Articles on Career
Buy-In Before Implementation
May 21, 2026 · 3 min read
Shifting the discussion left causes outside contributions to have a higher acceptance rate.
Confidence is a Requirement
May 5, 2026 · 3 min read
You should not ship changes that you aren't confident in. Full stop.
The Rings of Legacy Code
Nov 28, 2025 · 2 min read
It's easy to see the growth of a tree in hindsight by cutting it down and measuring its rings. Software at your company has growth rings, too.
Be an Engineer Who Invites Collaboration
Nov 23, 2025 · 7 min read
I don't care if you're a 10x engineer, I care if we can build great things together.
One, Few, or Many: A Guide to Rapid Impact Assessment
Nov 22, 2025 · 3 min read
Stakeholders love this one simple trick.
Discussion Guide: The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition
Mar 26, 2025 · 7 min read
A guide with discussion prompts for David Thomas and Andrew Hunt's The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition.
An Effective How-To Guide Template
Dec 11, 2024 · 8 min read
Having a template when writing technical how-to guides can increase clarity and therefore usability.
Amortize Your Learning by Writing How-To Guides
Mar 4, 2024 · 6 min read
The time required to learn something new can be large, but you can make that cost worth it by teaching it to others.
Discussion Guide: The Staff Engineer's Path
Nov 7, 2023 · 7 min read
A guide with discussion prompts for Tanya Reilly's The Staff Engineer's Path.
Discussion Guide: The Unicorn Project
Nov 6, 2023 · 8 min read
A guide with discussion prompts for Gene Kim's The Unicorn Project.
An Effective Incident Runbook Template
Nov 3, 2023 · 8 min read
A structured incident runbook that is tailored to your organization's needs is an essential tool in your SRE documentation.
Avoiding Blanket Statements
May 6, 2022 · 6 min read
One part of emotional intelligence is understanding how our words impact others.