Verum Factum and the Creator’s Confidence
Verum Factum: we only really know what we made.
Dang, I know that feeling with software! And I miss it, now that AI is doing the coding.
But sometimes I still get it…
newsletter
Adding Correctness Conditions to Code Changes
Today I looked at the first PR on our new project repo. It added a new run script, but the README didn’t mention it. The proposed change was incomplete, because the documentation was out of sync. Did I comment on the PR? heck no. I want to fix this problem for all PRs, not just … Read moreAdding Correctness Conditions to Code Changes
Speak So They Can Hear You
“My manager needs to put an ROI on everything,” an SRE leader told me at KubeCon this week. Yeah, I feel that. We know the value of SRE, smoothing all other work so that production can produce. Putting that into dollars though? It’s hard to count the cut costs of incidents that didn’t happen. Yet … Read moreSpeak So They Can Hear You
What is special about MCP?
three things MCP can do, and an infinite number of things it can’t do (all of which make it great) AI agents can interact with the world using tools. Those tools can be generic or specific. Generic Run a bash command Operate a web browser Execute a SQL query Specific See my Google Calendar events … Read moreWhat is special about MCP?
Ritual & its Consequences: book summary
I like how they make the title sound like ritual is a problem. Our culture believes that, I liked to believe it, and so the book is more appealing. (book on amazon, pdf excerpt) The book is not about rituals, but rather the attitude that ritual engenders. It’s an attitude of “If we do things … Read moreRitual & its Consequences: book summary
Fixing Without Understanding
A while back, I washed a book in a load of laundry. It got all the way through the dryer before I realized what all this white stuff was. Ooops! I’ve been feeling bad for all the fuzz left in the dryer. Poor dryer. Maybe I can take its front off and scoop all that … Read moreFixing Without Understanding
Augmented Coding: an Experience Report
Last weekend I sat down with augmentcode.com to do some serious AI-assisted coding. The agent, “Auggie,” promises to automate coding tasks to a level I haven’t tried before. Gotta say, it was pretty good. I got farther than I would have alone. But hoooo, it is a new kind of effort and frustration. Overall impression: … Read moreAugmented Coding: an Experience Report
Software development is…
There is something puzzling about software development. It doesn’t work like many tasks, it doesn’t break down the same way. It feels strangely personal, like there’s a connection between the code and the coder, or else it goes brittle. Today I learned a word for this! Ursula Franklin was a physicist, among other things, and … Read moreSoftware development is…
Cascading OKRs: We can do Better
OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) are a framework for validating alignment through the organization. As a company, as a department, as a team: what are we focused on this quarter? What are we trying to make true? Alignment looks nice when the team OKRs roll up to the department OKRs, and those add up to … Read moreCascading OKRs: We can do Better
Command vs Control
I think of “command and control” as one thing. Is there a difference? That common phrase notwithstanding, command and control are two alternative structures, more opposites than synonyms! Command (like in the military) allocates responsibilities to parts of the hierarchy. So a general is tasked with winning a war, and each officer under them is … Read moreCommand vs Control