Feedback Timeliness

Every competent software engineering practitioner knows that short feedback loops are invaluable. As disciples of Kent Beck, we were taught early on that the sooner you realize that you have an issue, or that the API you’re working on is going to be hard to use or maintain, the lower the cost. This concept seems […]

Idempotent Reviews

R&D organizations nowadays have lots of different types of reviews, appraisals, evaluations, and assessments. It starts with the low-level code-reviews (commonly known as “pull requests” more often than not), reaches higher technical aspects such as The Architecture Review (capitalized, of course) and even performance reviews. These reviews are not meant to be treated like reviews […]

The Pat on the Back

Feedback is a subject that comes up often whenever I talk to executives in tech. It is one of the greatest tools you wield in order to drive your team forward. However, it is also something that leaders in tech are notoriously bad at. When it comes to the way that they provide feedback, there […]

Drowning in a Fountain of Knowledge

In most companies, departments, and teams, one can find team members that have been there for ages. You know the type: early employee, highly respected, exceedingly valuable to the organization. They know they are in charge of the preservation of the oral lore regarding why Things Were Done That Way, What Were They Thinking, and […]