To the extent that we are able to embed testing practice inside development, we have created a process that is hyper-incremental where mistakes can be rolled back if any one increment turns out to be too buggy. We’ve not only prevented a lot of customer issues, we have greatly reduced the number of dedicated testers necessary to ensure the absence

The tip which worked for me was to focus on input-based process goals (write for five minutes) rather than output-based results goals (write one page), and to keep the required inputs minuscule at first.

Eventually their database became a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment. The first instinct might be to beef up their Postgres instance, like me trying to get big at the gym. But there are physical limits to how much you can scale a single machine before costs increase exponentially. Moreover, query performance and maintenance processes

In reality, almost no task requires an 8 hour sprint. If we don't procrastinate, we can work in much easier 15-30 minute chunks. 8 hour sprints are overwhelming, 30 minute chunks less so.

That’s why I began writing this newsletter—as a form of public notetaking and writing practice. What I didn’t expect was that, in the process of flinging these posts into a void, I would actually hear from people who were reading these little summaries. This wasn’t meant to be real writing! It was just practice—practice for something else more impo