№4 — upstream of the code

The Product-Minded Software Engineer

Gergely Orosz argues that engineers who dig into why product decisions are made and how the product is actually used are rare and disproportionately valuable to their teams.

useful meh junk

12 Signs You’re Working in a Feature Factory

John Cutler argues that many organizations run as “feature factories” that churn out output without measuring whether any of it changes user behavior, and catalogs the twelve tells.

useful meh junk

Work on what matters.

Will Larson argues that because working time only grows scarcer over a career, you have to deliberately select for high-impact work rather than defaulting to whatever is in front of you.

useful meh junk

Say the Hard Thing

Michael Lopp argues that most of his management failures trace back to ducking a difficult conversation, making the willingness to say the hard thing a foundational leadership skill.

The majority of people-related disasters I’ve created originate with my choice to not say the hard thing.

useful meh junk

The One-Woman Dev Team Diaries

Nadia Odunayo recounts the day-to-day reality of building and running The StoryGraph as a solo developer and founder.

useful meh junk

wake — pk

Paul Kingsnorth tells the story of Buccmaster, a Lincolnshire farmer turned guerrilla fighter against the Norman Conquest, written in an invented “shadow tongue” built from Old English.

useful meh junk