Singapore, Dubai, Istanbul and across China. Kobe is a keynote speaker and speaks on topics surrounding design, innovation, technology and business valuation for many internationally known forums. He has been featured and recognized for his work in prominent publications like Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg, The Economist, Dezeen and Fast Company. Follow Tim:
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| 30 Sep 2024 | #193 - The Path to Becoming a Great Engineer: Insights from a CTO Perspective - Milan Milanović | 00:54:35 | |
“We should always learn intentionally. And the best learning is by doing. Extra time used to practice something is always worth it." Dr. Milan Milanović is a seasoned CTO and the author of the popular “Tech World with Milan” newsletter. In this episode, Milan shares his insights on what it takes to become a great software engineer. Milan emphasizes that technical skills, while crucial, are just one part of the equation. Soft skills, a product-focused mindset, and a commitment to continuous learning are equally vital for long-term success in the ever-evolving tech industry. He delves into the key attributes that distinguish great engineers, revealing the surprising truth about why we should focus on learning the fundamentals, how to learn new skills and become an expert, delivering high-quality engineering, and practical strategies to boost productivity. Listen out for:
_____ Milan Milanović’s Bio Follow Milan:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 03 Apr 2023 | #127 - Building Successful Products With Game Thinking - Amy Jo Kim | 00:55:59 | |
“3 core ideas in game thinking: super fan funnel to find the right people, loop design to create the experience people want to stick around for, and concept testing to figure out the user experience." Amy Jo Kim is a game designer, startup coach, author, and co-founder of Game Thinking. In this episode, Amy shared how we can use game thinking to build better and successful products that people want. She first described some top reasons products fail and gave a few tips to avoid product failure by validating our ideas before building the product. Amy then explained in-depth the 3 core ideas in game thinking, which are identifying super fans, building a sticky core habit loop, and validating the product concept using storyboards. Towards the end, Amy shared how we can get started with game thinking and why we should do it early in our product journey. Listen out for:
_____ Amy Jo Kim’s Bio Amy Jo helps entrepreneurs & innovators bring their ideas to life through at gamethinking.io. She pioneered the practice of applying game design to digital services and is well-known for her books Community Building on the Web (2000) and Game Thinking (2018). In addition to her coaching practice, Amy Jo has taught Game Thinking at Stanford University and the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she co-founded the game design program. She holds a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Washington and a BA in Experimental Psychology from UCSD. Follow Amy:
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_____ Our Sponsors Are you looking for a new cool swag? Tech Lead Journal now offers you some swags that you can purchase online. These swags are printed on-demand based on your preference, and will be delivered safely to you all over the world where shipping is available. Check out all the cool swags available by visiting techleadjournal.dev/shop. And don't forget to brag yourself once you receive any of those swags. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/127 Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 17 Oct 2022 | #109 - A Strengths-Based Approach to Leadership - Brandon Miller | 00:48:28 | |
“The most responsible thing a human can do, either personally for their own development or the development of others, is play to a person’s strengths." Brandon Miller is the founder and CEO of 34 Strong and one of the first 7 certified Gallup Clifton StrengthsFinder coaches in the world. In this episode, we discussed Clifton StrengthsFinder, also known as CliftonStrengths. Brandon introduced what CliftonStrengths is and why it is important for us to recognize and focus on our strengths. He also shared when leaders apply a strengths-based approach at work, it leads to a much increased workplace engagement. Brandon then gave a walkthrough on how we can identify our strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths assessment and what we should do after we find out our strengths. Brandon also spent some time to discuss my top 3 strengths and explained the idea of complimentary partnerships. Towards the end, Brandon gave some tips for parents on how we can identify and nurture children’s core strengths since their childhood. Listen out for:
_____ Brandon Miller’s Bio Follow Brandon:
Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference!
Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. The iSAQB® Software Architecture Gathering is the international conference highlight for all those working on solution structures in IT projects: primarily software architects, developers, professionals in quality assurance, and also system analysts. The conference takes place online from November 14 to 17, 2022, and we have a 15% discount code for you: TLJ_MP_15. DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Like this episode? | |||
| 22 Nov 2021 | #65 - Developing Your Leadership Agility Fitness in a VUCA World - Nick Horney | 00:50:31 | |
“The best leaders are those that get things done through other people." Nick Horney is the author of “VUCA Masters” and founder of Agility Consulting. In this episode, Nick shared his innovations in leadership agility that include AGILE Model® and Leadership Agility Fitness, which are the cornerstones for becoming inspiring leaders in the current VUCA world, i.e. the VUCA Masters. Nick also shared how we can extend his leadership agility concepts to improve organizational behavior, culture, and mindset in order to reach organizational agility. Towards the end, Nick shared some inspiring leadership lessons from his 23 years of experience serving the US Navy Special Operations, describing the true characteristic and hallmark of the best leaders. Listen out for:
_____ Nick Horney’s Bio Dr. Horney has written four books. The most recent is VUCA Masters: Developing Leadership Agility Fitness for the New World of Work (2021). Nick retired from the U.S. Navy (Special Operations) at the rank of Captain and has applied that experience to his work with high performance team agility. He serves as a coach for The Honor Foundation focusing on the successful transition of Navy SEALs to the business world. Follow Nick:
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| 30 Jan 2023 | #118 - Lead Without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams - Diana Larsen | 00:57:23 | |
“When blame is our focus rather than understanding what happened, people spend as much or more energy avoiding the blame and less time to be productive, creative, and energetic." Diana Larsen is the co-founder of Agile Fluency Project and co-author of the latest book “Lead Without Blame”. In this episode, we discussed insights from her book about building resilient learning teams by moving away from blaming culture. Diana first described the definition of blame and its characteristics, and explained the negative impacts it can bring to an organization and its culture. Diana advised that instead of a blaming culture, organizations should build a learning culture by adopting the 3 essential motivators (team purpose, autonomous teams, co-intelligence) and the 4 resilience factors (collaborative connection, embracing conflict, inclusive collaboration, minimizing power dynamics). Listen out for:
_____ Diana Larsen’s Bio Through the Agile Fluency Project’s programs, Diana shares the wisdom she’s gained in over 35 years of working with leaders, teams, and organizations. To serve her communities, she delivers inspiring conference keynotes, talks, and workshops around the world. Follow Diana:
_____ Our Sponsors Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Are you looking for a new cool swag? Tech Lead Journal now offers you some swags that you can purchase online. These swags are printed on-demand based on your preference, and will be delivered safely to you all over the world where shipping is available. Check out all the cool swags available by visiting techleadjournal.dev/shop. And don't forget to brag yourself once you receive any of those swags. Like this episode? | |||
| 30 Nov 2020 | #17 - Remote Work & Asynchronous Communication at Doist - Gonçalo Silva | 01:03:43 | |
“Asynchronous communication promotes flow. And flow is generally what we’re all looking for. Not only because it’s more productive. Not only it’s because it’s within this state that we produce the best work. It’s also within this state that we feel the most fulfilled." Gonçalo is the CTO of Doist, the remote-first company behind Todoist and Twist that has a mission of building the future of work by creating tools that promote more fulfilling ways to work and live. Doist has been a remote-first company practically since the founder started working on Todoist in 2007 and with its first remote hire in 2011. In this episode, I learned a lot from Gonçalo about Doist and its remote working history and culture, including some advantages and disadvantages of remote work. We also discussed at length about having asynchronous communication as the first preferred communication style instead of synchronous, and why it is such an important communication style to adopt in a remote team. Gonçalo then shares about Doist core values, the cornerstone of every single thing that Doist does as company, from creating processes to decision making and recruiting. Towards the end, Gonçalo also shares some engineering and technical practices that Doist does, especially the ones important for a successful remote team, including the importance of pre-allocation and prioritization. Listen out for:
_____ Gonçalo Silva’s Bio Follow Gonçalo:
Follow Doist:
Our Sponsors Are you a startup in software development which is less than 5 years old? Like this episode? | |||
| 14 Oct 2024 | #195 - Working Effectively with Legacy Code and AI Coding Assistant - Michael Feathers | 00:56:16 | |
“Legacy code is a code without tests. If you have code, and it has lots of tests, it’s relatively easy to change. But if you don’t have the tests, you’re really in serious trouble.” Do you dread working with legacy code? Michael Feathers, renowned software expert and author of the classic “Working Effectively with Legacy Code,” joins me to discuss the challenges and strategies for working with legacy code, a topic that remains highly relevant even after 20 years! Michael explains why he defines legacy code as “code without tests,” emphasizing the crucial role of automated tests for code maintainability, rather than simply defining it as an old inherited code. He also provides insights on the psychological challenges of working with legacy code and stresses the importance of approaching it with curiosity and a sense of adventure. The conversation also explores the evolving world of AI assistant in software development, drawing from Michael’s forthcoming book, “AI-Assisted Programming”. He shares how AI can assist developers in various tasks, such as explaining code, identifying potential issues, generating tests, and exploring new possibilities. Listen to this episode to explore the intersection of legacy code, AI, and the future of software development! Listen out for:
_____ Michael Feathers’s Bio A frequent presenter at national and international conferences, Michael is also the author of the book Working Effectively with Legacy Code. Follow Michael:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 06 May 2024 | #173 - Flow Engineering: Collaborative Mapping for Effective Action at Scale - Steve Pereira & Andrew Davis | 00:58:05 | |
“Three characteristics of an organization that is operating with maximal effectiveness are value, clarity, and flow." Are you feeling the strain of growth? Struggling to maintain alignment and efficiency as your organization scales? In this episode, I sit down with Steve Pereira and Andrew Davis, authors of the groundbreaking new book, “Flow Engineering”. Learn why traditional scaling methods focusing on rigid coordination can actually hinder progress and how flow engineering offers a solution. We delve into the challenges and paradox of scaling, the core principles of flow engineering, its five primary mapping techniques, and the leadership mindset shift required to create a culture of flow engineering. If you’re looking to overcome misalignment and optimize performance as you scale, this episode is a must-listen! Listen out for:
_____ Steve Pereira’s Bio Andrew Davis’s Bio Follow Steve and Andrew:
_____ Our Sponsors Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/173. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 20 Jan 2025 | #202 - The Rise of AI in Shaping the Future of Work - André Neubauer | 00:53:13 | |
“Looking at the development pace of this area, it’s just a question of when generative AI will take over larger parts of software engineering. It’s a leadership responsibility to ensure your organization is ready for AI and you are taking the right path.” AI is changing EVERYTHING – including the way we build software. Are you READY for it? In this episode, we dive deep into the impact of AI on the future of work, particularly in the software development space. Join me and André Neubauer as we explore: * The evolution of AI: From early code generation to today’s advanced Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). * The rise of Agentic AI: How AI agents are collaborating to automate complex tasks and reshape software development workflows. * The impact on organizations: How companies can leverage AI to boost productivity, foster innovation, and navigate the challenges of this new era. * The future of software teams: Will AI replace developers or empower them? Discover why smaller, leaner, high-performing teams might be the way forward. * Leadership in the age of AI: Essential strategies for leaders to successfully integrate AI into their organizations and address the concerns of their teams. Listen out for: (00:02:11) Career Turning Points (00:07:56) Giving a Talk on “The Role of AI in Future Workplaces” (00:10:30) What Drives the AI Advancements (00:18:54) The Levels of AI Advancement (00:25:01) AI in Software Engineering (00:26:53) Concerns on Tech Debt and Issues (00:31:11) Impact of AI to Organizations (00:34:34) Smaller and Leaner Teams (00:37:15) The Rise of Solopreneurship (00:41:32) Getting People Onboard to AI (00:44:40) Leadership Measures for Adopting AI (00:49:34) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom _____ André Neubauer’s Bio For nearly two decades, André Neubauer has shaped Tech & Product and its interface with the business in varied settings, from startups to major corporations. His journey began in software engineering and evolved into technical leadership, a role he’s passionately undertaken for the past 15 years. As CTO, he’s spearheaded transformative projects and strategies, backed by an academic foundation in informatics and business economics. Always at the forefront of modern leadership practices, he’s transformed companies into tech powerhouses. Beyond his role as CTO, he actively mentors tech leaders and consults businesses, guiding them through their tech challenges. Follow Andre: * LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/andreneubauer * Newsletter – devpg.substack.com _____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 08 Jul 2024 | #182 - Building a Quality-Driven Culture: Enhancing Quality Practices Using QPAM - Janet Gregory & Selena Delesie | 00:54:05 | |
“We have 10 different aspects of quality, and testing is just a subset of activities in the overall quality culture. You need to have a good testing practice, but it’s just a tiny part of quality culture." Janet Gregory and Selena Delesie are the co-authors of “Assessing Agile Quality Practices Using QPAM”. In this episode, we discuss how to elevate and improve our organization’s quality culture and practices. Janet and Selena begin by explaining what quality culture truly entails, distinguishing it from a narrow focus on testing. They describe the QPAM model, breaking down its 10 quality aspects and 4 dimensions to provide you with a comprehensive model for assessing your quality practices. Gain insights on why social and sociotechnical aspects of quality are more critical than technical ones, and explore some quality aspects such as feedback loops, development approach, and defect management. Janet and Selena also elaborate on why they consider defect management to be of the lowest priority and provide reasoning for their decision. Whether you’re a seasoned quality professional or a team leader striving for continuous improvement, this episode contains valuable takeaways to help you build a quality-driven culture that delivers high-quality results. Tune in to learn actionable tips for conducting your own quality assessment and driving quality transformation in your organization. Listen out for:
_____ Janet Gregory’s Bio Selena Delesie’s Bio Follow Janet and Selena:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 05 Feb 2024 | #161 - The 7 Dimensions of Highly Creative Programmers - Wouter Groeneveld | 00:52:43 | |
“Why are some software developers average and some others great? After a few years, I noticed that creativity is an important aspect of problem-solving and software development.” Wouter Groeneveld is a software engineer, computer science education researcher, and the author of “The Creative Programmer”. In this episode, Wouter dives deep into what makes good engineers truly exceptional: creativity! Wouter describes his definition of creativity and shares the 7 key dimensions of a creative programmer - from technical mastery to embracing constraints and being curious. Listen to the episode to take your coding to the next level and unleash your inner creativity as a software engineer! Listen out for:
_____ Wouter Groeneveld’s Bio Follow Wouter:
_____ Our Sponsors Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/161. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 14 Feb 2022 | #76 - Learning Domain-Driven Design - Vladik Khononov | 00:56:41 | |
“Interactions with domain experts play a key role in implementing software. You have to make sure that you understand the problem you’re solving. You cannot provide a software solution without understanding the problem first." Vladik Khononov is the author of “Learning Domain-Driven Design”. In this episode, we discussed in-depth about Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and Vlad started by sharing why understanding business domain is crucial in software engineering and how DDD can help build the shared understanding between domain experts and software engineers. Vlad then explained the two important designs in DDD, i.e. the strategic and tactical designs, and how they relate to each other. For each design, Vlad touched on some important patterns, such as bounded context, context map, subdomain, aggregate, entity, and value object. Towards the end, Vlad gave great tips on applying DDD to brownfield projects and how those projects can benefit the most from some of the DDD practices. Listen out for:
_____ Vladik Khononov’s Bio Follow Vladik:
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| 17 Jul 2023 | #141 - Auditing with Agility: Stop Fearing Your Auditors - Clarissa Lucas | 00:52:21 | |
“You should never do something just because the auditors want you to do it. They should be able to explain the risk and controls in accordance with your risk appetite and tolerance." Clarissa Lucas is an audit and risk management leader and the author of “Beyond Agile Auditing”. In this episode, Clarissa shared a novel approach to internal auditing called auditing with agility. She shared this concept at the DevOps Enterprise Summit 2022, which drew some parallels to the revolutionary birth of the DevOps movement. Clarissa explained the three core components of auditing with agility, which are value-driven auditing, integrated auditing 2.0, and adaptable auditing. Listen out for:
_____ Clarissa Lucas’s Bio Follow Clarissa:
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| 28 Aug 2023 | #146 - Wrong Fit, Right Fit: Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever - Andre Martin | 00:52:15 | |
“Do not start a job search by looking for jobs. Start a job search by understanding at a deeper level who you are, what you value, how you like to work, and what are you solving for." Andre Martin is an organizational psychologist and the author of “Wrong Fit, Right Fit”. In this episode, he shared the importance of finding the right fit company for us in our work. Andre used the analogy of writing with a non-dominant hand to explain working in a wrong fit company. He shared some of the common misalignments, such as the modern hiring practices, infinite browsing, and company culture deck trend. Andre then explained how we can work towards finding our right fit company by doing more self reflection using some fit excursions shared in his book. He also touched on the important concept of buffers and the role of leaders and managers in the workplace. Towards the end, Andre shared some practical tips on how companies can create a better right fit culture in the organizations. Listen out for:
_____ Andre Martin’s Bio Follow Andre:
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| 26 Jul 2021 | #48 - Communicate to Become a Happy & Productive Engineer - Chris Laffra | 00:59:28 | |
“A lot of engineers are unhappy and a lot of that has to do with not being able to control their environment, or even articulate what they want to have changed in the environment. By becoming a better communicator, you will also become happier." Chris Laffra is an experienced and talented software engineer having worked in companies such as IBM, Google, and Uber. His wide variety of experiences ensures Chris understands what motivates engineers, what stresses them out, and how to help them get the most out of themselves. In this episode, Chris shared some insights from his book “Communication for Engineers” about why communication is such an important skill for engineers and how they should learn to improve it to become more impactful engineers. Chris also shared great insights and tips on how to deal with engineers’ typical sources of unhappiness–impostor syndrome, stress, and burnout–in order to become successful, productive, and happy engineers. Listen out for:
_____ Chris Laffra’s Bio Follow Chris:
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| 24 May 2021 | #40 - Data-Driven DevOps With Launchable - Kohsuke Kawaguchi | 00:49:52 | |
“By and large, the way people put together the delivery process is by gut and instinct. The next step up from there is to use the data that comes out of your system to help you make the right decisions. When I say data-driven DevOps, don’t rely on this human experience, and let the system tell you. We should be able to find that kind of information from data." Kohsuke Kawaguchi is widely known as the creator of Jenkins and currently is the co-CEO & co-founder of Launchable. In this episode, Kohsuke shared about data-driven DevOps, developers productivity, the future of software testing, and why he created Launchable to help us move closer to achieve those. And in the beginning of the episode, Kohsuke shared his story on how he created Hudson during his time at Sun Microsystems, which eventually led to become Jenkins, the most popular open-source CI/CD tool used by millions. Listen out for:
_____ Kohsuke Kawaguchi’s Bio Kohsuke has received the O’Reilly Open-source Award, JavaOne Rockstar, Japan OSS Contributor Award, and Rakuten Technology Award. Follow Kohsuke:
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| 11 Oct 2021 | #59 - DevOps Solutions to Operations Anti-Patterns - Jeffery Smith | 00:52:23 | |
“DevOps is about creating a collaborative environment between the development team and the operations team, and aligning goals and incentives between those two teams. Because so many of the problems that we encounter in life, not just even in technology, are due to misalignment of goals." Jeffery Smith is the author of “Operations Anti-Patterns, DevOps Solutions” and the Director of Production Operations at Centro. In this episode, Jeffery described DevOps essentials and emphasized what DevOps is not. He also explained about CAMS, a framework that outlines the core components required for successful DevOps transformation. We then discussed three anti-patterns taken from his book: paternalist syndrome, alert fatigue, and wasting perfectly good incident; and he explained how to recognize those anti-patterns in order to avoid them on our DevOps journey. Finally, Jeffery also talked about postmortem and shared tips on how to cultivate a good postmortem culture. Listen out for:
_____ Jeffery Smith’s Bio Jeff is passionate about DevOps transformations in organizations large and small, with a particular interest in the psychological aspects of problems in companies. He lives in Chicago with his wife Stephanie and their two kids Ella and Xander. Follow Jeffery:
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| 01 Mar 2021 | #28 - Becoming an Effective Software Engineering Manager - James Stanier | 00:55:36 | |
“The output of a manager is the output of the manager’s team plus the output of the organization that they influence." James Stanier is the SVP Engineering at Brandwatch and author of “Become an Effective Software Engineering Manager”. In this episode, we explored on how one can become an effective software engineering manager and how to build and run effective engineering teams. We started off by discussing why the tech industry is facing a skill crisis because of the inability of many managers to manage people effectively and the challenges faced by engineers when transitioning to become managers. We then dived deep into the best practices to become an effective manager, such as getting oriented, delegating effectively, letting go of control, and nurturing one-on-ones with your teams. James also pointed out the hardest things that engineering managers have to deal with, which are projects and humans. We then wrapped up with James’ tips on how to handle failures and move forward. Listen out for:
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| 06 Sep 2021 | #54 - Jumping Into Tech Leadership Roles - Alvaro Moya | 00:51:27 | |
“Going from development to management is not a promotion. It’s an entirely new career. And there is normally a lack of proper guidance for that." Alvaro Moya is the founder of Lidr, a community that prepares and transforms the tech leaders and CTOs of tomorrow through immersive, experiential, and community-driven programs. In this episode, Alvaro shared the story of Lidr and why he started it, learning from his own journey working in multiple startups and scaleups. Alvaro then shared his view on technical leadership, the challenges surrounding it, and why it is important for companies to prioritize on improving leadership. Alvaro also touched on how tech leaders can create and nurture high-performing teams, with an emphasis on cultivating ownership, as well as giving some advice on how we should plan and choose our career track and progression, including tips and practices on how we can become better tech leaders through practising leadership informally. Listen out for:
_____ Alvaro Moya’s Bio Follow Alvaro:
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| 23 Nov 2020 | #16 - Responsible AI and Building Trust in AI - Liu Feng-Yuan | 00:51:30 | |
“Having the conversation within the business, the data science teams, and the technology teams about what problems are you trying to solve? What can AI do with the data that you have? Sometimes business comes with a lot of problems that are like science-fiction." Feng-Yuan is the co-founder and CEO of BasisAI, a Singapore-headquartered augmented intelligence software company that helps data-driven enterprises deploy AI responsibly. He has a vast experience in the tech sector, working with the Land Transport Authority Singapore to make public transport more efficient; and with GovTech pushing data initiatives for Singapore’s Smart Nation projects. In this episode, I talked to Feng-Yuan about responsible AI and how to build trust in artificial intelligence, including the possibilities, challenges and dangers that AI and ML offer to businesses. We began by talking about his company, BasisAI, which offers bespoke AI solutions that are built responsibly. Feng-Yuan explained why it’s important to differentiate between what is interesting and what is useful when it comes to AI trends. We also spoke at length about deepfake, the dangers that come with it, and how to prevent such instances. At the end, Feng-Yuan also shares some wisdom about effective communication in the age of AI and ML. Listen out for:
_____ Liu Feng-Yuan’s Bio Follow Feng-Yuan:
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| 15 Jan 2024 | [Best of 2023] #139 - A Developer's Guide to Effective Software Testing - Mauricio Aniche | 00:18:32 | |
“An effective developer is an effective software tester. As a developer, it’s your responsibility to make sure what you do works. And automated testing is such an easy and cheap way of doing it." Today's clip is from Tech Lead Journal episode 139 with Mauricio Aniche, the author of “Effective Software Testing”. In this clip, Mauricio explained how to become a more effective software developer by using effective and systematic software testing approaches. We discussed several such testing techniques, such as testing pyramid, specification-based testing, and behavior-driven design. Listen out for:
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| 18 Apr 2022 | #85 - Agile Recruiting: Hiring in a Complex and Uncertain World - Jens Olberding | 00:46:52 | |
“Today, employees want more autonomy, e.g. work-life balance and working from home, and at the same time, they want more social inclusion to get as many authentic insights into the company and the new job as possible." Jens Olberding is the author of “Agile Recruiting” and an expert in agile HR management. In this episode, we opened our conversation discussing the great resignation trend and its underlying reasons. Jens then shared the concept of agile recruiting and explained how it is very much relevant to the latest changes in the current job landscape. He emphasized that recruiting should not only put focus just on the hiring departments’ needs but also equally on the candidates to understand better what they truly want from their career. Jens also shared a few recruiting best practices, such as getting the recruiting teams’ involvements in the recruitment process, building cross-functional teams, and the SuSiBOL interview technique that he shared towards the end to help in assessing candidates’ behaviors and competencies better. Listen out for:
_____ Jens Olberding’s Bio Follow Jens:
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| 15 May 2023 | #133 - Software Requirements Essentials - Karl Wiegers | 01:01:32 | |
“The goal of requirements development is clear and effective communication. Thus, it has to be done in an incremental and iterative fashion." Karl Wiegers is the coauthor of “Software Requirements Essentials” and has previously appeared in our episode #103. In this episode, we discussed 6 essential practices for software requirements out of the 20 core practices specified in his book. Karl also explained the importance of having a clear and effective communication in developing software requirements, his view on doing software requirements for Agile teams, and the importance of having good software requirements for becoming an effective software development team and for avoiding unnecessary rework. Listen out for:
_____ Karl Wiegers’s Bio Follow Karl:
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| 28 Nov 2022 | #115 - Senior Engineering Leadership & Scaling Engineering Teams - Manoj Awasthi | 00:44:56 | |
“Every organization has a mission, a vision, and a set of values. As a leader, your number one task is to live those values and talk about them at every opportunity with your team to create alignment." Manoj Awasthi is the CTO at JULO and previously the SVP of Engineering at Tokopedia. In this episode, Manoj shared engineering leadership lessons from his recent experiences. Manoj started by describing the role of a senior engineering leader before then explaining some important aspects of engineering leadership, such as scaling up engineering team, hiring engineers and engineering managers, creating culture alignment, putting in place engineering governance, and maintaining engineering productivity. Towards the end, Manoj shared some of his important lessons learned before ending by sharing his tech leadership wisdom. Listen out for:
_____ Manoj Awasthi’s Bio Follow Manoj:
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| 19 Dec 2022 | [Best of 2022] #90 - Clean Craftsmanship - Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) | 00:19:26 | |
“The simplest way to describe craftsmanship is pride of workmanship. It is the mindset that you are working on something important and you are going to do it well." Today's clip is from episode 90 with Robert C. Martin, more widely known as Uncle Bob. In this clip, Uncle Bob shared some insights from his latest book, “Clean Craftsmanship”. He shared the current major challenge of the software development industry as a young discipline, which drove Uncle Bob writing the book to help define disciplines, standards, and ethics for software craftsmanship. He also touched on the five key disciplines of clean craftsmanship. Listen out for:
_____ Robert C. Martin’s Bio Follow Uncle Bob:
_____ Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference! Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 22 Aug 2022 | #101 - My Engineering Leadership Story & 100 Episodes Reflection - Henry Suryawirawan | 01:04:55 | |
“As a servant leader, your number one job is to serve the people around you. You succeed together with your people, and that’s why serving them first would give you the best opportunity to succeed together." Henry Suryawirawan is the host of your beloved podcast. In this episode, hosted by Jerome Poudevigne, we uncovered lessons from Henry’s career journey and from running the Tech Lead Journal podcast. Henry shared his career turning points that included multiple transitions between individual contributor (IC) and management, being part of retrenchment, working in a failed startup, and his decision to leave Google and join a scaleup. Henry then shared how he prepared and grew himself into his current leadership position by being a problem solver, exercising the servant leadership mindset, building culture intentionally, and a few tips on doing remote work effectively. In the second half of the conversation, Henry shared why and how he first started the Tech Lead Journal podcast, as well as sharing moments and lessons he learned from releasing 100 episodes in the last 2 years. Listen out for:
_____ Henry Suryawirawan’s Bio Follow Henry:
Our Sponsors DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, Scott Hanselman, Venkat Subramaniam, Kevlin Henney, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 17 Apr 2023 | #129 - GIST Framework for Building High-Value, High-Impact Products - Itamar Gilad | 01:04:00 | |
“The difference of why some companies are so much more successful at producing high value, high-impact products than others comes to 4 areas of GIST (Goals, Ideas, Steps, Tasks)." Itamar Gilad is a coach and author with over 20 years of experience in product management, strategy, and growth, and was previously a product manager at Google and the head of Gmail’s growth team. In this episode, we discussed all things about product management and how to build high-value products. Itamar first shared his journey at Google growing Gmail to 1 billion MAUs and some of his lessons learnt on managing large-scale product changes, getting users feedback, and dogfooding. Itamar then explained in-depth his GIST framework as an alternative to the product roadmap, a collection of methods and best practices for producing high-value and impactful products. He shared some challenges working with product roadmap and how teams can create better alignment instead. He also shared how we can do product prioritization better by using the ICE technique and his Confidence Meter. Towards the end, Itamar shared the different ways of how companies can conduct product experimentation and how to use the GIST board to improve the way we execute product development. Listen out for:
_____ Itamar Gilad’s Bio Itamar publishes a popular product management newsletter and is the creator of a number of product management methodologies including GIST Framework and The Confidence Meter. Itamar is based in Barcelona, Spain. Follow Itamar:
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| 29 Mar 2021 | #32 - CIO Leadership Lessons from Singapore's First CIO - Alex Siow | 00:53:43 | |
“The CIO is a person who uses IT to facilitate and enable a company so that it becomes more competitive, and it becomes more profitable." Alex Siow is currently a Professor in the School of Computing at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Director of NUS’s Advanced Computing for Executives. With a career that spans over four decades, Alex Siow is well-known as Singapore’s first CIO in the 1990s. He recently published a book, “Leading with IT: Lessons from Singapore’s First CIO”, which is written for the next generation of CIOs, CTOs, and other executives who work closely with technology that offers practical tips, case studies, and personal insights that shed light on the central competencies required of CIOs. In this episode, Alex shared with me his insights on the important role of a CIO, the traits of a good CIO, and how a CIO manages priority, risk and governance. Alex also shared with me his inspiring leadership philosophy and the true essence of servant leadership. Towards the end, Alex shared his views on the future of technology and remote working. Listen out for:
_____ Alex Siow’s Bio Prof Alex’s expertise is in IT Governance, Project and Portfolio Management, Enterprise Risk Management, Management of Emerging Technology, Technology Roadmap Planning and Cloud Security. Alex recently published a best-selling book, “Leading with IT: Lessons from Singapore’s First CIO”, which was released in January 2021 by John Wiley and Sons. Follow Alex: Our Sponsor Are you looking for a new cool swag? Like this episode? | |||
| 23 Aug 2021 | #52 - Software Qualities for Quality Software - Marco Faella | 00:53:10 | |
“Seriously good software is not just software that works. It is not just software that satisfies its functional requirements, so it does the right thing, but it also does it in the right way." Marco Faella is an associate professor at the University of Naples Federico II and the author of “Seriously Good Software”. In this episode, Marco explained what he means by seriously good software, looking at software quality from multiple different perspectives. We then dived deep into several of those software qualities with some practical tips on how software engineers can improve their craft to produce high-quality software. Towards the end, we also touched on the concept of minimum viable code, why it is important to have an idea of what the ideal code looks like, while still being practical in finding the right compromise. Listen out for:
_____ Marco Faella’s Bio Follow Marco:
Our Sponsor This episode is proudly sponsored by Emergence, the journal of business agility. This quarterly publication brings you inspiring stories from the most innovative companies and explores themes of new ways of working, reclaiming management, and humanizing business. Each issue is hand illustrated and 100% content. Use the promo code “techlead” to get a 10% discount on your annual subscription. Visit businessagility.institute/emergence to get your edition and support the publication supporting your podcast. Like this episode? | |||
| 05 Jun 2023 | #136 - Privacy Engineering: How to Build for Data Privacy - Nishant Bhajaria | 01:04:05 | |
“Privacy is about handling data in a way that builds for both compliance and trust, maturity and transparency." Nishant Bhajaria is cybersecurity and data privacy executive and the author of “Data Privacy: A Runbook for Engineers”. In this episode, we discussed the importance of data privacy and privacy engineering. Nishant described his definition of data privacy and why it is becoming a key concern for users, companies, and regulators. He explained why doing data privacy is hard and how companies can build a privacy-first culture. Nishant also covered other data privacy topics, including data classification, data sharing, data consent, and data privacy applied to machine learning. Listen out for:
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| 06 Mar 2023 | #123 - The Empathetic Workplace: How to Handle Workplace Trauma - Katharine Manning | 00:53:36 | |
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. What people want in these traumatic moments is somebody to listen to and acknowledge them." Katharine Manning is the President of Blackbird DC and author of “The Empathetic Workplace”. In this episode, we discussed how leaders can deal with traumatic experience in the workplace. Katharine described what she means by workplace trauma and explained the impact of such trauma on employees’ performance and organizations’ productivity. She shared the importance of leaders showing trust whenever employees come forward and share their trauma, and why leaders should avoid problem-solving in response to their situation. Katharine also touched on the importance of empathy and gave a few tips on how we can be more empathetic towards others. Towards the end, Katharine shared her LASER method, the five steps we can do for a more compassionate, calm, and confident response to the workplace trauma. Listen out for:
_____ Katharine Manning’s Bio Follow Katharine:
_____ Our Sponsors Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Are you looking for a new cool swag? Tech Lead Journal now offers you some swags that you can purchase online. These swags are printed on-demand based on your preference, and will be delivered safely to you all over the world where shipping is available. Check out all the cool swags available by visiting techleadjournal.dev/shop. And don't forget to brag yourself once you receive any of those swags. Like this episode? | |||
| 07 Feb 2022 | #75 - Domain Storytelling: Building Domain-Driven Software Collaboratively - Stefan Hofer | 00:48:03 | |
“It’s great if developers have understanding about the domain, because then they can propose better solutions, that’s not necessarily the same solution that the users have in mind, which are often limited by what they know." Stefan Hofer is the co-author of Domain Storytelling–a collaborative, visual and agile way to build domain-driven software. In this episode, Stefan shared the story of how he came up with Domain Storytelling and explained how this technique can help us understand business domain better and bridge the misunderstandings between software developers and domain experts. Stefan walked us through how the modeling works, including the notations and other pictorial aspects of it, and emphasized the importance of the collaborative aspect of Domain Storytelling. Stefan then explained how Domain Storytelling differs from other similar modeling techniques, such as Event Storming, and gave practical tips on how to run a successful online collaborative workshop. Listen out for:
_____ Stefan Hofer’s Bio Follow Stefan:
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| 20 Sep 2021 | #56 - Refactoring–The Discipline for Writing Good Code - Christian Clausen | 00:50:16 | |
“Good code should be resilient to bugs. It should make it easier to do the changes that you want to the system. Some refactoring could make it harder to make changes. So, if you guess wrongly the direction of the software, then it can have a negative effect." Christian Clausen is a Technical Agile Coach specializing in teaching teams on how to refactor their code properly. He is also the author of “Five Lines of Code”. In this episode, Christian explained in-depth about refactoring, when and how we should do refactoring, the components, workflow, and pillars of refactoring. Christian also shared about a few important architectural refactoring, such as composition over inheritance and changing by addition instead of modification. Finally, Christian also shared a few tips for writing quality software, such as the five lines of code rule, the habit of deleting code, and avoiding optimization and generality. Listen out for:
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| 21 Jun 2021 | #43 - The SPACE of Developer Productivity and New Future of Work - Dr. Jenna Butler | 00:58:21 | |
“Hybrid work is here to stay. It is going to continue. But we want to make sure that it comes in a way that’s equitable and everyone gets to experience the benefits of it." Dr. Jenna Butler is a Visiting Research Fellow at Microsoft Research in the Productivity and Intelligence Team. She is also an adjunct Professor at Bellevue College in radiation therapy. In this episode, Dr. Jenna shared about the SPACE of developer productivity framework and how developer teams can use the 5 dimensions to measure and increase productivity. Dr. Jenna also shared about the New Future of Work research by Microsoft, especially on the impact of working from home on people and their well-being. Towards the end, Dr. Jenna also mentioned some predictions of the new future of work post COVID-19, that includes some of the upcoming and exciting tools and the potential societal impact of this new work environment. Listen out for:
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| 22 Jul 2024 | #184 - Contract Testing Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide - Lewis Prescott | 00:53:05 | |
“Contract testing is a form of testing where you are verifying two systems have the same shared understanding about the expectations." Lewis Prescott is the coauthor of “Contract Testing in Action”. In this episode, join us to demystify contract testing and its critical role in modern software development. Discover how contract testing ensures reliable software integration, particularly in complex microservice architectures. Lewis explains the core concepts, the difference between consumer-driven and provider-driven approaches, and how contract testing fits into your testing strategy and CI/CD pipeline. We also touch on the practicalities of implementing contract testing, including tool options like Pact, and how it can also be applied in event-driven architectures. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting, this episode offers valuable insights to help you level up your software development approach. Listen out for:
_____ Lewis Prescott’s Bio Follow Lewis:
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| 01 Jan 2024 | #158 - Sustainable Engineering Lessons From Scaling Up Wise - Balazs Barna | 00:49:05 | |
“A team has to be able to go fast if they have to. But they should always choose to go at a steady pace, most of the time. In the long run, what we emphasize is for each team to find their own space and pace." Balazs Barna is the Head of US Engineering at Wise. In this episode, we delved into his insights on building sustainable engineering from scaling up Wise. Balazs started by touching on the engineering management role and described the traits of good and bad engineering management. We then went to discuss two different aspects of sustainable engineering, which are sustainable tech and sustainable teams. Throughout the discussion, Balazs outlined several key practices, such as weak code ownership, microservice strategy, stable pace, and building a bench. Listen out for:
_____ Balazs Barna’s Bio Follow Balazs:
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| 13 Mar 2023 | #124 - The Value Flywheel Effect - David Anderson | 00:54:49 | |
“The business technology divide was apparent in many companies. The idea of the value flywheel effect is to join the business and technology goals and create this flywheel effect momentum." David Anderson is the author of “The Value Flywheel Effect” and the co-creator of The Serverless Edge. In this episode, David described the value flywheel effect concept and its four stages: clarity of purpose, challenge & landscape, next best action, and long-term value. David also explained the importance of Wardley Mapping and how we can use it to help improve the organization’s situational awareness within the value flywheel. During our discussion about the four stages, we also discussed several important concepts, such as the North Star Framework for clarity of purpose, understanding the team’s psychological safety and sociotechnical systems landscape, serverless-first paradigm as one way for the next best action, and using the well-architected framework and sustainability as guidelines for ensuring long-term value. Listen out for:
_____ David Anderson’s Bio Follow David:
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| 07 Jun 2021 | #41 - Building a Cybersecurity Career & Pandemic Security Gaps - Tony Jarvis | 00:59:09 | |
“Back when work from home became suddenly virtually overnight, it was all about enabling the business to continue. A lot of this move was rushed out of necessity, but the focus was on speed. The focus was not on security. And security took a backseat." Tony Jarvis is a CISO advisor and cybersecurity strategist who has advised Fortune 500 clients across the world and served as a thought leader within the industry. In this episode, Tony shared about the importance of network and Operating System knowledge in cybersecurity, the awareness of and attitude towards cybersecurity in enterprises, as well as the security gaps arising from the pandemic. Tony also shared his career journey, including his mid-career crisis, as well as some tips and wisdom for those who are interested in cybersecurity. Listen out for:
_____ Tony Jarvis’s Bio Follow Tony:
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| 09 May 2022 | #87 - Learning to Program With Exercism and Building Employee Culture With Kaido - Jeremy Walker | 00:54:26 | |
“You don’t know what you don’t know. So when you’re learning something, it’s very hard to identify your own knowledge gaps, especially if you’re a programmer and you’re moving from one language to another." Jeremy Walker is the co-founder of Exercism and Kaido. In this episode, Jeremy first shared about Exercism, a not-for-profit online platform for learning different programming languages. He explained the importance of programming in the idiomatic way, the role of mentorship when learning new languages, and shared his experiences running Exercism as one of the largest open source program, such as how to get consensus and how to run remote distributed teams. Later, Jeremy then talked about Kaido, an employee culture platform for building happier, healthier, and better connected teams. He shared how companies could strive to do more to build company culture before then shared some practical tips on how we can improve our personal wellbeing. Listen out for:
_____ Jeremy Walker’s Bio Follow Jeremy:
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| 05 Oct 2020 | #9 - Tech Leadership & Hypergrowth at Fintech Bank N26 - Patrick Kua | 01:04:05 | |
“A Tech Lead is a person with a technical background, typically an engineer who is leading a team and particularly responsible and accountable for their technical direction." Patrick Kua is a seasoned technology leader and is passionate about accelerating the growth and success of tech organizations and technical leaders. Before going independent recently, Pat was the CTO and Chief Scientist of N26 (Berlin, Germany), where he transformed the early stage startup culture and led the Product & Technology teams for hypergrowth. Before N26, Pat spent 13+ years in ThoughtWorks as a Technical Principal Consultant, where he researched deep into the Tech Lead role and became a thought leader about it. Pat is a frequent keynote and conference speaker and also an author. In this episode, I had an amazing learning conversation with Pat about the Tech Lead role and discussed deep with him on what it takes to become a good Tech Lead. Pat also shared his journey as a CTO and Chief Scientist of N26, the challenges he faced there and what he did to transform the Product & Technology teams to align for hypergrowth. This is one of those conversations you definitely not want to miss to learn how to become a great technical leader! Listen out for:
_____ Patrick Kua’s Bio Follow Pat:
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| 29 Jul 2024 | #185 - The Transformed Organization: A Blueprint for Moving to the Product Operating Model - Chris Jones | 00:59:21 | |
“The three change dimensions of the product operating model are changing how you build, changing how you solve problems, and changing how you decide which problems to solve." Chris Jones, Partner at Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG) and co-author of “TRANSFORMED: Moving to the Product Operating Model,” joins me to discuss how organizations can transform and innovate like top tech companies. Chris introduces the Product Operating Model (POM), a set of principles for building products that prioritize outcomes over outputs. He contrasts POM with traditional IT and project models, emphasizing the importance of empowering cross-functional teams, fostering trust, and aligning stakeholders around a unified product strategy. Chris also delves into the three dimensions of POM, highlighting the need for changing how we build, how we solve problems, and how we prioritize problems to solve. Additionally, he explores the crucial role of the CEO, the product leaders, and the product team’s key competencies in driving successful transformations to POM. Listen out for:
_____ Chris Jones’s Bio Chris has worked directly with over 200 companies ranging from startups to very large enterprise across a wide variety of technologies, business models and industries. Chris has worked directly with leadership and operational teams at these companies to better align their organization, process, tools, and culture with modern product best practices. Follow Chris:
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| 19 Jun 2023 | #137 - Lean DevOps: A Practical Guide to On-Demand Delivery - Robert Benefield | 00:57:01 | |
“It’s not about the tools or processes. Most important is you understand the target outcomes for your customers and establish the right level of shared situational awareness across the teams." Robert Benefield is the author of “Lean DevOps: A Practical Guide to On Demand Service Delivery”. In this episode, Robert shared insights on how we can apply the Lean DevOps mindset for building successful IT delivery organizations. Robert started by sharing what initiated him writing the book and how it differs from the other available DevOps books. Robert described the concept of on-demand service delivery and important concepts, such as knowing the target outcomes, building situational awareness, and making effective and timely decisions based on the OODA loop. Robert also shared a few practices and techniques he outlined in the book, such as mission command, workflow board, queue master, service engineering lead, value stream mapping, and Einheit. Listen out for:
_____ Robert Benefield’s Bio Follow Robert:
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| 11 Sep 2023 | #148 - Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) Essentials - Jan Molak & John Ferguson Smart | 01:26:28 | |
“BDD is about helping you collaborate with the different parties involved in software delivery to understand what’s actually required of your system, why you need to deliver it, and then find the best possible way to automate your requirements." John Smart and Jan Molak are the co-authors of “BDD in Action: Second Edition”. In this episode, we discussed in-depth behavior-driven development (BDD) and its essentials. Jan and John first began by introducing what BDD is, the benefits of using BDD, and the Gherkin language with its given-when-then syntax. They gave advice on how to introduce and apply BDD, especially for legacy software, and how to manage the BDD specifications effectively. Jan and John then shared several BDD techniques, such as feature mapping, example mapping, impact mapping; and went deep into the screenplay pattern and the Serenity projects they both create to implement screenplay pattern. Towards the end, Jan and John shared their insights on which testing layers we should apply BDD and some anti-patterns we should avoid. Listen out for:
_____ Jan Molak’s Bio John Ferguson Smart’s Bio Follow Jan:
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| 23 May 2022 | #89 - Code That Fits in Your Head - Mark Seemann | 00:54:46 | |
“The goal of software is often to sustain an organization. An organization invests in software in order to achieve some goal and hopefully to sustain itself in helping it achieve that goal." Mark Seemann is an acclaimed author, international speaker, and a highly experienced developer. In this episode, Mark shared some insights from his latest book, “Code That Fits in Your Head”, on how to write sustainable software and manage software complexity. Mark first started by sharing why he wrote this book and explained why software development is hard. He also pointed out the difference between software engineering and other physical engineering disciplines, especially on the set of constraints. Mark then explained the importance of writing sustainable software and shared the perspective that code is a liability instead of an asset. Towards the end, Mark shared about the Rule of 7 as a guideline to manage code complexity and a few practices we can use to build sustainable software, such as checklist, vertical slice, x-driven development, and command query separation. Listen out for:
_____ Mark Seemann’s Bio Follow Mark:
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| 12 Dec 2022 | [Best of 2022] #102 - Building Inspired & Empowered Product Teams - Marty Cagan | 00:18:29 | |
Instead of being given a roadmap of features, an empowered team is given a problem to solve and they get to figure out the best way to solve that problem." Today's clip is from episode 102 with Marty Cagan, the founder of the Silicon Valley Product Group and the author of “Inspired” and “Empowered”. In this clip, Marty explained the importance of building the right product and shared the two inconvenient truths about building products. Marty then elaborated on the traits a good product team has and how to create an empowered product team. Listen out for:
_____ Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference! Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 24 Jul 2023 | #142 - The Power of Leadership Principles and Positive Leadership - Michael Foss | 01:03:30 | |
“To build trust, you need to do the right thing, do the best you can, and show people you care. And when you do that, it builds commitment. Trust and commitment are how teams do best and win the most." Michael Foss is a leadership coach and the founder of CoachFoss LLC. In this episode, we discussed the power of leadership principles and positive leadership. Michael started by sharing the important principle of building trust and creating a shared commitment with the people we work with. He then shared what he learned from his time at Amazon and explained why creating leadership principles is important for any company to thrive. Michael also explained the powerful techniques for leading a successful process improvement: creating standard work and using Andon from the Toyota Production System. Towards the end, as a certified trainer, Michael summarized leadership essence of both John Maxwell’s Leadership and John Gordon’s Power of Positive Leadership. So many leadership insights you can learn just from this summary alone! Listen out for:
_____ Michael Foss’s Bio Michael has extensive global experience and success as a logistics and supply chain operations leader, having worked for companies including Walmart, Flexport, CloudSort, Caterpillar, Amazon, Cameron, Weir, and FedEx. Michael is a Fellow, Past President, & IAB chairman of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE). He earnt his Lean / Six Sigma Black Belt from the University of Villanova and he was awarded the Texas Tech Whitacre College of Engineering Distinguished Engineer’s award, one of only 27 industrial engineers ever awarded. Follow Michael:
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| 07 Dec 2020 | #18 - Succeeding in Tech & Cloud Latest - Kelsey Hightower | 01:16:28 | |
“What I come to realize is that technology doesn’t move that fast. The fundamentals are roughly the same. It’s the fact that we don’t necessarily teach fundamentals. When you start to focus on the fundamentals, then you don’t mentally get attached to one particular implementation." Kelsey Hightower is one of the leading figures in open source, cloud computing, and Kubernetes. I’m extremely excited to have him with me sharing a lot of his insights around many things in tech. We started the conversation with what he has been doing recently—his involvement in serverless technologies and security landscape. Kelsey then shared his interesting career journey of how he got from working at fast food in high school to where he is at Google today. He also shared his advice on how one should learn and develop knowledge in the current fast changing technology landscape, and how he shifted his learning mindset to overcome impostor syndrome. Kelsey also discussed various latest updates on cloud, serverless technologies, and Kubernetes. He also shared how he has developed his fundamental understanding of certain technologies by learning them “the hard way” and publicly. We also covered his latest observation and views on microservices vs monolith. Last but not least, we close off the session with Kelsey’s Tech Lead Wisdom on his take around personal growth, learning, and his preferred way of leading by inspiring others. Listen out for:
_____ Kelsey Hightower’s Bio Follow Kelsey:
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| 10 Jun 2024 | #178 - Leveling Up Through Coding Challenges, Real-World Projects, and Personal Brand - John Crickett | 00:52:28 | |
“99% of us aren’t working in big tech. There’s this impression that everybody works in big tech. There’s a huge world of software development out there that almost gets forgotten about in social media." John Crickett is the creator of “Coding Challenges” and a seasoned software engineer with over 30 years of experience. In this episode, John shares his diverse career path, including transitioning between individual contributor roles and management, founding his own business, and his passion for coding challenges. John explains the benefits of building real-world applications over algorithm-based ones, emphasizing the importance of learning by doing. John also shares practical tips on time management for continuous learning and debunks the myth that most software engineers work in big tech. We also explore the role of personal branding in today’s competitive job market. John provides tips on building a personal brand and leveraging social media to stay ahead in your tech career. Finally, John shares his perspective on the impact of AI on software engineering and how we can leverage AI in our day-to-day tasks. Whether you’re an aspiring developer or a seasoned professional, this episode provides practical advice and inspiration to help you level up in your tech career. Listen out for:
_____ John Crickett’s Bio John writes about software engineering daily on LinkedIn and Twitter. He’s the founder of the popular “Coding Challenges” newsletter. Each week, John offers practical coding challenges to help software engineers enhance their skills through building real-world applications. Follow John:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/178. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 17 Jun 2024 | #179 - Bottlenecks of Scaleups - Tim Cochran & Kennedy Collins | 00:51:29 | |
“As a startup, as a scaleup, you often get one chance. If the first impression is something that’s slow, doesn’t work, is down entirely, people will move on and go find some other way to solve that problem." Tim Cochran and Kennedy Collins are the co-authors of the “Bottlenecks of Scaleups” series published on Martin Fowler’s website. In this episode, we explore several key challenges faced by scaleups, such as product-engineering friction, service disruptions, accumulation of tech debt, and onboarding. Tim and Kennedy share their experiences and provide actionable advice on fostering collaboration, creating unified roadmaps, ensuring system reliability, and managing technical debt. They also emphasize the importance of efficient onboarding and developer experience in navigating the complexities of scaling up a startup. Listen out for:
_____ Tim Cochran’s Bio Tim has over 20 years of experience working with both scaleups and enterprises. He advises on technology strategy and making the right technology investments to enable digital transformation goals. He is a vocal advocate for the developer experience and passionate about using data-driven approaches to improve it. Kennedy Collins' Bio He’s also a bit of a nerd about strategy, human behavior, health and fitness, productivity, writing, coffee, cocktails, board games, and the history of product management. Follow Tim:
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_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/179. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 16 Nov 2020 | #15 - Tech Resumes & Learnings From Uber Engineering Manager - Gergely Orosz | 00:57:54 | |
“The goal of your resume is to get a recruiter call. It’s a binary yes or no. That is the goal. As soon as you have your recruiter call, your resume doesn’t really matter that much." Gergely is a seasoned software engineer and engineering manager, previously worked in hypergrowth companies such as Uber, Skyscanner, and Skype. He is the author of “The Tech Resume Inside Out” book and “The Pragmatic Engineer” blog. In this episode, he shared about his interesting programmer-to-manager career journey path, starting from small companies and moving to hypergrowth startups. We then discussed on the importance of a tech resume and the common pitfall that people have in their tech resume, which led him to write his recent book that came up after he has been helping so many people improve their resume during the pandemic. I also had an insightful discussion with Gergely about how the Engineering team works at Uber, which brought us to touch on what Silicon Valley gets right when dealing with software engineers. Gergely also shared the reason he quit Uber recently and his future plan. We then talked about his blog, where he has been sharing many interesting technical topics that he learned throughout the years, helping him to discover many viewpoints from others and shaping him as a better communicator. We also discussed some of his popular blog posts on distributed systems and software architecture. Lastly, Gergely also shared his firsthand experience seeing Uber’s pace of change and its growing number of microservices. Listen out for:
_____ Gergely Orosz’s Bio Follow Gergely:
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| 04 Jul 2022 | #95 - Top Career Lessons from an Engineering Career Coach - Jeff Perry | 00:49:10 | |
“You are your greatest asset in your career and in your life. Invest in you personally in all areas of life in order to live your best life." Jeff Perry is an engineering coach, the founder of More Than Engineering and the co-host of the Engineering Career Coach podcast. In this episode, Jeff shared the important role of a coach or mentor in our engineering career. We first discussed Jeff’s engineering career clarity checklist and why it is truly important to find the clarity in our career journey. Jeff then shared the role of an engineering career coach, how a coach can help us navigate our career, and the difference between a coach and a mentor. Throughout our discussion, we also touched on a few other topics, such as the Great Resignation, making intentional career transitions, transitioning to a leadership role, and the power of accountability. Listen out for:
_____ Jeff Perry’s Bio
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Our Sponsors DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, Scott Hanselman, Venkat Subramaniam, Kevlin Henney, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. It is an easier way for technologists to grow their careers by connecting you and your peers with the best-in-class tech industry experts and communities. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 18 Jul 2022 | #97 - Personal Kanban & Collaboration Equation - Jim Benson | 00:56:36 | |
“A highly functional team defines the right environment and has what they need to be the best professionals they can be. And that always includes agency and psychological safety." Jim Benson is the co-author of “Personal Kanban” and is currently working on his upcoming book “The Collaboration Equation”. In this episode, we started by discussing Personal Kanban, how it differs from a to-do list, and its two main rules, i.e. visualizing our work and limiting our work-in-progress. Jim also shared practical tips on managing our personal backlog, doing prioritization, and limiting our work in progress. In the latter half of our conversation, we discussed Jim’s new book, “The Collaboration Equation”, starting with the discussion about the common collaboration challenges and why professionalism and psychological safety are prerequisites to building high-performing teams. Jim also explained the concept of collaborative leadership and gave practical tips on how we can measure effective collaboration. Listen out for:
_____ Jim Benson’s Bio Follow Jim:
Our Sponsors DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, Scott Hanselman, Venkat Subramaniam, Kevlin Henney, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. It is an easier way for technologists to grow their careers by connecting you and your peers with the best-in-class tech industry experts and communities. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 05 Apr 2021 | #33 - Simplicity Playbook for Innovators - Jin Kang Møller | 01:03:38 | |
“Simplicity is an experience that makes things easy for users that leaves positive emotions." Jin Kang Møller is an award-winning customer experience strategist, design practitioner, and the author of “The Simplicity Playbook for Innovators“. She was the driving force behind FRANK by OCBC and OCBC OneWealth app that won her a Singapore Good Design Mark Gold award in 2017. In this episode, Jin shared with me her insightful perspectives on simplicity and how simplicity naturally leads to innovation. She shared with me in-detail her powerful framework, “Simplicity Diamond“, that is extremely powerful to help us embrace simplicity in dealing with different aspects of business practices, products and services. She also shared her point of view on agile and design thinking, and how we can combine both methodologies together in order to solve the right problems for our customers and users. And don’t miss her fun sharing on “pain sponge” that provides a great mindset analogy for delivering better customer experience! Listen out for:
_____ Jin Kang Møller’s Bio Her design methodologies have helped wealth management, private & retail banking and insurance businesses to drive successful customer experience and digital transformation initiatives, and won her a Singapore Good Design Mark Gold award in 2017. She is the author of The Simplicity Playbook for Innovators, a battle-tested strategy and the collection of tools to drive innovation, humanise digital transformation and to win customers’ hearts. Follow Jin:
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| 02 Aug 2021 | #49 - Visualizing Your Value Stream With Kanban - Dimitar Karaivanov | 00:47:11 | |
“Kanban is a flow strategy that helps you to optimize the flow of value through your value streams from ideation to customer." Dimitar Karaivanov is a Lean-thinker, a Kanban practitioner, and the CEO and co-founder of Kanbanize. In this episode, Dimitar shared his story on how he got fascinated by the simplicity and the effectiveness of Kanban, which then led him to start Kanbanize. He shared in-depth the concept of Kanban and why Kanban becomes one of the most popular Lean practices. Dimitar then shared about the principles, practices, and anti-patterns behind Kanban, as well as tips on how companies can improve their Kanban practices, including dealing with external dependencies. Listen out for:
_____ Dimitar’s Bio Dimitar has envisioned and brought to life the idea of Kanbanize aimed at solving problems in the way companies manage big initiatives spread across multiple teams. Through the success of his company, he has proven that Kanban can be used not just for change management, but also for product development. He is passionate about achieving extreme performance at scale and applying Lean / Kanban outside IT, and is an active member, supporter and promoter of initiatives within these communities. Follow Dimitar:
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| 22 Mar 2021 | #31 - Sustainable Digital Innovation at BNY Mellon - Johnny Wijaya | 00:45:57 | |
“Your digital agenda is your business agenda. You got to be very deliberate and intentional about your transformation journey. You do it because it’s the right thing to do, and you got to figure out what is that right thing for your organization." Johnny Wijaya is the Head of Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon APAC Innovation Center. In this episode, we learn from Johnny the sustainable innovation story at BNY Mellon, being an internationally renowned financial institution for over 237 years. Being at the forefront of innovation within the bank, Johnny shared the latest BNY Mellon digital innovation journey and the challenges that the bank had to overcome to rewire the legacy mindset and culture within. Johnny elaborated further what it means to be digital at BNY Mellon, its innovation playbook, and his advice on digital transformation. He also shared his personal transformation journey that he had to go through to put the innovation mindset at his core, which plays a critical part in his successful innovation leadership. Listen out for:
_____ Johnny Wijaya’s Bio Follow Johnny: Our Sponsor Are you looking for a new cool swag? Like this episode? | |||
| 19 Oct 2020 | #11 - The Journey to Humanise Software Development - Joshua Partogi | 00:39:27 | |
“Courage needs to be emphasized even more in software development context. That’s related with respect. We cannot expect the developers will be courageous, to tell the truth, to have integrity, unless the organization, the management respect them as a professional." Joshua initially started his career as a software developer, but over time became more interested in the people aspect of software development, which then brought his interest in Scrum. He has a decade of experience as a Scrum Master and has been working with senior leaderships to improve enterprise agility. In this episode, Joshua shared his views on how we can improve the people’s aspect of the software development by treating the people more humanely. He outlined how an enterprise should adopt agility, execute agile transformation, and use outcome instead of output to drive the behavior change. He also shared his observation on how the COVID pandemic brought forward the importance of adopting agility in business and personal life. Do not miss his anecdote on how he learned about self organization unexpectedly! Listen out for:
_____ Joshua Partogi’s Bio Follow Joshua:
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| 03 Mar 2025 | #208 - Navigating Tech Leadership Transitions: From Engineer to Executive - Norman Noble | 00:48:54 | |
(07:37) Brought to you by Lemon.io Lemon.io is your go-to platform for hiring top-tier, pre-vetted software engineers from Europe and Latin America. You'll get matched with your developer in just 48 hours. Tech Lead Journal listeners get 15% off your first 4 weeks of work at lemon.io. Ever wondered what it takes to climb the tech leadership ladder from engineer to executive? In this episode, we follow the journey of Norman Noble, CTO of Mindvalley, as he shares his insights and experiences navigating these challenging transitions. Here’s what you’ll discover:
Timestamps: (02:06) Career Turning Points (09:59) Transitioning From an IC to a Manager (12:10) Learning From Psychology & Management Books (15:36) Becoming a Better Manager (17:32) Building High-Performing Teams (20:23) Hiring Strategy & Philosophy (24:06) Engineering Interview Strategy (28:19) Transitioning From a Manager to an Executive (32:09) Upskilling Across Domains (36:03) Mindvalley Culture (38:41) The Power of Diversity (40:46) Practising Mindfulness (43:48) Making Space for Thinking (45:50) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom _____ Norman Noble’s Bio Follow Norman:
Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Get a 40% discount for Tech Lead Journal listeners by using the code techlead24 for all products in all formats. Like this episode? | |||
| 28 Mar 2022 | #82 - Engineering Leadership Lessons From Scaling Up Bukalapak - Mohammed Alabsi | 00:36:56 | |
“There’s a substantial difference between building software and then building software for production and then building software for scale." Mohammed Alabsi is a seasoned technology leader, an angel investor, and a venture fellow at Insignia Ventures. Mohammed worked at Amazon for 10 years, before moving to Southeast Asia and helped scale up Bukalapak towards its IPO. In this episode, Mohammed started by sharing his lessons learned from his time at Amazon, working on EC2, advertising business, and B2B e-commerce. Mohammed then shared his journey at Bukalapak and described the challenges that he had to tackle during the scale-up stage, such as setting up engineering processes and governance, growing high-performing engineering teams rapidly, and building alignment across those multiple teams. He also gave great tips for leaders on the importance of managing up and keeping the leadership and stakeholders in the loop. Towards the end, Mohammed shared about his current role as a tech investor and advisor and gave some great advice on common mistakes startup should avoid, as well as advice for tech leaders in the early stage startups. Listen out for:
_____ Mohammed Alabsi’s Bio Follow Mohammed:
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| 14 Nov 2022 | #113 - Architecture Decision Record (ADR) - Michael Keeling | 00:40:37 | |
“An ADR is a simple text file describing the context, the decision, and the consequences of a single architectural decision stored in the version control repository." Michael Keeling is an experienced software engineer, architect, and the author of “Design It!: From Programmer to Software Architect”. In this episode, Michael shared in-depth about ADR. He first shared his story of discovering ADR before describing what an ADR is. Michael then shared the objectives and benefits of using ADR to record architecture decisions and explained the key behavior changes happening when we practise ADR. Towards the end, Michael shared a few practical tips on creating and updating ADR, some patterns and anti-patterns he observed from his experience, and suggestions on how we can practise ADR effectively as a team. Listen out for:
_____ Michael Keeling’s Bio Follow Michael:
_____ Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference! Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 04 Sep 2023 | #147 - Collaborative Software Design: How to Facilitate Domain Modeling Decisions - Evelyn Van Kelle & Gien Verschatse | 01:04:28 | |
“Collaborative modeling is getting the relevant people into a room to solve a problem or get on the same page about what it is you’re solving and getting some directions for that solution." Evelyn and Gien are the co-authors of “Collaborative Software Design: How to Facilitate Domain Modeling Decisions”. In this episode, we discussed collaborative software design and why we need it in software development. Evelyn and Gien started by explaining the Cynefin framework in software development and the importance of having heuristics for making quick decisions. We then dived deep into discussing what collaborative modeling is, how to get people involved to collaborate, and the important role of a facilitator. We also talked about the socio-technical aspects and skills required in collaborative modeling, in particular, understanding the influence of cognitive bias and ranking. Towards the end, we discussed when we should do a collaborative modeling exercise, how to structure it, and tips for doing it remotely. Listen out for:
_____ Evelyn van Kelle’s Bio Gien Verschatse’s Bio Follow Evelyn:
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| 03 Oct 2022 | #107 - Data Mesh: Delivering Data-Driven Value at Scale - Zhamak Dehghani | 00:56:55 | |
“If you want to unlock the value of your data by generating data-driven values, and you want to do it reliably and resiliently at scale, then you need to consider data mesh." Zhamak Dehghani is the author of the “Data Mesh” book. In this episode, we discussed in-depth about the data mesh, a concept she founded in 2018, which has then been becoming an industry trend. We started our conversation by discussing the current challenges working with data, such as the data centralization approach and why the current data tools are still inadequate. Zhamak then described data mesh and why organizations should adopt it to generate data-driven values at scale. Zhamak then explained the 4 principles of data mesh, which include domain ownership, data as a product, the self-serve data platform, and the federated computational governance. Listen out for:
_____ Zhamak Dehghani’s Bio Zhamak serves on multiple tech advisory boards. She has worked as a technologist for over 24 years and has contributed to multiple patents in distributed computing communications. She is an advocate for the decentralization of all things, including architecture, data, and ultimately power. Follow Zhamak:
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Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. The iSAQB® Software Architecture Gathering is the international conference highlight for all those working on solution structures in IT projects: primarily software architects, developers, professionals in quality assurance, and also system analysts. A selection of well-known international experts will share their practical knowledge on the most important topics in state-of-the-art software architecture. The conference takes place online from November 14 to 17, 2022, and we have a 15% discount code for you: TLJ_MP_15. DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, Scott Hanselman, Venkat Subramaniam, Kevlin Henney, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Like this episode? | |||
| 17 Feb 2025 | #206 - The Fundamentals and Future of DevOps and Software Delivery - Yevgeniy Brikman | 01:22:30 | |
(06:49) Brought to you by Lemon.io Lemon.io is your go-to platform for hiring top-tier, pre-vetted software engineers from Europe and Latin America. You'll get matched with your developer in just 48 hours. Tech Lead Journal listeners get 15% off your first 4 weeks of work at lemon.io. Want to learn the key principles and future of DevOps that can help you ship code faster and more reliably? In this episode, I sit down with Yevgeniy Brikman, co-founder of Gruntwork and author of “Terraform: Up & Running,” to discuss his upcoming book, “The Fundamentals of DevOps and Software Delivery.” We explore: - Common pitfalls and anti-patterns in DevOps implementations (00:02:15) Career Turning Points _____ Yevgeniy Brikman’s Bio Follow Yevgeniy:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Get a 40% discount for Tech Lead Journal listeners by using the code techlead24 for all products in all formats. Like this episode? | |||
| 07 Nov 2022 | #112 - Developer Productivity and Experience - Abi Noda | 00:52:35 | |
“Developer experience is an approach to thinking about engineering excellence and maximizing engineering performance by increasing the capacity and performance of the individuals and the team as a whole." Abi Noda is the CEO & co-founder of DX. In this episode, Abi started by sharing what developer experience is, why it is becoming an industry trend nowadays, and the different ways of how it is being implemented in the industry. Abi explained why the traditional metrics normally used to measure developer productivity do not really work and can even provide perverse incentives. Abi then touched on the two popular researches widely known in the industry, i.e. the DORA report and SPACE framework, before then explained how DX is building on top of both researches to provide the measurements and KPIs to measure developer experience and productivity. Towards the end, Abi shared his advice on how we can start investing in improving developer experience, including when to form a dedicated team and getting the buy-in from company executives. Listen out for:
_____ Abi Noda’s Bio Follow Abi:
_____ Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference! Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Like this episode? | |||
| 15 Sep 2020 | #6 - Becoming a Tech Influencer Through Storytelling - Stephanie Wong | 00:44:41 | |
“The thing about becoming a Tech Influencer is, content is Queen and consistency, quality and value matter. That’s the trifecta of creating content that sticks." In this episode, I had a fun conversation with Stephanie Wong, a Developer Advocate from Google Cloud. Stephanie is well known for her online developer contents ranging from YouTube videos, podcast and blog posts. She also hosts her own YouTube channel called “Steph You Should Know” where she talks about career, tech and productivity tips. Stephanie shared her story on how she started in technology even without technology education background and what led her to her current role. She also shared great tips on public speaking, storytelling, building a personal brand, and CV writing. She also gave her view on how to empower women to thrive in technology and dealing with imposter syndrome. Listen out for:
_____ Stephanie Wong’s Bio Follow Stephanie:
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| 13 Nov 2023 | #154 - Scale a Fast and Resilient Company With Lean - Catherine Chabiron & Fabrice Bernhard | 00:57:51 | |
“Lean is not about how we organize work, but how we think about it. It’s not a production system; it’s an education system." Catherine Chabiron is a Lean expert and the co-author of “Learning to Scale at Theodo Group”. In this episode, Catherine and Fabrice–the co-founder and CTO of Theodo–shared their lessons learned from implementing Lean at a fast-growing scale-up company. Catherine and Fabrice first started by sharing the “big company disease” challenge and how Theodo started its Lean journey. We then discussed Lean essentials that include some of its principles, such as an obsession with customer value and lead time. We also talked about Lean practices adopted from the Toyota Production System, that include Gemba, Jidoka, Andon, and Kaizen. Along the way, Catherine and Fabrice also emphasized the importance of always building quality right the first time. Listen out for:
_____ Catherine Chabiron’s Bio Fabrice Bernhard’s Bio Follow Catherine:
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| 29 Jan 2024 | #160 - Deliver Better Results: How to Level Up Your Value Delivery System - Gil Broza | 00:55:23 | |
“If we want to deliver better results, we need to change the system and our way of working." Gil Broza is an Agile leadership expert and the author of the latest book “Deliver Better Results”. In this episode, Gil discusses ways to level up our value delivery system to deliver better results. We first delve into the fundamental concept of systems thinking and cause-effect relationships, which are exemplified by reinforcing and balancing loops. Gil also explains the importance of ways of working, particularly on shifting mindset and focusing on people first before the process. Gil then explains the SQUARE Model detailed in his book, and how the model helps us understand and assess our system’s fitness for purpose easily. He also shares some of the 10 strategies from his book that we can use to enhance our fitness level and deliver better results. Listen out for:
_____ Gil Broza’s Bio Follow Gil:
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| 02 Sep 2024 | #189 - The Art of Awesome Code Reviews - Michaela Greiler | 01:01:41 | |
“A lot of problems that we are facing in code review are due to the interface. We are not actually giving feedback to a person, but we are just filling in text boxes and looking at code." Dr. Michaela Greiler is a code review advocate and runs the “Awesome Code Reviews” workshops. In this episode, we discuss the importance of making code reviews awesome. We discuss the common challenges of code reviews, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that considers both the technical and social aspects. Michaela also shares insights on how to assess and improve code review practices within teams, highlighting the code review quadrant of review speed and feedback value. Our discussion further explores the correlation between code reviews and developer experience, emphasizing the role of psychological safety and a positive feedback culture. Finally, Michaela provides valuable tips on code review tools and techniques, including the use of checklists and strategies for managing context switching. If you’re looking to enhance your team’s code review process and foster a positive developer experience, listen now and take your code reviews to the next level! Listen out for:
_____ Michaela Greiler’s Bio Follow Michaela:
_____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 05 Sep 2022 | #103 - Software Development Pearls - Karl Wiegers | 00:59:42 | |
“A way to boost productivity is to create high-quality software from the outset, so that teams can spend less time on rework, both during development and after the release." Karl Wiegers is the author of “Software Development Pearls” and the Principal Consultant at Process Impact. In this episode, Karl shared some lessons he has learned over the past five decades of his career. We first discussed software requirement, its role for communication, and the importance of defining the right requirements. Karl then touched on the reasons we can’t optimize all desirable quality attributes and instead advised how we should define the quality attribute requirements. Next, Karl shared some project management pearls, related to work planning and dealing with estimates. Towards the end, Karl explained the relation between quality and productivity, using pain as a driver for improvement, and his ultimate pearl of wisdom. Listen out for:
_____ Karl Wiegers’s Bio Follow Karl:
Our Sponsors DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, Scott Hanselman, Venkat Subramaniam, Kevlin Henney, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 21 Mar 2022 | #81 - Architecture Is Context—Making the Right Architecture Decisions - Eltjo Poort | 00:52:44 | |
“Architecture is context. You can only make the right trade-offs between alternatives if you know the context drivers." Eltjo Poort is the architecture practice lead at CGI Netherlands with over 30 years of experience in the software industry. In this episode, Eltjo started by explaining the importance of architecture context and business drivers that can help an architect understand the different trade-offs and options in order to make the right architecture decisions. Eltjo shared the architect’s main responsibilities and how architects should avoid writing big and long architecture documents by understanding the different goals of an architecture document. Eltjo also shared his great insights on how we should deal with technical debt, “move slow and fix things”, and put a more balanced effort towards working on enablers in order to maintain sustainable pace in delivering great software. Towards the end, Eltjo shared a few anti-patterns that architects should avoid based on his article “Waterfall Wasteland and Agile Outback”. Listen out for:
_____ Eltjo Poort’s Bio Follow Eltjo:
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| 25 Oct 2021 | #61 - The Programmer's Brain and the Importance of Cognition - Felienne Hermans | 00:53:48 | |
“Understanding what makes code readable from a cognitive perspective will help you design better. There are so many areas of programming where knowing something about knowing is just going to make you happier and more effective." Felienne Hermans is the author of “The Programmer’s Brain” and an Associate Professor at Leiden University. She is also the creator of the Hedy programming language, the co-founder of Joy of Coding conference, and a host at Software Engineering Radio podcast. In this episode, Felienne explained why programming is one of the most demanding cognitive activities and described the three different cognitive processes involved. We discussed why code reading is hard and how to get better at it, the connection between programming and spoken languages, naming things and why it is so important to get it right, and how to avoid having bugs in our thinking. Listen out for:
_____ Felienne Hermans’s Bio Felienne is the creator of the Hedy programming language, and was one of the founders of the Joy of Coding conference. Since 2016, she has been a host at Software Engineering Radio, one of the most popular software engineering podcasts on the web. Felienne is also the author of “The Programmer’s Brain” a book that helps programmers understand how their brains work and how to use it more effectively. In 2021, Felienne was awarded the Dutch Prize for ICT research. Felienne is a member the board of I&I, the Dutch association of high-school computer science teachers, and of TC39, the committee that designs JavaScript. Follow Felienne:
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| 24 Oct 2022 | #110 - Elastic Leadership: Growing Self-Organizing Teams - Roy Osherove | 00:55:33 | |
“As a team leader, you will become more successful and valuable if you are no longer a bottleneck for the people who are working with you and under you." Roy Osherove is the author of “Elastic Leadership” and “The Art of Unit Testing”. In this episode, we discussed leadership insights from “Elastic Leadership”. Roy first shared how he came up with the concept and described what elastic leadership is. He explained the different leadership styles based on the 3 team phases (survival mode, learning mode, and self-organizing mode) and advised how leaders can adapt and transition their leadership style from one phase to the other to lead effectively. Roy also shared about the Team Leader manifesto and the Line Manager manifesto to provide guidance on how leaders can grow their teams towards self-organization and self-sufficiency. Listen out for:
_____ Roy Osherove’s Bio Follow Roy:
Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference!
Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. The iSAQB® Software Architecture Gathering is the international conference highlight for all those working on solution structures in IT projects: primarily software architects, developers, professionals in quality assurance, and also system analysts. The conference takes place online from November 14 to 17, 2022, and we have a 15% discount code for you: TLJ_MP_15. DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Like this episode? | |||
| 12 Oct 2020 | #10 - State of Java & Code Review Best Practices - Trisha Gee | 00:56:17 | |
“As a leader, it’s not your responsibility to do. It’s your responsibility to teach and help your team to level up. Your job is to level up your team, so that you have a team of people who can do it better and faster." Trisha Gee is a Java Champion, author, and the leader of Java Developer Advocacy team at JetBrains. She has an extensive Java experience with expertise in Java high performance systems, and she is exceptionally passionate about sharing things that help real developers. Trisha is an author of a few books: “What to Look for in a Code Review“ and “97 Things Every Java Developer Should Know“. Trisha also produces a monthly newsletter for JetBrains called “Java Annotated Monthly”, which is a great monthly summary for all things happening in the Java world. In this episode, I had a chat with Trisha about the current state of Java, and how it stands compared to other programming languages. She also gave some good tips on how to transition from old Java version to the latest Java version. Trisha shared some code review best practices and explained why reading code is harder than writing it, and that we should put more effort in making our code more readable. She suggested why a developer should use an IDE, and how using an IDE could help in increasing productivity and producing a more readable and idiomatic code. Trisha also shared some of her lessons learned from her recent transition to becoming a team lead. Listen out for:
_____ Trisha Gee’s Bio Follow Trisha:
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| 09 Oct 2023 | #151 - Build Your Model for Leadership and Leading Change - Marsha Acker | 01:01:00 | |
“Leading change is high stakes, but we don’t spend a great deal of time focusing on conversation and creating space to engage in real conversation." Marsha Acker is the author of “Build Your Model for Leading Change” and the host of “Defining Moments of Leadership” podcast. In this episode, we discussed building our own model for leadership and leading change. Marsha first started by sharing the concept of a model and some of the common challenges for organizations in making changes. Then we discussed David Kantor’s theories on structural dynamics and functional awareness for understanding behavioral model, which include the concepts of leadership range and communicative competence. Marsha outlined what makes communication so challenging and what we can do to achieve a more effective communication. Towards the end, she shared the three different models that leaders need to think about, i.e. model for leadership, model for living, and model for leading change. Listen out for:
_____ Marsha Acker’s Bio Follow Marsha:
_____ Our Sponsors Miro is your team's visual workspace to connect, collaborate, and create innovations together, from anywhere. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/151 Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 22 Feb 2021 | #27 - Tech Entrepreneurship Venture From Israel to Vietnam - Doron Shachar | 00:48:50 | |
“I truly believe that what set the superstars or people who are very successful is the ability to tell to themselves to quit. Winners quit fast and quit without guilt." Doron Shachar is an Israeli entrepreneur living in Vietnam over the past 12 years and the founder & CEO of Renova Cloud, an AWS and GCP Consulting Partner in Vietnam. In this episode, we looked at the essence of Israeli entrepreneurship as we first learned about Doron’s childhood & education in Israel and how he built valuable leadership skills throughout his years in the scouts and the army. As we unpacked the Israeli’s approach of problem-solving, risk-taking and overcoming failure, Doron then shared how he ventured into Southeast Asia and ended up staying in Vietnam. We discussed how Vietnam is evolving in terms of technology trends and adoption, including how Vietnamese businesses are adopting cloud as part of their digital transformation. Doron also shared some tips on how entrepreneurs should prepare for a successful venture into Southeast Asia. Listen out for:
_____ Doron Shachar’s Bio Follow Doron:
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| 31 Oct 2022 | #111 - Teach the Geek to Speak: Public Speaking for Technical Professionals - Neil Thompson | 00:39:34 | |
“The people who are the communicators are the ones visible within companies. Just being technically proficient is not enough. You have to be an advocate for yourself." Neil Thompson is the founder of Teach the Geek and a public speaking coach. In this episode, Neil explained the importance of public speaking for technical professionals. Neil shared tips and advice on we can start and improve our public speaking skills. We also discussed some common challenges when speaking publicly and tips on how to overcome them. Towards the end, Neil shared more tips on storytelling, presenting data, doing virtual presentation, and presenting at large events. Listen out for:
_____ Neil Thompson’s Bio Follow Neil:
Our Sponsors Mental well-being is a silent pandemic. According to the WHO, depression and anxiety cost the global economy over USD 1 trillion every year. It’s time to make a difference!
Learn how to enhance your lives through a master class on mental wellness. Visit founderswellbeing.com/masterclass and enter TLJ20 for a 20% discount. The iSAQB® Software Architecture Gathering is the international conference highlight for all those working on solution structures in IT projects: primarily software architects, developers, professionals in quality assurance, and also system analysts. The conference takes place online from November 14 to 17, 2022, and we have a 15% discount code for you: TLJ_MP_15. DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Like this episode? | |||
| 02 Oct 2023 | #150 - How to Think Like a CTO - Alan Williamson | 01:05:25 | |
“A CTO gives the business the technology it needs to drive success by delivering a roadmap to grow and scale at a level and speed where technology never holds up their growth." Alan Williamson is the author of “Think Like a CTO”. In this episode, we discussed in-depth how to become a great CTO. Alan first described what a CTO role is, how the role differs at different company stages, and the attributes of a good CTO. Alan then explained the importance of a CTO coming up with a vision and how we can improve ourselves in visionary thinking. He then touched on how a CTO should work together and understand the expectations of the CEO. Alan also gave his tips on how to build engineering teams that can produce high-quality results. Towards the end, Alan gave his personal advice on how a CTO can deal with imposter syndrome and the importance of a CTO doing a personal review. Listen out for:
_____ Alan Williamson’s Bio Alan has published a number of books in the Java space covering Enterprise Java, Servlets, JavaMail and database access. He also served in the role of Editor-in-Chief for Java Developers Journal. His recent book, ‘ Think like a CTO ’ aimed at the new and upcoming CTO. Filled with real-world actionable items, including case studies and interviews. Alan is currently a partner with New Harbor Capital, heading up their Portfolio Operations Group, providing interim and executive CTO services to New Harbor’s portfolios, advising on all levels on how to maximize technology for the growth of the business. Follow Alan:
_____ Our Sponsors Miro is your team's visual workspace to connect, collaborate, and create innovations together, from anywhere. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/150 Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron. | |||
| 27 Jan 2025 | #203 - Building Effective and Thriving Machine Learning Teams - David Tan & Dave Colls | 00:58:41 | |
Is your ML project stuck in POC hell and failing to deliver real value? In this episode, I sit down with David Tan and Dave Colls, co-authors of the book “Effective Machine Learning Teams” to discuss the complexities of building and deploying ML models, building and managing effective ML teams, and ensuring successful ML projects. Key topics discussed:
David Tan’s Bio David Tan is a lead ML engineer with more than six years of experience in practicing Lean engineering in the field of data and AI across various sectors such as real estate, government services and retail. David is passionate about engineering effectiveness and knowledge sharing, and has also spoken at several conferences on how teams can adopt Lean and continuous delivery practices to effectively and responsibly deliver AI-powered products across diverse industries. Follow David Tan: - LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/davified - X – @davified - GitHub – https://github.com/davified Dave Colls’ Bio Dave loves building new things and helping others build too – products and services, people and teams – using technology, Data & AI. His work building the Thoughtworks Data & AI practice shows how these elements combine: creating a new business, consulting to leaders and making a home for data people to grow. Currently, Dave is working at Nextdata, pushing the frontiers of how organisations work with data. David thrives on navigating complex challenges and evolving environments. His extensive experience in large-scale digital transformations and deep tech R&D has honed his ability to align efforts and drive impactful results. A dedicated mentor, David is passionate about guiding data professionals in their career growth. He actively shares his expertise as a speaker, blogger, and author of the book “Effective Machine Learning Teams.” Follow Dave Colls: Links: - 🎧 #198 - Better Software Faster: Measure & Improve Developer Productivity with DX Core 4 - Laura Tacho – https://techleadjournal.dev/episodes/198/ - 📚 Effective Machine Learning Teams – https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/effective-machine-learning/9781098144623/ - Free preview and overview – https://www.thoughtworks.com/content/dam/thoughtworks/documents/e-book/EffectiveMLTeams_preface.pdf _____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard. Like this episode? | |||
| 08 Aug 2022 | #100 - Modern Software Engineering - Dave Farley | 01:02:20 | |
🎙️ CELEBRATE the 100th EPISODE by submitting your story/message at techleadjournal.dev/celebrate-100 🎉 “Engineering discipline is the most effective, efficient way of doing high-quality work. If our software development practices do not allow us to build better software faster, we should really change them because they are not engineering." Dave Farley is the co-author of the Jolt award-winning book “Continuous Delivery” and runs the popular “Continuous Delivery” YouTube channel on software engineering topics. In this episode, we discussed Dave’s latest book, “Modern Software Engineering”. Dave started by explaining his view on modern software engineering and why it emphasizes on practices for building better software faster. Dave described the foundations of the software engineering discipline and explained the core competencies we need to succeed by becoming experts at both learning and managing complexity. Dave also explained the importance of understanding technology fundamentals, improving software readability, and handling software complexity by managing concurrency and coupling. Towards the end, Dave shared some other tools in the modern software engineering toolkit that include Continuous Delivery. Listen out for:
_____ Dave Farley’s Bio Follow Dave:
Our Sponsors DevTernity 2022 (devternity.com) is the top international software development conference with an emphasis on coding, architecture, and tech leadership skills. The lineup is truly stellar and features many legends of software development like Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin, Kent Beck, Scott Hanselman, Venkat Subramaniam, Kevlin Henney, and many others! The conference takes place online, and we have the 10% discount code for you: AWSM_TLJ. Skills Matter is the global community and events platform for software professionals. You get on-demand access to their latest content, thought leadership insights as well as the exciting schedule of tech events running across all time zones. Like this episode? | |||
| 30 Oct 2023 | #153 - Architecture Modernization: Socio-Technical Alignment of Software, Strategy, and Structure - Nick Tune | 01:03:12 | |
“Architecture touches on the software, the business, and the team organization. Modernization updates something that has some outdated thinking, e.g. technologies, ideas, business models." Nick Tune is a principal consultant and the author of “Architecture Modernization”. In this episode, we discussed how organizations can successfully go through an architecture modernization journey. Nick began by defining architecture modernization and discussing the socio-technical aspects involved. He then introduced the concept of an independent value stream and its four key characteristics: domain alignment, business outcome driven, empowered teams, and software alignment. Nick also shared tips on how to get buy in for a modernization journey, why it is beneficial to do it collaboratively, and explained in-depth the Wardley Mapping technique. Towards the end, Nick described the idea of Architecture Modernization Enabling Team and gave advice on creating an architecture modernization roadmap. Listen out for:
_____ Nick Tune’s Bio Follow Nick:
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| 18 Sep 2023 | #149 - Dynamic Reteaming: The Art and Wisdom of Changing Teams - Heidi Helfand | 01:01:06 | |
“A lot of the traditional wisdom said the best teams are the ones that stay stable or the same; you need long-lived stable teams. The fact is, team change is inevitable. So let’s get better at it." Heidi Helfand is the author of “Dynamic Reteaming”. In this episode, we discussed dynamic reteaming concept, or team changes in simple words. Heidi explained how her experience working in various startups and scaleups led to her coming up with the dynamic reteaming idea. She also explained how dynamic reteaming differs from the common advice of having long-lived teams. We then discussed the five patterns of dynamic reteaming as outlined by Heidi in her book. Our discussion also covered various other topics, such as onboarding, offboarding, maintaining company culture, ideal team size, and leadership role in dynamic teams. Listen out for:
_____ Heidi Helfand’s Bio Follow Heidi:
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| 24 Jan 2021 | #22 - How to Facilitate Great Retrospectives - Aino Vonge Corry | 01:02:00 | |
“A retrospective is a time set aside where you are looking at what has happened, you’re appreciating what happened, and you’re learning from what happened. And then you improve the ways of how you’re doing things." Aino Vonge Corry is an independent consultant, agile coach, and the founder of Metadeveloper. She recently published her book ”Retrospectives Antipatterns” that describes the antipatterns and mistakes that she has made from facilitating retrospectives for the past 15 years, and what we can learn to avoid those. In this episode, we had a deep discussion about retrospectives and what we should pay attention to in order to facilitate a great retrospective, ranging from elements of a good retrospective, importance of Prime Directive, cultivating trust, facilitation skills, and coming up with good retrospective outcomes. Aino also shared her interesting story on how she ended up writing ”Retrospectives Antipatterns” and what we can learn from her experience. Towards the end, Aino shared her insights on how we can use retrospective to apply in our personal lives. Listen out for:
_____ Aino Vonge Corry’s Bio After gaining her Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2001 she spent the next 10 years failing to choose between being a researcher/teacher in academia, and being a teacher/facilitator in industry. She eventually squared the circle by starting her own company, Metadeveloper, which develops developers by teaching CS, teaching how to teach CS, inviting speakers to IT conferences, and facilitating software development in various ways. She has facilitated retrospectives and other meetings for the past 15 years during which time she has made all the mistakes possible in that field. Follow Aino:
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| 08 Jan 2024 | [Best of 2023] #112 - Developer Productivity and Experience - Abi Noda | 00:18:21 | |
“Developer experience is an approach to thinking about engineering excellence and maximizing engineering performance by increasing the capacity and performance of the individuals and the team as a whole." Today's clip is from Tech Lead Journal episode 112 with Abi Noda, the CEO & co-founder of DX. In this clip, Abi shared what developer experience is, why it is becoming an industry trend nowadays, and the different ways of how it is being implemented in the industry. Abi explained why the traditional metrics normally used to measure developer productivity do not really work and can even provide perverse incentives. Abi then touched on the two popular researches widely known in the industry, i.e. the DORA report and SPACE framework. Listen out for:
_____ Abi Noda’s Bio Follow Abi:
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| 16 May 2022 | #88 - Observability Engineering - Liz Fong-Jones | 00:46:58 | |
“Observability is a technique for ensuring that you can understand novel problems in your system. Can you understand what’s happening in your system and why, without having to push a new code by slicing and dicing existing telemetry signals that are coming out of your system?" Liz Fong-Jones is the co-author of the “Observability Engineering” book and a Principal Developer Advocate for SRE and Observability at Honeycomb. In this episode, Liz shared in-depth about observability and why it is becoming an important practice in the industry nowadays. Liz started by explaining the fundamentals of observability and how it differs from traditional monitoring. She explained some important concepts, such as the core analysis loop, cardinality and dimensionality, and doing debugging from a first principle. Later, Liz shared the current state of observability and how we can improve our observability by doing observability driven development and improving our practices based on the proposed observability maturity model found in the book. Listen out for:
_____ Liz Fong-Jones’s Bio Follow Liz:
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| 29 May 2023 | #135 - Microservice Reflection & Scaling Complex Adaptive System - James Lewis | 00:57:37 | |
“Spend some time looking at the system in which you work. Understand how the work is working. Understand how flow is for your organization. And then you can work to optimize that." James Lewis is a Director at ThoughtWorks and a pioneer of microservice architecture. In this episode, we went back memory lane to the time when James first coined and popularized the microservice architecture. James described his definition of a microservice and its important characteristics. He also shared the recent microservice evolution, including the swing between microservice and monolith. In the second half, James shared his insights from complexity science related to different scaling patterns. Particularly, he explained how different hierarchy types can affect an organization’s growth rate. Towards the end, James gave some tips on how organization can detect signs of suboptimal growth and what we can do to maintain organizational agility. Listen out for:
_____ James Lewis’s Bio He is an internationally recognised expert on software architecture and design and on its intersection with organisational design and lean product development. After defining what was the newly emerging Microservices architectural style back in 2014, James’ primary consulting focus these days is helping organisations with technology strategy, distributed systems design and adoption of SOA. Follow James Lewis:
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| 16 Aug 2021 | #51 - JHipster Open Source Story and Java at Microsoft - Julien Dubois | 00:48:46 | |
“The most important thing is to make it easy for people to contribute. And the second thing is to have as many people as possible. For that, you build a community, and decide what people you want in your community." Julien Dubois is the creator of JHipster and manages the Java Developer Advocacy team at Microsoft. In this episode, Julien shared about the state of Java for cloud native applications, as well as Java adoption within Microsoft and Azure. Julien also shared his story on founding JHipster, his developer advocacy work at Microsoft, as well as some tips on how to run a successful open source project. Listen out for:
_____ Julien Dubois’s Bio Follow Julien:
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| 01 Jan 2024 | [Best of 2023] #122 - Essential Things Every Software Engineer Should Know - Kevlin Henney | 00:18:18 | |
“In a world that runs on software, when we develop and deploy software, we are part of a larger system where our failures are no longer about us, they are also about other people." Today's clip is from Tech Lead Journal episode 122 with Kevlin Henney, a consultant, writer, and speaker on software development and has written and edited several popular books. In this clip, Kevlin brought up some timeless software development concepts developers should learn from the past on cohesion, coupling, and code quality. He also explained why he becomes associated with public software failures widely known as KevlinHenney screens and how the trend started in the beginning. Listen out for:
_____ Kevlin Henney’s Bio Follow Kevlin:
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| 01 Jan 2024 | [Best of 2023] #120 - Software Architecture: From Fundamentals to the Hard Parts - Neal Ford | 00:16:59 | |
“Everything in software architecture is a trade-off, and the why is more important than how." Today's clip is from Tech Lead Journal episode 120 with Neal Ford, a Director and software architect at ThoughtWorks. In this clip, we discussed the definition of software architecture and how it relates to software design. Neal then described the two important laws of software architecture related to trade-offs and the why. Neal then explained why software architecture is difficult and discussed the hard parts. Listen out for:
_____ Neal Ford’s Bio Follow Neal:
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| 20 Mar 2023 | #125 - Patterns for API Design - Daniel Luebke | 00:49:44 | |
“A good API doesn’t expose the internal data models or internal logic too much. And the more your clients are not under your control, the less you want to do that." Daniel Luebke is a software architect and the co-author of “Patterns for API Design”. In this episode, we discussed some API design patterns and best practices taken from his book. Daniel first shared the importance of understanding domain requirements for building APIs and several API and message best practices, such as API first design, how to design loosely coupled message exchanges, the tradeoff between generic and specialized API operations, and the risk of exposing too much internal data model and logic in our APIs. Daniel also introduced the microservices domain-specific languages (MSDL) as an alternative to Open API for specifying APIs independent of the technology implementation. Towards the end, Daniel explained the importance of defining the API lifecycle, how to support backward compatibility, and the different API versioning strategies we can use to evolve our APIs. Listen out for:
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| 21 Dec 2020 | #20 - Building Products People Love—Lessons from Decades at Apple and Adobe - Arno Gourdol | 00:59:12 | |
“The most important thing we can do in order to get whatever success we want—build the best product you can. Invest all your energy in making the product absolutely best that you can think of. If you really focus on building an absolutely best product possible, everything else will follow." Arno is an inspiring tech leader with decades of experience in two major creative companies—Apple and Adobe. I’m honored to have him sharing his career journey and passion in this episode. Arno shared his amazing start of his career at Apple, especially when Steve Jobs came back and led the company back to focus, which was the key success factor that brought Apple to where it is today. The entire company had to adapt to Steve Jobs’s new ways of working and to work in an iterative fast paced approach, at the time when Agile was not yet widely known, including how Arno led a complete rewrite of the macOS Finder. Then Arno shared his next illustrious career at Adobe, where he had the opportunities to explore different projects and establish his engineering leadership skills. Arno led an audacious move when he proposed Adobe to open source XMP, a bold action when open sourcing wasn’t common back then. He also shared his lessons in dealing with halted projects, and the perspective that we should embrace when that happens. Arno then shared his invaluable wisdom on how to build products that people love and what to focus on in order to create successful products. Right at the end, Arno shared with me what made him decide to end his career and pursue the things he is truly passionate about. Listen out for:
_____ Arno Gourdol’s Bio Follow Arno:
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| 07 Oct 2024 | #194 - Building Loved Products: The Tech Product Marketing Fundamentals - Martina Lauchengco | 00:59:42 | |
“Product marketing’s purpose is to drive product adoption by shaping market perception through strategic marketing activities that align with business goals.” Are you making the mistake of focusing too much on product and not enough on the market? In this episode, Martina Lauchengo, a partner at Costanoa Ventures and the author of the SVPG book “LOVED: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products”, discusses the often-overlooked importance of marketing in the success of tech products. Martina challenges the traditional notion of “product market fit,” suggesting “market product fit” instead, because a product’s value is determined by the market’s capacity to absorb it. She emphasizes the critical role of go-to-market strategy in informing product development and driving adoption. We explore the four fundamentals of product marketing outlined in Martina’s book: ambassador, strategist, storyteller, and evangelist. Martina shares real-world examples of how these principles have been applied successfully, highlighting the importance of understanding customer needs, crafting compelling narratives, and enabling authentic evangelism. Tune in to discover valuable insights into how to rethink marketing for your tech products and achieve greater success. Listen out for:
_____ Martina Lauchengco’s Bio Follow Martina:
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| 27 Jun 2022 | #94 - Engineering Manager Essentials - Patrick Kua | 00:54:50 | |
“An engineering manager should make sure that the team has a good balance of delivering things that the business needs with enough capacity to do it sustainably over time." Patrick Kua is a seasoned technology leader with a passion to accelerate the growth and success of tech organisations and technical leaders. In this episode, we discussed Pat’s latest course, Engineering Manager Essentials, which covers all the building blocks required to be an effective Engineering Manager (EM). We first discussed what an EM role is, how it differs from a tech lead role, and the common manager vs IC career track. Pat shared his view on why being an EM is not a promotion and what are some of the success criteria to be a good EM. Towards the end, Pat shared some anti-patterns that EM should avoid to become successful. Listen out for:
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| 10 Jan 2022 | #71 - Strategic Monoliths and Microservices - Vaughn Vernon | 00:57:13 | |
“Strategy is what earns. Use the strategic and innovative drivers to help us determine what our architecture needs to be. Architecture has to have a purpose." Vaughn Vernon is a leading expert in Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and he recently co-authored his new book “Strategic Monoliths and Microservices”. In this episode, Vaughn shared his story and rationale for writing his new book and why he thinks it is important to include the executives as the readers of the book. He emphasized the importance of focusing on strategic innovative aspects of software development and for driving those innovations using purposeful architectures. Vaughn then shared his insightful perspective on Conway’s Law and why he compares it with the law of gravity. We then discussed two important architectural aspects covered in the book, which are events first architecture and embracing latency, and why they are actually natural to how people communicate and get things done in real life. Towards the end, Vaughn summed up his book and left an important piece of advice that he wanted to convey regarding monoliths vs microservices and why software should require more balance and demand a better strategy. Listen out for:
_____ Vaughn Vernon’s Bio Follow Vaughn:
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