Pragmatic Developer Experience
@pragmaticdx.com
Writing about developer experience beyond the tooling debates—because your best engineers aren't leaving over build times, they're leaving over death by a thousand interruptions.
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Thanks for being part of this. 🙏
Developer friction is rising while leaders double down on AI and metrics. The only way to fix what’s actually broken is to ask the people doing the work.
The Christmas Gift Your Developers Actually Want: Being Heard
Developer friction is rising while leaders double down on AI and metrics. The only way to fix what’s actually broken is to ask the people doing the work.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Developer friction is rising while leaders double down on AI and metrics. The only way to fix what’s actually broken is to ask the people doing the work.
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
Make the Easy Path the Right Path
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
Why developers are slower with AI tools despite believing they're faster and what actually works
The AI Feedback Loop That Isn't Working Yet
Why developers are slower with AI tools despite believing they're faster and what actually works
blog.pragmaticdx.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Why developers are slower with AI tools despite believing they're faster and what actually works
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
How to Actually Protect Focus Time
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
Three Forces That Quietly Shape How Developers Work
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
blog.pragmaticdx.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
The Hidden Cost of Adding Just One More Feature
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
Quick sale on annual subscriptions – 50% off.
You'll get a full year of weekly posts about the messy reality of developer experience: the organizational dysfunction, the culture issues, the stuff that actually matters beyond just tooling.
blog.pragmaticdx.com/e884d54f
Lock it in while you can!
You'll get a full year of weekly posts about the messy reality of developer experience: the organizational dysfunction, the culture issues, the stuff that actually matters beyond just tooling.
blog.pragmaticdx.com/e884d54f
Lock it in while you can!
Subscribe to Pragmatic Developer Experience
Developer productivity isn't a tooling problem. It's an organizational one. I write about what actually slows teams down. Click to read Pragmatic Developer Experience, by Marcel Hauri, a Substack publ...
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Quick sale on annual subscriptions – 50% off.
You'll get a full year of weekly posts about the messy reality of developer experience: the organizational dysfunction, the culture issues, the stuff that actually matters beyond just tooling.
blog.pragmaticdx.com/e884d54f
Lock it in while you can!
You'll get a full year of weekly posts about the messy reality of developer experience: the organizational dysfunction, the culture issues, the stuff that actually matters beyond just tooling.
blog.pragmaticdx.com/e884d54f
Lock it in while you can!
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
The Hidden Cost of Adding Just One More Feature
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
Make the Easy Path the Right Path
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
Why developers are slower with AI tools despite believing they're faster and what actually works
The AI Feedback Loop That Isn't Working Yet
Why developers are slower with AI tools despite believing they're faster and what actually works
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Why developers are slower with AI tools despite believing they're faster and what actually works
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
How to Actually Protect Focus Time
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
Three Forces That Quietly Shape How Developers Work
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
Make the Easy Path the Right Path
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Success isn’t about pushing developers harder, it’s about shaping the system around them. When doing the right thing feels effortless, excellence becomes inevitable.
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
The Hidden Cost of Adding Just One More Feature
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Every team thinks one more feature will make the launch better. In reality, it’s the fastest way to delay, over-engineer, and burn out before you ever ship.
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
Three Forces That Quietly Shape How Developers Work
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Max Kanat-Alexander breaks down why cycle time, focus, and cognitive load determine whether your engineering team thrives or burns out
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
How to Actually Protect Focus Time
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
blog.pragmaticdx.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The three-layer system, exact scripts, and implementation playbook for protecting your focus when everyone's convinced their request is the exception.
What's the most ridiculous workaround you've built because fixing the actual problem would require approvals from 6 different teams?
November 18, 2025 at 5:14 AM
What's the most ridiculous workaround you've built because fixing the actual problem would require approvals from 6 different teams?
What's your team's unspoken rule for when documentation is 'good enough' vs when it needs to be perfect? Or does everything just stay in draft mode forever?
November 17, 2025 at 11:14 PM
What's your team's unspoken rule for when documentation is 'good enough' vs when it needs to be perfect? Or does everything just stay in draft mode forever?
What's the programming language you love that nobody else seems to care about anymore?
November 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM
What's the programming language you love that nobody else seems to care about anymore?
How do you explain to non-technical stakeholders that 'just add a button' is actually a 2-week project touching 8 different services?
November 17, 2025 at 11:14 AM
How do you explain to non-technical stakeholders that 'just add a button' is actually a 2-week project touching 8 different services?
Your junior developer asks why we don't just rewrite everything in [hot new framework]. What's your response that doesn't crush their enthusiasm but also acknowledges reality?
November 17, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Your junior developer asks why we don't just rewrite everything in [hot new framework]. What's your response that doesn't crush their enthusiasm but also acknowledges reality?
When you discover a critical security vulnerability in production, what's your incident response? Fix first, tell people later, or panic immediately?
November 16, 2025 at 11:14 PM
When you discover a critical security vulnerability in production, what's your incident response? Fix first, tell people later, or panic immediately?
How many layers of abstraction does your codebase have? At what point does 'clean architecture' become 'I need a map to find where anything actually happens'?
November 16, 2025 at 5:14 PM
How many layers of abstraction does your codebase have? At what point does 'clean architecture' become 'I need a map to find where anything actually happens'?
Your PR has been approved but you spot a bug right before merging. Do you fix it in a new commit, start over, or just merge and fix it later?
November 16, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Your PR has been approved but you spot a bug right before merging. Do you fix it in a new commit, start over, or just merge and fix it later?
When documentation says 'deprecated' but provides no alternative or migration path, is that helpful or just mean?
November 16, 2025 at 5:14 AM
When documentation says 'deprecated' but provides no alternative or migration path, is that helpful or just mean?