Stick to boring architecture for as long as possible
“Stick to boring architecture for as long as possible, and spend the majority of your time, and resources, building something your customers are willing to pay for.” - Kelsey Hi...
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
React Server Components, Next.js App Router and examples
A summary of the state of React Server Components, Next.js App Router, rendering, examples and other related links and thoughts.
Prioritizing tasks using the Eisenhower matrix
The Eisenhower matrix is a popular time management tool that can help you prioritize your tasks and make the most of your time.
Running inclusive meetings
Inclusive meetings can help surface multiple perspectives and ideas, which can lead to better decision making and problem solving.
Effective Learning with Bloom's Taxonomy
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. Blooms Taxonomy ca...
First Principles for Software Engineers
First principles thinking can be helpful for solving complex problems because it allows you to break down a problem into its core elements and then systematically build up a sol...
A coach, a mentor and a sponsor
A coach talks to you, a mentor talks with you, and a sponsor talks about you. Each can play a valuable role in your career growth.
Debugging Tactics
Debugging is the process of finding and fixing problems in software so that it functions as intended
Focus on high-leverage activities.
Leverage = impact produced / time invested. It is the ability to get more done with less effort, time or money.
Debugging teams with the Lencioni Model
The Lencioni model is a framework for debugging and treating dysfunction within teams
Managing Complex Change
The Managing Complex Change model by Dr. Mary Lippitt is an effective framework that can be used in any organization to initiate change
Communicating Effectively As A Tech Lead
Here are my tips for communicating effectively as a technical lead, including tips for how to talk to your teams and stakeholders.
Tip - Use fetchpriority=high to load your LCP hero image sooner
Add fetchpriority=high to your Largest Contentful Paint image to get it to load sooner. Priority Hints sped up Etsys LCP by 4% with some sites seeing an improvement of up to 20-...
Software Engineering - The Soft Parts
Today I will share some of the software engineering soft skills I have learned from my first 10 years on Google Chrome, where I am a Senior Staff Engineering Manager
Writing from 2021
A quick recap of books and articles I wrote this year
Optimize Core Web Vitals with Lighthouse and DevTools
Today, we will cover some of the tools the Lighthouse & DevTools teams in Chrome worked on to help identify how your site can improve on the Core Web Vitals
A Performance Heads-Up Display (HUD) for Chrome
Introducing a new Performance Heads-Up Display (HUD) to Chrome and Chrome for Android
React Server Components
React Server Components aim to enable modern UX with a server-driven mental model. In this post I will share some notes I took while catching up on the latest RFC and talk aroun...
The Import On Interaction Pattern
Tip: Lazy-load non-critical resources when a user interacts with UI requiring it. Your page may contain code or data for a component or resource that isnt immediately necessary....
Incremental Migrations
Incremental migrations are excellent for updating large legacy projects. Migrate a small piece at a time with lower risk then gradually do the rest.
The JavaScript Self-Profiling API
Measuring costly JavaScript with the JavaScript self-profiling API
Faster Web App Delivery with PRPL
PRPL is a pattern for structuring and serving web applications and Progressive Web Apps with an emphasis on improved app delivery and launch performance.
Emulate vision deficiencies in DevTools
Emulate vision deficiencies in to see how users who experience color blindness or blurred vision might see your site.
Visualize Data Structures in VSCode
VSCode Debug Visualizer is a VSCode extension that allows you to visualize data structures in your editor
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.