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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä
@nikoheikkila.fi
79 followers 200 following 310 posts
Software Craftsman and Extreme Programmer. Ambassador in all things Agile and DevOps. Working in the intersection of people and tech. Prominent in solving problems by eliminating process waste and amplifying how people work together.
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · Mar 26
My first article for the Polar Squad blog lands with a hot and possibly unpopular take: AI-augmented software development isn't the silver bullet you've been looking for. Still, you can make it work by focusing on software delivery instead of development productivity.

polarsquad.com/blog/ai-augm...
AI-augmented Software Development: Hype, Vibes and Smoking Production Environments — Polar Squad
AI helps us code faster, but real impact comes from fixing delivery. Explore the hidden costs of AI tools, and how teams can work smarter, not just faster.
polarsquad.com
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 12d
Only when used properly, which does not mean writing imperative script logic inside functions.

The same goes for OOP, naturally.
modernswe.bsky.social
Modern Software Engineering @modernswe.bsky.social · 12d
Does functional programming SOLVE complexity, or is it just another style we’ve all decided to argue about?
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Reposted by Niko Heikkilä
tdpauw.bsky.social
Trunk-Based Thierry (they/them) @tdpauw.bsky.social · 13d
People think software development is about writing code. It is not!

It is about:

Communication
Collaboration
Simplicity
Courage
Respect

-- XP Values, @kentbeck.com

@jamesshore.bsky.social #agilecam
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 13d
CEOs, obviously, are not going to appreciate if teams are going to refuse working with Next.js or deploying to Vercel. AI happily does it that as it doesn't have a moral compass, which is a larger problem on its own.
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 14d
When will @bsky.app start supporting passkeys as MFA solution instead of emailing me login [email protected]
nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 14d
I've seen many large organisations building critical apps with Next.js. I've helped them in the past as well.

I wonder what happens when people who developed those apps refuse to work and demand a rewrite.

Sounds like you cannot cover your ears and pretend tech is isolated from politics.
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 14d
I'm seeing a wave after another of people migrating away from Vercel. What a meltdown for a tech company, although there must be a tiny wave of right-wing nuts subscribing for support.

I migrated to Netlify years ago for better developer experience. I haven't regretted that decision.
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Reposted by Niko Heikkilä
jasongorman.bsky.social
Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 15d
"Teams that care about quality will take the time to understand LLM-generated code before it makes it into the repo.

But some teams are checking in code nobody’s read, and that’s only been cursorily tested. And, evidently, there’s a lot of them."

codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/09/30/c...
Comprehension Debt: The Ticking Time Bomb of LLM-Generated Code
An effect that’s being more and more widely reported is the increase in time it’s taking developers to modify or fix code that was generated by Large Language Models. If you’ve wo…
codemanship.wordpress.com
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 16d
Naturally, working closely together amplifies the effect of this a thousandfold.

The more frequently I ask for constructive criticism, the less I need to make significant adjustments and the happier and more effective I can feel about my work.
nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 16d
– "Before we start working on this, help me understand the obvious pitfalls where we can fail?"

– "I think it works now. What parts am I still missing?"

– "Technically, the quality satisfies me, but the usability could greatly improve. Have you got any ideas for that?"
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 16d
So, instead of stating these as facts (sounds a bit like LLMs, no?):

– "I now fully understand what needs to be done with this, so I'll start working on it."

– "My solution is complete; please review and approve it."

Consider reframing the questions like so:
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 16d
Consider this from the perspective of the person giving feedback: When someone approaches you with a humble mindset, it's hard not to be impressed and eager to assist.

This human tendency to respond positively to humility is a powerful trick and often helpful when fostering team culture.
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 16d
Respectively, had I arrived at the discussion staunchly asserting I'm always right and the quality of my work is impeccable, my ego would have been mercilessly thrashed after receiving criticism.

How do you imagine that affects job satisfaction?
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 16d
I encourage my peers to scrutinise my work to uncover as many flaws as possible and challenge my thought process.

This approach prepares me for criticism and makes the unexpected positive feedback all the more gratifying.
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 16d
Don't just prepare for the bad news, beg for it! The most enriching discussions with my peers have begun with me actively seeking criticism.

🧵
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Reposted by Niko Heikkilä
jasongorman.bsky.social
Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 16d
If your research into developer productivity is based on Pull Request stats, you've excluded some of the most productive teams from your data.
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 17d
This is the way.
dstepanovic.bsky.social
Dragan Stepanović @dstepanovic.bsky.social · 17d
fuck yeah
nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 18d
I've cancelled my HEY subscription and configured Fastmail web and mobile apps with similar and more flexible email routing rules. This was easy, and I have all the features I need. Email isn't a difficult concept, and HEY did little to reinvent it. They simply wrapped it nicely.

Adios, 37signals.
nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 20d
En rahvaana tilaa Hesaria, joten kiinnostaa miten kävi kaasuntuoton kanssa?
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 23d
We ordered books for our office book club from Amazon.

Purchase made in the Amazon storefront, sold by World of Books, delivered by Mail Handling International, delivery outsourced to DPD, and further outsourced to Postnord.

This is why I almost exclusively purchase ebooks. Logistics is a joke.
Reposted by Niko Heikkilä
mustapipa.bsky.social
Mikko Tuomi @mustapipa.bsky.social · 24d
Large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limits.
www.computerworld.com/article/4059...
OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just engineering flaws
In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limi...
www.computerworld.com
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 25d
I unsubscribed from DHH's blog a few years ago when the content was still somewhat moderate, but occasionally troubling. Briefly skimming the later posts shows well how the descent to right-wing madness escalated.
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nikoheikkila.fi
Niko Heikkilä @nikoheikkila.fi · 25d
HEY has been a truly excellent email client, and I've been using it since it launched, but it's a tad too costly for my personal email needs.

After reading this blog post, I suddenly found looking for alternative clients very easy and attractive. I already use Fastmail for mail storage and domains.
davidcel.is
david celis @davidcel.is · 26d
Ages ago, when I was still a student, I taught myself Ruby on Rails for my senior thesis and fell in love. Fifteen years later, and I’ve used Rails at every job I’ve ever held in the tech industry. Fifteen years, and I still love Rails! But there’s something rotten at its core, and we share a name.
Rails Needs New Governance
Ages ago, when I was still a student, I taught myself Ruby on Rails for my senior thesis and fell in love. Fifteen years later, and I’ve used Rails at every job I’ve ever held in the tech industry. Fifteen years, and I still love Rails! But there’s something rotten at its core, and we share a name.
davidcel.is
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Reposted by Niko Heikkilä
leighalexander.bsky.social
Leigh Alexander @leighalexander.bsky.social · 27d
ON THIS DAY in 2014 i was being widely accused of having millions in a swiss bank due to my collusion with technology conspiracies that ran all the way up to the top academic and government institutions
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Reposted by Niko Heikkilä
joncooper-us.bsky.social
Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · Sep 13
"…and Magda Goebbels made a great strudel.”
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Reposted by Niko Heikkilä
aleroi.bsky.social
Aleksi Roinila 🇫🇮🇪🇺🇺🇦 @aleroi.bsky.social · Sep 12
You do not need to say good things about the dead.

Especially if they were a literal fascist.
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