J. B. Rainsberger
@jbrains.ca
A professional 5-pin bowler who helps software professionals work with less stress for ready money. tdd.training jbrains.ca
Pinned
How's this for fortunate timing?! Just after writing a thread about the "ask your programmers!" strategy from _Frictionless_ (thread linked), I read the following in one of those email newsletters that we all subscribe to and never read. (next post)
bsky.app/profile/jbra...
bsky.app/profile/jbra...
On the one hand, it amazes me that this very simple and obvious strategy isn't the first thing that executives think of when they wonder how to improve results in their software development groups.
On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me at all that a person would shy away from it.
On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me at all that a person would shy away from it.
Finally, someone wrote it down in a book:
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
November 28, 2025 at 2:46 PM
How's this for fortunate timing?! Just after writing a thread about the "ask your programmers!" strategy from _Frictionless_ (thread linked), I read the following in one of those email newsletters that we all subscribe to and never read. (next post)
bsky.app/profile/jbra...
bsky.app/profile/jbra...
On the one hand, it amazes me that this very simple and obvious strategy isn't the first thing that executives think of when they wonder how to improve results in their software development groups.
On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me at all that a person would shy away from it.
On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me at all that a person would shy away from it.
Finally, someone wrote it down in a book:
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
To understand what is going well/poorly inside your engineering org: ask the devs what this is! Talk to a bunch of them to get a good picture
From the excellent new book by Nicole Forsgren and Abi Noda called "Frictionless"
Arrived yesterday
November 28, 2025 at 2:08 PM
On the one hand, it amazes me that this very simple and obvious strategy isn't the first thing that executives think of when they wonder how to improve results in their software development groups.
On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me at all that a person would shy away from it.
On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me at all that a person would shy away from it.
I'm doing some refactoring/adding tests in public on an Open Source project on December 2, in case you'd like to join us:
discord.gg/astro-lounge...
discord.gg/astro-lounge...
Join the Astro Lounge Discord Server!
The official community server for the Astro framework. Learn more at https://astro.build | 35680 members
discord.gg
November 28, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I'm doing some refactoring/adding tests in public on an Open Source project on December 2, in case you'd like to join us:
discord.gg/astro-lounge...
discord.gg/astro-lounge...
If you do the Saff Squeeze and you _don't_ finish by laughing out loud at your own mistake, then did you really Squeeze? 🤔
November 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
If you do the Saff Squeeze and you _don't_ finish by laughing out loud at your own mistake, then did you really Squeeze? 🤔
Does this sound like you?
Evolutionary Design/TDD has, for me, been an adaptive response to uncertainty (even anxiety!) I have felt while trying to write software.
Evolutionary Design/TDD has, for me, been an adaptive response to uncertainty (even anxiety!) I have felt while trying to write software.
November 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Does this sound like you?
Evolutionary Design/TDD has, for me, been an adaptive response to uncertainty (even anxiety!) I have felt while trying to write software.
Evolutionary Design/TDD has, for me, been an adaptive response to uncertainty (even anxiety!) I have felt while trying to write software.
I'm looking for a client interested in getting help to simply think more clearly for an experimental 3-month program.
What could you do with weekly conversations with a wise, caring partner, whose primary concern was helping you make sense of your world?
What could you do with weekly conversations with a wise, caring partner, whose primary concern was helping you make sense of your world?
November 20, 2025 at 7:07 PM
I'm looking for a client interested in getting help to simply think more clearly for an experimental 3-month program.
What could you do with weekly conversations with a wise, caring partner, whose primary concern was helping you make sense of your world?
What could you do with weekly conversations with a wise, caring partner, whose primary concern was helping you make sense of your world?
How can writing things down in an Inbox be so powerful? blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/bl...
Blue Tape and Inbox Technique
Many people struggle to apply the ideas in Getting Things Done, partly because those ideas seem like abstract
blog.jbrains.ca
November 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
How can writing things down in an Inbox be so powerful? blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/bl...
I try not to be quite so blunt about this these days, but I stand by the overall message: you have probably been trying to go too fast.
And I get it. No blame, really! If you don't have at least one impatient customer, then you have a hobby and not a business, right? :shrug:
And I get it. No blame, really! If you don't have at least one impatient customer, then you have a hobby and not a business, right? :shrug:
Metaphor for software development.
Reminds me of a classic @jbrains.ca saying:
“But test-driven development will slow us down.”
J.B.: “Good.”
Reminds me of a classic @jbrains.ca saying:
“But test-driven development will slow us down.”
J.B.: “Good.”
The slower pace means each machine only makes 23 to 28 meters of hoodie fabric per hour, but this also ensures quality (e.g., no holes or runs in the material). When hoodies are cheap, companies have to maximize output, but this can also mean they have lower quality control.
November 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I try not to be quite so blunt about this these days, but I stand by the overall message: you have probably been trying to go too fast.
And I get it. No blame, really! If you don't have at least one impatient customer, then you have a hobby and not a business, right? :shrug:
And I get it. No blame, really! If you don't have at least one impatient customer, then you have a hobby and not a business, right? :shrug:
I have a new challenge for 2026 and I have spent approximately 20 minutes on it so far.
This resource, I presume, is going to help me.
dexonline.ro
This resource, I presume, is going to help me.
dexonline.ro
dexonline
dexonline.ro
November 11, 2025 at 7:25 PM
I have a new challenge for 2026 and I have spent approximately 20 minutes on it so far.
This resource, I presume, is going to help me.
dexonline.ro
This resource, I presume, is going to help me.
dexonline.ro
Before you react to this story one way or the other, please listen to the podcast I've shared. Even if just in the background.
It quite literally the least you can do.
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
It quite literally the least you can do.
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
November 11, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Before you react to this story one way or the other, please listen to the podcast I've shared. Even if just in the background.
It quite literally the least you can do.
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
It quite literally the least you can do.
www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
Well, my newest Master Class was a hit. As it is with my live work with programmers, we start with all the technical issues, then pivot hard in the last 30% to the deeper interpersonal problems.
codecamp.ro/masterclasse...
codecamp.ro/masterclasse...
Dealing with Regret in Software Design
Join Codecamp in Iasi, Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara to learn, share, and connect with the IT community.
codecamp.ro
November 7, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Well, my newest Master Class was a hit. As it is with my live work with programmers, we start with all the technical issues, then pivot hard in the last 30% to the deeper interpersonal problems.
codecamp.ro/masterclasse...
codecamp.ro/masterclasse...
"Yes, but we don't live in Qazaqstan, we live in Königswiesen!"
November 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
"Yes, but we don't live in Qazaqstan, we live in Königswiesen!"
October 30, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The limit of making prompt libraries more precise is a programming language.
October 30, 2025 at 10:12 AM
The limit of making prompt libraries more precise is a programming language.
A telling of the story of how Carl Sagan tried to encourage young people to learn more about critical thinking.
youtu.be/-Pc3IuVNuO0
#codecamp
youtu.be/-Pc3IuVNuO0
#codecamp
The Controversial Exam Carl Sagan Gave His Students
YouTube video by Tibees
youtu.be
October 30, 2025 at 8:53 AM
A telling of the story of how Carl Sagan tried to encourage young people to learn more about critical thinking.
youtu.be/-Pc3IuVNuO0
#codecamp
youtu.be/-Pc3IuVNuO0
#codecamp
When we use LLMs to generate code, we get Common Practice amplified and thrown back into our faces. We also entrench Common Practice.
So... Which practices are common? Would you like more or less of that?
#codecamp
So... Which practices are common? Would you like more or less of that?
#codecamp
October 30, 2025 at 8:39 AM
When we use LLMs to generate code, we get Common Practice amplified and thrown back into our faces. We also entrench Common Practice.
So... Which practices are common? Would you like more or less of that?
#codecamp
So... Which practices are common? Would you like more or less of that?
#codecamp
With a code sample of computing the most frequently repeated letter in a string in Java, @venkats.bsky.social shows us an example of code that looks complicated (even ridiculous), but is truly merely unfamiliar to the typical reader. #codecamp
October 30, 2025 at 8:34 AM
With a code sample of computing the most frequently repeated letter in a string in Java, @venkats.bsky.social shows us an example of code that looks complicated (even ridiculous), but is truly merely unfamiliar to the typical reader. #codecamp
According to @venkats.bsky.social I am so old that the Gen AI takeover will make me into a boutique consultant who will be able to charge higher prices, not lower ones.
I appreciate him for the ray of hope. #codecamp
I appreciate him for the ray of hope. #codecamp
October 30, 2025 at 8:24 AM
According to @venkats.bsky.social I am so old that the Gen AI takeover will make me into a boutique consultant who will be able to charge higher prices, not lower ones.
I appreciate him for the ray of hope. #codecamp
I appreciate him for the ray of hope. #codecamp
Iată o nouă provocare pentru 2026.
October 27, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Iată o nouă provocare pentru 2026.
Does nobody here care about the difficulties of navigating a job in software development or do I merely need to attract a new batch of followers? 😉
October 27, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Does nobody here care about the difficulties of navigating a job in software development or do I merely need to attract a new batch of followers? 😉
October 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The Three Amigos, aka Collaboration among customers, programmers, and testers, makes an appearance, but wearing a mustache because nobody paid attention to them the first time around. #codecamp
October 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The Three Amigos, aka Collaboration among customers, programmers, and testers, makes an appearance, but wearing a mustache because nobody paid attention to them the first time around. #codecamp
Echoes of _Never Check Email in the Morning_ in @markrichardssa.bsky.social encouraging folks to devote time to caring for their career. #codecamp
October 23, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Echoes of _Never Check Email in the Morning_ in @markrichardssa.bsky.social encouraging folks to devote time to caring for their career. #codecamp
Excellent! If @markrichardssa.bsky.social has it right and programmers will be nudged towards architectural responsibilities, it seems to me that the lessons we can learn from Evolutionary Design will be invaluable. That will make it easier to trust the programmers to whom they delegate decisions.
October 23, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Excellent! If @markrichardssa.bsky.social has it right and programmers will be nudged towards architectural responsibilities, it seems to me that the lessons we can learn from Evolutionary Design will be invaluable. That will make it easier to trust the programmers to whom they delegate decisions.