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This presentation was recorded at GOTO Copenhagen 2025.https://gotocph.comAbby Bangser - Principal Engineer at Syntasso & Team Topologies AdvocateDave Farley - Bestselling Author, Founder & Director of Continuous Delivery Ltd.RESOURCESAbbyhttps://bsky.app/profile/abangser.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/a_bangserhttps://github.com/abangserhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/abbybangserhttps://www.syntasso.io/members-area/abby/profileDavehttps://bsky.app/profile/davefarley77.bsky.socialhttps://www.continuous-delivery.co.ukhttps://linkedin.com/in/dave-farley-a67927https://twitter.com/davefarley77http://www.davefarley.netDESCRIPTIONDave Farley and Abby Bangser open with a clear statement: Continuous Delivery isn't a relic of the pre-AI era — it's the foundation that makes the AI era survivable. Dave's definition is simple but consequential: software should always be in a releasable state, verified after every small change. That's not just a workflow preference; it's the same incremental, hypothesis-driven approach that underpins science and engineering. In an AI-assisted world where code can be generated far faster than humans can reason about it, the discipline of small, safe, verifiable steps becomes more critical, not less. The danger isn't AI writing bad code — it's AI writing a lot of code very fast that nobody is properly checking.The conversation turns to a genuinely alarming DORA report statistic: 70% of developers using AI tools don't distrust the output. Abby draws a parallel to the long-running debate over whether developers can be trusted to test their own code — they usually can't, without a deliberate change in perspective. The same challenge applies to AI-generated code: you need to consciously shift from "prompter" mode to "verifier" mode, and most developers aren't making that switch. Dave closes with a surprising note of optimism: AI may be the industry's best-ever opportunity to finally get XP practices — small increments, automated tests, continuous feedback — embedded into how teams actually work. Not because anyone chose to adopt them ideologically, but because working without them while using AI is visibly, measurably risky.Read the full abstract here:https://gotocph.com/2025/sessions/3779RECOMMENDED BOOKSKief Morris • Infrastructure as Code • https://amzn.to/4e6EBQcMatthew Skelton & Manuel Pais • Team Topologies • http://amzn.to/3sVLyLQDave Thomas • simplicity • https://amzn.to/43FghBJDave Farley & Jez Humble • Continuous Delivery • https://amzn.to/3ocIHwdDavid Farley • Modern Software Engineering • https://amzn.to/3GI468MDave Farley • Continuous Delivery Pipelines • https://amzn.to/3rjetdiBlueskyInstagramLinkedInFacebookCHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUSJoin this channel to get early access to videos & other perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/joinLooking for a unique learning experience?Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket: gotopia.techSUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted daily!
Sam Newman is the author of "Building Microservices" and "Monolith to Microservices", two of the most influential books on distributed systems design. He is an independent consultant and former ThoughtWorks technologist, he has spent decades helping organizations worldwide decompose monoliths, adopt cloud and CI/CD practices, and reason clearly about service boundaries. He is one of the most recognized voices on microservices and software architecture in the industry. So is AI really replacing software architects? Find out what Dave Farley and Sam Newman think about that in this episode of " The Engineering Room".-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Only Patreon supporters get to see the full length video episodes of "The Engineering Room” Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdeliverySam Newman on "X" (formerly "Twitter"): https://x.com/samnewman?lang=en
Hosted by Dave Farley - co-author of Continuous Delivery (Jolt Award winner), author of Modern Software Engineering, and inventor of the Deployment Pipeline.David Yanacek is a Senior Principal Engineer at AWS and a lead advisor on the Agentic AI team, having played a foundational role in the development of DynamoDB and CloudWatch. He is currently a primary driver behind the Kiro IDE and Amazon's operational agents, specializing in building and operating resilient, high-scale distributed systems.David and Dave talk about the transition from simple AI code completion to autonomous agentic development and the fundamental engineering principles are more critical than ever in an era of AI-generated code.------------------------Only Patreon supporters get to see the full length video episodes of "The Engineering Room” Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdeliveryLinkedIn David Yanacek - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-yanacek/?isSelfProfile=falseEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0
Join Dave Farley — co-author of Continuous Delivery (Jolt Award winner), author of Modern Software Engineering, and inventor of the CD Deployment Pipeline - and guest Steve Freeman in this fascinating episode. Steve is a pioneer of the software craftsmanship movement and a foundational figure in the global Agile community. He is the co-author of the seminal book Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests, a winner of the Gordon Pask Award, and the co-creator of JMock. With a PhD from Cambridge, Steve has spent decades refining the "London School" of TDD, shifting testing from a verification step to a profound tool for architectural design.----------------------------------------Only Patreon supporters get to see the full length video episodes of "The Engineering Room” Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdeliveryLinkedIn Steve Freeman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevefreeman/Equal Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0
In this episode of The Engineering Room, Dave Farley welcomes Dan Abel, a veteran technical leader with over 30 years of experience, to explore the nuances of engineering leadership and the evolution of high-performing teams.This episode is a masterclass in dismantling silos, reducing cognitive load through platform engineering, and aligning technical excellence with core business values.---------------Dan Abel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-abel/Equal Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Only Patreon Supporters get to see the FULL VIDEO Episodes of The Engineering Room, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdelivery
Russ Miles joins the show to unpack why developer platforms fail and how to rethink platform engineering through the lens of flow of value rather than factory-style developer productivity metaphors. Russ explains why every organization already has an internal developer platform, and why treating it as platform as a product changes everything. The conversation explores cognitive load and cognitive burden, how to design around strong feedback loops, and why the OODA loop mindset helps teams make better decisions closer to development time. They discuss the risks of overloading pipelines and CI/CD systems, the tension between shipping fast and handling security vulnerabilities in a regulated environment, and how to “shift left” without simply dumping responsibility onto developers. Drawing on lessons from Rod Johnson, the Spring Framework, TDD, and modern software engineering as described by Dave Farley, Russ reframes platforms as systems that support experimentation through the scientific method. The episode also touches on AI assisted coding, developer focus, and how thoughtful developer experience and DX surveys can prevent burnout while improving value delivery. Links Website: https://www.russmiles.com Substack: https://russmiles.substack.com X: https://x.com/russmiles Resources Talk: https://www.russmiles.com/platform-engineering-failure-keynote Substack article: https://russmiles.substack.com/p/developer-platform-devrel-listen We want to hear from you! How did you find us? Did you see us on Twitter? In a newsletter? Or maybe we were recommended by a friend? Fill out our listener survey! https://t.co/oKVAEXipxu Let us know by sending an email to our producer, Elizabeth, at elizabeth.becz@logrocket.com, or tweet at us at PodRocketPod. Check out our newsletter! https://blog.logrocket.com/the-replay-newsletter/ Follow us. Get free stickers. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, fill out this form, and we'll send you free PodRocket stickers! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces the UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Start understanding where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com. Try LogRocket for free today. Chapters 00:00 What Is a Developer Platform 03:00 You Already Have a Platform 08:00 Cognitive Load vs Cognitive Burden 12:00 Feedback Loops and TDD 18:00 Pipelines, Security and OODA Loops 26:00 The Factory Metaphor Problem 31:00 Modern Software Engineering and Value Delivery 40:00 Avoiding Burnout Through Better DX 46:00 The Software Enchiridion and Final Thoughts
In this episode of The Engineering Room, Dave Farley talks with with Gene Kim, the bestselling author of "The Phoenix Project," "The Unicorn Project," and "Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps." They discuss the controversial topic of "Vibe Coding," a concept Gene explored in his recent collaboration with Steve Yegge. While Dave initially described Vibe Coding as "one of the worst ideas of 2025," this conversation unpacks whether AI actually represents a fundamental shift in how we build software.----------------------Gene Kim LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/realgenekim/Gene Kim ''X'' (formerly "'Twitter") https://x.com/@RealGeneKimEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Only Patreon Supporters get to see the FULL VIDEO Episodes of The Engineering Room, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdelivery
What does it truly take to build a high-performing software team? Is it about hiring the legendary "10x engineer," or is it about crafting the right environment?In this episode of The Engineering Room, Dave Farley is joined by Charity Majors, CTO and Co-founder of Honeycomb and co-author of Observability Engineering, for an unvarnished look at the reality of modern software development.-----------------------------------------------Charity Majors LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/charity-majors/Charity Majors Website https://charity.wtf/ Equal Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Only Patreon Supporters get to see the FULL VIDEO Episodes of The Engineering Room, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdelivery
BONUS: Augmented AI Development - Software Engineering First, AI Second In this special episode, Dawid Dahl introduces Augmented AI Development (AAID)—a disciplined approach where professional developers augment their capabilities with AI while maintaining full architectural control. He explains why starting with software engineering fundamentals and adding AI where appropriate is the opposite of most frameworks, and why this approach produces production-grade software rather than technical debt. The AAID Philosophy: Don't Abandon Your Brain "Two of the fundamental developer principles for AAID are: first, don't abandon your brain. And the second is incremental steps." Dawid's Augmented AI Development framework stands in stark contrast to "vibecoding"—which he defines strictly as not caring about code at all, only results on screen. AAID is explicitly designed for professional developers who maintain full understanding and control of their systems. The framework is positioned on the furthest end of the spectrum from vibe coding, requiring developers to know their craft deeply. The two core principles—don't abandon your brain, work incrementally—reflect a philosophy that AI is a powerful collaborator, not a replacement for thinking. This approach recognizes that while 96% of Dawid's code is now written by AI, he remains the architect, constantly steering and verifying every step. In this segment we refer to Marcus Hammarberg's work and his book The Bungsu Story. Software Engineering First, AI Second: A Hill to Die On "You should start with software engineering wisdom, and then only add AI where it's actually appropriate. I think this is super, super important, and the entire foundation of this framework. This is a hill I will personally die on." What makes AAID fundamentally different from other AI-assisted development frameworks is its starting point. Most frameworks start with AI capabilities and try to add structure and best practices afterward. Dawid argues this is completely backwards. AAID begins with 50-60 years of proven software engineering wisdom—test-driven development, behavior-driven development, continuous delivery—and only then adds AI where it enhances the process. This isn't a minor philosophical difference; it's the foundation of producing maintainable, production-grade software. Dawid admits he's sometimes "manipulating developers to start using good, normal software engineering practices, but in this shiny AI box that feels very exciting and new." If the AI wrapper helps developers finally adopt TDD and BDD, he's fine with that. Why TDD is Non-Negotiable with AI "Every time I prompt an AI and it writes code for me, there is often at least one or two or three mistakes that will cause catastrophic mistakes down the line and make the software impossible to change." Test-driven development isn't just a nice-to-have in AAID—it's essential. Dawid has observed that AI consistently makes 2-3 mistakes per prompt that could have catastrophic consequences later. Without TDD's red-green-refactor cycle, these errors accumulate, making code increasingly difficult to change. TDD answers the question "Is my code technically correct?" while acceptance tests answer "Is the system releasable?" Both are needed for production-grade software. The refactor step is where 50-60 years of software engineering wisdom gets applied to make code maintainable. This matters because AAID isn't vibe coding—developers care deeply about code quality, not just visible results. Good software, as Dave Farley says, is software that's easy to change. Without TDD, AI-generated code becomes a maintenance nightmare. The Problem with "Prompt and Pray" Autonomous Agents "When I hear 'our AI can now code for over 30 hours straight without stopping,' I get very afraid. You fall asleep, and the next morning, the code is done. Maybe the tests are green. But what has it done in there? Imagine everything it does for 30 hours. This system will not work." Dawid sees two diverging paths for AI-assisted development's future. The first—autonomous agents working for hours or days without supervision—terrifies him. The marketing pitch sounds appealing: prompt the AI, go to sleep, wake up to completed features. But the reality is technical debt accumulation at scale. Imagine all the decisions, all the architectural choices, all the mistakes an AI makes over 30 hours of autonomous work. Dawid advocates for the stark contrast: working in extremely small increments with constant human steering, always aligned to specifications. His vision of the future isn't AI working alone—it's voice-controlled confirmations where he says "Yes, yes, no, yes" as AI proposes each tiny change. This aligns with DORA metrics showing that high-performing teams work in small batches with fast feedback loops. Prerequisites: Product Discovery Must Come First "Without Dave Farley, this framework would be totally different. I think he does everything right, basically. With this framework, I want to stand on the shoulders of giants and work on top of what has already been done." AAID explicitly requires product discovery and specification phases before AI-assisted coding begins. This is based on Dave Farley's product journey model, which shows how products move from idea to production. AAID starts at the "executable specifications" stage—it requires input specifications from prior discovery work. This separates specification creation (which Dawid is addressing in a separate "Dream Encoder" framework) from code execution. The prerequisite isn't arbitrary; it acknowledges that AI-assisted implementation works best when the problem is well-defined. This "standing on shoulders of giants" approach means AAID doesn't try to reinvent software engineering—it leverages decades of proven practices from TDD pioneers, BDD creators, and continuous delivery experts. What's Wrong with Other AI Frameworks "When the AI decides to check the box [in task lists], that means this is the definition of done. But how is the AI taking that decision? It's totally ad hoc. It's like going back to the 1980s: 'I wrote the code, I'm done.' But what does that mean? Nobody has any idea." Dawid is critical of current AI frameworks like SpecKit, pointing out fundamental flaws. They start with AI first and try to add structure later (backwards approach). They use task lists with checkboxes where AI decides when something is "done"—but without clear criteria, this becomes ad hoc decision-making reminiscent of 1980s development practices. These frameworks "vibecode the specs," not realizing there's a structured taxonomy to specifications that BDD already solved. Most concerning, some have removed testing as a "feature," treating it as optional. Dawid sees these frameworks as over-engineered, process-centric rather than developer-centric, often created by people who may not develop software themselves. AAID, in contrast, is built by a practicing developer solving real problems daily. Getting Started: Learn Fundamentals First "The first thing developers should do is learn the fundamentals. They should skip AI altogether and learn about BDD and TDD, just best practices. But when you know that, then you can look into a framework, maybe like mine." Dawid's advice for developers interested in AI-assisted coding might seem counterintuitive: start by learning fundamentals without AI. Master behavior-driven development, test-driven development, and software engineering best practices first. Only after understanding these foundations should developers explore frameworks like AAID. This isn't gatekeeping—it's recognizing that AI amplifies whatever approach developers bring. If they start with poor practices, AI will help them build unmaintainable systems faster. But if they start with solid fundamentals, AI becomes a powerful multiplier that lets them work at unprecedented speed while maintaining quality. AAID offers both a dense technical article on dev.to and a gentler game-like onboarding in the GitHub repo, meeting developers wherever they are in their journey. About Dawid Dahl Dawid is the creator of Augmented AI Development (AAID), a disciplined approach where developers augment their capabilities by integrating with AI, while maintaining full architectural control. Dawid is a software engineer at Umain, a product development agency. You can link with Dawid Dahl on LinkedIn and find the AAID framework on GitHub.
In this episode of The Engineering Room, Dave Farley speaks with Sam Newman, renowned author of "Building Microservices" and "Monolith to Microservices," about distributed systems, architectural decisions, and the future of software development.-------------------------Sam Newman on "X" (formerly "Twitter"): https://x.com/samnewman?lang=en
This interview was recorded at GOTO Copenhagen 2024.https://gotocph.comMichael Nygard - General Manager of Data at NubankDave Farley - Continuous Delivery & DevOps Pioneer, Award-winning Author, Founder & Director of Continuous Delivery Ltd.RESOURCESMichaelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mtnygardhttps://twitter.com/mtnygardhttp://www.michaelnygard.comDavehttps://bsky.app/profile/davefarley77.bsky.socialhttps://www.continuous-delivery.co.ukhttps://linkedin.com/in/dave-farley-a67927https://twitter.com/davefarley77http://www.davefarley.netRead the full abstract hereRECOMMENDED BOOKSDavid Deutsch • The Beginning of InfinityMichael Nygard • Release It! 2nd EditionMichael Nygard • Release It! 1st EditionZhamak Dehghani • Data MeshDave Farley • Modern Software EngineeringDave Farley • Continuous Delivery PipelinesDave Farley & Jez Humble • Continuous DeliveryInspiring Tech Leaders - The Technology PodcastInterviews with Tech Leaders and insights on the latest emerging technology trends.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyBlueskyTwitterInstagramLinkedInFacebookCHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUSJoin this channel to get early access to videos & other perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/joinLooking for a unique learning experience?Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket: gotopia.techSUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted daily!
Join Dave Farley in conversation with Daniel Terhorst-North, the creator of Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) and pioneering voice in agile software development. In this wide-ranging discussion,Dan shares insights from his time at ThoughtWorks, where he helped establish many practices now considered standard in modern software engineering.Whether you're interested in improving your development practices, leading organizational change, or understanding the historical evolution of agile methodologies, this conversation offers valuable perspectives from one of the field's most influential practitioners.-----------------------------------Dan Terhorst-North's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tastapod/?originalSubdomain=ukDan Terhorst-North's Website: https://goalwards.co/Equal Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Only Patreon Supporters get to see the FULL VIDEO Episodes of The Engineering Room, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdelivery
BONUS: Agile Tour Vienna 2025—Building Community-Driven Agile Excellence In this BONUS episode, we explore the upcoming Agile Tour Vienna 2025 (get your ticket now!) with three passionate organizers who are bringing together the Austrian agile community for a day of learning, networking, and innovation. Join us as we dive into what makes this community-driven event special, the challenges facing today's agile practitioners, and why local connections matter more than ever in our evolving professional landscape. The Heart of Community-Driven Events "For me, it's really about creating an event from the community for the community. So at the Agile Tour Vienna we really pay a lot of attention that the contributions are made by community members." - Sabina Lammert The foundation of Agile Tour Vienna lies in its commitment to authentic community engagement. Unlike corporate-led conferences focused on sales and marketing, this event prioritizes genuine knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning. The organizers emphasize creating space for meaningful conversations, where participants don't just consume content but actively contribute to discussions and support one another with real-world challenges. This approach fosters an intimate atmosphere where attendees leave with valuable professional connections and practical insights they can immediately apply. Balancing Local Expertise with Global Perspectives "This local aspect is very important, but then it needs to be enhanced by bringing in ideas from people from the outside world." - Robert Ruzitschka Agile Tour Vienna strikes a unique balance between showcasing local Austrian talent and bringing in internationally renowned speakers. The event features a carefully curated mix of practical experiences from Vienna-based practitioners working directly with teams and companies, combined with keynotes from global thought leaders. This blend creates opportunities for attendees to understand both the local context of agile implementation and broader industry trends, making the learning experience both immediately relevant and strategically valuable. A Thoughtfully Designed Experience "We make sure we have a good diversity within the speakers. We also take care that we have a good mix, because for me, agile started with the engineering practices." - Richard Brenner The 2025 program demonstrates attention to creating a comprehensive learning experience. The organizers ensure language accessibility by maintaining at least one English track throughout the day while also offering German sessions. The content spans from technical engineering practices to team coaching and business strategy, reflecting agile's evolution across organizational levels. The event takes place in a stunning castle location (Auersperg Palace) that enhances the intimate, family-like atmosphere the organizers work hard to cultivate. World-Class Content in an Intimate Setting "Agile Tour Vienna is never aiming to go big, but to stay small and familiar. By the end of the day, you know new people." - Sabina Lammert This year's highlights include keynotes from Dave Farley on engineering excellence and Mirella Muse on product operations, plus an innovative Comic Agile storytelling workshop. The organizers deliberately limit attendance to maintain the conference's intimate character, ensuring meaningful networking opportunities rather than overwhelming crowds. Additional touches like a professional barista bar and ample space for informal conversations between sessions create an environment where genuine professional relationships can develop. From Concept-Based to Context-Based Agility "The biggest challenge is that we go from concept-based agility to context-based agility. Companies realize the world is complex. There is no one framework to rule them all." - Richard Brenner The agile community faces a significant evolution as the methodology matures from underground movement to established practice. Organizations are moving away from rigid framework implementations toward contextual problem-solving approaches. This shift requires practitioners to focus on solving real business issues rather than introducing agile for its own sake. The challenge lies in maintaining agile's core values while adapting to diverse organizational contexts and avoiding the trap of seeking simple solutions for complex problems. Maintaining Values-Based Working "It's not about winning over something. It's about using common sense, getting into interaction and trying to find sometimes complex solutions for complex problems." - Sabina Lammert Rather than declaring agile "dead," the community must refocus on value-based working and continuous adaptation. The real challenge involves empowering people to constantly reevaluate situations and embrace the reality that today's solutions may not work in three weeks or three years. This requires normalizing the inspect-and-adapt mindset as standard practice rather than exception, moving beyond method-focused thinking toward principle-driven decision making. Sustaining Community Spirit Through Challenging Times "In times of crisis, people tend to fall back to old patterns of behavior. We need to keep the ideas that made us work in a specific way alive." - Robert Ruzitschka Economic and political uncertainties create pressure to abandon agile practices in favor of traditional command-and-control approaches. Community events like Agile Tour Vienna play a crucial role in maintaining momentum for collaborative, adaptive working methods. The discipline required for agile practices - continuous integration, experimental approaches, market-driven feedback collection - represents a more sophisticated and ultimately more sustainable way of working than traditional project management approaches. The Discipline of Adaptability The discussion revealed an important distinction about discipline in agile environments. Agile teams demonstrate remarkable discipline through practices like continuous integration, experimental product development, and systematic feedback collection. This represents a more humane form of discipline that acknowledges complexity and enables adaptation, contrasting sharply with the rigid discipline of following predetermined plans regardless of changing circumstances. About Robert Ruzitschka, Sabina Lammert, and Richard Brenner Robert Ruzitschka is a Senior Principal Engineer at Raiffeisen Bank International and leads a team of Engineering Coaches. You can connect with Robert Ruzitschka on LinkedIn. Sabina Lammert is Founder and Agile Coach of Leadventure and supports Teams and organizations to improve their way of collaboration. You can connect with Sabina Lammert on LinkedIn. Richard Brenner is a previous guest, he started as Software Engineer and is now working as Agile Coach helping clients to adopt agile ways of working. You can connect with Richard Brenner on LinkedIn.
In this episode, Dave Farley explores how SpareBank One transformed their software development approach with Ola Hast (Developer) and Asgaut Mjølne Söderbom (Senior Developer). Working at Norway's second-largest banking alliance serving 1.2 million users, they reveal how pair programming became absolutely essential to achieving true continuous delivery.------------------------The Engineering Room is sponsored by Equal Experts.Equal Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Only Patreon Supporters get to see the FULL VIDEO Episodes of The Engineering Room, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdeliveryDave's NEW BOOK is OUT NOW: https://leanpub.com/softwaredevelopersguidebookSupporting Links: Ola & Asgaut's QCon talk "Continuous Delivery Is Not Possible without Pair Programming": https://www.infoq.com/presentations/cd-pair-programming/ SINTEF Research into Pair Programming in the Bank: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.19511
In this episode I talk with Dave Farley about how good software engineering prioritizes making code easy to change, since we inevitably need to revise our systems as requirements evolve. Dave also shares stories from building ultra-fast financial trading systems, where his team had to repeatedly rethink their architecture to meet performance demands. We also discuss how key concepts like abstraction and modularity connect to scientific thinking, with both requiring a healthy skepticism toward our own assumptions.Modern Software EngineeringThe Software Developers' GuidebookNonsense Monthly
In this conversation, Dave Farley explores the innovative Army Software Factory with Matt Flautt (CTO) and Jeff Day (Chief of Platform). They reveal how the U.S. Army is building an internal software development capability by training soldiers—many without prior coding experience—to become proficient developers through rigorous training and pair programming practices.This episode will be of interest to anyone with knowledge in building technical capability within large organisations, transforming non-technical talent into developers, or implementing DevOps practices in regulated environments. Their pragmatic approach to continuous improvement shows how even organisations with strict governance can adopt modern software practices.--------------------Army Software Factory Website: https://soldiersolutions.swf.army.mil/Matt Flautt (CTO) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattflauttJeff Day (Chief of Platform) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-robert-dayOnly Patreon Supporters get to see the FULL VIDEO Episodes of The Engineering Room, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/c/continuousdeliveryPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/continuousdelivery
In this engaging conversation with Diana Montalion - former principal systems architect at The Economist and Wikimedia Foundation, and author of "Learning Systems Thinking" - we explore why traditional software development approaches are struggling to keep up with modern system complexity.Diana shares insights from her extensive experience building large-scale information systems, explaining how relationships between components often matter more than the components themselves. She discusses the critical shift from reductionist thinking to systems thinking, illustrated through practical examples from distributed systems and event-driven architectures.Diana and Dave explore what it really means to think systematically about complex software systems. They discuss why the future of software development requires us to move beyond simplistic solutions toward a more nuanced understanding of system dynamics.------------------------------Website Diana Montalion- https://montalion.com/LinkedIn Diana Montalion - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianamontalion/Youtube Channel Diana Montalion - https://www.youtube.com/@dianamontalionBluesky Diana Montalion - https://bsky.app/profile/mentrix.bsky.socialPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/continuousdelivery
Join Dave Farley and Michael Nygard, former Chief Scientist at Sabre and current leader in Global Platforms at Nubank, for an illuminating discussion on modern software architecture and data systems. They explore how data mesh solutions enable incremental problem-solving at scale, and why traditional software engineering principles like modularity and separation of concerns remain crucial even as our systems evolve.Nygard shares insights from managing 300,000 datasets at Nubank, explaining how they're tackling the challenges of ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) generation, schema management, and the complex interplay between operational and analytical worlds. Drawing from decades of experience, they examine the industry's evolution, from the simplicity of early systems to today's intricate architectures, offering valuable perspectives on managing growing complexity while maintaining system quality.---------Thanks to Goto for hosting this chat at their conference in Copenhagen. You can check out Goto on YouTube HERE: https://www.youtube.com/@GOTOEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Find out more about their conferences HERE: https://gotopia.tech/events/upcoming?page=0"X (Formerly ''Twitter'') Michael Nygard : https://x.com/mtnygard?lang=en-GB LikedIn Michael Nygard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mtnygard/
In this episode of The Engineering Room, Dave Farley speaks with Holly Cummins, Senior Principal Software Engineer at Red Hat, about the evolving landscape of software development. They explore whether programming is getting harder, discussing how abstraction levels have changed while core problem-solving skills remain essential. Holly shares insights on AI's role in different programming contexts and the challenges of maintaining simplicity in modern software development.The conversation covers platform design principles, mechanical sympathy in programming, and the surprising benefits of garbage collection in Java. Holly explains how her journey from physics to software engineering was driven by a natural inclination to turn problems into programming challenges.They discuss the importance of fun and playfulness in software development teams as indicators of project health and creativity. The episode concludes with Holly explaining Quarkus, a Java framework that challenges traditional assumptions about runtime dynamics to deliver improved performance and developer experience.Sponsored by Equal Experts.-----------X (Formerly ''Twitter'') Holly Cummins: https://twitter.com/holly_cummins?lang=enLinkedIn Holly Cummins: linkedin.com/in/holly-k-cumminsWebsite Holly Cummins: https://hollycummins.com/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/continuousdelivery
In this insightful episode of "The Engineering Room," join us as we explore the world of software engineering with James Lewis, a prominent figure in microservices and software architecture. Explore the origins and evolution of microservices, the importance of domain boundaries, and the distinction between microservices and distributed monoliths. Discover how generative science and engineering principles can innovate software development, enhancing team efficiency and user experiences. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from an expert on building systems and enhancing organizational scalability.This conversation is a must-watch for anyone interested in software innovation and agile development practices.----LinkedIn James Lewis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-lewis-microservices/?originalSubdomain=ukX (Formerly ''Twitter'') James Lewis: https://twitter.com/boicyPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/continuousdelivery
This interview was recorded for the GOTO Book Club.http://gotopia.tech/bookclubRead the full transcription of the interview hereGojko Adzic - Software Delivery Consultant & Author of "Lizard Optimization" and many more BooksDave Farley - Continuous Delivery & DevOps Pioneer, Award-winning Author, Founder & Director of Continuous Delivery Ltd.RESOURCESGojkohttps://twitter.com/gojkoadzichttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gojkohttps://github.com/gojkohttps://gojko.netDavehttps://twitter.com/davefarley77https://linkedin.com/in/dave-farley-a67927http://www.continuous-delivery.co.ukhttp://www.davefarley.netDESCRIPTIONDave Farley and Gojko Adzic discuss Gojko's latest book “Llizard Optimization”, which involves identifying and leveraging unconventional uses and misuses of products to improve them for all users. Gojko shares insights and examples from his experiences with Narakeet and MindMup, highlighting how addressing the needs of outlier users led to significant product enhancements and growth.They also touch on broader themes of user retention, the joy of building and solving problems, and the balance between solo work and collaborative efforts in software development and writing.RECOMMENDED BOOKSGojko Adzic • Lizard OptimizationGojko Adzic • Impact MappingAdzic, Evans & Roden • Fifty Quick Ideas To Improve Your TestsAdzic, Evans & Korac • Fifty Quick Ideas to Improve Your User StoriesAdzic & Korac • Humans vs ComputersGojko Adzic • Specification by ExampleAdzic, Marcetic & Bisset • Bridging the Communication GapAdzic & Korac • Running ServerlessKat Holmes • MismatchDavid Farley • Modern Software EngineeringDave Farley • Continuous Delivery PipelinesDave Farley & Jez Humble • Continuous DeliveryTwitterInstagramLinkedInFacebookLooking for a unique learning experience?Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket: gotopia.techSUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted daily!
Join us in the latest episode of "The Engineering Room," a monthly series featuring long-form discussions with influential figures in software development. In this episode, Dave talks with Dragan Stepanović, a principal engineer renowned for his efforts to evolve engineering cultures and eliminate bottlenecks. Dragan shares his journey in extreme programming (XP), emphasizing its profound impact on building collaborative and efficient teams. He dives into his fascinating research on pull requests, where he analyzed over 40,000 pull requests to uncover patterns in code review processes.If you're passionate about enhancing your software development practices through proven methodologies, this discussion is a must-watch. Remember, only our Patreon supporters get access to the full video episodes of The Engineering Room - thank you for all your support!----Dragan on X/Twitter - https://x.com/d_stepanovic?lang=en Dragan's Blog Posts - https://dragan-stepanovic.github.io/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/continuousdelivery
Join us in this episode of "The Engineering Room" as Dave explores the intricate relationship between continuous delivery, automated testing, and agile software development in the gaming industry. Dave's special guest, Henry Golding, shares his extensive experience as an engineering leader and consultant, with a background in pioneering continuous delivery on projects like Microsoft's "Sea of Thieves" and "Minecraft," Henry provides valuable insights into overcoming perceived barriers to adopting continuous delivery. We delve into the practical challenges of implementing automated testing in games, the cultural shifts required, and how to make testing an integral part of the development process. Henry's approach to easing adoption, involving developers, and gaining support from leadership offers a roadmap for teams aiming to restructure their development processes for better efficiency and higher quality output. Whether you are an industry professional or just curious about modern software development practices, this episode is packed with expert advice and real-world examples on sustainable delivery of high-quality software.Remember, only our Patreon supporters get access to the full video episodes of The Engineering Room, so if you haven't already, consider joining our community to get exclusive content and support our work!--- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/continuousdeliveryHenry Golding LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hgolding/Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
Welcome Gary Gruver in this episode of The Engineering Room! Gary is an experienced executive and consultant known for transforming software development and delivery processes in large organisations. He discusses his journey, starting with his impactful work as the R&D director for the HP LaserJet firmware team, where he led productivity improvements of 2-3 times, and later as an independent consultant, speaker, and author. Join Dave Farley and Gary Gruver for a deep dive into the practical and philosophical aspects of software engineering, leadership, and the future of AI in the industry.Listen to the full episode to gain valuable insights and actionable strategies for improving software development and delivery in your organisation. Don't forget to check out the links for more resources and Gary's latest book, "Engineering the Digital Transformation.”~~~~Engineering The Digital Transformation - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Engineering-Digital-Transformation-Gary-Gruver/dp/1543975267Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
In this episode of the Engineering Room, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Nicole Forsgren. Dr. Forsgren is is an American technology executive, IT impact expert, and author. She joins Dave to talk about software developer productivity metrics, DORA, her part in one of the most impactful industry leading book's “accelerate”, her predictions for the future of software engineering under the influence of science and data and MUCH MORE.xxNicole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolefv/
In this episode, Dave Farley and Niklas Gustavsson, Chief Architect and VP of Engineering at Spotify, discuss the facets of Spotify's software development and operational strategies, discussing the company's unique approach to organising software development, notably through Fleet Management.Dave and Niklas discuss how to overcome common misconceptions and anti-patterns associated with microservices, and explore the role of Spotify's "Golden Technologies" in standardising technology stacks to reduce fragmentation.xxNiklass on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/protocol7/
Trisha Gee joins Dave to talk about developer productivity. What are the keys to creating an environment for software engineers to feel positive and happy while being at their most productive? Can we really measure developer productivity? Let's find out!xx
What does the future of software development look like? How will AI shape software engineer jobs? In this episode of the Engineering Room podcast, Dave is joined by author, software engineer and well-known thought leader, Eric Evans. They talk about Eric's background, domain-driven design, artificial intelligence and what the next 10 years look like for the software industry with the emergence of AI.Eric wrote THE software design book that should be on every software engineer's bookshelf.xx
Dave Thomas joins Dave Farley in the "Engineering Room" to talk about agile vs waterfall, how software developers ought to look at software testing and gets deep into some of the interesting edges of programming, like algebraic effects, state and immutability and implementing monadic do blocks.Dave Thomas a.k.a. Prag Dave, is one of the authors of the influential software engineering book 'The Pragmatic Programmer'. He's also one of the original authors and signatories of the agile manifesto, an experienced speaker and a thought leader within the software community.xx⭐ PATREON: Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! JOIN HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
Today's Guest Frank Yu is an engineering leader at Coinbase, focusing on distributed low latency trading platforms. In some ways the development in ultra-low-latency trading systems is analogous to Formula 1 Car racing. These people push the boundaries of what is possible in software, and sometimes hardware, to squeeze out every last ounce of performance. Code for trading though is not esoteric, or unnecessarily complex, and ideas that are explored in this, sometimes, cutting-edge domain become more widely used in the wider industry, event based systems is one such transfer that springs to mind. So if you want to learn how to build a trading algorithm, take advantage of event streaming to create a world-class reactive system the Dave Farley's guest in the Engineering Room, Frank Yu, explains, and Dave and Frank explore more broadly what this kind thinking and design means for software engineering more broadly.xx⭐ PATREON: Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! JOIN HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
Gregor Hohpe. is a world-class expert on software architecture and the role of the architect, he is a technologist and expert on the topics of large-scale systems and the public Cloud as well as lots of other stuff. Gregor is currently part of the Serverless team working as an Enterprise Strategist for Amazon at AWS, Previously he was Technical Director in the Office of the CTO at Google, and before that was Chief SW Architect at Allianz the German Insurance giant. Gregor is an international speaker, author of Several great books, as well as writing on his always thought-provoking blog, “The Architect Elevator”. and he's just published a new book called “Platform Strategy”.xxEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0
Adam Tornhill is an author including of the best selling book, “Your Code as a Crime Scene” as well as multiple other technical books. Adam is a speaker on the international conference circuit. He's the founder and CTO of CodeScene where he designs tools for code analysis. In this Engineering Room episode, Dave Farley and Adam explore working with and prioritising technical debt, how to identify the most important code to fix, "Red Code", developer productivity, as well as lots of other topics.xxEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0
Seb Rose is a Consultant, coach, trainer, analyst, and developer and an organiser of some of the UK's best software conferences. His name is closely associated with BDD, he is a contributor to the Cucumber open source project, which is one of the most widely used frameworks for BDD, and has written several books on this, and other software topics, including the “BDD Books” series, “Cucumber for Java” and he has the first chapter in “97 things every programmer should know”. Seb is also a blogger, and a regular conference speaker. He helps to run a charity, via the very excellent cyber-dojo.org site for teach TDD, that helps children to learn to code.xxEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0
Emily Bache is a consultant & coach who specialises in automated testing and agile methodology. In this episode of the Engineering Room, she sits down with Dave Farley to talk about her software philosophies, test driven development, approval testing AND MORE.xxEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Emily's NEW YouTube Channel, show your support and subscribe HERE ➡️ / @emilybache-tech-coach The Samman coaching website ➡️ https://sammancoaching.org/ Approval testing tool TextTest ➡️ https://texttest.org/ Approval testing tools Emily works with ➡️ https://approvaltests.com/ Emily on social media Twitter ➡️ / emilybache LinkedIn ➡️ / emilybache Mastodon ➡️ https://sw-development-is.social/web/...
Jez Humble joins Dave Farley in the podcast episode where they discuss writing the award-winning book 'Continuous Delivery' - Jez' goal was to stop people wasting time by doing the wrong things, and showing people a better way of working so they don't have to spend their evenings and weekends to release new software! Dave and Jez share views on a divided SW industry, the real identity of a software developer, what mistakes they made, the importance of building teams with trust, the origins of TDD and Blue-Green deployment, current software engineering trends AND MORE.xxEqual Experts is a product software development consultancy with a network of over 1,000 experienced technology consultants globally. They increase the pace of innovation by using modern software engineering practices that embrace Continuous Delivery, Security, and Operability from the outset ➡️ https://bit.ly/3ASy8n0Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! JOIN HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreonDORA - https://www.devops-research.com/resea... Project Aristotle
Aino Corry is an agile expert, a teacher and a consultant. She is an expert on how teams work, and how to help them to do better. She is also an extremely popular public speaker with a wickedly dry sense of humour. Aino has been a prolific conference organiser and has been involved in selecting the content for some of the worlds major software conferences over many years, including GOTO, YOW! and QCon. From her 25 years experience teaching computer skills in academia and industry, Aino talks to Dave about what is wrong with Computer Science teaching at Universities (or at least why it often isn't helpful to actually working in IT), her research into this problem and her work to help teachers improve their teaching. In this episode of "The Engineering Room" Dave Farley and Aino Corry discuss the eductation of software developers, and how we can all learn to do better.xx⭐ PATREON: Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! JOIN HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
In this episode of the Engineering Room, Dave Farley and Kent Beck have a wide-ranging discussion about the return of waterfall development in software, TDD, Software Design and lots of other things along the way. Kent Beck is the first signatory of the Agile Manifesto. He is the author of the industry-changing book "Extreme Programming Explained". Kent popularised Continuous Integration and TDD and wrote the first version of xUnit, the unit testing framework that has informed the design of unit testing frameworks ever since. It is hard to imagine people who aren't familiar with Kent Beck's work, but even if that is the case, his work has had an impact on how you think about, and practice software development and software engineering.xx⭐ PATREON: Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
Gregor Hohpe, author of "Enterprise Integration Patterns", talks to Dave Farley about software architecture and how architects can transform businesses. They chat about: Gregor's current role and work with AWS (Amazon Web Services), the challenge of finding new architectural models in the cloud, "Gregor's Law" AND MORE! Thanks to Gregor for joining Dave on this episode of the Engineering Room. xxJOIN PATREON HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
Jessica Kerr talks to Dave Farley about a bunch of topics ranging from cybernetics, to systems theory, complex adaptive systems and the importance of data visualisation to observability. Jessica, known by many as @jessitron is Engineering Manager of Dev Relations at Honeycomb, a well known speaker and a symmathecist in the medium of code - which she describes as seeing development teams as learning systems made of people and running software. Jessica and Dave share a love for software development in all its complexity and in the complexity of its socio-technical setting.xxJessica's Website: ➡️ https://jessitron.com "Systems Thinking for Developers" ➡️ • Systems Thinking for Developers • Jes... Jessica Kerr on Medium: ➡️ / jessitron ⭐ PATREON: Join the Continuous Delivery community at access extra perks & content, join in our CD Discord discussions and support the CD YouTube channel. JOIN HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
Kelsey is a pioneer in cloud computing and has led many advances in the implementation and adoption of cloud based software. He is a significant contributor to open source software, involved in many incredibly popular open source projects, including, but not limited to Kubernetes. Kelsey not only helped implement Kubernetes, but also helped to promote and spread its adoption and to build the community around it. In this episode Kelsey and Dave discuss a range of topics, centred on cloud computing, but also exploring software engineering and its nature in more detail. Find out if Dave and Kelsey disagree about stateful serverless and asynchrony.xx⭐ PATREON: Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content! JOIN HERE ➡️ https://bit.ly/ContinuousDeliveryPatreon
Matthew Skelton is co-author of "Team Topologies: organizing business and technology teams for fast flow". He is Head of Consulting at Conflux and specialises in Continuous Delivery, operability, and organisation dynamics for modern software systems. In this conversation with Dave, he talks about the ecosystem necessary to build and nurture software, and the wide range of topics that impact on the effectiveness, and performance of development teams. The approach that his book "Team Topologies" describes is to use team structure as a tool, guided by the idea of managing the cognitive load of the team. This talk ranges from how to deal with the complex adaptive system that we inhabit when undertaking software development, to the structure of software development being more like an ant colony than an organised, predictable hierarchy.xx⭐ PATREON: Join the Continuous Delivery community and access extra perks & content!
In this first episode, Dave Farley chats with Martin Fowler. Martin is a widely read author having written definitive works on several important topics, including Refactoring, NoSQL, UML, Extreme Programming, and several books on patterns. He also has a very widely read website that captures more of these thoughts, and more collections of patterns too at ➡️ https://martinfowler.comDave and Martin discuss a wide range of ideas, from new work in patterns in distributed systems and Data Mesh, to the fundamental principles of software development that matter, whatever the technology or problem that you are solving.xx
In this episode of the “Engineering Room” Dave Farley talks to Jesse Anderson about Big Data and Data Engineering exploring what it takes to implement effective big data solutions and explore what data engineering is and why it matters. Jesse Anderson is a Data Engineer, author and trainer who runs a company called the Big Data Institute where he helps companies all over the world with their Big Data problems. His company also runs training courses to help people to learn, and extend their skills in Data engineering and data science, targeted at helping software engineers to understand and use big data more effectively.xxJesse Anderson's Blog Site: https://www.jesse-anderson.com Jesse Anderson's Data Engineering Courses: https://www.jesse-anderson.com/courses/ The Data Dream Team Podcast: https://dreamteam.soda.io Hidden Tech Debt in Machine Learning Systems: https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper/...If you want to learn Continuous Delivery and DevOps skills, check out Dave Farley's courses ➡️ https://bit.ly/DFTraining
In this episode of “The Engineering Room” Dave Farley chats with Randy Shoup, eBay VP of Engineering and Chief Architect. Randy has led software development in some of the best known Silicon Valley web giants. He identifies some common patterns in the trajectory from software start-ups to Big Tech - declaring that a monolith is the best architecture for tech start-ups, even at eBay, Twitter, Google and Netflix, and describes the evolutionary steps from Monoliths to Microservices. Dave and Randy discuss the role of Platforms and Infrastructure teams, technical choices and autonomy at big organisations; increasing automation and applying software engineering and DevOps techniques to a legacy system. Learn how eBay's "Velocity Initiative", led by Randy, doubled productivity in just a year, by applying Continuous Delivery techniques and using the DORA metrics to focus on where to improve.xxIf you want to learn Continuous Delivery and DevOps skills, check out Dave Farley's courses ➡️ https://bit.ly/DFTraining
In this episode of “The Engineering Room” Dave Farley chats with renowned author, speaker and expert software developer Kevlin Henney. In fact "The one and only Kevlin Henney" - literally! He has a google-unique name: try it! Kevlin is a member of the ACCU and IEEE Software Advisory Board. Famous for works on Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture and Big Public Software Failures. He has published several ‘anthology' books, including: "97 Things Every Programmer Should Know - Collective Wisdom from the Experts”xx
In this episode, Dave Farley chats with Martin Thompson. Martin is a world-class software developer and leading expert on high performance computing, Java and concurrent systems. Dave and Martin worked together to create one of the world's highest performance financial exchanges. They discuss here excellence in software development, what it takes to move from software development into software engineering, mechanical sympathy, and some of the attributes that make you a great developer. It's not just about being smart enough to deal with high cyclomatic complexity, but about striving for great feedback and truly simple solutions.xx
In this episode Rob is joined by Dave Farley, software legend and author of books "Continuous Delivery" and "Modern Software Engineering”. The two tackle the essence of software development culture and the current state of software delivery. They unpack why it's important to prioritize problem-solving abilities over technical skills when it comes to hiring, emphasizing a healthy culture and the need for continuous learning on the job.Reflecting on the past 25 years in the industry, the conversation centers on acknowledging mistakes, aiming to shorten development cycles for rapid feedback and progress. Exploring the intersection of aviation history and modern software development, Dave draws parallels with the Wright Brothers' approach to engineering and iteration.Listen in as Dave shares insights on AI automated testing and its current inability to rival the human brain, and discover the must-read books he recommends for every software developer.Connect with us on Twitter/X at @CircleCI to share your thoughts or suggest future guests for the show!
Can you measure developer productivity? Prompted by an article by McKinsey and already reacted to by many, we ask if McKinsey is telling us to measure something that is at all useful, how to think about the problem McKinsey raises, and what you, as a technical leader, can do to address that problem better than what McKinsey suggests. Opening quote from The Psychology of Computer Programming by Gerald M. Weinberg. References: Mckinsey article - https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/yes-you-can-measure-software-developer-productivity Kent Beck's response part 1 - https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/measuring-developer-productivity Kent Beck's response part 2 - https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/measuring-developer-productivity-440 Dave Farley's response - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuUBZ1pByzM Dan North's response - published after we recorded - https://dannorth.net/mckinsey-review/ Untangling the metrics request - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tactics-tech-leadership/episodes/Untangling-the-Metrics-Request-e27906b --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tactics-tech-leadership/message
Do you measure build times? On your shared CI as well as local builds on the developers workstations? Do you measure how much time devs spend in debugging code or trying to understand why tests or builds are all of a sudden failing? Are you treating your pre-production with the same respect as your production environments?Tune in and hear from Trisha Gee, Developer Champion at Gradle, who has helped development teams to reduce wait times, become more productive with their tools (gotta love that IDE of yours) and also understand the impact of their choices to other teams (when log lines wake up people at night). Trisha explains in detail what there is to know about DPE (Developer Productivity Engineering), how it fits into Platform Engineering, why adding more hardware is not always the best solution and why Flaky Tests are a passionate topic for Trisha.Here the links to Trishas social media, her books and everything else we discussed during the podcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishagee/Trishas Website: https://trishagee.com/Trisha's Talk on DPE: https://trishagee.com/presentations/developer-productivity-engineering-whats-in-it-for-me/Trisha's Books: https://trishagee.com/2023/07/31/summer-reading-2023/Dave Farley on Continuous Delivery: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCfqyGl3nq_V0bo64CjZh8g
Dave Farley is a consultant and renowned thought leader in the software development world, and a strong advocate for ensuring that our software is always releasable. He's co-authored a book and runs a popular YouTube channel, both called "Continuous Delivery". We spoke about what continuous delivery is, why it's important, the barriers to implementing it, and how product managers can help. Episode highlights: 1. Continuous delivery is what the best software organisations in the world do It's unambiguous. It's backed by data. It's the best way to build quality products. Applying these techniques means your software is always releasable, and every change is safe 2. But, this doesn't mean you need genius developers Any team can adopt continuous delivery. It's not a factor of 10x "rock star" developers, but empowered teams of developers working together, collaborating and *talking* to each other. 3. You build quality software by going fast Continuous feedback based on small changes, constantly validated, ensures high-quality products. You don't want to go back & fix it later. You can't inspect quality into a system at the end of a development cycle. Build it in upfront. 4. Just because you can release continuously doesn't mean you have to What you release to customers is a business decision. This isn't about throwing half-finished features at users but having software that you know works. You can use feature flags to manage availability. 5. Many product managers need to check themselves We need to move away from PMs giving developers human-language representations of code and telling them to convert it for a computer. The best devs are problem solvers and should be involved in working out the best solution. Buy "Continuous Delivery" "Getting software released to users is often a painful, risky, and time-consuming process.This groundbreaking new book sets out the principles and technical practices that enable rapid, incremental delivery of high quality, valuable new functionality to users. Through automation of the build, deployment, and testing process, and improved collaboration between developers, testers, and operations, delivery teams can get changes released in a matter of hours―sometimes even minutes–no matter what the size of a project or the complexity of its code base." Check it out on Amazon. Check out Dave's course Dave has a course out that helps people get good at all the stuff we talked about in the podcast. If you're interested, check the course out here. Dave also mentioned a talk by his co-author Jez Humble. I'm not 100% sure if this is the one, but it looks pretty good anyway. Check it out. Contact Dave You can connect with Dave on Twitter. You can also check out the Continuous Delivery YouTube channel.