AI-Assisted Engineering: My 2025 Substack Recap
A recap of my latest Substack articles exploring the evolving intersection of AI and software engineering, from coding with agents to thinking about the future of programming it...
Blog
You can find my latest AI engineering articles on Substack, leadership on LeadDev, or browse my topic guides and personal blog posts below.
Personal Blog
The Art of Tech Interviewing
There is an underrated set of skills that truly differentiate outstanding interviewees from the rest
Service Reliability Mathematics
Service reliability is often reduced to a simple percentage but the reality is far more nuanced than those decimal points suggest. Lets explore what these numbers actually mean.
Double-keyed Caching: How Browser Cache Partitioning Changed the Web
A deep dive into how browser cache partitioning has fundamentally changed web performance optimization, examining the trade-offs between privacy and performance in modern web ap...
Automated Decision Logs in AI-Assisted Coding
An Automated Decision Log (ADL) is a targeted, low-overhead mechanism for capturing the reasoning behind significant AI-driven code modifications.
Introducing AI Assistance in Chrome DevTools
Introducing AI Assistance in Chrome DevTools, a new feature that brings AI-powered coding assistance to the familiar Chrome DevTools environment.
Hands-on Gemini 1.5 Pro with AI Studio: Images, Video, Text & Code
Let’s talk about Gemini 1.5 Pro and practical examples of what it can do. It’s a mid-size multimodal model, optimized to scale across a wide range of tasks involving text, image...
Effective Engineering Teams
tl;dr: Google research found that psychological safety is the most important dynamic for an effective team. This was alongside other dynamics like dependability, role clarity, m...
Becoming a good engineer is about collecting experience.
Becoming a good engineer is about collecting experience. Each project, even small ones, is a chance to add new techniques and tools to your toolbox. Where this delivers even mor...
Soft skill books that will make you a better developer
Explore takeaways from a curated selections of leadership and productivity books, handpicked by Addy Osmani. Unlock your potential with titles like The Effective Executive, Mult...
Possibilities if you don't ask for what you want vs. if you do
When you hesitate to ask for what you want or need, you aren’t just missing out on immediate rewards or opportunities. You’re also doing a disservice to your future self and oth...
Beyond the comfort zone is where all magic happens.
Ah, the comfort zone—a snug emotional space where stress is scarce and predictability prevails. While it’s not all bad, staying there too long can effectively serve as a straigh...
An effective team communicates much like optimized code: with clarity, modularity, and a focus on simplicity.
Much has been said about the role of communication within software teams. For those who have labored through the complexities of large-scale projects, it’s evident that the craf...
Write about what you learn. It pushes you to understand topics better.
Write about what you learn. It pushes you to understand topics better. Sometimes the gaps in our knowledge only become clear when explaining things to others.
Introducing Project IDX: An AI-assisted, Full-Stack App Development Environment
I am excited to share Project IDX - Google’s new browser-based code environment. It has AI assistance for code-generation, code-completion, and explaining code built-in. It als...
The value of a prototype is in the insight it imparts, not the code.
The value of a prototype is in the insight it imparts, not the code being written. Prototyping lets us fail fast and cheap, or get the data to make a concrete decision on direct...
The key to understanding complex systems is patience.
Complex systems are inherently multifaceted and intricate. They are often not intentionally designed to be understood in an instant. This stands true for both naturally occurrin...
Effective Code Reviews
A well-conducted code review is an opportunity for both the author and the reviewer to learn, share knowledge, and contribute to the overall quality of the software. They are ou...
Good code is like a love letter to the next developer who will maintain it.
We often romanticize the notion of programming, presenting it as an abstract form of art, a science, or even a form of magic. The truth, however, is much more practical and grou...
A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.
The comfort zone is a delightful and alluring place - it’s predictable, familiar, and secure. It’s the warm and cozy bed we don’t want to leave on a chilly morning, the worn-in ...
Don't expect to be motivated everyday
“Don’t expect to be motivated everyday to get out there and make things happen. You won’t be. Don’t count on motivation. Count on Discipline.” - Jocko Willink
Software engineering: problem-solving and critical-thinking.
Software engineering isn’t just about keystrokes; it’s fundamentally about problem-solving and critical thinking.
Software is a vehicle for delivering value to people.
Software is a vehicle for delivering value to people. Don’t get lost in the tools; keep your sight fixed on the value created.
Unhealthy conflict vs. healthy conflict
Conflict is an inevitable part of life. Be it within a family, between friends, or in a workplace, disagreements and differences in perspective will always arise. However, confl...
Substack
Future-proofing your Software Engineering career
Practical strategies for engineering careers in the future
The 70% problem: Hard truths about AI-assisted coding
A field guide and why we need to rethink our expectations
User-centric engineering
Engineering with user empathy is the foundation of great products
There is no right time. Just time and what you do with it.
How to thrive in imperfect conditions
Comparison is the thief of joy
Navigating comparison with mindfulness
Focus on what you can control
Actionable advice for empowerment
10 lessons from 12 years at Google
My lessons learned along the way.
LeadDev
Grow your influence like a leader, not a boss
Extending your influence past your immediate circle isn't as straightforward as you'd like to hope. But there are a few strategies you can employ to help.
How to build an effective technical strategy
Building a tech strategy requires a lot of moving parts. Learn about what routes to take and whether decisions should be top-down.
How to keep up with tech trends and upskill sustainably
With so many developments in the tech world it's difficult to keep up. Here are some strategies to stay on top of your upskilling.
Navigating competing priorities as an engineer
How can you prioritize when everyone's ask is an urgency and you don't have time to fit it all in?
Managing the chaos of context switching
It's time to examine the good, the bad, and the very ugly elements of context switching. Even better, we'll take a look at some strategies for managing it.
Focus on outcomes over outputs
Software engineering teams should focus on outcomes over outputs to deliver the best user and business value.
What makes an effective software engineer?
Being a good software engineer is not necessarily the same as being an effective one. Here, Google's Addy Osmani identifies the ten key traits of effective software engineers.