Podcasts about specifications

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports one way to cut the cost of a car is to have automakers have the same specifications.

Every now and then, I like to hop into the wayback machine and share a fresh listen to conversations that influenced our current times. The one you are going to register to today was recorded live in 2014 from DIEM, Design Intersects Everything Made symposium presented by the West Hollywood Design District featuring Frances Anderton, then with KCRW ad Jeff Denby, co-founder and then with Pact. A clothing brand you will be hearing more about.  The following conversation was focused on values based capitalism, an economic model with which places value on profit generation that also generates positive social impact. Designer Resources Pacific Sales Kitchen and Home. Where excellence meets expertise. TimberTech – Real wood beauty without the upkeep Shelter Republic – Request your membership invitation As you listen to this chat between Frances and Jeff, you might notice the “feel-good” vibes and high ideals that come from a focus on values based consumerism patterns. Buy well-made products that come from sustainably based materials and made by people who are valued to those producing the products and then by those who buy the product. At the time of this recording, this idea was catching on and even now, companies that have a value-system connected directly to products speak openly about the social capital being generated. I would argue we hear far less now because sustainability has been linked politically to DEI, and there is a group of people who see that has more of a social ill, than a societal benefit. I'm not here to change any minds, only share different perspectives. And this is one worth sharing with the hope that it will make a return, not just in fashion or consumer packaged goods, but in the home decor and architectural materials sectors. Consumer Awareness Evolution How Whole Foods and the food industry educated consumers about product origins. Extension of that curiosity to body care and apparel: understanding what goes on the skin and into daily wear. The role of design in making sustainable products attractive and desirable. Philanthropy and Social Impact Early collaborations with nonprofits through limited-edition collections and direct aid. Shift toward improving the lives of workers within the supply chain. Emphasis on economic, environmental, and social impact as part of the business model. Challenges of Domestic Manufacturing Difficulties of reviving large-scale apparel production domestically, including labor costs, fractured supply chains, and compliance issues. Comparison with global supply chains and the decision to work where systems already exist. Insights from attempts at localized production and the challenges of sustainable sourcing. Product Expansion and Market Strategy Focus on apparel basics for the emerging generation of socially conscious consumers. Building a generational brand by appealing to evolving values. Commitment to price accessibility while maintaining sustainability and ethical production. Supply Chain Ethics and Certification Working exclusively with certified factories and farms to ensure fair labor practices. Ensuring worker protections and representation, including female supervisors. Direct engagement with farmers and supply chain partners to secure market access and stability. Sustainability and Waste Management Recycling factory scraps and leftover materials into new products. Finding secondary uses for garment remnants, including mattress filling. Factories incentivized to reduce waste as part of both economic and environmental sustainability. Consumer Education and Transparency Educating customers about the human and environmental story behind clothing. Leveraging social media, coalition branding, and events to communicate supply chain practices. Positioning Pact as a non-toxic apparel brand with safe-for-skin products. Research and Industry Collaboration Participation in textile and sustainability coalitions with like-minded brands. Supporting the growth of organic cotton farming and sustainable supply chains. Promoting transparency in manufacturing practices and educating the public on chemical exposure in conventional apparel. Ethical apparel requires intentional design, transparent supply chains, and collaboration across the industry. Consumers increasingly demand products that are safe, well-designed, and socially responsible. Philanthropy is most effective when integrated into the core business, benefiting both workers and communities. Scaling sustainability in mass-market apparel is challenging but possible with careful planning, partnerships, and public education. Conscious Basics: How Textiles Can Be Ethical, Sustainable, and Stylish In an era when consumers increasingly demand transparency and ethical responsibility, Pact is reshaping the apparel industry by marrying sustainability, social impact, and thoughtful design. Co-founder Jeff Denby spoke with Frances Anderton in 2014 about the philosophy behind the brand, tracing a journey from organic cotton farms in India to certified factories in Turkey, all with the goal of delivering high-quality, accessible clothing that respects both people and the planet. Denby notes that consumer awareness has evolved in stages. Shoppers first became curious about food origins, learning that groceries come from farms, not just shelves. This consciousness extended to body care products, as people began asking what they were putting on their skin. Apparel is the next frontier. “People want to know what they're wearing every day,” Denby explains. “They want products that are beautifully designed, sustainable, and safe, without having to reinvent what underwear or socks should look like.” Early in Pact's history, the company experimented with philanthropic partnerships, designing collections that supported nonprofit causes. These initiatives provided aid to communities abroad, from distributing lanterns in Haiti to rebuilding community centers in Japan. However, Denby realized the brand could make a deeper impact by focusing inward—supporting the lives of the workers who create the products. By investing in stable, ethical supply chains, Pact achieves a triple bottom line: economic, social, and environmental benefits. Reviving large-scale apparel manufacturing in the United States proved impractical for Pact. Labor costs, fractured supply chains, and limited domestic processing infrastructure made it impossible to produce affordable basics at scale. Instead, the brand partnered with existing factories abroad, ensuring they meet strict certifications such as the Global Organic Textile Standard. Denby emphasizes that these certifications guarantee fair labor practices, gender equity, and safe working conditions—factors often overlooked in conventional apparel production. Beyond ethical sourcing, Pact prioritizes product safety and environmental responsibility. Cotton cultivation and traditional textile processing can involve significant pesticide use and harmful chemicals. Pact works with organic cotton farmers and certified dye houses, eliminating heavy metals and carcinogens from their products. Waste management is also integral; leftover yarn and fabrics are recycled into new garments or repurposed for other industries, demonstrating that sustainability extends from field to factory to finished product. Denby envisions Pact as the “basics brand for the change generation,” appealing to consumers who value ethics, transparency, and design. The brand is part of a coalition with other sustainable apparel companies, collaborating to secure fair market access for farmers, grow organic cotton production, and educate the public on the human stories behind clothing. Social media and events provide direct channels to communicate these values, allowing consumers to engage with the brand and understand the people and processes behind the garments they wear. For Pact, the mission goes beyond selling clothing. It is about proving that everyday apparel can be ethical, well-designed, and accessible, while creating meaningful social impact. By integrating philanthropy, sustainability, and consumer education into the business model, Pact is showing that the basics—underwear, socks, and t-shirts—can carry a powerful message: that fashion can be responsible, thoughtful, and inclusive.

Patrick M Bossuyt, Tze Ping Loh, Katy Bell, Sally Lord, Andrea R Horvath. Frameworks of Health Outcomes for Performance Specifications in Laboratory Medicine. Clinical Chemistry, Volume 72, Issue 5, May 2026, Pages 546–553.  https://doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/hvag014

In this episode of the Whole Systems Hospitality Podcast, host Kathy Sue McGuire sits down with Paul Marquez, Global Head of Specifications and Sustainability at Excel Dryer, to explore how restroom design connects to sustainability, public health, operational efficiency, guest experience, and whole systems thinking.From reducing paper waste to improving hand hygiene and lowering operational costs, this conversation highlights how overlooked guest touchpoints can become opportunities for more sustainable hospitality operations.CHAPTER BREAKDOWN00:00:32 — Day in the Life of a Paper TowelThe environmental journey of a paper towel—from forest to landfill in less than 24 hours.00:04:22 — Better Alternatives to Paper TowelsKathy introduces the environmental impact of paper towels and welcomes Paul Marquez.00:05:06 — Sustainability & Community ImpactHow Excel Dryer supports sustainability education and partnerships.00:06:00 — LEED, WELL & Green GlobeA look at Excel Dryer's certifications and sustainability commitments.00:06:41 — Transparency & EPDsWhy life cycle assessments and third-party standards matter.00:09:11 — Solar & Recycled MaterialsPaul discusses solar panels and recycled materials.00:10:25 — Understanding WELL CertificationKey considerations for building owners pursuing WELL certification.00:11:21 — XLERATOR & Performance StandardsHow standardized testing supports transparent product claims.00:12:45 — Indoor Air Quality & HEPA FiltrationA discussion on restroom air quality and filtration systems.00:14:48 — Clean Hands Save LivesWhy proper hand drying matters in public health.00:15:36 — The Hybrid Restroom ApproachBalancing reduced paper towel use with accessibility and guest preferences.00:17:40 — Cost Savings & ROIHow reducing paper towel use lowers operating costs.00:19:09 — Hidden Costs of Paper TowelsPlumbing issues, clogged toilets, and restroom downtime.00:20:26 — Addressing Noise ConcernsHow adjustable sound controls improve guest comfort.00:22:39 — ADA Compliance & Design FlexibilityAccessibility and high-traffic restroom considerations.00:23:45 — Community Art PartnershipsHow Excel Dryer partners with Artists for Humanity.00:25:42 — Life Cycle Assessment DataWhy measurable environmental impact matters.00:28:20 — Sustainability Awards & RecognitionHow third-party recognition validates environmental commitments.00:29:39 — The Future of Commercial Hand DryingIntegrated sink-mounted dryers and evolving restroom design.00:33:43 — Whole Systems Thinking in PracticeKathy reflects on Excel Dryer's sustainability approach.⸻

Todo mundo fala de DevSecOps. Todo mundo fala de IA. Mas quase ninguém conectou os pontos do jeito certo ainda. Neste episódio, a gente entra em um território que está começando a separar quem só usa ferramenta de quem realmente entende o jogo: SpecOps com IA. E não, isso não é sobre mais um YAML bonito ou documentação que ninguém lê. É sobre transformar especificações em algo vivo. Algo que define o sistema antes do código existir… e impede que ele saia da linha depois. A conversa passa por:por que “finding-based security” já não escala maiscomo a IA pode validar intenção, não só códigoo conflito direto entre vibe coding e governança realcomo specs podem virar enforcement automático no pipelinee o que muda quando segurança deixa de ser checklist e vira contratoA gente também traz isso para o mundo real:como integrar isso com pipelines atuaisonde ferramentas como SAST e SCA entram (e onde deixam de ser suficientes)e como esse modelo pode evoluir para algo muito mais próximo de risk-driven securitySe você ainda está medindo segurança só por quantidade de vulnerabilidades, esse episódio vai te incomodar. Do jeito certo.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/devsecops-podcast--4179006/support.Apoio: Nova8, Snyk, Conviso, Gold Security, Digitalwolk e PurpleBird Security.

In this episode, Sharona and Boz take a deep dive into a recent research study on specifications grading in a large-enrollment chemistry course, uncovering a story that is both encouraging and complicated. While the data shows clear gains—grades increased across all student groups, including those historically underserved—the hoped-for closure of opportunity gaps proved far more elusive. Using both the study's findings and their own long-term course redesign experience, the hosts explore what this tension reveals: grading reform can raise outcomes broadly, but it is not a silver bullet for equity. The conversation highlights the importance of implementation details, support structures, and ongoing iteration, as well as the need to look beyond grades to fully understand student experiences. Ultimately, this episode underscores a central truth of grading reform work—real change is possible, but it requires sustained, nuanced effort and a willingness to engage with complexity rather than simple narratives.LinksPlease note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!Specifications Grading and Equity, by M. Stains, L. Morkowchuk and B. Yik on the Grading for Growth BlogBalancing Equity in General Chemistry Laboratory Courses: The Complex Impact of Specifications Grading on Student Success and Opportunity Gaps, by B. Yik, et al, published in the Journal of the American Chemical SocietySpring 2026 Community of PracticeFall 2026 MAA OPEN Math Faculty Learning CommunityResourcesThe Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:The Grading for Growth BlogThe Grading ConferenceThe Intentional Academia BlogRecommended Books on Alternative Grading:Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David ClarkSpecifications Grading, by Linda NilsenUndoing the Grade, by Jesse StommelFollow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.MusicCountry Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

After a company couldn’t meet the specifications for ink pens use in some US government offices in the 1960s, the General Services Administration asked National Industries for the Blind (NIB) to make 70 million pens—despite NIB having never made pens before. They accepted the challenge and met all the specifications. Since 1967 blind factory workers have assembled these writing instruments used extensively by military personnel. The pens can be used to write upside down, make a mile-long line, and withstand extreme temperatures. Genesis 1:27 reminds us that each human being has been made to God’s perfect specifications: “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” How we’re created reflects God’s character and nature. Being created in His image means everyone has inherent dignity and worth. God said that each person’s story begins with being made “in [His] image, in [His] likeness” (v. 26). This truth provides the foundation for understanding human dignity, identity, and relationships with others. Just as those pens serve a vital role, so do we! Though we might feel unimpressive, each of us holds intrinsic value and purpose crafted by God. Today, may we embrace our story, knowing our Creator treasures us and calls us “very good” (v. 31).

Helping you connect with God. Every day. Every way.  Read along with today's devotional: https://www.odbm.org/en/devotionals/devotional-category/gods-perfect-specifications  Want to get Our Daily Bread's daily devotionals delivered to your inbox or mailbox? Subscribe for free here: https://odbm.org.   Our Daily Bread Ministries helps millions of people connect with God each day. For more than 75 years, our purpose has remained the same: to reach people with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible.   All Scripture from the New International Version, unless otherwise noted.  SUPPORT Our Daily Bread Your generous support helps us make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to people around the world. https://donations.ourdailybread.org/intm9.html?motivation=INTM9  More Podcasts from Our Daily Bread: Discover the Word: https://www.discovertheword.org God Hears Her: https://www.godhearsher.org/podcast  Ways To Connect With Us:  Facebook: https://facebook.com/ourdailybread ​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourdailybread/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ourdailybread​ Print Subscription: https://odb.org/getprint​ App: https://odb.org/mobile-resources​ Web: https://odbm.org  #ourdailybread #dailydevotional #bible 

This week, we welcome a special guest from the Conspectus team - senior specifier Jay Bethel.  We chat about his unusual path into specifications. Jay moved from hands-on construction and historic restoration into construction administration, then ultimately into the world of specs nearly two decades ago. That field experience still shapes how he works today, bringing a contractor's mindset to design decisions, constructability reviews, cost awareness, and real-world practicality. The discussion also explores productivity, concise writing, the evolution of specification tools, and why the best specifiers never stop learning from what gets built in the field. Along the way, Jay shares stories from swing scaffolds, deer-filled commutes, and life as a longtime working musician. It's a reminder that great specifiers are often built from diverse experiences, not linear résumés.Learning PointsIndustry InsightSome of the strongest specification professionals come from construction backgrounds, where installation realities and field sequencing are second nature.Practice TakeawayA contractor's lens can improve design outcomes by challenging impractical details before they reach the field.Process LessonGood specs are not about more words. Clear, concise, coordinated language often performs better than bloated documents.Risk or OpportunityWhen teams ignore constructability and cost during design, problems simply wait until bidding or construction to surface.People & CultureDifferent backgrounds strengthen firms. Designers, builders, administrators, and technical writers each see risks others may miss.

BONUS: AI Won't Just Change How You Work — It Will Reshape Your Organization The Global Agile Summit is around the corner, and the AI in Organizations track is one you don't want to miss. In this episode, track co-hosts Michael Dougherty and Michał Parkoła walk us through what they've built — from the thinking behind the track name to the sessions that stood out, and why this isn't just another AI conference lineup. Why "AI in Organizations" — Not Just "AI" "AI will not only be useful to existing organizations, but it will reshape organizations in a very significant way, the same way cars reshaped cities."   Michael and Michał drew a deliberate line with the track name. Michael points out that AI has been around for decades — it didn't start with ChatGPT. The real shift now is AI agents scaling to enterprise level, replacing automation that used to require specialized tools. Claude Enterprise holds about 29% of the enterprise AI market, Gemini around 15%. But Michał pushes the framing further: the first-order effect is applying AI to existing work. The second-order effect — the one he's most interested in — is how AI will reshape organizations themselves. New species of companies will emerge, smaller teams will achieve what used to require hundreds of people, and some existing organizations won't survive the transition. That's the conversation this track is designed to start. Filtering the Signal From the Slop "There was a bit of AI slop in the submissions. There was a lot of talk that, unfortunately, was meta-talk — there was no real value that I could glean."   When session submissions came in, Michael was disappointed by how many were surface-level — big promises with no practical takeaway. The ones that stood out were practitioners showing what they actually do. Dave Westgarth, for example, demonstrated how he uses AI with Lovable and Claude embedded in Miro whiteboards to enhance real team interactions. On Michał's side, the standout was Max Pirata, who challenged the "vibe coding is slop" narrative. His argument: the quality of large-scale software has never depended on the infallibility of individual engineers — it depends on disciplined engineering processes. The same applies to agentic engineering. Your first attempt at vibe coding will be rough, but there are ways to apply engineering discipline to AI-assisted development. That's what Max will be talking about at the summit. Prototyping at the Speed of Thought — And the Human Bottleneck "Now I've got 20 prototypes that I can choose from. Which ones are the best? Which ones do I need to clear out? Product managers now have a different game they play."   Two sessions capture opposite sides of the AI-in-organizations tension. Dave Westgarth's "Vibe UX: Prototyping at the Speed of Thought" shows how vibe coding lets you build full working systems instead of Figma mockups — so fast that the bottleneck shifts from creation to selection. Product managers and product owners now face a new challenge: clearing the closet of AI-generated options rather than validating a single bet. On the other side, Shawn Wallack's session — "Even With AI, Your System Will Never Be Better Than Its People" — brings the counterpoint. Michael explains the systems-thinking angle: AI does what you tell it, fast and accurately, but that speed reveals human bottlenecks everywhere else. He shares the cautionary example of AI declining twice the insurance claims humans did, with the human-in-the-loop rubber-stamping instead of actually checking — leading to a class action lawsuit. The lesson: AI doesn't remove the need for human judgment, it makes it more critical. Gojko Adzic on Spec-Driven Development and Building AI Products "True to his roots, he is exploring spec-driven development now, which is one of the popular threads in agentic engineering."   Gojko Adzic — the author of Specification by Example and Impact Mapping — brings heavyweight credibility to the track. Michał reveals that while Gojko is exploring spec-driven development in the context of agentic engineering, the interview focused more on his hands-on experience building his own AI products. For attendees, this means real practitioner insights from someone who literally wrote the book on how specifications drive software quality — now applying those principles in an AI-first world. From Beginner to Builder — Who This Track Is For "My favorite case would be people who will quit their jobs and start new companies that will be able to achieve wonderful things with much smaller teams than we would otherwise imagine possible."   The track is designed to meet people wherever they are. Pierre Beaning covers the basics of using Claude for beginners. Jason Little — who Michael describes as a "techno nerd" and "grand poobah" — shows how to build and scale multi-agent systems for business. The spectrum runs from "I've only used AI to plan a vacation" to "I'm orchestrating agent teams." But Michał's vision for the ideal attendee is bolder: someone who walks away ready to start a company. Michael backs this up with the story of an AI unicorn — $1.8 billion valuation, one guy and his brother, in the pharmaceutical industry, just a few months old. Hype? Maybe. But Michał's pragmatic take lands it: "If you make a few million, even if it dies later, that's not such a bad thing." The goal of the track is to blow away the fog — throw flares into key spots so people can sketch a map of what's possible and decide which areas deserve a follow-up. About Michael Dougherty Michael Dougherty is the Co-author of Shift: From Product to People, leadership coach with 30+ years helping organizations adopt people-centered, agile ways of working. Co-owner of the Global Agile Summit.   You can link with Michael Dougherty on LinkedIn and find out more at shiftingpeople.com. About Michał Parkoła Michał Parkoła is an Agile practitioner based in Warsaw, Poland. Previously hosted the Value-Centric Product Development track at Agile Online Summit 2024. He is building Tapestry, an AI planning assistant.   You can link with Michał Parkoła on LinkedIn and check out Tapestry at growwithtapestry.com.

What are transformative works? We scroll through some updates, some questions, and some history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ICH Q6 Explained: Specifications, Control Strategy, and What's Changing in Q6(R1)In this episode of Let's ComBinate, Subhi continues the ICH Q-series with ICH Q6 and explains why specifications are central to defining and controlling drug products and drug-device combination products.He breaks down how ICH Q6 formalizes: • what to test (attributes or CQAs tied to safety and efficacy) • how to test (methods and procedures) • what is acceptable (acceptance criteria or limits)All of which come together to support the release decision.He also covers the difference between ICH Q6A (small molecules) and ICH Q6B (biologics), highlighting the increased variability in biologics and the greater reliance on characterization and process understanding.Finally, he summarizes key themes from the 2024 ICH Q6(R1) concept paper, including: • alignment of shared principles across Q6A and Q6B • expanded scope to include new modalities and combination products • linkage to ICH Q12 lifecycle management and established conditions • a shift toward more science and risk based approaches with less reliance on routine batch testing⸻Key References • ICH Q6 Guidelines (Q6A and Q6B):https://www.ich.org/page/quality-guidelines • ICH Q6(R1) Concept Paper (2024):https://www.ich.org/page/quality-guidelines (navigate to Q6 revision concept paper)⸻Timestamps00:00 Intro to ICH Q600:36 Host background01:05 Why specifications matter01:49 Q6A vs Q6B overview02:33 Purpose of ICH Q602:59 What is a specification04:27 Q6 R1 update themes05:49 Lifecycle and risk based specifications06:29 Wrap up and next stepsSubhi Saadeh is the Founder and Principal at Let's Combinate, where he helps teams develop and control drug-device combination products by aligning quality systems, development, and regulatory expectations across drug and device domains.

In this episode of Product Talk, host Lauren Brant speaks with sustainability journalist and material expert Kenn Busch about the growing importance of material intelligence in product specification. As more architecture and design firms begin collecting materials data through initiatives like the American Institute of Architects Materials Pledge, designers are gaining new insight into how products impact human health, climate, and the built environment. But carbon metrics only tell part of the story. Together, Brant and Busch explore how chemistry, lifecycle thinking, and responsible sourcing—especially when it comes to forests and wood products—are shaping the future of sustainable specification in the A&D industry. In this episode, you'll discover: Why “material intelligence” is becoming essential in product specification—and how designers can move beyond trends to evaluate products through chemistry, lifecycle impacts, and human health. What the latest data from the American Institute of Architects Materials Pledge reveals about how architecture and design firms are collecting materials data—and where the industry still has work to do. How forests and responsibly sourced wood products fit into the future of sustainable design, and the role designers play in communicating their value through the materials they choose to specify.

Jens Bodal is a Senior Software Engineer II working independently, focusing on backend systems, software architecture, and building scalable solutions across client projects.This One Shift Makes Developers Obsolete // MLOps Podcast #366 with Jens Bodal, Senior Software Engineer II, Independent Join the Community: https://go.mlops.community/YTJoinInGet the newsletter: https://go.mlops.community/YTNewsletterMLOps GPU Guide: https://go.mlops.community/gpuguide// Abstract AI agents are shifting the role of developers from writing code to defining intent. This conversation explores why specs are becoming more important than implementation, what breaks in real-world systems, and how engineering teams need to rethink workflows in an agent-driven world.// BioJens Bodal is a senior software engineer based in Edmonds, Washington, with nine years of experience building developer tooling, internal platforms, and web infrastructure. He spent seven years as an SDE II at Amazon, working on teams including Amazon Games Studio and the AWS Events Management Platform. His work has focused on developer tooling, CI/CD systems, testing infrastructure, and improving the developer experience for teams operating production services. He is particularly interested in developer experience and the growing ecosystem of local tools that help engineers build and run AI systems on infrastructure they control.// Related LinksWebsite: https://bodal.devhttps://github.com/jensbodalhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp7LYdbOuwE~~~~~~~~ ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ~~~~~~~Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://go.mlops.community/TYExploreJoin our Slack community [https://go.mlops.community/slack]Follow us on X/Twitter [@mlopscommunity](https://x.com/mlopscommunity) or [LinkedIn](https://go.mlops.community/linkedin)] Sign up for the next meetup: [https://go.mlops.community/register]MLOps Swag/Merch: [https://shop.mlops.community/]Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: /dpbrinkmConnect with Jens on LinkedIn: /jensbodalTimestamps:[00:00] Specification vs Code[00:25] Conference Realizations and Insights[09:01] Agents and Orchestration Insights[10:39] Coding Agents and Talent[18:10] Sub-agent Design Concepts[25:18] Evaling on Vibes[33:23] Walled Garden and Proxies [41:48] Spec-Driven Development Limitations[46:56] Code Ownership vs Authorship[50:49] Engineering Ownership and PMs[53:47] Skill Creation and Iteration[58:40] Wrap up

Design intent is the governing framework of a project, yet it is often compromised as it moves from concept through construction.In this episode of Deliberate Words, Ben Caldwell, Director of Specifications at the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), joins Dave and Steve for a discussion on how design intent can be systematically preserved through documentation, alignment, and early-stage decision-making.The conversation examines the role of narrative-based specifications, the continued relevance of UniFormat as a systems-based approach, and the value of integrating estimating insight earlier in the process. Rather than treating documentation as a downstream technical exercise, Ben positions it as an active instrument for conveying intent, coordinating systems, and enabling informed decisions. Drawing from BIG's global practice, the discussion challenges conventional methods and reframes specifications as a critical medium for translating design into constructed reality, with a brief but memorable aside on the unlikely inspiration of a well-crafted banana split.

There's a scene in You've Got Mail where Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan not to take something personally. It's just business. And she stops him cold. The business is her life. Of course it's personal. I think about that scene a lot. Because she's right. And also, she's stuck. Here's the shift I want you to make. Stop taking things personally. Start taking them professionally. Those sound similar. They are not. Why Actors Take Everything Personally Our instrument is us. That's the whole thing. A graphic designer can move a logo and it's fine. But when someone tells an actor to be warmer, edgier, younger, more authoritative, our nervous system doesn't hear direction. It hears: you're wrong. You're not enough. Go home. That's not what's actually happening. What's happening is market alignment. Casting is almost never about worth. It's about fit. Specification match. And actors who build long careers learn to separate identity from utility. You are a human being with inherent worth. You are also a specific service provider with a specific skillset. Those are not the same conversation. What "Taking It Personally" Actually Sounds Like They didn't like me. I embarrassed myself. Everyone else is better. I'll never book. Why do I even do this. That's emotionally fueled, identity based, and global. It turns one moment into a life narrative. I had someone say something to me in seventh grade about my glasses and I haven't put them on a single day without thinking about it. I need to let that go. And so do you, wherever yours is. Compare that to taking something professionally: interesting, that read didn't align with their brand direction. My tone might have been too strong for that buyer. Let me track this pattern. That processing is specific, curious, and contained. It asks what's useful here, not what does this mean about me. Rejection Is Not a Verdict It's feedback from a small sample size in a specific moment in time. It can mean the wrong vocal age for that campaign, a timing issue, an energy mismatch, budget politics, an internal brand shift, or just randomness. None of that equals not talented. When you take it personally, you collapse all that nuance into shame. When you take it professionally, you extract patterns that help you grow. Professional working actors are pattern analysts. They ask where they get traction most often, where they consistently stall, what adjectives keep showing up in feedback, and whether their casting lane is tightening or expanding. That mindset turns rejection into career intelligence. Criticism vs. Direction A lot of actors hear criticism when what's actually being offered is direction. And those are different things. Direction means someone is investing attention in your performance. They see potential. They believe you can pivot. They're trying to get you to the finish line. Personal thinking hears I'm failing. Professional thinking hears we're collaborating. Calibration is not humiliation. It's collaboration. Emotional Regulation Is a Career Skill You cannot eliminate emotional reactions. You're an artist and a human. But you can shorten the recovery time. That's the real work. You feel it. You name it. You move through it. You extract the lesson. You return to action. You don't feel it, become it, build an identity around it, and quit marketing for three weeks. There's actually some neuroscience behind this. Your brain doesn't distinguish well between a social threat and a physical threat. When casting says not this time, your amygdala activates the same alarm system designed to keep you from getting eaten by a bear. Your prefrontal cortex, the strategic thinking part, partially goes offline. That's why you catastrophize. That's why you spiral. That's not weakness. That's biology. But professionals train themselves to reengage the thinking brain faster. They create cognitive bridges. This is one data point. This is market feedback. There is no bear. That language literally helps regulate your nervous system. A Story About a Booking I Didn't Get Early in my career I had an audition I was really proud of. Multiple callbacks. Real connection with the casting team. And then silence. Weeks and weeks. Another callback. More silence. And then I found out who booked it and I spiraled. Not because that person wasn't good. They were. But because I had made it mean something about my personal trajectory. I sat in my apartment thinking maybe I'm just not castable. Maybe I missed my window. That's not professional processing. That's identity panic. Fast forward a few years. I ended up working with that same creative team on a completely different campaign. Nothing changed about my worth. My fit changed. The project changed. And that was one of the first times I understood: the industry isn't rejecting you. It's sorting for specificity. It's one giant Tetris game trying to fit everyone where they belong. If you don't understand that, you will burn through emotional fuel you cannot afford. Your Homework After your next rejection or piece of feedback, grab a notebook and draw a line down the middle. Label one side personal story. Label the other side professional data. On the personal side, write everything your brain is saying. They hated me. I sounded stupid. I'll never book. Get it out. Don't censor it. Then on the professional side, translate. The spec may have skewed younger. My pacing was too deliberate. This buyer prefers conversational. Whatever it is. That exercise moves you from emotional fusion to observational distance. And that distance is where strategy lives. Do it consistently and I promise your recovery time shortens, your auditions feel lighter, and your business thinking sharpens. What I Want You to Remember You are not fragile for feeling things deeply. That sensitivity is part of what makes you a compelling performer. But you are responsible for what you do with those feelings. A sustainable acting career is not built on constant validation. It's built on emotional regulation, pattern recognition, positioning, and the willingness to keep showing up. When you stop confusing your identity with your casting, you free up enormous creative and professional energy. The next time rejection or criticism hits, pause and ask one question: what's useful here? That's what builds longevity. Want to Talk Through This? Drop me a line at mandy@actingbusinessbootcamp.com, find me on Substack at The Actors Index, or on TikTok at Astoria Red.

Transforming the Kitchen Experience: How Kitchen365 Streamlines Design, Specification, and Delivery At KBIS 2026, Bhavin Patel and Hiren Modi of Kitchen365 discuss how their end-to-end technology platform is reshaping the kitchen cabinet industry—making design faster, orders more accurate, and showrooms more agile. Digitizing Kitchen Design: Kitchen365's design service accelerates the process from field measurement to final kitchen plan, completing in hours instead of a week. B2B Order Management System (OMS): Streamlines dealer and distributor interactions, supports tiered pricing, multi-warehouse fulfillment, and integrates with existing design software like ProKitchen. Consumer-Facing Digital Tools: Price estimators and visualizers allow homeowners to explore and configure kitchens online, reducing showroom dependency. Reducing Scope Creep & Specification Drift: Digital twins and high-fidelity visualizations ensure designs align with customer expectations, lowering errors and change orders. Process Integration & Efficiency: CSV-driven workflows reduce manual data entry, freeing staff for higher-value work and increasing accuracy. Hybrid Showroom Model: Physical showrooms serve as inspiration hubs, while digital platforms handle design, ordering, and lead generation. Democratizing Information: Transparency across pricing, inventory, and specifications strengthens trust between showrooms, designers, distributors, and clients. Competitive Advantage Through Workflow: Beyond products and aesthetics, efficiency and integration of design, data, and delivery create the next edge in the kitchen industry. At KBIS 2026, Kitchen365 is showcasing a transformative approach to the kitchen cabinet industry. Founded to address the fragmented workflows between designers, retailers, and manufacturers, Kitchen365 is more than a software company—it is a full-scale ecosystem that digitizes, automates, and scales the kitchen design process. Bhavin Patel, President, and Hiren Modi, Co-Founder and CEO, shared their journey of identifying inefficiencies in the industry. From lengthy design cycles that could take a week to fulfill to manual order entry prone to costly errors, the opportunity for modernization was clear. Kitchen365 first tackled this by offering a kitchen design service that allows designers to focus on client interactions while the platform handles technical drawings, reducing turnaround times to mere hours. The platform's B2B Order Management System (OMS) revolutionizes distributor and dealer workflows. Tiered pricing, multi-warehouse inventory tracking, and CSV integrations with design software reduce manual errors and improve fulfillment speed. Retailers now have the ability to quickly provide quotes, place orders, and communicate with clients without extensive back-office staffing. For homeowners, Kitchen365 offers interactive digital tools like price estimators and 3D visualizers, enabling them to explore kitchen options remotely. High-fidelity visualizations and digital twins reduce “specification drift,” ensuring that what is imagined in the design phase aligns with the final installation. This not only minimizes costly post-order changes but also enhances the overall customer experience. Kitchen365 also empowers showrooms to evolve. Dealers gain enterprise-level digital portals with catalog management, lead generation, and design visualization, all accessible for a modest subscription. This hybrid model integrates physical and digital experiences, giving clients the tactile inspiration of a showroom and the efficiency of an online platform. Underlying all these innovations is a commitment to transparency. By democratizing information across pricing, inventory, and specifications, Kitchen365 strengthens relationships between distributors, dealers, designers, and end clients. The result is a seamless, efficient, and more confident workflow—from first consultation to final installation. Bhavin and Hiren emphasize that technology does not replace the human element but amplifies it. Designers become “complexity curators,” focusing on aesthetics and client experience while Kitchen365 handles data management, order accuracy, and process efficiency. The platform exemplifies how technology, when paired with industry expertise, can elevate every participant in the kitchen cabinet ecosystem. In a market long defined by artisanal craftsmanship and manual processes, Kitchen365 demonstrates that the next competitive advantage isn't just in style or materials—it's in integrated, intelligent workflows that make the industry faster, more transparent, and more client-focused. Guest: Brandon Drum, Owner | Prime Cabinetry Learn more about Kitchen365: Kitchen365 Website

A refined oil expert's dismissing the idea the Government's allowing 'dirty fuel' into the country to ease supply. Our fuel specifications are changing so importers have the option to bring fuel refined to Australian standards. It says the fuel's compatible with New Zealand vehicles and meets safety and quality expectations. Australia's Macquarie University's Lurion De Mello told Mike Hosking they've used these fuel standards for the last ten years. He says it won't have the environmental damage some people are thinking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are hopes aligning with Australian fuel standards could allow us to work together in an Anzac-type arrangement for fuel supply. The Government's changing the standards aiming to make it easier for importers to source fuel. Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says they're currently drawing the line at higher-sulphur fuels until officials know if it'll damage new European emissions-compliant engines here. He told Mike Hosking Australasia is at the end of the railway track, so we should work together. He says our Prime Ministers have been talking so we can act robustly together to secure supply if needed. Jones told Hosking the Government's signed off on all the specifications which can be harmonised. He says the specifications are down to different temperatures between our countries, with fuel designed for Queensland not as useful in Twizel. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dear Church Greetings to you all!If you'd prefer, you can watch the video version of this podcast here.The brokenness of the carnal recruitment processes of the world is reflected in the recruitment processes (and adverts) of the Church.What do we include in our person specification for a church leader?We include at least these 14 points in our personal specification for a church leader:1. A man who is able to describe personal cost associated with their stand for the Gospel;2. A man who is able to describe personal repentance and specific examplesof their change of mind recently;3. A man who is able to describe relationships as well as estrangements;4. A man who is able to describe their urgent burden for the lost;5. A man who is NOT popular with everyone;6. A man who even has enemies;7. A man who has been ostracised;8. A man whose stand for doctrinal clarity has been personally costly;9. A man who can describe turning down an opportunity to alleviate pain,ultimately declining out of conviction;10. A man who is calling the Church to repentance as a Body and not onlyindividual members;11. A man who is willing to relocate, to be disrupted, including family/children/job;12.  A man whose testimony is radically different post-2020 cf. pre-2020;13. A man who sings/praises God every day;14. A man who weeps for the state the Church and the glory of His Name.If you would like to help us to begin a new house church, please see here.

OA1245 - Federal prosecutors have just secured the first convictions in US history in which the Department of Justice has brought charges relating to associations with “Antifa,” an organization which demonstrably does not exist. We take a closer look at the plight of the eight defendants convicted on charges relating to a noise protest outside of an ICE detention center in Prarieland, Texas to break down the unusual legal basis for this case, understand how protesters were cast as terrorists, and what this all means for the future of American dissent. Then in better news, we take a closer look at the recent bar complaint against one of Trump's favorite lawyers (and our favorite MAGA characters) and AG Pam Bondi's efforts to claim that the feds can hold up similar investigations brought by state regulators. Matt explains why this proposed rule is not only obviously illegal but doomed to fail before providing some news you can use in today's footnote: the official OA guide on how to get away with a $100 million jewelry heist. Superseding Indictment #1 in United States v. Arnold (2025) Jury verdict in in United States v. Arnold (2025) “Meet the Defendants,” DFW Defense Committee website “Specification of Charges in the matter of Edward R. Martin Jr.” District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility (3/6/2026) “Review of State Bar Complaints and Allegations Against Department of Justice Attorneys,” Federal Register (3/5/2026) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!  

We explore how test-driven development (TDD) remains essential—perhaps more than ever—when working with AI coding tools. Luca shares his evolved workflow using Claude Code, breaking down how he structures tests in three phases: test ideas, test outlines, and test implementations. We discuss why TDD provides the necessary control and confidence when AI generates code, how it prevents technical debt accumulation, and why tests serve as precise specifications for AI rather than afterthoughts. The conversation covers practical challenges like AI's tendency toward "success theater" (overly generous assertions), the importance of maintaining tight control over code quality, and why the bottleneck in AI-assisted development isn't code generation—it's expressing clear intent. We also touch on code spikes, large-scale refactorings, and why treating AI development as pair programming keeps you in the driver's seat. If you're wondering whether TDD still matters when AI writes your code, this episode makes a compelling case that it matters more than ever. Key Topics [02:30] Why TDD still matters with AI: confidence and control over generated code [06:45] Tests as specifications: describing desired behavior to AI rather than writing prompts [09:20] The three-phase test workflow: test ideas, test outlines, and implementations [15:30] Pair programming with AI: staying at the conceptual level while AI handles implementation [20:15] Code spikes and exploration: using AI to answer questions before writing production tests [24:40] AI failure modes: over-mocking and "success theater" with weak assertions [28:50] Large-scale refactorings: how AI excels at updating hundreds of tests simultaneously [32:10] The real bottleneck: expressing intent and specifications, not code generation speed Notable Quotes "As far as I am concerned, test-driven development is just about writing prompts for the AI that it can then use to build what you want it to build." — Luca "If you expect that a five-line prompt resulting in 10,000 lines of code will not result in 9,995 lines of uncertainty, you're just deluding yourself." — Luca "You can be five times faster than you were before and still maintain a very high production level quality code, but you probably can't be a hundred times faster." — Jeff Resources Mentioned Claude Code - Terminal-based AI coding assistant that Luca uses for TDD workflows, keeping conceptual work separate from code-level work Embedded AI Podcast - Luca's separate podcast focusing on AI in embedded systems, co-hosted with Ryan Torvik Luca's AI Training Courses - Hands-on trainings for using AI in embedded systems development (and much more!) links to all of Luca's work - Training, consulting, podcasts, conference talks and everything else You can find Jeff at https://jeffgable.com.You can find Luca at https://luca.engineer.Want to join the agile Embedded Slack? Click hereAre you looking for embedded-focused trainings? Head to https://agileembedded.academy/Ryan Torvik and Luca have started the Embedded AI podcast, check it out at https://embeddedaipodcast.com/

Sharona and Boz are joined by Dr. Adriana Streifer, Associate Professor and Associate Director at the University of Virginia's Center for Teaching Excellence, to explore how specifications grading, course design, and institutional culture intersect with the broader movement to rethink grading in higher education. Adriana shares how her early experiences teaching writing led her to question the fairness and meaning of traditional grading and ultimately adopt specifications grading as a way to better represent the complex, process-based nature of learning.The conversation dives into the practical differences between specifications and standards-based grading, lessons learned from facilitating the Alternative Grading Institute, and how instructors can assess their readiness for grading innovation in light of institutional constraints and professional risk. Along the way, the discussion examines the difference between procedural and conceptual rigor, the ways grading systems shape pedagogy, and how identity and institutional culture influence the pushback instructors may experience when they change grading practices. The conversation wraps up with a look toward the future: designing grading systems that align with values, support real learning, and perhaps eventually move beyond grades entirely.LinksPlease note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!From Expectations to Experiences: Students' Perceptions of Specifications Grading in Higher EducationIs Specifications Grading Right for Me?: A Readiness Assessment to Help Instructors DecideRethinking Grading: An In-Progress Experience, by Jason MittellWhen Is A Number Not A Number, Grading for Growth BlogResourcesThe Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:The Grading for Growth BlogThe Grading ConferenceThe Intentional Academia BlogRecommended Books on Alternative Grading:Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David ClarkSpecifications Grading, by Linda NilsenUndoing the Grade, by Jesse StommelFollow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.MusicCountry Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com In this second part of the conversation on MAFFEO DRINKS, host Chris Maffeo continues the discussion with Matilda Andersson, Managing Director at Truth Consulting, diving deeper into practical frameworks and methodologies for consumer research in the drinks industry. The conversation introduces the Four Cs Framework (Consumer, Culture, Category, Company) as a holistic approach to brand strategy that moves beyond focusing solely on consumers to incorporate broader cultural shifts and company truths—revealing why culture is the most neglected element despite being critical for long-term success. We explore the dangers of drinks industry echo chambers where brands become too geeky about serves and specifications while missing how consumers actually behave. Matilda shares insights on customer closeness programs that take design teams and brand managers out of offices to meet real customers in their natural environments. The discussion examines whether passion for the category matters for drinks professionals, the tension between short-term KPIs and long-term vision, and the challenge of bridging qualitative gut-feel insights with rigorous research methodologies. We address what makes research genuinely useful versus a bureaucratic chore, emphasizing honesty, collaboration, and actionable insights over data dumping. The conversation reveals how brands can stay relevant across multiple generations without alienating existing customers, focusing on cultural connection points rather than manufactured demographic differences.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction: Making Brands Relevant Across Generations02:45 - The Four Cs Framework: Consumer, Culture, Category, Company07:20 - Culture as the Most Neglected Element in Strategy10:50 - Settling Arguments: When Research Briefs Have Hidden Agendas14:30 - Category Myopia in Drinks Industry18:40 - The Geek Problem: Serves, Specifications & Echo Chambers23:15 - Customer Closeness Programs: Taking Teams to Meet Real People27:50 - Does Passion for Category Matter for Drinks Professionals?31:20 - KPIs, Short-Termism & Fear of the Future34:45 - Bridging Gut-Feel Insights with Rigorous Research37:30 - What Makes Research Useful: Honesty & Collaboration40:15 - Wrap-up: Participation, Co-creation & Breaking Down Walls This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. 

“The question isn't whether we can afford to maintain TOPAS, it's whether we can afford to become a nation where every junction is an experiment. Every upgrade is a gamble, and every innovation is incompatible with the last.”What happens to your network when every junction becomes an experiment—and every upgrade a gamble? That's the subject on this Highways Voices.Subscribe to Highways Voices free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Pocket Casts and never miss an episode!Kealie Franklin from TOPAS, Traffic Open Products and Specifications, which verifies compliance with specifications for traffic control products, is guest on the podcast, along with three key suppliers, Martin Andrews, Services Director at Yunex, Rob Harding, Engineering Manager for Telent's traffic business and SWARCO's Head of Product and Solutions, Derek McLean.They discuss why standards are not bureaucracy, but are the foundation that enables innovation, protects public investment and ensures compatibility across the UK network. With connected vehicles, AI-driven detection, and automated transport systems accelerating, the conversation suggests the stakes for getting this right have never been higher.You'll hear clear insight into why interoperability won't happen without us creating, and then demanding adherence to, rigorous standards, which are essential for safety today and connected and automated vehicle readiness tomorrow.There's a practical understanding of how TOPAS enables innovation rather than restricts it, including emerging updates such as enhanced detector messaging protocols and that a sharper procurement perspective helps us avoid false economies, vendor lock-in, and long-term maintenance risks caused by non-compliant or incompatible equipment.Whether you're a local authority or part of the supply chain, this is an important 30 minutes, and well worth your time.Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

Jamie's Links: https://github.com/github/spec-kit https://owasp.org/ https://bsky.app/profile/gaprogman.com https://dotnetcore.show/ https://gaprogman.github.io/OwaspHeaders.Core/ Mike on LinkedIn Coder Radio on Discord Mike's Oryx Review Alice Alice Jumpstart Offer

Join us for an interesting conversation with Dr. Leanna Katz about her career interests along with her research about the use and application of the Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS).

Don't forget to still do your tax reporting research at the State level, even if that State participates in the Combined Federal/State Filing (CF/SF) Program.  For two reasons you still need to check and a process to do it….Keep listening.Check out my website www.debrarrichardson.com if you need help implementing authentication techniques, internal controls, and best practices to reduce the potential for fraudulent payments, compliance fines or bad vendor data. Check out the Vendor Process Training Center for 173+ hours of weekly live and on-demand training for the Vendor team. Links mentioned in the podcast + other helpful resources:    IRS Publication 1220: Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498,IRS Publication 5717: Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) Taxpayer Portal User Guide Vendor Process Training Center > Resource Library: State Sites for Business/Tax ResearchCustomized Vendor Validations Session: https://debrarrichardson.com/vendor-validation-sessionFree Download:  Vendor Validation Reference List with Resource Links https://debrarrichardson.com/vendor-validation-downloadVendor Process Training Center - https://training.debrarrichardson.comCustomized Fraud Training:  https://training.debrarrichardson.com/customized-fraud-training Free Live and On-Demand Webinars: https://training.debrarrichardson.com/webinarsVendor Master File Clean-Up:  https://www.debrarrichardson.com/cleanupYouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeoffeQu3pSXMV8fUIGNiw More Podcasts/Blogs/Webinars www.debrarrichardson.comMore ideas?  Email me at debra@debrarrichardson.com Music Credit:  www.purple-planet.com

In this year-end episode, the Conspectus team (David Stutzman, Elias Saltz and Steve Gantner) reflect on the signals, surprises, and steady momentum that defined 2025 while looking ahead to what 2026 may hold. Despite mixed economic indicators, Steve & Elias observed increased proposal activity, strong demand in sectors like data centers, logistics, healthcare, and multifamily housing, and a continued rise in design-build delivery.Conferences—particularly DBIA (Design Build Institute of America) —highlighted growing industry alignment around early collaboration, UNIFORMAT-based thinking, and clearer documentation of design intent. The conversation also underscored the importance of people: emerging professionals, cross-discipline partnerships, and a shared commitment to strengthening the specification community so projects better serve owners' goals and business cases.Learning PointsMarket signals don't tell the whole story: Even with a negative ABI (Architectural Billing Index), proposal requests and active projects increased across several sectors.Design-build continues to gain traction: Growth in DBIA membership and RFPs (request for proposals) reflects a broader shift toward earlier contractor involvement and cost-informed design decisions.Early communication protects design intent: Regular design updates paired with contractor feedback help maintain alignment between intent, budget, and constructability.Next-generation talent is a bright spot: Students and young professionals are entering the industry with curiosity, advocacy, and a desire to improve how buildings are delivered—not just designed.Specifications are expanding in scope and influence: Adding engineering expertise and strategic partners enables more comprehensive, coordinated, and current project documentation.Collaboration reduces downstream risk: Contractor-driven requests around BABAA (Build America, Buy America Act) compliance revealed the need to address regulatory and sourcing requirements earlier in the process.A connected community is the goal for 2026: Stronger relationships among owners, designers, contractors, specifiers, and manufacturers lead to better outcomes—and better repeat projects

Our email is BibleBedtimePodcast@gmail.com, or you can join us on Facebook! If you would like to join our Patreon group for $1-$5 a month, you can listen to all episodes - including extended episodes of full books of the Bible.You can also send a small donation to us on Venmo @Biblebedtime. All your support goes to offset the costs of doing the podcast and are ALWAYS appreciated but NEVER expected.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/biblebedtime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Skip the checkbox mindset—this conversation shows how performance design becomes real when specs, codes, QA, and sustainability pull in the same direction. We sit down with Rachel Spiers, Associate Principal and Performance Design and Quality Manager at BWBR, to unpack a practice that moves beyond “less bad” and aims for regenerative outcomes. From office master specifications aligned with the AIA Materials Pledge to code updates that raise the industry floor, Rachel shares a playbook for teams who want better buildings without ballooning cost or schedule.We walk through the nuts and bolts of integrating a sustainability lens into design development and construction document QA, capturing metrics like energy use intensity and lighting power density, and laying groundwork to review daylighting, embodied carbon, and operational carbon. You'll hear how a performance baseline meeting at project kickoff creates shared targets, builds sustainability muscle memory, and turns intent into habits that survive the messiness of delivery. Along the way, specs stop being paperwork and become the engine room where healthier materials and lower-carbon choices quietly upgrade every project.What stands out most is the human side: coaching teams through code changes, celebrating wins when designers bring solid code research, and watching colleagues earn credentials and confidence. If you care about design excellence, product health, resilience, and measurable performance, this is a field guide to making it stick—one smarter default and one aligned review at a time. Subscribe, share with a teammate who touches specs or QA, and leave a review with your biggest hurdle to integrated performance—cost, time, or culture?If you like what we are doing with our podcasts please subscribe and leave us a review!You can also connect with us on any of our social media sites!https://www.facebook.com/BWBRsolutionshttps://twitter.com/BWBRhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/bwbr-architects/https://www.bwbr.com/side-of-design-podcast/

WWJ auto analyst John McElroy reports automakers should throw out their legacy specifications if they want to catch up with the Chinese.

Lakon has announced details of their new dedicated mining ship, the Type-11 Prospector. It has two unique modules, setting it apart from all other ships.

Check out the TIES Sales Showdown at www.tx.ag/TIESVisit The Sales Lab at https://thesaleslab.org and check out all our guests' recommended readings at https://thesaleslab.org/reading-listTo listen to The Sales Lab Podcast on your favorite apps, visit https://thesaleslab.simplecast.com/ and select your preferred method of listening.Connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/saleslabpodcastConnect with us on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesaleslabSubscribe to The Sales Lab channel on YouTube at  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp703YWbD3-KO73NXUTBI-Q 

Shawn Tierney meets up with Paul Scott of Inductive Automation to learn all about this year’s Ignition Community Conference in this episode of The Automation Podcast. For any links related to this episode, check out the “Show Notes” located below the video. Watch The Automation Podcast from The Automation Blog: Listen to The Automation Podcast from The Automation Blog: The Automation Podcast, Episode 242 Show Notes: Special thanks to Inductive Automation for sponsoring this episode so we could release it ad free on all platforms! To learn more about the Ignition Community Conference, see the below links: Ignition Community Conference Download Ignition Inductive University – Learn Ignition for free The Forum: Talk to the Ignition Community Schedule An Ignition Demo Read the transcript on The Automation Blog: (automatically generated) Shawn Tierney (Host): Hey, everybody. Thank you for tuning back in. It’s Shawn here from Insights and Automation. And in this episode of the automation podcast, I meet up with Paul Scott from Inductive Automation to learn all about the Ignition Community Conference. Now if you’re like me and you like going to these things, meeting other users and learning what’s new and coming out for the product, then I think you’ll enjoy this episode. And, you know, if you use Ignition or you’re thinking about using it, you really should consider looking into the community conference because it’s a unique once a year event that, really allows you to get a look at the not only the product, but their partners and talk to other users of the software. Now if you are interested, I’m gonna include all the top links in the description in the show notes so you’ll have them on whatever platform you’re viewing or listening on. And I also wanna thank Inductive for sponsoring this episode so it would be ad free, both the video and audio editions. So thank you very much to them because we always like it when it’s ad free. Right? With that said, let’s go ahead and jump into this week’s episode of the automation podcast and learn all about the Ignition Community Conference. I wanna welcome to the show Paul from Inductive. I’m so excited to have you guys on. This is the third appearance from somebody from Inductive on the show. And, before we start talking about the upcoming conference, which I’ve covered in years past, before we start covering that, could you introduce yourself to our audience? Paul Scott (Ignition): Sure thing. Yeah. Thanks, Shawn. Happy to be here. So, yeah, my name is Paul Scott. I joined Inductive Automation in 2013 as a tech support rep. And then I, a couple years later, switched over to an instructor role, which sort of got me into documentation, which is where I currently am right now. I oversee our technical documentation as well as, our video library, Inductive University. I like to tell people that’s my day job. The reason I’m here today, is, because of the conference. So I also help out with managing content for our annual conference, the Ignition Community Conference or ICC, as you’ll you’ll only say a whole lot. So Shawn Tierney (Host): yeah. That’s cool. And now I’ve covered it in the past. You guys do so much cool stuff, but I don’t you know, because it’s, you know, I think a lot of the audience have been to, you know, maybe more regional shows they may not be as familiar with. You know? What we find a lot in our industry is a lot of people don’t get to travel to every show. There’s so many that go on through at least just even North America, never mind the entire world. And so can you tell them a little bit about, you know, what the show is like, what there is to do if they go, and, you know, just from there, tell us about the the the conference. Paul Scott (Ignition): Sure. Yeah. I if you’ve never been to ICC before, I’d like to tell you that it’s probably a little bit different than a lot of these sort of industry, conferences you go to. So Mhmm. It’s got a lot more of a familiar vibe. It it’s well, it started actually in 2013. It was actually started the year I joined the company, but, hilariously, I joined a couple months late. So I missed the first one. It’s the only one I missed. But yeah. No. It’s, it is a a conference that has been growing over the years, and it’s kinda it has a very close knit feel to it, which is something we’ve always kind of loved. It’s a great opportunity for us to just meet members of the community and people use the software, from all different parts of the industry, all different parts of the world, and really kinda connect and share ideas. And so yeah. No. There’s I wanna say it definitely started off as just sort of like a professional sort of conference, right, where we’re talking about the software, talking about the company, what’s coming up, over the next year, and then we have, you know, community members come out and share their ideas, share their projects they worked on and stuff like that. And it has evolved quite a bit. There’s still that. There’s still this professional sort of aspect to it. But, yeah, as you could sort of alluded to earlier, there’s there’s we like to have a little bit of fun too. So, I think one of the sort of standout activities or or sessions, you’ll you’ll find at Shawn Tierney (Host): the conference is the Buildathon, which we’ve been doing for I don’t know how many years now. But it’s, yeah. So just just to give your your Paul Scott (Ignition): your viewers an idea, it’s it started off as an idea of we had two members of our company. It’s Travis Cox and Kevin McCluskey. These are two individuals that have been using the software for a long, long time. Very brilliant. They do all kinds of crazy cool stuff. They they help build customer solutions or or they did. They do they do a lot of other stuff nowadays. But, both just like wizards with the software. And so we thought, hey. Let’s put them on the stage and have them just try to, like, compete against each other. And then it, like, turned into this whole thing where we’re doing, like, on social media. It’s like, oh, team Kevin, team Travis. And there’s, like, music videos and diss tracks being thrown around. There’s, like, props. There’s costumes. And and the there’s a couple of, sort of, I guess, staples of of the session, which would be, one, there’s usually a musical act of some sort. I don’t wanna put them on the on on the hook for for this year, but, it it started the first year where there’s we had our host, Kent Mills, another another, wonderful guy who works with the company here. And, he was sort of the acting MC, for for the whole event. Right? So while Kevin and Travis are kinda building you know, I just watch people staring at a computer for, like, forty five minutes or an hour. It’s kinda boring. Right? So so Ken’s up has, like, this tall order of, like, entertaining the entire conference while that’s going on. So one of the things he did is he started singing a song and kinda got the whole crowd involved in it. And that so then that evolved to, like, oh, okay. Cool. Let’s do that again. And so we started making, like, music videos. We put together. We call it the, the IA, Inductive Automation Band. And so just a bunch of employees who have some sort of musical background, and we’ve made music videos. And it’s been kinda crazy. So that that’s kind of the spirit of of what the Build a Thon is. Right? Like and then they’re always trying new stuff and always getting kind of excited. So usually, that was one thing I recommend folks check out or maybe a reason to to kind of attend is the sort of this, like, industry conference that has this really fun, lighthearted sort of, session there. So but, yeah. No. That’s that’s is that aside from that, I mean, there’s a lot of different activities to come and check out. Something we’re doing new this year that I’m I’m actually kinda happy to talk about, is we’re so we have a new room that we’re bringing to the the venue. We’re calling it the CoLab because we like it’s short collaborative lab. Shawn Tierney (Host): Yeah. Paul Scott (Ignition): We like work we like our wordplay. And so we’re trying to turn this room into sort of a, kind of a hands on sort of room. Right? So a lot of conferences, they’re very passive. Right? Like, you’re you’re there. You’re there to listen. You’re there to maybe converse with folks if you get a chance to, but there’s usually a lot of things to watch. Right? But, you know, we we have this conference, and it’s about software. It’s like, well, should probably do something with the software or try to get some more hands on Shawn Tierney (Host): time Paul Scott (Ignition): with it. Right? Yeah. So in the collab, we’re we have two activities planned. One is the community design challenge. And the whole point of that is we have our instruction team who who teach our classes, and they handle our certification tests and all that fun stuff. They’re they are cooking up a bunch of challenges that need to be solved in Ignition. So the idea is that they’re gonna give you a bunch of, like, very small prompts, very, very small, like Yeah. Specifications and say, hey, can you build a solution in Ignition that does x y z? And the idea is to have you do within half an hour or so. We don’t want you to sit in all day feeling like you’re building a project when you’re at a conference. Right? And, once you complete it, we’ll both check you off, and they’ll add a point to your team. And we’re gonna have everyone who participates on one of three teams. So kinda channeling the spirit of the bill a thon. I just talked to someone. Yeah. Yeah. And have the community kind of work against each other and also together, I suppose, you could say when you’re talking about within teams. And we’ll now see the winning team at the end of it. We’re gonna have a whole bunch of challenges on every day so people can come back. If they wanted, we keep kinda showing off solutions or kind of, like, challenging themselves. So, really excited. It’s the first time we’re doing it this year, but hoping it it kind of brings some very creative ideas and then see what people can show off. Right? So so that’s one of the activities. The other activity in the collab would be the huddles we’re calling them or community huddles we’re also calling them. So, think of, like, a science fair. You have a bunch of people kind of presenting thing work they’ve done. Right? And then the audience, they kinda walk around. That’s kind of the vibe we’re going for. So so the idea is to get, like, speakers who are coming to the conference, vendors that are coming, thought leaders, people who aren’t even really presenting something, but they had something really cool that they wanted to show off to the community. Right? Like, they built some really cool application that does something really neat. And then we saw it was like, oh, that’s really cool. The idea is to have them come hang out for an hour at a time. We’ll have a whole bunch of them in the same again, in the collab, and they’ll just kinda show off demo, whatever it is they worked on. If they’re speakers, they’ll just kinda be there to hang out and maybe talk about their presentation. So, you know, if, maybe you sat in on their session and maybe you couldn’t maybe you had a question you wanted to ask, but maybe you couldn’t get into it because, you know, maybe you ran out of time or whatever. Hey. You can come say hi to them afterwards. Come maybe ask a question, interact with them. Yeah. You know, kinda you have a good chance to kinda mingle and meet with a speaker. Right? So good opportunity to sort of meet people that you who are presenting ideas or doing other fun stuff at the conference. So really excited to see how that’s, gonna play out this year. So hope hope you folks will enjoy that. Shawn Tierney (Host): Yeah. I think go ahead. I know. Paul Scott (Ignition): No. I was gonna say, I have more I can cover. I just don’t know if you want me to keep going. Shawn Tierney (Host): Yeah. No. Let me let me stop there. So Sure. You know, for the build a thon, I remember covering it the last couple of years for the new show. And, you know, it just I thought it was just so incredible. So, you know, this is a very serious business. Industrial automation, that’s you know, I know your your stuff can be used outside of industrial automation, but industrial automation, it’s very serious. And when you’re working with custom machine builders or integrators, you actually can have some fun because you get to see the vision of what can be done with control systems and how they can take a process that was maybe costing a company money to turning it around to being profitable. And just I always like watching machines in motion, you know, whether it’s a bottling line or robot arms or palletizers, depalletizers, whatever. And, but it’s just it’s just it’s like it’s like building, one of those Goldberg machines, but that actually has a purpose that does something positive. Right? It’s not just to be, you know, a where’s the for the eyes. It’s it’s actually to be something that that changes the life and make things possible. And, you know, I get frustrated with some some older folks who are like, automation is bad as they sit there holding their smartphone, which they live on and could not be created without any automation. So but in any case, the HMI skate a part of our Ignition and other packages like it. It’s a place where we can use a lot of create creativity that we don’t usually get to use unless we’re building something for a trade show. We we get to use on the controller side and you know? And so a lot of times, you know, those of us who love using those packages, we like to be creative. I know at a conference that kinda turned into a corporate thing and then got canceled. But conference I used to go to go to back in the day, I would we would we would challenge each other to build stuff and, like, I would build video games. Right? Pong, multiplayer Pong using a client server based system and, you know, you know, the interface from Star Trek or, you know, Space Invaders inside of a SCADA package. You know, I would it was just a way to kinda let go and have fun and, you know, talk to colleagues, and I really, really miss those times. And so you guys have captured that, put it in a bottle. And I like that the Build A Thon, how you invite all your integrators to kinda take part in it. And, like, a lot of it can be pre you know, done before the show, and then, you know, you have your finalists to actually do something at the show. And if did that change, or is that still the same way? Paul Scott (Ignition): It’s still the same way. Yeah. Shawn Tierney (Host): Okay. Yeah. I think that’s so smart because it gets the whole community involved, but, you know, there’s not time for everybody to do that at the show. But with the with the collabs, I can definitely see even end users and OEMs and other people getting involved where they may not be an authorized integrator, but they they they are, you know, passionate about the product, and they wanna they wanna show off, or just have fun and and see if they can they can build anything in the time allotted. So I think your guys are really capturing the spirit and and innovation, ingenuity of your users and keeping that community. You said that the the the event seems like, very friendly, like, very familiar. It’s probably because you, you know, you have good customers and they keep coming back, and they keep learning, and you’re responsive to their request. We used to follow your your releases every or your point releases and what you would add, and you guys are very responsive to feedback. Again, we all know from the product side, you can’t add every request that somebody has. Sometime just like when you program in a POC, sometimes they’re like, well, can you just have it go from there to there? That sounds so easy. It’s like, none of the equipment can actually move from there to there, so that’s impossible. Right? So, I really love what you guys are doing with that. I wish more people on an issue would do that. I just think it’s and I remember times in the past where I was involved with things like that. It was just so much fun, but also that camaraderie you have and and, you know, just everybody’s working together to make the product better and find new uses for the product innovate in a ways innovative ways to use it. So, it’s pretty exciting, and I appreciate you going over that stuff for you. Now before we go any further, we should probably I should probably have you tell us where it is in the date because, the last thing I wanna do is wait till the end to say that because sometimes people, they don’t get to finish the podcast. They get to work. They have to pause it. Maybe they won’t come back. So can you share with us the, the date and where it’s located? Paul Scott (Ignition): Absolutely. Yeah. So the conference opens, Tuesday, September 16. K. In the last three days. Right? So we’ll go all the way to Thursday. And the venue is gonna be the Safe Credit Union, which is in Sacramento, California. This is actually pretty notable year for us because this is the first time where we we’ve gone to that venue, actually. The the conference has always been in Folsom, California in the Harris Center, which is a fantastic, location, but it’s, it’s one of those things where the conference has just been growing year after year after year. It’s like, alright. We gotta we gotta try to find somewhere a little bit larger to go. So really excited. Really excited for it. Shawn Tierney (Host): That’s awesome. So we’ve covered those parts of the conference. Are there other things we should talk about? Like, are there any pre camp, people coming in to do talks, or is there any, like, hands on training? Or what else are you guys doing at this conference? Paul Scott (Ignition): Sure. Yeah. So there’s gonna be a large number of talks, which I’m really excited about. Something we’ve introduced in the past and I encourage people to participate with this year is, this table talks activity, which is if you’ve ever heard of what a non conference is, it’s kind of our sort of telling of it. But it’s basically an opportunity for attendees to sort of suggest topics that they wanna talk about and try to have, like, a targeted group discussion. So the idea is that, you know, people suggest ideas. Hey. I wanna talk about x y z. I wanna talk about, you know, UNS or, you know, whatever. Right? Mhmm. We’ll put that up on a schedule, and then attendees will say, oh, okay. I can go talk about that at this time. And then it’s lightly moderated. Basically, we have someone in the room to kinda, like, start things off, but then the idea is to back off and then and it’s becoming kind of discussion. People can kinda go wherever they want fit. In the past, that has been sort of the source of inspiration for future sessions that have Okay. Have have come up at the conference. Right? So so I highly recommend people come check that out. Aside from that, we’re also collaborating with the private conference that actually happened earlier this year. I don’t know if you’re if you’re reserved familiar with it, but I’ll just do, like, a very quick overview. So yeah. No. It’s it’s the the main sort of, the interesting thing about Pruvit is that they ask their vendors to basically prove that their solutions work, which is where the name Pruvit kinda comes from. So, yeah, they they basically create a this entire conference where they create a virtual factory, they call it. So they have, you know, namespaces and all kind of data points that all the vendors are supposed to connect to, and they’re supposed to, like, build a solution that works with that virtual factory, and then they demonstrate how it solves, you know, modern solutions or modern or modern problems, how it solves those. Right? So that that’s kind of the fun thing is, like, it’s not just the vendor going on stage and say, hey. Buy my product. It’s like, okay. Cool. But what did it do? Like, what did you do with it? That that’s the that’s the main thing. So we’re partnering with them this year, to basically kinda take over our old exhibitor showcases, and they’re kinda running it with their style. We’re really excited to see what they do with it and kinda how they, you know, sort of force the the these these solutions to kinda, like, adhere to some standard. So I’m gonna come check out a couple of those talks. Right? They’re gonna be, you know, presentation style so you can kinda see what’s going on. But the idea is people will kinda show off their solutions. And and, yeah, you get to see how they how they’re supposed to work in a real Shawn Tierney (Host): kinda, I say real world setting, but, obviously, it’s virtual, but you get the idea. So, yeah, I’d say that’s another exciting thing to come check out. Yeah. Now I know I wasn’t able I’m not able to get out there, just because of the timing. But your company did say, well, Shawn, we’ll give you a virtual pass so you can share what you learn with the audience, and I appreciate that. Thank you. Could you describe that, though? So I’ve never been to your conference virtually. So, could you describe to our audience what that and there may be people here on the East Coast or down south who won’t be able to get out to the West Coast, for the show. What what is the virtual pass? Paul Scott (Ignition): Sure. Yeah. So, you know, I’m I’m trying to talk about all these other fun activities that are there at the venue, but, obviously, those those are kinda like side, you know, sides to the main event, which would be all of our sessions, all all of the, all the talks we’re gonna give you. Right? So the virtual pass would would really I like to check out the streams that we’re gonna do. Right? So you’ll be able to see these sessions play out the entire conference schedule, play out live. It also gives you access to recordings of them. So say for example, you know, talk comes up at a certain time, you’re busy, you got some other stuff going on, that’s fine. You can always sign back into the platform later on and check out the recording much sooner than, the videos are normally publicly available. Normally, we make all of our conference content, like, the recordings available the following year just because we do some cleanup, with them before we start them on our website. So so, yeah, it’s just a great opportunity to be able to check out all of the sessions. And I’d say, you know, that’s that’s definitely one of the main or really the one of the few gripes I ever kinda hear about the conference is that there’s too much to do. Like, there’s too many talks going on, so people can’t do everything, which is true for a lot of conferences. You know what I mean? I got I’m gonna do it in so many places. So, yeah, the that pass is a great way to make sure you’re able to to to see all the different talks. So Shawn Tierney (Host): Yeah. I think that that is there’s always it’s, you could spend hours at some of these conferences prior to the conferences trying to map out the perfect the perfect. And then it gets blown up when you see somebody in the hallway in between sessions, and you’re like, I’m gonna miss what I you know, my main thing. But, anyways yeah. Yeah. So no. That’s good. That’s very good. And, so if anybody if especially if you’re using the product or looking at using the product and you really wanna get up to speed to learn more, find out what’s happening in the community, that’s a good alternative. And if the boss won’t let you out of work, at least you can catch the replays afterwards and, which is which is great, you know, and you still can feel like you’re you came up to speed, you know, without having to take a flight out there, which it would be better that, like, obviously, to do everything in person. But, sometimes, especially end users, they just it’s hard to get out of the plant. You know? And I shouldn’t say just that. End users, oh, yeah. It’s integrated. It can be it can be difficult to to travel halfway across the country and, you know, get that approved. But, hopefully hopefully, you’ll have a lot of people from the East Coast representing representing us. And, in any case so it just sounds like a great time. Sounds like a fun time. It’s coming up quick, so the people interested should try to sign up soon. What else do should we talk about about the conference? Paul Scott (Ignition): Well, you know, you you mentioned a little bit earlier, about sort of, the creativity of folks in this space. You you kinda Yeah. You kinda talk about making video games and stuff like that in in different systems. It’s kinda funny you mentioned that because one of the other activities we have is our we call it our SCADA arcade. So this Really? Yeah. So this this started off as, like, a project in our tech support division as sort of, like, a product knowledge development program where it’s like, hey. Make a video game in Ignition. Right? Which which is a little challenging because it’s not you know, it doesn’t have a lot of tools you’d find in, like, a modern, like, game engine. But, like, you know, that’s that’s engineers do great with with challenges like that, right, which is, I think, kinda to your point. So, yeah, we’re so, you know, in the past, we’ve basically brought these games that our support engineers have worked on just so people can check it out. This year, we’re returning to a larger room. We’re gonna try to have some some physical games there too so people can kinda play around and check it out. But, yeah, so that’s making a return. That that ended up being kind of a fan favorite, that that came out there. And then, I would also say, something else we’re doing this year is, we’re creating a room called The Hub. So one of the things we found it’s kind of funny running a a conference. This is something I didn’t really realize, but, there’s just a lot going on. And it turns out a lot of the attendees might wanna actually chat with someone. Shawn Tierney (Host): From Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Paul Scott (Ignition): And, it’s really hard when, like, you know, a good chunk of of your company is also running around, like, helping, facilitate the, the the conference. So we decided, alright. Let’s make a little room where we’re just gonna have people from different teams, you know, so, like, our support division or sales engineering, stuff like that. If you wanted to go talk to them or ask some questions. We’ll even have our product managers from software engineering. So if you wanted to, like, you know, mention, like, pinpoints or suggestions for ideas, there will be people there that you can kinda just chat and say hi. So, definitely recommend checking that out too. Just it’s a good way to kind of interact with the company. And I think that’s something that maybe a lot of your audience, a lot of attendees maybe don’t really realize that the conference is kind of a selfish thing for us because it’s a good opportunity for us to, like, talk to the folks that use the conference. That ends up being a huge draw for us. We we have a really strong community around the software. Right? And we we feel very blessed with it, you know, because there’s a lot of organizations out there that, you know, people have some not so nice things to say about the company for one reason or another. Right? But it it seems like we have some some really true true fans. So the conference is a is a fantastic time for us to really make sure we’re still connected to those folks where we’re still interacting. Like, you you sort of commented a little bit about us, like, reaching out to our community and interact with them. And so this is that’s really where that’s really why we’re here doing it every year is just we just like chatting with people and and throwing a little party where you can come and tell us what they’re working on. And and, it it it it it honestly, it motivates a lot of folks at the company. It also is a great introduction for a lot of folks because it’s maybe one of the things that’s a little less obvious, but maybe maybe once you think about it, it makes sense, is that, you know, we we’re a software company, which I know that seems kinda weird for me to say. But we’re we’re definitely, like, kind of we’re sort of like a step removed from the people that are using the software. Right? Like, we’re kind of a step at least a step or two away from from integration companies. Right? So the conference is a great way to say, hey. Come talk to these end users. Come talk to these integrators. See what they do with our software. Yeah. Right? Because that’s something that’s a little bit harder to capture, on their own at at IA. So we we like to make sure we’re talking with community members and sort of exposing them to, hey. Here’s what our users are doing. Here here’s here’s how the product actually gets used. So Yeah. That’s that’s a huge hugely important thing or aspect of the conference, I should say. Shawn Tierney (Host): Yeah. I mean, I think, over the years, one of the one of the bad trends we’ve seen, I think we’re all signed to realize this. You know, they say twenty twenty is hindsight is twenty twenty, is that, you’re not as you’re not as efficient or you can be super efficient when you’re conversing with people, when you’re talking to people, when you’re, in even in person. Right? That’s even better. And a lot of people, because of everything we’ve been through, doing everything remote or but you don’t you don’t get to see the inflections. You don’t get to understand. You know? And when you’re when you’re not not at a conference, you don’t usually have the time to really get into things on a deeper level. So there’s a lot of advantages. I know I’ve been doing this for thirty five years. I still learn new things talking to my students and talking to the vendors that come on. I’m learning stuff every day. And, if I just sat, read a book, and just sat and film videos, I would there must be so much I would never have learned. And because every every every human being is not all unique, but they’re in unique situations. And so for a vendor like yourself, Indefinitely see, you know, a conference like this, your customers are bringing you things that you’ve never thought of a certain way because you’ve never been in that situation. So it’s huge that you guys are doing this. Again, I recommend all vendors do something like this, but, I’m glad you guys are doing it. And, and I think that’s probably why you have a very loyal customer base. And, I, you know, I just wanna throw out there one thing too. Anybody who who is not a gamer, they do make, I actually built my own arcade machine, and they do make USB to arcade controls. So don’t poo poo it. You can actually take your favorite software package to make pong. Right? Anybody can do that, and, you can wire it to real arcade controls very simply and easily through, through a USB blob, block. So and it’s a lot of fun a lot of fun to do that too. So in any case, with that and, again, we know your your there’s a maker version of your software. We covered that in our first episode. And, so, you know, people can play with it if they want after hours and learn it as well. But in any case, so I’m looking forward to it already, even though I’m only gonna be attending virtually. Is there anything else we should cover in this episode about the conference itself or the company? Paul Scott (Ignition): Yeah. I I like to tell folks. I mean, there’s a lot to check out, and I’m obviously very I have some bias, and I’m very excited about a lot of things going on there. But, you know, if you can only, like, check out a few things, I’d I’d I would like to just kinda point out that we do have our two other keynotes that that we we have. So we have our main keynote and our technical keynote. And those are always usually very forward facing, forward thinking. So we kinda, like, talk a little bit about, you know, changes of the company, where the company is going, as well as the software. Right? Which which I think is what ends up pulling a lot of folks. Right? So it’s a it’s a conference for a piece of software. You figure go figure the the talk where we we we we we explore the future of the software ends up being the most popular one. So yeah. if, you know, end up not being able to attend, that’s totally okay. Maybe we’ll catch it in future use. But, yeah, once those recordings available, always recommend folks maybe check out those keynotes just because it can kind of kind of give you a little bit of insight of what we’re trying to do and where we’re going. So, but, yeah, no. I hope hope to continue to grow. Hope hope maybe we can get you out here on these times. I know, obviously, scheduling’s the the challenge, but love to love to have you come out, Shawn, sometime for sure. Shawn Tierney (Host): Yeah. I know I would enjoy. I know it would be a blast. And and I just wanna say out to the audience too, they do a great job of putting the point releases up like I’ve covered in my shows. And and really, they do a good and they do a lot of tongue and cheek with it too, which just makes it fun to read as well. But you can always see, and they they in those even in their regular point releases, they’re talking about things they wanna do, things that were customer suggestions, things they’re working on. So just kudos to the company for being so forward and transparent and really putting their customers first. And, yeah, I just I just was always impressed with those things. And, Paul, I just wanna thank you for coming on. What I’ll do is just so the audience knows, we’re gonna fill the, description with the important links so that you can either get your in person pass or you can get your virtual pass and, any other important links we think need to be in there so you guys don’t have to go search in the web or click, and they’ll be right there in the, description. I do wanna thank Inductive for making this episode ad free. We really appreciate it. So all that they’ve they’ve covered our cost to edit the episode and publish it so you guys are are enjoying it. So, Paul, thank your company for that, and, and, thank you for coming on the show. I really appreciate it. Paul Scott (Ignition): Yeah. Thanks for having me, Shawn. This is Shawn Tierney (Host): a lot of fun. Well, I hope you enjoyed that episode, and I wanna thank Paul for coming on the show and bringing us up to speed on the Ignition Community Conference. Really appreciate him coming on and sharing all those stories and all that information. And I wanna thank Inductive too for sponsoring the episode so we could bring you the audio and video completely ad free. That said, don’t forget all the links are in the description. And if you do use or are thinking about using, Ignition, then definitely consider going. I also was given a free pass to attend the virtual event, so I’ll try to get you guys reporting on that as the event is ongoing. Now with all that said, I do wanna thank you all for tuning back in this week. Please share the podcast with other people. It really helps us find new vendors to come on the show or maybe new product managers at existing vendors that we haven’t really hooked up with. So I really appreciate when you guys share the show out there. Let the vendors know you’re watching and listening. Or if you’re a vendor, let your colleagues know that it’s worth coming on the show because you get in front of this great audience. And with that said, I wanna wish you, my great audience, good health and happiness. And until next time, my friends, peace. Until next time, Peace ✌️  If you enjoyed this content, please give it a Like, and consider Sharing a link to it as that is the best way for us to grow our audience, which in turn allows us to produce more content

When concrete fails, who's really at fault—the material or the people using it? In this episode of the Concrete Logic Podcast, host Seth Tandett is joined by Dr. Jon and Rich to tackle the growing frustrations with Type 1L cement. They ask the hard questions: Is cement the problem? Are the specs off? Or is the industry just cutting corners? The conversation hits on the real-world consequences of poorly defined problems, regional quirks, and the disconnect between American and European concrete practices. If you're trying to figure out why your mix isn't performing the way it used to, this one's for you. What You'll Learn Is Type 1L cement actually the problem—or is it how we're using it? How do regional differences change concrete performance? What lessons can we learn from European construction practices? Why might specs that look good on paper still cause problems in the field? How can you prevent the cumulative effects of small material changes from derailing a project? Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Type 1L Cement Challenges 01:51 Defining the Problem: Material, Practitioner, or Other Factors 04:12 The Importance of Explicit Problem Definition 06:18 Regional Variations and Their Impact on Concrete Performance 08:39 The Role of Specifications and Methods in Concrete Quality 11:29 Comparing European and American Concrete Practices 13:53 The Need for Systematic Changes in Concrete Methods 16:48 Conclusion: A Holistic Approach to Concrete Issues ============================= Take Your Knowledge Further – Join Concrete Logic Academy! Gain access to expert video lessons, live Q&As, and professional development hours (PDHs). Learn what textbooks won't teach you. Start Learning: https://www.concretelogicacademy.com Support the Podcast – Be Part of the Concrete Revolution! Help us keep the Concrete Logic Podcast going strong. Your donation helps the entire concrete community get better and smarter. Donate here: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com Want your company to sponsor the podcast? Learn how: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/p/partner-with-concrete-logic-podcast/ Guest: Rich Szecsy, Big Town Concrete Guest Website: https://www.bigtownconcrete.com/ Producer: Tom Cummings, Jodi Tandett Music by: Mike Dunton (Instagram: @Mike_Dunton) Stay Connected & Watch More! Host: Seth Tandett Email: seth@concretelogicpodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-tandett/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcast Website: https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT & SHARE for more concrete truth bombs.

Sunday Morning Worship ServiceJune 22, 2025Guest Speaker: Ptr Jonie Datoy

This show has been flagged as Explicit by the host. More Command line fun: downloading a podcast In the show hpr4398 :: Command line fun: downloading a podcast Kevie walked us through a command to download a podcast. He used some techniques here that I hadn't used before, and it's always great to see how other people approach the problem. Let's have a look at the script and walk through what it does, then we'll have a look at some "traps for young players" as the EEVBlog is fond of saying. Analysis of the Script wget `curl https://tuxjam.otherside.network/feed/podcast/ | grep -o 'https*://[^"]*ogg' | head -1` It chains four different commands together to "Save the latest file from a feed". Let's break it down so we can have checkpoints between each step. I often do this when writing a complex one liner - first do it as steps, and then combine it. The curl command gets https://tuxjam.otherside.network/feed/podcast/ . To do this ourselves we will call curl https://tuxjam.otherside.network/feed/podcast/ --output tuxjam.xml , as the default file name is index.html. This gives us a xml file, and we can confirm it's valid xml with the xmllint command. $ xmllint --format tuxjam.xml >/dev/null $ echo $? 0 Here the output of the command is ignored by redirecting it to /dev/null Then we check the error code the last command had. As it's 0 it completed sucessfully. Kevie then passes the output to the grep search command with the option -o and then looks for any string starting with https followed by anything then followed by two forward slashes, then -o, --only-matching Print only the matched (non-empty) parts of a matching line, with each such part on a separate output line We can do the same with. I was not aware that grep defaulted to regex, as I tend to add the --perl-regexp to explicitly add it. grep --only-matching 'https*://[^"]*ogg' tuxjam.xml http matches the characters http literally (case sensitive) s* matches the character s literally (case sensitive) Quantifier: * Between zero and unlimited times, as many times as possible, giving back as needed [greedy] : matches the character : literally / matches the character / literally / matches the character / literally [^"]* match a single character not present in the list below Quantifier: * Between zero and unlimited times, as many times as possible, giving back as needed [greedy] " a single character in the list " literally (case sensitive) ogg matches the characters ogg literally (case sensitive) When we run this ourselves we get the following $ grep --only-matching 'https*://[^"]*ogg' tuxjam.xml https://archive.org/download/tuxjam-121/tuxjam_121.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam-120/TuxJam_120.ogg https://archive.org/download/tux-jam-119/TuxJam_119.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_118/tuxjam_118.ogg https://archive.org/download/tux-jam-117-uncut/TuxJam_117.ogg https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_116/tuxjam_116.ogg https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-ogg https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-ogg https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-ogg https://ogg http://tuxjam.otherside.network/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/tuxjam_115_OggCamp2024.ogg https://ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_114/tuxjam_114.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_113/tuxjam_113.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_112/tuxjam_112.ogg The last command returns the first line, so therefore https://archive.org/download/tuxjam-121/tuxjam_121.ogg Finally that line is used as the input to the wget command. Problems with the approach Relying on grep with structured data like xml or json can lead to problems. When we looked at the output of the command in step 2, some of the results gave https://ogg . When run the same command without the --only-matching argument we see what was matched. $ grep 'https*://[^"]*ogg' tuxjam.xml This episode may not be live as in TuxJam 115 from Oggcamp but your friendly foursome of Al, Dave (thelovebug), Kevie and Andrew (mcnalu) are very much alive to treats of Free and Open Source Software and Creative Commons tunes. https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-oggcamp-2024/ https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-oggcamp-2024/#respond https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-oggcamp-2024/feed/ With the group meeting up together for the first time in person, it was decided that a live recording would be an appropriate venture. With the quartet squashed around a table and a group of adoring fans crowded into a room at the Pendulum Hotel in Manchester, the discussion turns to TuxJam reviews that become regularly used applications, what we enjoyed about OggCamp 2024 and for the third section the gang put their reputation on the line and allow open questions from the sea of dedicated fans. OggCamp 2024 on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 October 2024, Manchester UK. Two of the hits are not enclosures at all, they are references in the text to OggCamp what we enjoyed about OggCamp 2024 Normally running grep will only get one entry per line, and if the xml is minimised it can miss entries on a file that comes across as one big line. I did this myself using xmllint --noblanks tuxjam.xml > tuxjam-min.xml I then edited it and replaced the new lines with spaces. I have to say that the --only-matching argument is doing a great job at pulling out the matches. That said the results were not perfect either. $ grep --only-matching 'https*://[^"]*ogg' tuxjam-min.xml https://archive.org/download/tuxjam-121/tuxjam_121.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam-120/TuxJam_120.ogg https://archive.org/download/tux-jam-119/TuxJam_119.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_118/tuxjam_118.ogg https://archive.org/download/tux-jam-117-uncut/TuxJam_117.ogg https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_116/tuxjam_116.ogg https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-ogg https://tuxjam.otherside.network/?p=1029https://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-oggcamp-2024/#respondhttps://tuxjam.otherside.network/tuxjam-115-ogg https://ogg http://tuxjam.otherside.network/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/tuxjam_115_OggCamp2024.ogg https://ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_114/tuxjam_114.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_113/tuxjam_113.ogg https://archive.org/download/tuxjam_112/tuxjam_112.ogg You could fix it by modifying the grep arguments and add additional searches looking for enclosure . The problem with that approach is that you'll forever and a day be chasing issues when someone changes something. So the approach is officially "Grand", but it's a very likely to break if you're not babysitting it. Suggested Applications. I recommend never parsing structured documents , like xml or json with grep. You should use dedicated parsers that understands the document markup, and can intelligently address parts of it. I recommend: xml use xmlstarlet json use jq yaml use yq Of course anyone that looks at my code on the hpr gittea will know this is a case of "do what I say, not what I do." Never parse xml with grep, where the only possible exception is to see if a string is in a file in the first place. grep --max-count=1 --files-with-matches That's justified under the fact that grep is going to be faster than having to parse, and build a XML Document Object Model when you don't have to. Some Tips Always refer to examples and specification A specification is just a set of rules that tell you how the document is formatted. There is a danger in just looking at example files, and not reading the specifications. I had a situation once where a software developer raised a bug as the files didn't begin with ken-test- followed by a uuid . They were surprised when the supplied files did not follow this convention as per the examples. Suffice to say that was rejected. For us there are the rules from the RSS specification itself, but as it's a XML file there are XML Specifications . While the RSS spec is short, the XML is not, so people tend to use dedicated libraries to parse XML. Using a dedicated tool like xmlstarlet will allow us to mostly ignore the details of XML. RSS is a dialect of XML . All RSS files must conform to the XML 1.0 specification, as published on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) website. The first line of the tuxjam feed shows it's an XML file. The specification goes on to say "At the top level, a RSS document is a element, with a mandatory attribute called version, that specifies the version of RSS that the document conforms to. If it conforms to this specification, the version attribute must be 2.0." And sure enough then the second line show that it's a RSS file.

Willem Pienaar and Shreya Shankar discuss the challenge of evaluating agents in production where "ground truth" is ambiguous and subjective user feedback isn't enough to improve performance.The discussion breaks down the three "gulfs" of human-AI interaction—Specification, Generalization, and Comprehension—and their impact on agent success.Willem and Shreya cover the necessity of moving the human "out of the loop" for feedback, creating faster learning cycles through implicit signals rather than direct, manual review.The conversation details practical evaluation techniques, including analyzing task failures with heat maps and the trade-offs of using simulated environments for testing.Willem and Shreya address the reality of a "performance ceiling" for AI and the importance of categorizing problems your agent can, can learn to, or will likely never be able to solve.// BioShreya ShankarPhD student in data management for machine learning.Willem PienaarWillem Pienaar, CTO of Cleric, is a builder with a focus on LLM agents, MLOps, and open source tooling. He is the creator of Feast, an open source feature store, and contributed to the creation of both the feature store and MLOps categories. Before starting Cleric, Willem led the open source engineering team at Tecton and established the ML platform team at Gojek, where he built high scale ML systems for the Southeast Asian decacorn.// Related Linkshttps://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/?utm_campaign=profilepage&utm_medium=profilepage&utm_source=linkedin&src=Online/LinkedIn/linkedin_pagehttps://cleric.ai/~~~~~~~~ ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ~~~~~~~Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://go.mlops.community/TYExploreMLOps Swag/Merch: [https://shop.mlops.community/]Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: /dpbrinkmConnect with Shreya on LinkedIn: /shrshnkConnect with Willem on LinkedIn: /willempienaarTimestamps:[00:00] Trust Issues in AI Data[04:49] Cloud Clarity Meets Retrieval[09:37] Why Fast AI Is Hard[11:10] Fixing AI Communication Gaps[14:53] Smarter Feedback for Prompts[19:23] Creativity Through Data Exploration[23:46] Helping Engineers Solve Faster[26:03] The Three Gaps in AI[28:08] Alerts Without the Noise[33:22] Custom vs General AI[34:14] Sharpening Agent Skills[40:01] Catching Repeat Failures[43:38] Rise of Self-Healing Software[44:12] The Chaos of Monitoring AI

In this episode of the Engine Professional Podcast, hosts Chuck and Rob discuss various updates in the automotive industry, including new features in Prosis Pro, recent regional conferences, and the importance of networking within the engine building community. They welcome Sean Nguyen, a technical scientist and automotive lubricant specialist from Pennzoil, who shares insights on the new GF7 oil standard, its benefits for engine protection, and the significance of oil chemistry in modern engines. The conversation emphasizes the importance of regular oil maintenance and the challenges posed by oil shear in contemporary automotive technology. There is a video podcast available for this episode – watch it here:https://youtu.be/nFiiC4x5et4

On this episode of the Rewind show we go back to June 11th 2010 where we read your emails, look at a news story or two, and look at TV Specifications.  

Show DescriptionJen Simmons stops by to talk about new CSS and Safari features like Form Control Styling, Declarative Web Push, Typography, contrast-color(), and more. Listen on Website →GuestsJen SimmonsGuest's Main URL • Guest's SocialSafari & WebKit Evangelist. Member of the CSS Working Group. Webmaster since 1996. Links webkit.org Safari Release Notes WCAG 2.0 contrast-color() function APCA Color Contrast Tool Color.js Release Lea Verou's page on color contrast Declarative Web Push Web Push for Web Apps on iOS and iPadOS CSS Forms Level 1 Specification in Progress line-height units Home | Open UI text-wrap: pretty margin-trim CSS shape() function Two Lines of Cross-Document View Transitions Code Sponsors

Send us a textWe dive into the often-overlooked world of specification engineers and their critical role in ensuring successful low voltage infrastructure projects. Roy Chamberlain from Leviton Network Solutions shares insights on how these behind-the-scenes experts help project managers, estimators, and technicians navigate complex specifications and standards.• Specification engineers serve as the glue between manufacturers, contractors, designers, and end-users• They help interpret specifications, fill in gaps, and ensure all components work together seamlessly• Many specifications contain outdated standards due to template reuse—spec engineers help keep everything current• Manufacturers offer solution-based approaches rather than just individual products• Future-proofing isn't necessarily more expensive—it just requires different thinking• Technicians can directly contact spec engineers for troubleshooting and on-site challenges• Working with established manufacturers provides access to expertise that online retailers can't match• Spec engineers stay current with evolving standards through regular training and industry participationCheck out Leviton's website or connect with Roy Chamberlain on LinkedIn to learn more about how specification engineers can help with your next project.Support the showKnowledge is power! Make sure to stop by the webpage to buy me a cup of coffee or support the show at https://linktr.ee/letstalkcabling . Also if you would like to be a guest on the show or have a topic for discussion send me an email at chuck@letstalkcabling.com Chuck Bowser RCDD TECH#CBRCDD #RCDD

This episode of the Smart Buildings Academy Podcast focuses on critical discussions that directly impact building automation professionals. Instructors Matt Scott, Ethan Morris, and Michael Roper explore the evolving relationship between BAS professionals and IT departments, common pitfalls in BAS specifications, and the practical value of trend logging. The conversation is centered on real-world challenges and strategies for success in modern building projects. The team shares insights based on field experiences, addressing issues that affect system performance, project timelines, and professional collaboration. This episode highlights actionable points for building automation professionals committed to delivering better outcomes. Key Topics Covered: The current state of collaboration between BAS teams and IT departments Why BAS devices are increasingly treated as IT assets Risks of not coordinating with IT during BAS deployments and how to avoid project delays Specification mistakes seen in BAS projects and professional ways to offer feedback The role of trend logs in troubleshooting, compliance, and performance improvement This episode will help you strengthen your BAS practices and stay ahead in a rapidly changing environment.

Every home is built on something — but is yours built to last? In today's message, Pastor Ron Zappia opens to Matthew 7 to share 4 Specifications of a House that Stands.   This message was originally preached at Highpoint Church on Sunday, April 27, 2025 Message title: A House that Stands Passage: Matthew 7:24-27   For more info about Highpoint Church, or to find a location near you, visit our website at https://highpoint.church.   Connect with Pastor Ron and find more Bible teaching at https://ronzappia.com

Is the use of threats to repel dishonest people a good idea? On this episode of Troubleshooting Agile, Squirrel and Jeffrey talk about the “threat of reference check” and whether the benefits of reducing dishonesty outweigh the drawbacks of damaging trust. Get in touch to tell us what you think. SHOW LINKS: - Domain-Driven Design: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain-driven_design - Big Book of Concepts: mitpress.mit.edu/books/big-book-concepts - Specification by Example: gojko.net/books/specification-by-example/ - Walking Skeleton: wiki.c2.com/?WalkingSkeleton -------------------------------------------------- You'll find free videos and practice material, plus our book Agile Conversations, at agileconversations.com And we'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show: email us at info@agileconversations.com -------------------------------------------------- About Your Hosts Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick joined forces at TIM Group in 2013, where they studied and practised the art of management through difficult conversations. Over a decade later, they remain united in their passion for growing profitable organisations through better communication. Squirrel is an advisor, author, keynote speaker, coach, and consultant, and he's helped over 300 companies of all sizes make huge, profitable improvements in their culture, skills, and processes. You can find out more about his work here: douglassquirrel.com/index.html Jeffrey is Vice President of Engineering at ION Analytics, Organiser at CITCON, the Continuous Integration and Testing Conference, and is an accomplished author and speaker. You can connect with him here: www.linkedin.com/in/jfredrick/

It's time to talk about commitment! Not engagement, which is insufficient to produce effective results. In this episode - a repost of a previous conversation - Squirrel and Jeffrey offer specific tools for effective commitments and tell a story about a company that created a pile of bones instead of a Walking Skeleton. You'll hear lots of references to “the book.” That's our book - Agile Conversations!! You can learn more about that here: https://agileconversations.com/agile-conversation-book/ SHOW LINKS: - Domain-Driven Design: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain-driven_design - Big Book of Concepts: mitpress.mit.edu/books/big-book-concepts - Specification by Example: gojko.net/books/specification-by-example/ - Walking Skeleton: wiki.c2.com/?WalkingSkeleton -------------------------------------------------- You'll find free videos and practice material, plus our book Agile Conversations, at agileconversations.com And we'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show: email us at info@agileconversations.com -------------------------------------------------- About Your Hosts Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick joined forces at TIM Group in 2013, where they studied and practised the art of management through difficult conversations. Over a decade later, they remain united in their passion for growing profitable organisations through better communication. Squirrel is an advisor, author, keynote speaker, coach, and consultant, and he's helped over 300 companies of all sizes make huge, profitable improvements in their culture, skills, and processes. You can find out more about his work here: douglassquirrel.com/index.html Jeffrey is Vice President of Engineering at ION Analytics, Organiser at CITCON, the Continuous Integration and Testing Conference, and is an accomplished author and speaker. You can connect with him here: www.linkedin.com/in/jfredrick/

This is a special episode, where I introduce the "Big Agile Questions" survey and review some of the questions that you've already submitted! Thank you all who did! You can find the submission form here. Submit your questions, as we will be reviewing these in future episodes! To join 25,341 other Agilists on our Newsletter (˜1 post/week), visit this page, and join. The Power of Asking Better Questions At every major turning point in history, from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution, progress has begun with asking better questions. The Agile movement itself started with the authors of the Agile Manifesto questioning traditional software development methods. Now, in 2025, with significant changes in the industry including PMI's acquisition of the Agile Alliance, the community faces a crucial moment to shape its future direction through thoughtful inquiry and reflection. "Throughout history, the biggest leaps forward have come from people willing to ask difficult, sometimes even quite challenging, questions." The Future Beyond Agile

Galatians 3:13 Thanks to everyone who supports TMBH at patreon.com/thetmbhpodcast You're the reason we can all do this together! Discuss the episode here Music by Jeff Foote

BONUS: Gojko Adzic on Optimizing Products for Long-Tail Users (Agile Online Summit 2024 Replay) In this BONUS episode, we revisit Gojko Adzic's insightful interview at the Agile Online Summit 2024. Gojko, an award-winning author and software expert, unpacks the principles behind his latest book, Lizard Optimization, offering a fresh perspective on improving product usability by addressing the needs of long-tail users. From learning from unexpected user behaviors to refining products with a systematic approach, this episode is filled with practical tips for product teams and Agile practitioners. What is Lizard Optimization? Drawing from his experiences as a product developer, Gojko introduces the idea of Lizard Optimization. He discusses how observing unexpected user behaviors led him to refine his SaaS tools like Narakeet and MindMup. By focusing on usability challenges and unusual patterns, he has turned serendipity into actionable insights. “Users aren't stupid—they're just finding creative ways to get value from your product. Listen to them.” Gojko explains the inspiration behind the metaphor of the “Lizardman constant,” a concept from a Scott Alexander blog post. He describes how this principle applies to product optimization: understanding and addressing the 4% of surprising, unexplainable behaviors can uncover opportunities for innovation. “The job isn't to judge users—it's to explore why they're doing what they're doing and how we can help them succeed.” The High-Level Process of Lizard Optimization Gojko outlines the systematic process described in his book to leverage unexpected user behavior: Observe Misuse: Identify how users deviate from expected patterns. Extract Insights: Focus on one unexpected behavior as a signal. Remove Obstacles: Help users achieve their goals more easily. Monitor Impacts: Detect and adjust for unintended consequences. “Start monitoring for the predictable but unexpected—those hidden gems can unlock your next big feature.” Practical Advice for Product Teams For teams ready to apply these concepts, Gojko emphasizes the importance of expanding observability tools to include product metrics and not just technical ones. He shares how tracking unpredictable user actions can inspire impactful changes. “About a third of what we do delivers value—focus on finding where unexpected value lies.” Recommended Resources To dive deeper into these ideas, Gojko recommends: Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments by Ron Kohavi Evidence Guided by Tim Herbig LizardOptimization.org “Experimentation and evidence-based decision-making are the keys to building better products.” Closing Thoughts: “Look for the Unexpected” Gojko's parting advice for Agile practitioners is simple yet powerful: Look for the unexpected. By embracing surprises in user behavior, teams can transform minor inconveniences into major opportunities for growth. “The unexpected is where innovation begins.” About Gojko Adzic Gojko Adzic is an award-winning author, speaker, and product creator. His books, including Lizard Optimization, Impact Mapping, and Specification by Example, have become essential reads for Agile practitioners and product teams worldwide. Gojko is a 2019 AWS Serverless Hero, the winner of the 2016 European Software Testing Outstanding Achievement Award, and the 2011 Most Influential Agile Testing Professional Award. He has also co-founded several successful SaaS tools, including Narakeet, MindMup, and Votito. You can link with Gojko Adzic on LinkedIn.