A shared Rails template gave three internal tools a common foundation — authentication, tenancy and permissions solved once, argued about once, then simply inherited. When I wrot...
The build-versus-buy calculus has quietly shifted. For a lot of internal tooling, building something exact is no longer the expensive option. For years, the build-versus-buy conv...
Agents can produce more code in a day than I used to in a week. That's not entirely a good thing. AI has changed the pace of software delivery in ways I'm still getting my head a...
A vibecoded prototype isn't just a rough sketch. It's a working, interactive specification, and one heck of a starting point. My colleague built a one-page static prototype in Cl...
Spec driven development isn't a new paradigm - it's waterfall, repurposed for the agentic age. The discipline that agile tried to escape is the discipline our agents now demand. T...
After 25 years of building bespoke software, the advice I wish I'd been given on day one is that saying no to a client isn't a failure - it's the highest form of service. The Ins...
Two decades of building bespoke applications has taught me that the initial build is rarely where the real value - or the real cost - lives. A Rails 1.0 Application That Refuses ...
A few months ago I decided to start sharing more of my work publicly - side projects, half-finished ideas, things I've learned the hard way. I've been hesitant about this for years...
What we learned modernising a 15-year-old courier system for the age of AI agents - with the exact file structure, conventions, and test results we used. This is a practical fo...
Leading teams create in-repo guidance for their AI agents to slash onboarding time, banish hallucinations, and multiply delivery speed. Is your team Agent-ready? From Human-Reada...