Dev Interrupted

There’s AI agents. There’s AI tooling. Do either drive business impact or are they just more things your dev team is supposed to stay on top of?

Birgitta Boeckeler, Global Lead for AI Assisted Software Delivery at ThoughtWorks, joins the show to discuss the practical applications of AI in software delivery. She shares her research on AI agents, highlights areas where AI hasn't lived up to the hype, and offers concrete examples of useful AI tools for development teams.

Dan Lines then joins the conversation to provide his perspective on how engineering leaders can leverage these insights to effectively implement AI within their own teams. He also discusses LinearB's efforts in helping software teams measure the business impact of AI.

Show Notes:

• 2025 Engineering Benchmarks Insights Webinar
• Refactoring x Dev Interrupted Survey
• Birgitta’s LinkedIn
• Birgitta’s website
• Martin Fowler Memos

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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Open source has transformed software development, but can it do the same for AI?

In this episode of Dev Interrupted, Conor Bronsdon talks with Scott McCarty, Senior Principal Product Manager at Red Hat, about the potential of open source AI to revolutionize enterprise DevOps. 

They discuss the challenges and opportunities of open source AI, including licensing, security, and the need for community-driven development. McCarty argues that open source AI is crucial for building trust and ensuring that AI benefits everyone, not just a select few.

Show Notes:

• 2025 Engineering Benchmarks Insights Webinar
• Refactoring x Dev Interrupted Survey
• Scott’s LinkedIn

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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Everyone knows the era of growth at all costs is over, but where does that leave us? And specifically, where does that leave founders? The answer is straightforward: founders have to start thinking like business people. 

This week, Conor Bronsdon interviews Ashish Aggarwal, founder and CTO of Productive and an active investor in over 30 companies.

Ashish shares his insights on how startups are adapting to the new “efficient growth” environment, why this paradigm shift is an opportunity for founders, and how the pressures of efficiency have created incentives for companies to move towards geo-distributed teams instead of co-located teams.

Show Notes:

• Refactoring x Dev Interrupted Survey
• Ashish’s LinkedIn
• 2024 State of SaaS Consolidation Report

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Offers:

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It’s time we recognize the idea of a ‘Golden Path’ is unrealistic.

In this episode of Dev Interrupted, host Dan Lines is joined by Cory O'Daniel, CEO of MassDriver, to discuss Cory’s provocative article 'DevOps is Bullshit'. They cover the pitfalls of DevOps, the evolution of cloud operations and whether or not platform engineering is the solution the industry needs .

Cory shares insights on why many organizations struggle with DevOps implementation, the impact of cloud technology on traditional operations, and how internal developer platforms are reshaping the industry.

Topics:

• 01:03 Where has DevOps gone wrong?
• 04:19 Have we changed or does DevOps mean something different?
• 11:51 Platform engineering in 2024
• 20:10 How can platform engineering leaders measure success?
• 26:40 Why are new hires being put in charge of DevOps?
• 29:53 Getting buy in for a better platform engineering experience
• 39:13 Are internal developer platforms a fad? 

Show Notes:

• Refactoring x Dev Interrupted Survey
• Cory O'Daniel
• Massdriver - Standardize Infrastructure | Enhance Developer Experience | Enable Self-Service
• Cory O’Daniel k8s/acc (@coryodaniel) / X
• DevOps is Bullshit
• Bridging Cloud Talent Gap

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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This week, host Conor Bronsdon chats with Dheeraj Pandey, CEO and co-founder of DevRev. Dheeraj shares his incredible journey from leading Nutanix to a valuation of $16 billion, to now striving to build another unicorn with DevRev.

Dheeraj opens up about the lessons learned from his entrepreneurial journey, emphasizing the significance of having a holistic approach to building products and companies. He explores how his experiences at Nutanix have shaped his vision at DevRev, especially in terms of integrating AI as a core component rather than a mere add-on.

The discussion also covers a range of topics including the transformative power of AI in business operations, customer-centric design, and the importance of balancing innovative technology with intuitive user experience.

Topics:

• 02:49 What inspired you to start DevRev?
• 08:38 How did you decide not to take a bolt on approach to AI?
• 11:30 What can other entrepreneurs learn from you about levelling up their abilities?
• 16:42 How are you approaching scaling up DevRel?
• 28:11 How is DevRev thinking about AI driven design?
• 44:52 What's happening with DevRev's leadership in AI?

Links:

• Dheeraj Pandey
• Dheeraj Pandey
• Dheeraj Pandey (@dheeraj) / X
• DevRev (@devrev)
• Dheeraj Pandey
• Download the Engineering Leader’s Guide to Accelerating Developer Productivity
• Unified Support
• Opening Windows
• Founder Mode
• Overcoming Growth Crises
• Zanzibar: Google’s Consistent, Global Authorization System

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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This week, co-host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Daniela Miao, co-founder and CTO of Momento, to discuss her journey from DynamoDB at AWS to founding the real-time data infrastructure platform Momento. 

Daniela covers the importance of observability, the decision to rebuild Momento's stack with Rust, and how observability can speed up development cycles. They also explore strategies for aligning technical projects with business objectives, building team trust, and the critical role of communication in achieving success. 

Tune in for valuable insights on leadership, technical decision-making, and startup growth.

Topics:

• 02:01 Why is observability often treated as an auxiliary service?
• 06:14 Making a push for observability
• 13:32 Picking the right metrics to observe and pay attention to
• 15:49 Has the technical shift to Rust paid off?
• 19:23 How did you create trust and buy in from your team to make a switch?
• 26:31 What could other teams learn from Momento’s move to Rust?
• 38:15 Advice would you give for other technical founders?

Links:

• Daniela Miao
• The Momento Blog
• Momento: An enterprise-ready serverless platform for caching and pub/sub
• Unpacking the 2023 DORA Report w/ Nathen Harvey of Google Cloud
• Google SRE
• Rust Programming Language

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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This week, our host Dan Lines chats with Malte Ubl, CTO of Vercel, about why iteration speed is a game-changer for teams trying to deliver more efficiently. Malte shares how accelerating the development cycle and embracing platform engineering can supercharge productivity, helping teams ship faster and innovate more effectively.

We explore what it really means to streamline workflows, reduce bottlenecks, and create an environment where developers can focus on what they do best—building great products. Malte also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how engineering strategies are evolving to keep up with the ever-growing demands.

Topics:

• 01:14 How do you see platform engineering changing the way modern software engineering functions?
• 04:52 Decentralized vs. centralized teams?
• 11:40 How Vercel is using AI
• 13:30 All about AI SDKs
• 20:41 How should platform engineering teams should be using AI?
• 28:02 Power struggles between high level ICs and a high level managers?
• 30:10 Key factors to focus on when optimizing AI applications?
• 35:11 Advice for other CTOs or engineering leaders

Links:

• Malte Ubl (@cramforce)
• About Malte Ubl
• Malte Ubl
• v0 by Vercel
• Vercel: Build and deploy the best web experiences with the Frontend Cloud
• Download the Engineering Leader’s Guide to Accelerating Developer Productivity

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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What are the limitations of general large language models, and when should you evaluate more specialized models for your team’s most important use case?

This week, Conor Bronsdon sits down with Brandon Jung, Vice President of Ecosystem at Tabnine, to explore the difference between specialized models and LLMs. Brandon highlights how specialized models outperform LLMs when it comes to specific coding tasks, and how developers can leverage tailored solutions to improve developer productivity and code quality. The conversation covers the importance of data transparency, data origination, cost implications, and regulatory considerations such as the EU's AI Act.

Whether you're a developer looking to boost your productivity or an engineering leader evaluating solutions for your team, this episode offers important context on the next wave of AI solutions
Topics:

• 00:31 Specialized models vs. LLMs
• 01:56 The problems with LLMs and data integrity
• 12:34 Why AGI is further away than we think
• 16:11 Evaluating the right models for your engineering team
• 23:42 Is AI code secure?
• 26:22 How to adjust to work with AI effectively 32:48 Training developers in the new AI world

Links:

• Brandon Jung on LinkedIn
• Brandon Jung (@brandoncjung) / X
• Tabnine (@tabnine) / X
• Tabnine AI code assistant | Private, personalized, protected
• Managing Bot-Generated PRs & Reducing Team Workload by 6%

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Offers:

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Engineering teams are already seeing efficiency gains by leveraging Gen AI solutions like Copilot, but the next wave of AI workflows has the potential to 10X productivity.

This week, we’re exploring the world of Agentic AI with Amir Behbehani, Chief AI Engineer and Founder of Memra. Agentic AI can be defined as AI agents or systems that have the capacity to make decisions or take actions on their own based on the objectives they are programmed to achieve. These AI systems act independently, gathering information, processing it, and then choosing or executing actions without direct human intervention.

Amir shares how Memra is leading the way in developing AI agents capable of handling complex tasks, decision-making, and improving productivity across industries. He also discusses the implications of AI in reshaping how businesses operate, and how organizations can prepare for a future where AI plays a central role in both day-to-day operations and high-level strategic decisions.

Whether you're an AI enthusiast, an engineering leader, or curious about the future of automation, this episode offers a deep dive into the possibilities and challenges of Agentic AI and what it means for the future of work.

Chapters:

• 01:23 Defining Agentic AI 
• 07:02 Frameworks for thinking about Agentic AI 
• 12:52 Unpacking AI as a black box 
• 13:58 How Agentic AI will benefit software engineers 
• 22:55 What would be a good starting point to leverage agents on an engineering team?
• 26:46 Will agents replace freelancers and the gig economy?
• 36:20 What is the synthetic marketplace?
• 40:11 How Agentic AI impacts writing code

Links:

• Supercharge Your Operations with AI-Powered Agents | Memra
• Amir Behbehani
• Managing Bot-Generated PRs & Reducing Team Workload by 6%

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Offers:

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According to a LinkedIn study, engineers with strong soft skills are promoted 13% faster than those with only technical skills. Given how AI will continue to reshape market demands for developers and engineering leaders, how can you adapt to these changes and further your career?

This week we’re joined by Aarathi Vidyasagar, VP of Engineering at LinkedIn, to explore the growing importance of soft skills and how leadership, communication, and empathy are becoming just as critical as technical expertise.

Aarathi shares how LinkedIn is preparing engineers to thrive in this new environment, focusing on upskilling teams to navigate AI and empower collaboration and innovation through strong interpersonal skills. She offers valuable takeaways into building engineering teams that balance hard technical abilities with the soft skills needed to lead, mentor, and work effectively in diverse teams.

For anyone interested in the future of engineering and the rising demand for soft skills, this episode offers an important perspective on how to equip your teams for long-term success in an AI-driven world.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:56 How industry changes have impacted the need for communication and soft skills 
• 04:31 How software development is going to continue to change 
• 12:33 Generalists vs Specialists 
• 15:52 How is LinkedIn positioned for the new era of hiring?
• 31:11 How is LinkedIn approaching developer experience and productivity?
• 36:33 How to support devs in automating migrations 

Show Notes:

• Aarathi on LinkedIn
• Closing the Tech Talent Gap
• Managing Bot-Generated PRs & Reducing Team Workload by 6%

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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Gen AI for dev teams has been a focal point of conversation for the last few years, but the technology and application are both still very nascent. How can you find the best Gen AI use case for your team, and implement it safely?

This week, our host Dan Lines sits down with Peter McKee, Vice President of Developer Relations and Community at Sonar. They explore the benefits and risks associated with Gen AI, and whether this new tooling is most impactful for junior or senior developers. Regardless of the persona, there needs to be an emphasis on quality control, static code analysis, and the new coaching strategies to help the influx of new code.

Tune in to hear Dan and Peter offer practical advice for engineering leaders on safely experimenting with and integrating Gen AI tools to enhance productivity without sacrificing quality.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:33 The ins and out of being a VP of Developer Relations and Community
• 04:48 The Importance of wisdom and experience when applying Gen AI
• 08:32 Is there more of a risk for junior developers in this age?
• 19:51 How tooling can help with the influx of Gen AI Code 
• 26:02 The safe ways to roll out Gen AI to developers
• 29:21 Where to start applying Gen AI for your team 

Show Notes:

• Peter McKee (@pmckee) / X
• Peter McKee
• Better Code & Better Software | Ultimate Security and Quality | Sonar
• Download The Engineering Leader’s Guide to Accelerating Developer Productivity

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Offers:

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In an organization as big as Shopify, how can you pioneer exceptional developer experience not only for your team but also for external developers using your product?

This week we’re joined by Eytan Seidman, Director of Product at Shopify to unpack Shopify's approach to building elite engineering teams. Eytan highlights how Shopify’s high-context, high-autonomy culture empowers engineers and product managers to innovate and drive impact. By leveraging a mission-driven culture, Shopify ensures that internal and external developers can contribute effectively to the platform, without being bottlenecked back by inefficient processes or developer experience.

Tune in this week, and discover how you can implement the same processes that have made Shopify so successful.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:50 What makes engineering and product roles at Shopify special?
• 03:31 How Shopify onboards new hires to drive impact
• 09:05 Pioneering developer experience at Shopify
• 13:28 How Shopify defines success for their platform 
• 17:50 Building high-context, empowered teams
• 29:35 Leveraging AI and LLM’s as a growth opportunity
• 35:29 Advice for product and engineering leaders thinking about their next career step

Show Notes:

• Eytan Seidman
• x.com/eytanseidman
• Shopify
• Shopify Developers Platform—Build. Innovate. Get paid.
• Download your copy of the 2024 Software Engineering Benchmarks Report here

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Offers:

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Both the aerospace and defense sectors are renowned for long project timelines rife with silos and hurdles that get in the way of productivity. With over 20 years of experience at Lockheed Martin and elsewhere, Robin Yeman literally wrote the book Industrial DevOps on how to implement DevOps principles at traditional behemoths to build faster, safer systems.

As Space Domain Lead at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute, Robin’s pioneering work reveals how applying DevOps principles can significantly improve speed, quality, and collaboration at traditional enterprises. She emphasizes the importance of cross-functional teams, modular architectures, and a growth mindset in driving innovation and overcoming the challenges of digital transformation within the aerospace and defense sectors.

Tune in to gain practical insights about the application of DevOps in large-scale systems, the role of organizational design in fostering communication, and how these principles have helped government software teams.

Episode Highlights:

- 01:12 Robin’s book Industrial DevOps
- 04:00 How did Robin’s work at Lockheed Martin lead to Carnegie Mellon?
- 05:46 How should you get started thinking about industrial DevOps?
- 08:01 How Robin’s research came together across varied experiences
- 10:25 What patterns can you adapt to be more successful?
- 16:54 Quantitative vs. qualitative data when making long term plans
- 20:27 Shifting left in Industrial DevOps

Show Notes: 

• Robin Yeman
• Industrial DevOps
• Wiring the Winning Organization - IT Revolution
• Download your copy of the Gen AI Impact Report today

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Offers:

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Scaling new product lines within a growing company can be both an opportunity and quite challenging. Semgrep's Head of Engineering Adam Berman joined us this week to share his own experience developing Semgrep's second product line.

Adam was instrumental in developing Semgrep's second product line, and he shares practical strategies for moving from a single-product to a multi-product organization. He unpacks the challenges of organizational design, the importance of fast iteration and feedback loops, and how to build a cohesive company identity with so many moving parts.

If you want to learn how to effectively scale products and how to drive product growth, this episode is a must-listen.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:10 The challenges of new product lines 
• 4:25 Scaling teams for success and strategies for growth
• 7:30 Finding the right balance between practicality and innovation
• 12:15 A startup within a startup mentality 
• 18:40 Learning through experimentation
• 23:55 Key considerations when navigating product market fit
• 28:20 Driving growth in engineering teams

Show Notes: 

• Adam Berman on LinkedIn
• Adam Berman (@adamberman_13) / X
• Semgrep
• Download your copy of the Essential Guide to Software Engineering Intelligence Platforms 

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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This week, co-host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Amanda Sopkin, Engineering Manager at Asana. Amanda shares her journey from software engineer to manager, discussing the pivotal moment she chose to pursue management over an individual contributor path. We cover the indicators of a successful manager, the red flags to watch for, and the importance of mentorship.

Amanda emphasizes the value of finding the right fit for team members, tailoring leadership styles, and developing a balanced team. Tune in for insights on managing senior versus junior engineers, promoting team members, and striking a balance between professional growth and personal fulfillment.

Episode Highlights:

00:49 Amanda’s Path to Engineering Management 
04:58 How to tailor your leadership style to your team
06:40 Unlocking the potential of your team
13:25 Keeping track of your team members individual needs
17:43 Management career goals
20:31 What Amanda is passionate about within engineering

Show Notes:

• Amanda Sopkin on LinkedIn
• Amanda Sopkin on Twitter / X
• Amanda Sopkin’s website
• Amanda Sopkin on GitHub
• Asana Project Management Software

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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“If you're not careful, cloud computing can lose more money faster than any invention in history” - Mark Robinson, Infrastructure Engineer at Plaid

This week, guest host Ben Lloyd Pearson sits down with Plaid’s Mark Robinson to learn how he helped Plaid save 25% in costs by optimizing existing resources and eliminating waste in cloud computing.

Mark explains the importance of understanding your cloud bill, identifying areas of overspend, and implementing changes that lead to significant savings. From the basics of tagging resources to the intricacies of optimizing network and storage costs, Mark offers practical tips that can help you uncover countless optimization opportunities.

Tune in to learn about the rewards of improving cloud cost efficiency, the role of organizational buy-in, and the benefits of making cost optimization a company-wide value.

Episode Highlights:

00:56 How did cloud computing get so expensive?
02:34 Digging into what your costs actually are
04:55 How can you account for the various services you use?
07:35 Where are organizations going to get the most value out of?
12:26 Cloud costs relation to better code quality
16:08 Blockers in organizations to cost savings
19:32 Getting buy-in from leadership on cutting cloud costs

Show Notes:

• Download your copy of the Essential Guide to Software Engineering Intelligence
• https://www.finops.org/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-robinson-944084b

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Offers:

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AI is the biggest hype cycle happening in tech right now, but how do you know what’s actually going to make an impact for your product and team vs. what’s just new and shiny?

This week, LinearB COO & Co-founder Dan Lines sits down with Louis Brandy, Member of Technical Staff OpenAI and ex-VP of Engineering at Rockset. Louis shares his unique perspective on the evolution of AI, drawing from his experiences with early days AI work at Meta and now with OpenAI following their acquisition of Rockset. He shares grounded insights into the realities of AI, separating fact from fiction in an industry often clouded by buzzwords and unrealistic expectations.

Listeners will learn about the practical applications of AI, the challenges and opportunities it presents, and how to go past the hype to find AI's potential. Whether you're an AI enthusiast, a skeptic, or a professional looking to understand the true impact of AI for engineering teams, this episode offers an insightful look at one of the most talked-about topics in tech today.

Episode Highlights: 
00:32 Louis Brandy's background with AI at Meta
04:31 The current AI hype cycle
13:09 How should engineering leaders think about AI and the pressure to use it?
17:58 How to know if you’re falling into the hype cycle
25:50 AI vs. human code
34:42 Real time when it comes to AI
38:36 What should an IC do about AI in their career path?

Show Notes:

• OpenAI Acquires Rockset
• Download your copy of the Essential Guide to Software Engineering Intelligence Platforms

Support the show:

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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When we first saw the talk titled “Space Aliens Are Among Us, Your Product Roadmap is Realistic and Other Lies you Believe,” we knew we had to sit down with Best Egg’s Johnny Ray Austin at LeadingEng SF last year.

Johnny joined our host Conor Bronsdon to discuss how engineering leaders can navigate unrealistic expectations and pressures, drawing from his experiences and relating product roadmaps to the less-than-tangible UFO disclosure we’ve seen in recent years. The conversation explores the pressures engineering leaders face, how to align product roadmaps realistically, and how to manage ambiguity within teams.

By aligning engineering goals with business objectives and building a transparent, high-performing engineering culture, you can give your teams the context they need to drive focus and concentration toward the right outcomes.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:36 Where Johnny came up with the talk title "Space Aliens Are Among Us" 
• 4:15 Advice for engineering leaders struggling with roadmap realism 
• 6:44 Cutting through the noise to find the metrics that matter 
• 11:41 How do teams know if they're moving fast in the right direction? 
• 14:58 How do you handle teams that are getting the wrong input? 
• 20:32 Lies we tell ourselves that we need to get past 
• 28:32 What it’s like to create a new unit inside a company 
• 33:53 Identifying and dealing with ambiguity on your teams 
• 40:45 Johnny’s Thoughts on AI

Show Notes

• Download your complimentary Gartner® Market Guide: Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI) Platforms
• Johnny Ray Austin
• Personal Loans | Quick & Easy Application | Best Egg

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Offers:

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Engineering leaders have long used value stream management and CI/CD tools to improve software delivery practices. However, an increasing demand for cost and efficiency is leading to the adoption of new technologies. Enterprises are quickly adopting tools that combine deeper levels of visibility into the SDLC with net-new workflow automations, leading to a better developer experience and increased output. 

This week's labs episode takes an in-depth look at Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI) Platforms and how engineering teams are using this new technology to gain a competitive advantage. LinearB’s COO and Co-founder Dan Lines along with co-host Conor Bronsdon cover the evolution of SEI, its core capabilities, and how these tools are being used to drive predictability, resource investment strategy and an improved developer experience. 

Join our journey into the data insights and workflow automations that are driving the next wave of continuous improvement. Gartner estimates that the adoption of SEI platforms will increase to 50% of engineering teams by 2027 – whether you're a VP, manager, or developer, find out why adopting an SEI Platform is crucial to your future success.

Episode Highlights:

• 2:39 Digging into the data to find optimizations 
• 4:02 What is Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI)? 
• 9:08 What is profitable engineering and why should it be top of mind? 
• 14:56 How can SEI help a VPE or CTO? 
• 20:43 How does SEI relate to value stream management? 
• 25:05 The role of automation in continuous improvement 
• 29:36 How do SEI platforms help improve GenAI code orchestration? 
• 31:45 What makes a great SEI platform? 
• 34:19 What's next for SEI?

Show Notes:

• Moneyball (2011) directed by Bennett Miller • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd
• Download your complimentary Gartner® Market Guide: Software Engineering Intelligence (SEI) Platforms

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Offers:

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In this episode of Dev Interrupted, Conor Bronsdon is joined by Sanghamitra Goswami, Senior Director of Data Science and Machine Learning at PagerDuty. Sanghamitra shares her expertise in AI and data science, including how engineering teams can effectively leverage both within their organizations. She also explores the history and significance of LLMs, strategies for measuring success and ROI, and the importance of foundational data work. The conversation ends with a discussion about practical applications of AI at PagerDuty, including features designed to reduce noise and improve incident resolution. 

Episode Highlights:
00:56 Why are LLMs important for engineering teams to understand?
03:17 How should engineering leaders think about using AI in their products?
07:57 What sort of plan should engineering leaders have to get buy in for AI?
13:22 Are there ways to show ROI on an investment in AI?
15:08 How should we communicate with customers about AI in our products?
18:53 How can companies find a good use case for AI in their product?

Show Notes:

• LinkedIn
• PagerDuty
• Software Engineering Intelligence: Exposed & In Action

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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This week, guest host Ben Lloyd Pearson chats with Thayse Onofrio, Software Engineer at Clutch and ex Thoughtworks. Thayse discusses how micro frontends allow individual application components to be operated and deployed independently, helping teams avoid the complexities of a monolithic architecture. They cover the technicalities, challenges, and advantages of implementing micro frontends, including the importance of module federation and proper coordination among developer teams. Learn about the future of frontend development, the cultural impacts, and the best practices from Thayse’s experience. 

Episode highlights:
01:02 What is a micro frontend?
04:08 Building from scratch vs. out-of-the-box solutions 
10:30 What’s the process for moving to a more micro frontend based approach?
15:46 What changes do you need to use a micro frontend framework? 
17:28 What does a team using micro frontends benefit from once it's all set up?

Show Notes:

• Thayse Onofrio | Twitter
• Thayse Onofrio | Substack
• Thayse Onofrio | LinkedIn
• Thayse Onofrio | LeadDev
• Software Engineering Intelligence: Exposed & In Action

Support the show:

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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Dan Lines is joined by Gil Broza, author of 'Deliver Better Results,' to discuss how you and your organization can achieve better results by focusing on processes. Gil shares his 20-year journey in the Agile field, focusing on product development, system thinking, prioritizing people, and mindful mindset adjustments.

The conversation covers the book’s target audience, the concept of the value delivery systems, and the roadmap for holistic improvement beyond traditional Agile methodologies. Gil also highlights common pitfalls leaders encounter, such as treating people as resources and the importance of a unified organizational mindset.

As a thank you to our listeners, we’re giving away the first chapter of ‘Deliver Better Results’ for free, check it out here.

Episode Highlights:

00:58 What led Gil to write ‘Deliver Better Results’, and who should be reading it?
06:20 Is there a certain size of team that would benefit from this book?
12:08 How can leaders identify the current state of their team?
17:01 How can engineering and product work better together?
20:49 What do leaders get wrong about people?
34:14 How can managers avoid finding someone to blame?
40:10 How can you avoid falling back to old habits after you make changes?

Show Notes:

• Gil Broza on LinkedIn
• Gil Broza (@gilbroza) / X
• Deliver Better Results: How to Unlock Your Organization’s Potential
• Download the first chapter of ‘Deliver Better Results’ for free here

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Offers:

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This week, guest host Ben Lloyd Pearson sits down with Bloomberg’s Engineering Manager Luis Vega. Luis discusses the initial challenges of enhancing developer engagement with internal tooling. He outlines his approach to building internal applications that are as intuitive and engaging as Bloomberg's client-facing solutions, and how applying UX design principles and branding for tools dramatically increased adoption. 

Vega also reflects on transitioning from a hands-on developer to a managerial role, emphasizing the importance of understanding team dynamics and fostering a culture of support and innovation within Bloomberg.

Episode Highlights:

01:14 What is Bloomberg?
02:52 How do you get developers to embrace internal tooling?
06:58 Giving applications mascots
12:28 Helping developers be more productive with internal tooling
18:31 What was the biggest challenge to tackle when developing internal tooling?
25:41 Luis' journey into development
32:07 What's next for Bloomberg's internal tools?

Show Notes:

• How to Drive Developer Productivity and Profitability with SEI 
• Bloomberg
• Luis Alejandro Vega on LinkedIn
• Luis Alejandro Vega (@luisalejovega) / X
• AleAlejandro on YouTube

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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In our first Labs episode of the year, LinearB COO and Co-founder Dan Lines is joined by CTO Yishai Beeri to explore how elite engineering organizations set and report on their engineering goals. 

Modern engineering leaders face a dual mandate of achieving operational excellence while aligning their work with business priorities. To achieve this, you need to deliver software predictably—projects need to be delivered on time, within scope, and as promised so the rest of the business can drive ROI. Dan and Yishai highlight goal-setting methodologies to achieve predictable delivery and key metrics to focus on, ranging from planning accuracy and capacity accuracy to cycle time.

Along with goal setting, we cover how to effectively report on your goals and progress to business stakeholders. Plus, you can download LinearB’s CTO Board Deck Template to leverage in your next board meeting.

Episode Highlights:

01:24 Key terms to know when setting goals 
02:17 Engineering leaders’ dual mandate: operational excellence and business alignment 
08:18 How can engineering leaders set goals to achieve both sides of this mandate?
11:37 Why engineering organizations need to deliver predictably 
19:37 How to set goals around resource allocation 
27:30 Reporting on your goals to business stakeholders 
32:56 The LinearB CTO Board Deck Template

Show Notes:

• Gartner SEI Platform Market Guide
• CTO Board Slides
• Engineering Leader Guide to Goals and Reporting
• LinkedIn: Yishai Beeri
• Twitter: Yishai Beeri

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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This week, I sat down with Neha Batra, VP of Engineering for Core Productivity at GitHub. Our conversation is about the value of taking calculated risks in engineering leadership, using a “risk budget," and how you can leverage your social capital to take risks that help your career.

Neha also shares her insights on senior engineering leaders' challenges when aligning business needs with talent and product execution. She discusses her framework for strengthening company alignment and engineering efficiency using established communication paths.

Episode Highlights:
00:26 Frameworks that strengthen company alignment
03:11 How should you channel frustration into creation?
05:58 Conceptualizing your risk budget
12:53 Strategies for building communication pathways
16:04 Conducting AMA's with your team
21:47 How do you get team members to take accountability?
25:27 How do you gather signals from your team?
29:13 Mistakes leaders make you can learn from
36:32 Building curiosity into mundane experiences like dating

Show Notes:

• Starting Your Engineering Metrics Program 
• nerdneha (Neha Batra) · GitHub
• Neha Batra
• Neha (@nerdneha) / X
• GitHub: Let’s build from here · GitHub
•  

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In the last few years, disengagement at work has become a massive issue. We learned from Dr. Andre Martin’s episode that 53% of managers are burnt out and 1 in 3 employees leave their jobs in the first 90 days.

This week, we sat down with Chuck Lafferty, VP of CRM at ADP, to discuss ADP’s approach to employee engagement and innovation. Chuck dives into building trust within teams, innovative techniques like ‘Survey Roulette’ to incorporate user feedback into development, and the critical role of understanding and caring for individuals.

When employees feel valued, heard, and engaged in meaningful work, you see improved productivity and increased job satisfaction. The episode concludes with actionable steps to improve employee engagement through personalized interactions and empathetic leadership.

Episode Highlights:

• 01:51 How does Chuck define employee engagement?
• 04:06 Can you measure employee engagement?
• 12:05 How can managers engage individual developers?
• 17:16 Survey Roulette and how it helps engage engineering teams.
• 22:31 Winning in the workplace 
• 23:45 The importance of separating the problem from the person
• 25:30 How can you improve employee engagement?

Show Notes:

• Starting Your Engineering Metrics Program Workshop 
• Chuck Lafferty
• Payroll, HR and Tax Services | ADP Official Site
• Confident Coder
• ChuckLafferty (@ChuckLafferty) / X

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Offers:

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This week, our host Dan Lines sits down with Tara Hernandez, VP of Developer Productivity at MongoDB. Together, they explore the nuances of developer productivity and the impact of AI in engineering environments.

Tara emphasizes that achieving developer productivity requires a focus on outcomes, reduced noise for developers, and a healthy balance between technology, processes, and communication. She also touches on the strategic framework of the 'three horizons' for conceptualizing your investment breakdown across different projects and how to maintain focused on meaningful development work.

Episode Highlights:

01:43 How should you think about developer productivity?
09:09 Three pillars to improve developer productivity
16:07 Automated does not equal autonomous
24:46 Making the golden path the easy path for developers
27:51 What’s exciting in developer productivity and AI?
29:57 The three horizons
38:34 Developer performance vs productivity data
40:23 What is the right way to think about goal setting for noise reduction?

Show Notes:

• Starting Your Engineering Metrics Program Workshop 
• Tara Hernandez
• MongoDB
• GitHub
• CloudBees
• CircleCI
• Atlassian
• Evergreen CI in GitHub

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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In the past year, ransomware attacks have been up almost 300%, with over 50% targeting small businesses. To help mitigate this increase, Microsoft is launching their new Security Copilot, and we sat down with their SMB Security Strategy Head, Binil Pillai, to learn more.

We dive into the importance of SMBs assessing their security posture, how to leverage AI for efficient threat detection and response, and the role of Microsoft's partner ecosystem in providing comprehensive security solutions. The episode concludes with advice for SMB leaders on starting their security assessments and the benefits of integrating AI into their cybersecurity strategies.

Episode Highlights:

01:39 Why is SMB security a priority for Microsoft?
07:34 Key security challenges for SMBs
09:26 How can SMBs leverage AI within security?
16:28 How VPs of Engineering can use new tech to deal with threats
20:25 Microsoft Security Copilot
24:30 Where is the best place to learn about Microsoft's security strategy?

Show Notes:

• Microsoft Copilot for Security is generally available on April 1, 2024 | Microsoft Security Blog
• Microsoft Copilot for Security: General Availability details - Microsoft Community Hub
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Microsoft 365
• Microsoft Defender for Business | Microsoft Security
• Automatic attack disruption in Microsoft 365 Defender | Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Security
• What is Microsoft Defender for Cloud? - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn
• Solution Assessment Program (microsoft.com)

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• Subscribe to our Substack
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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In this episode, host Conor Bronsdon talks with Melissa DePuydt, Sr. Director of Engineering at Upstatement. Melissa discusses how her background in journalism has uniquely positioned her to excel in engineering leadership roles. She highlights how thinking like a journalist has enhanced her ability to lead engineering teams effectively, particularly in planning, risk management, and decision-making.

The conversation covers the importance of preparing for disruptions, conducting pre-mortems to anticipate challenges, and incorporating broad perspectives for effective problem solving. Melissa also shares insights on continuously learning and adapting by embracing one's unique background and experiences.

Episode Highlights:
00:20 Why do engineering leaders need to think like journalists?
04:46 Preparing for disruptions as an engineering leader
08:44 How pre-mortems work in practice: an example from the Atlantic
12:47 How to get buy in from other leaders when changing processes
17:59 Eliciting buy-in from team members on pre-mortems
22:15 How do we train engineers to think in a team sport mentality?
26:51 Why is career switching a superpower?

Show Notes:

• Melissa DePuydt
• Upstatement | A digital brand and product design studio

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Emily Nakashima, VP of Engineering at Honeycomb.io, to discuss how you can prepare to be a VP of Engineering, and how the role differs among companies. Being a VPE varies based on company size, culture, and the existing team's makeup, and Emily provides valuable advice for engineers aspiring to leadership positions.

Emily also discusses using personality tests for better team dynamics and the need for regular self-evaluation as an integral part of career advancement. The conversation closes by talking about the impact of AI on the workforce, the importance of aligning engineering and business goals, and the potential of AI to enhance rather than replace human skills.

Episode Highlights:

01:27 Why does Emily think there isn't a standard VP of Engineering role?
06:29 The archetypes of the VPE role
10:15 How does the VPE role change as an organization grows?
14:46 Preparing to become a VP of Engineering before you get the role
20:11 How you can use personality tests in organizational design
26:00 How is the VP of Engineering role changing in 2024?
30:53 Teams are having to accept realities about production software with regards to AI

Show Notes:

• Modern Practices for Goal Setting in Software Engineering 
• Emily Nakashima
• Emily Nakashima (@eanakashima.bsky.social) — Bluesky
• Observability for Distributed Services | Honeycomb
• StrengthsFinder 2.0 | EN - Gall

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Offers:

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This week, host Conor Bronsdon welcomes back Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, to talk about building influence as an engineering leader. Kelly shares insights on the importance of leadership skills for both individual contributor and managerial roles and outlines her three pillars of trust, communication, and empowerment.

Conor and Kelly discuss strategies for staying technically fresh despite moving up in management, exploring the balance between staying close to product development and avoiding micromanagement. Lastly, they touch on the potential of AR/VR technology, with a focus on the business implications of Apple's Vision Pro and the future of immersive experiences.

Episode Highlights:

01:09 How should engineering leaders think about building influence?
03:53 The impact of changing roles or companies on your performance 
08:07 Why you lose important context when making assumptions
09:32 How ICs can help manage their team
10:49 Key ways to build influence and trust
16:00 How important is trust when giving or recieving feedback?
22:27 How do leaders stay close to their product as their org grows?
28:58 Our thoughts on Apple Vision Pro and AR VR in general

Show Notes:

• Kelly Vaughn
• Lessons in Engineering Leadership | Kelly Vaughn | Substack
• Spot AI: Video Intelligence for Better Decision-Making
• Radical Candor | Feedback Training, Coaching & Consulting

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Jason Krohn, Global Head of Delivery at Syngenta. Jason delves into how his teams at Syngenta leverage software engineering intelligence to achieve predictable delivery at scale.

Jason also explores how aligning work with employees' passions contributes to success and retention at Syngenta. He discusses the challenges and solutions in implementing efficient DevOps processes and ensuring organizational buy-in for the vision. Additionally, Jason highlights the importance of empowering teams with autonomy and providing the necessary tools for proactive decision-making.

Whether you're leading a small team or managing an enterprise, Jason's insights offer valuable lessons on driving efficiency, scaling effectively, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

Episode Highlights:

1:46 Scaling teams that are empowered and autonomous
4:01: The four pillars for retaining talent in tech teams.
12:51 Tackling organizational change
18:41 Using metrics to achieve predictable delivery
21:45 Why your engineering teams' need to care about metrics, not just be compliant
26:20 Addressing production delays and DevOps integration
28:55 Leadership's role in communicating the 'why’
33:05 The Importance of Coaching When Mentoring

Show Notes:

• Syngenta
• Jason Krohn

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Offers:

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This week, host Dan Lines welcomes back Zach Goldberg, CTO and author of the book 'The Startup CTO's Handbook: Essential Skills and Best Practices for High Performing Engineering Teams.’ Zach shares insights from his extensive career as a CTO and his journey in writing a book that condenses the wisdom of numerous other influential works into a single, comprehensive guide.

We explore the three core sections of his book:

• Management Fundamentals: Interviewing, Hiring, Performance Management, Budgeting, etc. 
• Technical Leadership Concepts: Developer Experience, Tech Debt, etc. 
• Hard Technology Decisions: Pragmatism, Tech Stack, etc.

Zach provides advice for not only CTOs but anyone in a technical leadership position, offering strategies to develop empathy and understanding within technical organizations.

Episode Highlights: 

• 1:59 From Startup CTO to Author and Executive Coach
• 3:41 The Origin of Best Practices and Genesis of the Handbook  
• 10:25 Why the Startup CTO’s Handbook isn’t just for CTOs 
• 13:02 Part 1: Management Fundamentals Beyond Coding
• 24:50 Part 2: Technical Leadership Concepts & Developer Experience
• 30:57 Part 3: Technology Decisions from a Pragmatic Perspective

Show Notes:

• The Startup CTO's Handbook: Essential skills and best practices for high performing engineering teams

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Offers:

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It doesn’t matter if you have an innovative technical strategy if you’re not solving problems the business cares about… 

This week, host Conor Bronsdon sits down with Rob Zuber, CTO at CircleCI. They delve into the evolving role of engineering leaders, and the importance of building a technical strategy that aligns with overarching business goals.

Throughout the conversation, Rob emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs, gathering direct feedback and maintaining strategic flexibility. If you’re interested in understanding the balance between technical strategy and business leadership, this episode provides a wealth of knowledge, strategies, and real-world examples.

Episode Highlights:

01:38 Crafting technical strategy for teams at CircleCI 
07:26 How engineering leaders can make the most informed choices about their business
17:47 Using postmortems to fuel a growth mindset 
22:39 Applying hypotheses to be prepared for worst-case scenarios 
27:43 Why CTOs need to focus on solving business problems first, then technical strategy
30:30 Why engineering leaders need to form a close relationship with finance
33:17 Advice for ICs or Directors on becoming a business leader
39:17 Rob's approach to building trust and organizational design 
44:36 How can I prepare for being a technical founder?
55:12 What is CircleCI doing in ML?

Show Notes:

• Modern Software Engineering

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Offers:

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On this week’s episode, host Conor Bronsdon sit down with Guilherme Sesterheim, SAP DevOps SRE Engineer at AWS. Guilherme delves into applying Chaos Engineering and DevOps principles to SAP, a domain traditionally seen as risk-averse and resistant to rapid innovation.

With expertise in both open-source technologies and SAP, Guilherme shares how he’s bringing modern practices to SAP environments at AWS. He explores how Chaos Engineering can be used to test and improve the resilience of SAP systems, focusing on HANA, SAP’s in-memory database. The discussion also touches on the challenges of integrating these practices within the SAP framework and the broader implications for SAP users and the tech industry.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:20 What does it mean to apply chaos engineering to testing SAP installation
• 04:05 What does it mean to have DevOps around SAP?
• 05:58 Guilherme’s approach to DevOps practices around SAP
• 10:01 The challenge of handling installation and migration
• 11:50 How to Start Applying Chaos Engineering to Your SAP Instance
• 16:57 The 12 Scenarios When You Inject Failures on SAP
• 19:24 How Guilherme ended up at AWS working on SAP
• 23:14 What’s Next in DevOps Guilherme is Excited About?

Show Notes:

• Wiring the Winning Organization - IT Revolution

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Offers:

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On this week’s episode, our hosts Dan Lines and Conor Bronsdon are joined by long-time friend of the show, industry expert, and Director of Engineering at Spot AI, Kelly Vaughn. Together they tackle a range of topics, including how tax laws are impacting engineering teams, the evolving role of AI in software development, and the great build vs. buy debate.

The conversation starts with Kelly and Dan’s takes on Section 174, which poses a looming threat to US tech companies. From there, they pivot to GenAI to discuss how you can measure its impact, leadership’s role in the process, and the importance of navigating this implementation wisely. They conclude by talking about Kelly’s recent article on the debate of building software in-house vs. buying third-party solutions, and why the answer isn’t black or white.

Episode Highlights

• 01:35 Section 174's impact on US tech companies
• 08:01 Why intention matters for remote vs. in-person work
• 12:46 Kelly and Dan’s take on what’s causing layoffs in tech
• 18:21 What should leaders be doing to encourage Gen AI tool knowledge?
• 24:28 How are we tracking the impact of Gen AI?
• 31:50 How should organizations set up standardization?
• 33:55 The great build vs. buy debate
• 39:47 How the engineering leaders’ role has changed in recent years

Show Notes:

• Lesson in Engineering Leadership | Kelly Vaughn | Substack
• Measuring Impact: GenAI Code | LinearB
• Foundation (Chronological Order) Series by Isaac Asimov
• Watch Foundation - Apple TV+

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Offers:

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On this week's episode, we're joined by Carol Barrett, the Engineering Leader in Consumer Identity and Access at Netflix. Host Conor Bronsdon interviews Carol to learn about Netflix’s blueprint for success when building engineering teams, and how they foster a culture where inspiration and purpose are at the forefront.

Carol shares her valuable insights on empowering engineers to make their own decisions, ensuring product management and engineering are perfectly synced, and the importance of flexible structures that cater to team dynamics. She also discusses the unique challenges and opportunities Netflix faces, including their approach to innovative projects and navigating uncharted technological territories.

From quarterly commitments to building impactful partnerships, learn how Netflix maintains its edge by allowing teams the freedom to define their own paths.

Episode Highlights

• 4:17: Finding Alignment Between Product, Leadership and Engineering 
• 11:21 How to Build Trust in Your Partnerships 
• 16:26 Why Engineers Have to Decide What's Best
• 22:56 Connecting Your Team’s Purpose to the Company’s Purpose 
• 28:37 Why Netflix Stopped Hiring Only Senior Engineers 

Show Notes:

• Learn how to measure the impact of your GenAI initiative in LinearB's upcoming workshop

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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In this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by David Yee, VP of Engineering at the New York Times. They dive into the often unseen aspects of organizational structures, discussing how every organization regardless of their defined values and principles, operates with a 'shadow'. 

David discusses the role of senior leaders in addressing systemic problems and navigating the tensions between innovation and consistency. He highlights the importance of recognizing and integrating these organizational shadows to foster better decision-making and operational efficiency.

Drawing from his rich experience leading engineering teams in media, this conversation offers a unique perspective on the complexities of engineering leadership and explores the challenges of aligning technology with the century-old tradition of news reporting at the New York Times.

Show Notes:

• Learn how to measure the impact of your GenAI initiative in LinearB's upcoming workshop

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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What can you learn from the scaling issues OpenAI experienced when Chat-GPT went viral? 

On this week’s episode, guest host Ben Lloyd Pearson is joined by Evan Morikawa, Engineering Manager at OpenAI. Join us for a first-hand look at the engineering challenges that came with Chat-GPT’s viral success, and the difficulties associated with scaling in response to the sudden platform popularity.

They also discuss misconceptions around generative AI, OpenAI’s reliance on GPUs to carry out their complex computations, the key role of APIs in their success, and some fascinating use cases they’ve seen implementing GPT-4.
Show Notes:

• Learn how to measure the impact of your GenAI initiative in LinearB's upcoming workshop

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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Season 4 kicks off with a conversation with Gene Kim, author of several renowned books, including "The Phoenix Project," "The DevOps Handbook," and most recently, "Wiring the Winning Organization."

In this episode, Gene candidly shares the trials behind writing what he considers one of his most challenging books, why it was a joy to partner with Steven Spear as a co-author, and the key principles needed for creating high-performing teams.

Illustrating these ideas, Gene and Conor draw on examples from diverse realms, including the intricacies of software development, the complexities of healthcare, the socio-technical system behind Amazon’s success, and everyday tasks like moving a couch.

Note: This conversation is a follow-up to last year's episode with Steven Spear. You can listen to Steven's episode here. 

Show Notes:

• Order your copy today: Wiring The Winning Organization
• Get your free DORA dashboard: DORA Metrics. 100% Free. Forever.

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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Hosts Dan Lines, Conor Bronson, and Ben Lloyd Pearson team up for a special holiday edition of Dev Interrupted.

In this season-ending episode, they revisit their favorite moments from Season 3 of the podcast,  share a glimpse of what listeners can expect in Season 4, and spread holiday cheer as they reflect on what they're thankful for.

The team is taking a week off to enjoy the holidays. We’ll see you back here on January 2nd for the start of Season 4!

Show Notes:

• Dan's favorite episode: Career Journey 1: Interviewing & Getting Promoted
• Conor's favorite episode: Tech Hiring in 2023: Trends, Predictions & Strategies for Success
• Ben’s favorite episode: The McKinsey Developer Productivity Debate
• Get your free DORA dashboard: DORA Metrics. 100% Free. Forever.
• Vote for Dev Interrupted on the DevOps Dozen website: Best DevOps-Related Podcast Series

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• Subscribe to our Substack
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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What does protecting the more than 100 million developers on GitHub’s platform take? And what can your team learn from GitHub’s impressive security posture? 

On this week’s episode, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Jacob DePriest, VP and Deputy Chief Security Officer at GitHub. Join them as they discuss Jacob's journey from the NSA to GitHub, delving into how AI impacts the security space and the future of Copilot's ever-expanding capabilities.

The conversation also explores how enhancing customer trust, investing in diversity within security teams, and bringing security to where developers work are critical in improving security industry-wide.

Whether you’re protecting dozens of users or millions, Jacob has practical advice for engineering leaders everywhere.

Show Notes:

• Get your free DORA dashboard: DORA Metrics. 100% Free. Forever.
• Vote for Dev Interrupted on the DevOps Dozen website: Best DevOps-Related Podcast Series

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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We are in the middle of a crisis of commitment in the workplace – 53% of managers are burnt out, 1 in 3 employees leave their jobs in the first 90 days, and an estimated $7.8 trillion in lost productivity is due to poor organizational fit.

On this week’s Dev Interrupted, we uncover the keys to a thriving workplace as co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Dr. Andre Martin, a seasoned organizational psychologist and author of the book 'Wrong Fit, Right Fit'.

Together, they share strategies to discern whether a job will be a right fit or a wrong fit and delve into how companies can align their structures with individual preferences to enhance employee engagement and productivity. This insightful conversation offers practical strategies for leaders and individuals alike to identify and cultivate the right fit for long-term success and fulfillment in their careers.

Order your copy today: Wrong Fit, Right Fit: Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever

Show Notes:

• Check out André's newsletter: Monday Matters
• Get your free DORA dashboard: DORA Metrics. 100% Free. Forever.
• Vote for Dev Interrupted on the DevOps Dozen website: Best DevOps-Related Podcast Series

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

What trends do engineering leaders need to pay attention to, and how will they impact your teams in 2024?

This week, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by LinearB co-founder and CEO Ori Keren to discuss his predictions for next year. 

Together they discuss why dev team metrics are here to stay, why Ori doesn’t like the term ‘developer productivity’ [hint: he prefers ‘engineering efficiency’], how the rise of gen AI written code will create a problem for development pipelines everywhere, and the potential friction points inherent to remote work.

Ori concludes the episode by offering advice to engineering leaders and startup founders on the need to adopt a metrics program or risk getting left behind. 

Show Notes:

• Get your free DORA dashboard: DORA Metrics. 100% Free. Forever.
• Vote for Dev Interrupted on the DevOps Dozen website: Best DevOps-Related Podcast Series

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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The story behind why some organizations win big and keep on winning.

This week, co-host Conor Bronsdon interviews Dr. Steven J. Spear, renowned MIT senior lecturer, founder, and author, to discuss the core principles from Dr. Spear's new book with Gene Kim, "Wiring The Winning Organization".

They delve into why some organizations consistently outperform others, highlighting how the best organizations create systems that enhance problem-solving through slowification, simplification, and amplification, aligning processes with cognitive strengths.

With case studies from NASA's Apollo missions to Apple's smartphone market dominance, the book is a must-read for those looking to harness collective ingenuity for exceptional achievements."

Show Notes:

• Order your copy today: Wiring The Winning Organization
• Vote for Dev Interrupted on the DevOps Dozen website: Best DevOps-Related Podcast Series

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

With all of the hype around the future impacts of AI, it can be easy to overlook existing solutions that solve some of the biggest pain points faced by your engineering team. 

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon and LinearB’s Head of Developer Relations, Ben Lloyd Pearson, discuss programmable workflows and how you can apply policy-as-code principles. 

Recorded live at the DevOps Enterprise Summit, Conor and Ben explore how gitStream’s programmable workflows can reduce manual effort, facilitate faster feedback loops, and improve developer experience.

They also touch on the gitStream's seamless integrations and its future enhancements.

Show Notes:

• Unblock your code reviews with gitStream: https://linearb.io/platform/gitstream

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Ever wonder what it takes to make it to the boardroom? This week's Dev Interrupted is your invitation to the table.

Join us as Conor Bronsdon puts host Dan Lines in the hot seat to uncover the secrets to rising through the ranks—from IC to engineering leader with a voice in the board meetings. Together, they discuss balancing tough decisions, team well-being, and how to maintain your technical edge while being able to speak in business terms to your CEO.

Strap in for the grand finale of our series—it’s your backstage pass to the boardroom!

Show Notes:

• Register today: DORA & LInearB Webinar Nov. 8

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Staying on top of emerging trends is difficult enough, so what should you do when your whole career feels, well, stuck? 

In this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, join co-host Conor Bronsdon and Charles Max Wood, CEO of Top End Devs, as they delve into overcoming career stagnation for developers. They discuss strategies to reignite momentum in your career, highlighting the importance of effectively showcasing your work, building strong networks, and committing to continuous learning. 

Whether you're a newcomer seeking direction or a seasoned professional aiming to stay competitive, this conversation offers valuable insights and practical tools to confidently navigate today's complex tech landscape and get 'unstuck' in your career. 

Show Notes:

• Register today: DORA & LInearB Webinar Nov. 8
• Learn more at topenddevs.com 
• Follow Chuck on Twitter

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

We know diversity fuels innovation, so how do we bring diversity into engineering leadership? 

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, Bhavini Soneji joins host Dan Lines for another installment in our series on the career journey of an engineering leader. Bhavini speaks to the synergy between diverse teams and enhanced performance, painting a vivid picture of creativity, insights, and knowledge sharing enriched by varied perspectives.

Bhavini connects these dynamics to a culture of converting intention into action, emphasizing that intentions are just the starting point. If companies are to follow through on their promises, they should apply lean product development principles to the way they think about diversity. 

In this must-listen episode, learn how to transform your company’s culture, goal-setting, and hiring practices. 

Show Notes:

• Register today: DORA & LInearB Webinar Nov. 8
• Connect with Bhavini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavinisoneji/
• Learn more about Bhavini at her website: https://www.bhavinisoneji.com/
• DORA's 2023 State of DevOps Report
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever
• LinearB's 2023 Software Engineering Benchmarks Report

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

What does this year’s Accelerate State of DevOps Report 2023 mean for your team?

LinearB & DORA have officially joined forces. On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon interviews Nathen Harvey, Head of Google Cloud’s DORA team. 

With data gathered from over 36,000 global professionals, this year’s report investigated how top DevOps performers integrate technical, process, and cultural capabilities into their practices for success.

Listen to learn how your team can focus on three core outcomes of DevOps: enhancing organizational value, boosting team innovation and collaboration, and promoting team member well-being and productivity.

Show Notes:

• Register today: DORA & LInearB Webinar Nov. 8
• DORA's 2023 State of DevOps Report
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever
• LinearB's 2023 Software Engineering Benchmarks Report

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

In a world where products are plentiful but genuine customer focus is rare, how do you build an engineering org focused on customer needs? 

Embark on the 4th chapter of our series on the Career Journey of Engineering Leaders as Dev Interrupted host Dan Lines sits down with the talented, Bhavini Soneji. With a wealth of experience spanning over 25 years and pivotal roles at places like Headspace, Heal, and Microsoft, Bhavini has meticulously honed her approach to creating engineering orgs that prioritize both product innovation and a deep-rooted customer focus.

Listen as Dan and Bhavini unravel what it truly means to be 'customer-obsessed' as well as the secrets to maintaining that fervent customer passion well beyond a product's launch.

Show Notes:

• Connect with Bhavini: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavinisoneji/
• Learn more about Bhavini at her website: https://www.bhavinisoneji.com/
• Register today for LeadDev Berlin: https://leaddev.com/events/leaddev-berlin-2023
• Check out all of LeadDev's events at: https://leaddev.com
• Contribute to LeadDev: https://leaddev.com/leaddev-call-proposals

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

The news has been filled with stories of layoffs at many of tech’s biggest companies, so where are all those engineers going?

Scott Carey, LeadDev’s Editor-in-Chief, rolled up his sleeves, dusted off his skills as a trained journalist, and set out to answer that question. What he found was a simple question with a complicated answer.

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon interviews Scott about the shifting job landscape, spotlighting the findings in Scott’s pivotal article, “Where are all the laid-off software developers going?”

Beyond the dynamics shaping the future of tech employment, the two discuss why non-traditional tech companies have difficulty hiring engineers [hint: it’s not money!], whether or not the “boom times are over,” and the major trends LeadDev is seeing within the engineering community. 

Show Notes:

• Register today for LeadDev Berlin: https://leaddev.com/events/leaddev-berlin-2023
• Check out all of LeadDev's events at: https://leaddev.com
• Contribute to LeadDev: https://leaddev.com/leaddev-call-proposals

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

With great power comes great responsibility. Now that you've been promoted to a people manager, how do you build a healthy and successful engineering team?

Extending our series on the career journey of engineering leader, co-host Conor Bronsdon is joined by Noah Labhart, co-founder & CTO at Veryable, and host of the popular podcast Code Story.

Conor and Noah shift the series' focus to the intricacies of building effective engineering teams. Beyond team building, the episode delves into the subtleties of offering and accepting feedback, the importance of hiring developers vs. programmers,  and fostering an environment where each individual can flourish.

If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes of our leadership series featuring NuBank's Thiago Ghisi, you can find them on Dev Interrupted's new website. 

Show Notes:

• Download The 2023 Engineering Benchmarks Report: https://linearb.io/resources/software-engineering-benchmarks-report
• Listen to Code Story at codestory.co
• Learn more about Noah on his website noahlabhart.com
• Or find Noah on his LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/noahlabhart
• Register for the 2023 Engineering Benchmarks Report Release Webinar

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

The debate on measuring developer productivity has arrived - and it’s here to stay. 

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, cohost Conor Bronsdon welcomes LinearB cofounder & CEO Ori Keren and Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, to offer their critiques of a debate that has captured the attention of the engineering community: can you measure developer productivity?

Consulting giant McKinsey published an article that ignited a firestorm, prompting industry leaders Kent Beck and Gergely Orosz to counter with a detailed 2-part response via the Pragmatic Engineer.

Believing the industry to be at a crossroads, Ori and Kelly combine forces to offer their perspective on the debate, sharing why it’s an opportunity for dev teams everywhere to “roll out metrics the right way.”

Show Notes:

• The McKinsey article: Yes, you can measure software developer productivity
• Orosz & Beck 1: Measuring developer productivity? A response to McKinsey, Part 1
• Orosz & Beck 2: Measuring developer productivity? A response to McKinsey, Part 2
• CTO Board Slides
• Kelly's newsletter: Lessons in Engineering Leadership
• Register for the 2023 Engineering Benchmarks Report Release Webinar

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Once you've taken that step into leadership, what foundational skills and attitudes will carry you forward throughout your career?

Continuing our series on the career journey of an engineering leader, host Dan Lines once again welcomes Thiago Ghisi, Director of Engineering at Nubank. 

In this second episode, they pivot the discussion from the initial steps of becoming an engineering manager to the more nuanced subject of building a robust foundation as a leader. The episode explores the essential skills, the dos and don'ts, and the philosophies that can guide engineering leaders to make an enduring impact on their teams and projects.

Tune in as we unravel the core principles and practices that underpin success.

Show Notes:

• Listen to Thiago's podcast, Engineering Advice You Didn't Ask For
• Read Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building
• Register for the 2023 Engineering Benchmarks Report Release Webinar

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

How do you become an engineering leader? Is it the right fit for your career? And if you do, how do you become a good one? 

In this multi-part series on the career journey of an engineering leader, Dev Interrupted answers these questions and many more by inviting expert guests from the software industry to share their experiences, lessons, failures and triumphs as leaders. Whether you started your career today - or 20 years ago - this series has something for everyone. 

In our first episode, host Dan Lines is joined by Thiago Ghisi, Director of Engineering at Nubank. Together, they explore the nuances of beginning a career as an engineering manager: from acing the interview process and securing a promotion to confidently navigating your first 3 weeks on the job. 

Join us for a series of real-world lessons and insights from top engineering leaders.

Show Notes:

• Listen to Thiago's podcast, Engineering Advice You Didn't Ask For
• Register for the 2023 Engineering Benchmarks Report Release Webinar

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

In an industry buzzing with enthusiasm for Engineering Platforms, many are developed without a clear product vision, leading to poor adoption or even hindering organizational performance.

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, cohost Conor Bronsdon talks with Simone Casciaroli, Head of Engineering at Onto. We first encountered Simone's insights at LeadDev New York and immediately knew he'd be the perfect guest to discuss how to build engineering platforms using the right metrics.

Join us as Conor and Simone delve into the HEAT metrics and explore how they dovetail with established engineering standards like DORA. The episode rounds off with an engaging discussion about electric vehicle startup Onto.

Show Notes:

• Read more from Simone at his website: simonecasciaroli.com
• Follow Simone on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonecasciaroli/

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Considering expanding your engineering team overseas? While daunting, the rewards could outweigh the challenges.

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon welcomes Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI, back to the show. One of our most listened-to voices, Kelly dissects the decision-making process behind opening a new office - from the long list of potential countries to the myriad factors that clinched the decision.

Outside of the big picture stuff like navigating timezones and culture differences, Kelly also shares valuable insights on ground-level practices, such as the importance of local recruiters and strategies for discussing equities and contractor partnerships.

Show Notes:

• Read Kelly's newsletter engleadership.xyz 
• Books from today's podcast: The Culture Map & Crucial Conversations

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

The wrong internal tools can hold your team back. So how do you find the right ones, and how the heck do you get engineers to adopt them once you do?

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon welcomes Debo Ray, co-founder & CEO of DevZero, to discuss the challenges developers face due to inadequate tools. With a keen sense of developers' needs, Debo explains why many companies fail in this domain, squandering precious dev time. 

Debo also offers a peek into the future of cloud development, the work he's doing at DevZero, and the nuances of marketing tools to developers. 

Show Notes:

• Learn more about DevZero at devzero.io
• Debo's Newsletter
• DevZero's LinkedIn

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, host Dan Lines speaks with Mike Hamrah, CTO at Flowcode. Together, the two detail the fundamental responsibility of developers and tech leaders: shipping code. 

Mike shares a candid view of the industry's current state, lamenting how the focus on code shipping is getting lost amidst the complexities of agile methodologies, stand-up meetings, and sprint planning. He urges developers and leaders alike to recenter their conversations on the essence of their roles, serving as a call to action in the episode and reminding listeners of the importance of understanding what code needs to be written and the purpose it serves, all while avoiding detrimental practices that can hinder long-term development success.

Dan and Mike end the episode with a conversation on goalsetting and OKRs, translating classic business goals into engineering execution and emphasizing the need to turn general business goals into concrete, actionable plans.

Show Notes:

• Learn more about Flowcode at flowcode.com
• Flowcode is hiring!

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon and Ben Lloyd Pearson, LinearB’s Director of Developer Relations, detail the evolution of Continuous Merge and the tool behind it, gitStream. Joining the conversation is Nik LeBlanc, VP of Engineering at DevCycle.

Nik shares the ways his team is using gitStream to streamline code reviews and offers practical advice for anyone looking to implement the tool on their own team. He also explores the somewhat controversial practice of splitting up and reshuffling engineering teams, a strategy that DevCycle has used to great effect. Nik finds that this practice helps balance teams, manage diverse knowledge bases, and de-risk the organization.

Conor and Ben wrap up the conversation by casting an eye on the future, focusing on the potential and direction of gitStream.

Show Notes:

• Guide to Continuous Merge Standards
• Every pull request is unique: treat them that way with gitStream

About DevCycle

• DevCycle's Continuous Merge blog post
• Nikolas LeBlanc (@nikolasleblanc) / Twitter 

Support the show:

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Amid the escalating buzz surrounding AI tools, many development teams grapple with deciding which ones suit their needs best, when to adopt them, and the potential risks of not doing so. As AI continues to pose more questions than answers, the fear of falling behind the competition lurks for many.

This week's episode of Dev Interrupted aims to dispel these uncertainties by welcoming CodiumAI’s founder & CEO, Itamar Friedman. In one of our most illuminating discussions this year, Itamar pierces through the AI hype, explaining what AI tools bring to the table, how to discern the ones that would truly augment your dev teams, and the strategies to efficiently identify and experiment with new tools.

Beyond the allure of AI, Itamar doesn't shy away from addressing its pitfalls and adversarial risks. He also probes into the future of the developer's role in an increasingly AI-driven landscape, answering the question: “Will there be developers in 10 years?”

Show Notes:

• Learn more about CodiumAI
• Read CodiumAI's blog
• Codium's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/codiumai
• Itamar's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itamarf/
• Itamar's Twitter: @itamar_mar

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, co-host Conor Bronsdon welcomes Francisco Trindade, Director of Engineering at Braze, to discuss strategies to improve collaboration and effectiveness within engineering teams. 

Francisco notes a shift in the tech industry over the past decade from focusing on rapid hiring and individual growth to a need for more effective team dynamics. Criticizing the tech industry's aversion to micromanagement, he argues that it has inadvertently resulted in a lack of focus on team effectiveness and proposes a renewed emphasis on fostering productive environments for engineers to fully realize their potential.

Show Notes:

• Braze is hiring!
• Accelerate State of DevOps Survey

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Does the emergence of feature flags affect the interpretation and utility of DORA metrics?

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, host Dan Lines and Ariel Perez, VP of Engineering at Split.io, discuss the state of DORA metrics and whether they need reimaging in a world of feature flags. Listen as Ariel explains why he believes feature flags are more than a tool, and have begun to reshape our understanding of software development and the metrics we use to measure it.

Dan and Ariel also touch on how feature flags can drastically reduce lead time and mean time to recover, and conclude their chat with an intriguing look at the granular nature of control in the modern software engineering landscape, where the unit of control has shifted from the application as a whole to individual features.

Show Notes:

• The Split Blog
• Join the Split community on Slack
• Register for our summer series!  
• Accelerate State of DevOps Survey

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

In this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, we’re focusing on the increasingly valuable role of DevRels. Francesco Ciulla, Developer Advocate at the open-source daily.dev community - which has more than 100,000 daily active users - joins us for a DevRel deep dive.

Listen as Francesco explains how a career change in his thirties set him on a path towards becoming a developer, being hired by the European Space Agency and, eventually, landing a role as a developer advocate, crediting much of his success on his ability to leverage social media to advance his career. 

Outside of his personal story, Francesco shares his thoughts on connecting with devs, why YouTube is such a powerful platform and settles the debate on the kind of content developers are most interested in. 

Show Notes:

• Accelerate State of DevOps Survey
• Francesco's YouTube
• daily.dev | where developers grow together
• Dev Interrupted YouTube
• Register for our summer series!  

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Fact: You can’t become better at anything unless you understand what getting better would actually look like. This is especially true in the case of engineering teams.

Following the analysis of 2,000 dev teams and over 4 million code branches, the 2023 Engineering Benchmarks report is out.

To walk us through the performance metrics of the top 10% of engineering teams, LinearB’s Head of Developer Relations Ben Lloyd Pearson makes his first Dev Interrupted appearance.

From how long elite teams take to complete code tasks to the size of their pull requests, this is a great episode to understand where your dev team stands and where they have concrete room to improve.

Show Notes:

• Accelerate State of DevOps Survey
• Engineering Benchmarks Report 2023
• Iconiq's Engineering Efficiency Report
• Register for our summer series!  

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

The world is what we make it. Tech - and AI - follow the same principles.

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, we sit down with Christina Enchevta, a Director of Engineering at GitHub, to unravel the link between the values we hold and the things we build. We delve into how AI applications mirror our values, intentionally or not, and how this can lead to surprising outcomes, no matter how benevolent our intentions.

Christina also shares practical advice for engineering leaders on how to take and provide constructive feedback, dismantle information silos, and infuse your values into the product development process.

Show Notes:

• Accelerate State of DevOps survey
• emergent works
• GitHub
• Register for our summer series!  

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

 The push for digital accessibility aims to ensure equal access and inclusion for all individuals. So why are healthcare companies failing to keep up?

In this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, we sit down with Plum Ertz, Director of Engineering at Ro, to dissect healthcare’s digital accessibility problem. Following explosive growth in telemedicine due to consumer behavior changes brought on by the pandemic, the healthcare industry has struggled to provide accessible healthcare services on the internet, regardless of the technology or disability someone may have. Plum sheds light on the work being done at Ro to address these challenges, emphasizing the simple steps that teams can take to enhance their digital accessibility.

Plum also shares stories from her time at Buzzfeed, where she accidentally took down the entire site after forgetting a semicolon and once mistakenly calling a midterm election 5 hours too early.

Show Notes:

• Ro is hiring!
• Register for our summer series! 

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Remote, hybrid, or in-office? Opinions are divided on what has quickly become one of the most controversial topics in tech: Should we return to the office and if so, how and when?

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, we sit down with Duolingo’s Sr. Director of Engineering Fabio Lessa, to discuss how to successfully transition your engineering org back to the office - and why Duolingo has done it so successfully. [Hint: it all starts with culture.]

Fabio also discusses Duolingo’s training program for first-time managers, the transition from IC to team lead, and tips to roll out a training program at your company.

Show Notes:

• Duolingo is hiring!
• Register for our summer series! 

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

 As the milestone book Atomic Habits laid out, the key to life-changing habits is adopting one effectively and then layering another desirable habit on top of it.

The same is true for efficiencies in software engineering.

When your team adopts one efficiency, sees it bear fruit, then adds the next efficiency habit on top of it, the result is compounding efficiencies.

In this conversation, LinearB’s CTO Yishai Beeri reveals the data on compound efficiencies as experienced by real dev teams out in the wild.

Show Notes:

• Learn more at linearb.io/benchmarks
• Register for our summer series! 

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Imagine a future where anyone can be a musician. Now ask yourself what that has in common with building Twitter Spaces. The answer? Org-based innovation. 

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, we’re joined by the talented Pablo Jablonski, the engineer responsible for leading the team behind Spaces. Today, Pablo is reshaping the music industry as the VP of Engineering at United Masters. 

In this free-flowing conversation we unravel the intricacies of building Spaces, discuss Twitter’s pivotal role in public discourse and break down some of the historic challenges faced by Twitter’s engineering team.  

Pablo also explores how United Masters is bridging the gap between artists and their dreams, empowering them to take control of their own destinies. Taking cues from his time at Twitter, Pablo and his team are building a platform that aims to dismantle the music industry’s traditional hierarchies. 

Show Notes:

• Register for our summer series! 
• Learn more about United Masters

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, we talk to Liz Rice, Chief Open Source Officer at Isovalent, and author of the book Learning eBPF: Programming the Linux Kernel for Enhanced Observability, Networking, and Security.

Liz is an expert on open source, containers, and cloud-native technologies, and joins us to discuss her book, what she describes as some of the eBPF "superpowers" people are talking about, and some of the fascinating projects surrounding eBPF like Project Kepler.

Liz also gives advice to engineers looking to try their hand at writing a book.

Show Notes:

• Register for our summer series! 
• Check out Liz's book: https://isovalent.com/learning-ebpf/
• Isovalent's labs: https://isovalent.com/resource-library/labs/

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

The tech industry has seen a significant change in the skills, qualifications, and titles listed in job postings over the past few years. What does that mean for companies - and for the candidates themselves?

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, we talk to Maryam Jahanshahi co-founder and Head of R&D at Datapeople, who breaks down the biggest hiring trends in tech from title inflation to salary transparency and the skyrocketing costs of recruitment.

Maryam also discusses how the storytelling skills she picked up from data analysis have improved her abilities as a founder.

Show Notes:

• Register for our summer series! 
• Datapeople's Tech Hiring Report

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
• Subscribe on YouTube
• Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn

Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

Do our personal learning preferences actually affect how well we learn? And what makes learning new skills - like a programming language - so hard in the first place? 

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, we’re joined by Hywel Carver, founder & CEO at Skiller Whale. An expert in the principles and practices behind learning and knowledge retention, Hywel walks us through the best learning techniques for engineers.

He also discusses how engineering leaders can upskill their teams without hiring additional staff, why modern approaches to learning often fall short (think YouTube), and why there is no evidence to support the idea that personal learning styles, such as visual or kinesthetic, impact learning outcomes.

Show Notes:

• Register for our summer series! 
• Check out Skiller Whale
• Listen to Skiller Whale's podcast: The Pod Presents: Primarily Context-Based

Support the show:

• Subscribe to our Substack
• Leave us a review
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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
• Get your DORA Metrics free forever

If you think your org doesn’t have any incidents, it’s time to change your definition of an incident.

This week we’re joined by Nora Jones, Jeli's founder & CEO, to help us make sense of incident analysis and explain why so many incidents go underreported. Before beginning her journey as a founder, Nora helped pioneer chaos engineering at companies like Netflix and Slack where she developed a passion for understanding the intersection of software and people.
 
A stellar engineer, manager & founder, we caught up with Nora on the heels of her keynote address at the LeadDev conference in New York.

Show Notes:

• Register for our summer series! 
• Howie: The Post-Incident Guide
• Jeli's website: https://www.jeli.io/

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Engineers make great entrepreneurs. So a startup that has two engineers as its founders must be twice as good, right? Not exactly.

On this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, we talk to Jake Lumetta, founder & CEO of ButterCMS. A serial entrepreneur, Jake found success (and failure) with numerous startups before striking it big with ButterCMS.

He joins us today to discuss practical advice for engineers-turned-entrepreneurs, like knowing when to step away from the keyboard and handover the codebase, why building a B2B startup is so much easier than building a B2C, and why two engineers founding a company together isn't always a good idea.

Show Notes:

• ButterCMS is hiring: https://buttercms.com/

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It hasn't been smooth sailing for startups this year. As this week's guest Nick Cobb puts it "You can add bank runs to the list of things founders have to deal with." Of course, it hasn't been easy going for engineering leaders either. 

That's why Nick, the VP of Engineering & Head of Product at Kyte, sat down with us to discuss how to build an engineering culture with a bias toward action, why he deleted his team's staging environment, and what it takes to outmaneuver his former employer, Uber. 

An angel investor, Nick also touches on the aftershocks of the SVB crash and its lasting effects on the startup community.

Recorded live at LeadDev New York, this episode is a must-listen for engineering leaders who want to place product innovation in the driver's seat of their engineering org.

Show Notes:

• Watch this episode on Youtube!

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What does building an engaged community really mean for your business?

When we look at a company like Postman with over 20 million active users and one of the most passionate groups of evangelizers in tech, we find that Postman's story is really a story of community success. In fact, after product-market fit, community has become a must-have for any startup looking to survive.  But community building is a tricky thing, so where and how do you start?

On this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, listen as Joyce Lin, Head of Developer Relations at Postman, shares the secrets and behind-the-scenes lessons learned from building one of the most successful communities in tech. Joyce is also an expert TikToker, diving into its algorithm, its relevance for developers, and whether or not engineering leaders should devote attention to building a community on the platform.

Show Notes:

• Joyce's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joycejetson

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"DevOps is dead."

Well, not exactly. But the DevOps methodology of "you build it, you run it" has been failing development teams for years.

On this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, we sit down with Kaspar von Grünberg, founder & CEO of Humanitec. Listen as Kaspar explains the significant cognitive load placed on developers as a result of DevOps practices, how that has caused software engineering to be the only industry since Medieval times not to drive towards specialization, and why platform engineers provide a solution to the outdated DevOps model.

Show Notes:

• What is platform engineering?
• Implementing Dynamic Configuration Management with Score and Humanitec
• Attend PlatformCon 2023 June 8th and 9th

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Effective software teams are essential for any organization to deliver value continuously and sustainably. But how do you build the best team organization for your specific goals, culture, and needs?

That's the question posed by authors Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais in their highly-acclaimed book, Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow.

On this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, we revisit Dan's 2021 conversation with Matthew and Manuel. Since first airing, their book has received broad recognition for its step-by-step advice, approach to team patterns and interactions, and compelling analysis of the communication pathways that lead to organizational success. 

We think this episode is as relevant today as it was when it was released - and we hope you agree!

Show Notes:

• Learn more at teamtopologies.com
• Check out the Team Topologies Academy: https://academy.teamtopologies.com

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It's time to make noise. Developers need to take back their happiness and their productivity. But where should they start? 

On this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, we're joined by Justin Reock, Field CTO and Chief Evangelist at Gradle. With a mission to mitigate the toil, friction, and frustration felt by so many developers, Justin has become a tireless advocate of Developer Productivity Engineering. 

Listen as Justin explains DPE by exploring the connections between productivity, developer experience, and joy. 

Show Notes:

• Gradle's Developer Productivity Engineering Handbook
• Read: Is Developer Productivity Engineering the Next Big Thing in Software?
• DPE Summit

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No company is immune to transformation, not even one with as storied a history as IBM. 

This week on Dev Interrupted, Rosalind Radcliffe, the CIO DevSecOps CTO at IBM, joins us to chat about how one of tech's greatest legacy companies is positioning itself for the future. 

Rosalind shares what it means to be named an IBM Fellow, her work to bring DevOps and open source to the z/OS environment, and what the future looks like at IBM. [Hint: it involves quantum computing and AI!]

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Whether you're at a startup, enterprise, or something in between, authorization and access control are likely major pain points for your team.

This week on Dev Interrupted we talk to Omri Gazitt, co-founder and CEO of Aserto. Omri joins us to chat about the future of authorization, how to handle access control on your team, and how to avoid the toil and tech debt often associated with access control. 

Show Notes

• From Aserto's blog: Why multi-tenant SaaS applications need real access control from day 1

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The days of growth at all costs are over; your 2023 engineering strategy needs to be about scaling efficiently.

In the first Labs episode of the year, Dan invites LinearB's VP of Product, Eran Shitrit, on the show to discuss how teams are proactively addressing concerns around cost reduction and efficiency through smarter project allocation.

Dan and Eran also discuss the rollout of LinearB's resource allocation dashboard and the success of the Scaling Developer Efficiency workshop.

Show Notes

• Watch the Scaling Developer Efficiency workshop on LinearB's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-wpLDnMpX0

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A decades-old physical goods manufacturing concept is being applied to modern dev teams with great results. What can software development learn from the past?

Value Stream Management (VSM) has been a focus of business and manufacturing for years but big tech has only recently taken notice.

Steve Pereira, a.k.a. "The VSM Guy", joins us to talk about what engineering leaders can learn from VSM, its impact on individual and team workflow, how it differs from Agile and DevOps, and why its emphasis on the creation and delivery of value represents an opportunity for dev teams everywhere.


Show Notes

• Steve's Twitter:  @SteveElsewhere 
• Bain's B2B Elements of Value and B2C Elements of Value
• Learn how to increase your dev team's efficiency by up to 30% at our free Scaling Developer Efficiency workshop on February, 15th. Register: linearb.io/efficiency

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Tracking Mean Time To Restore (MTTR) is standard industry practice for incident response and analysis, but should it be? 

Courtney Nash, an Internet Incident Librarian, argues that MTTR is not a reliable metric - and we think she's got a point.

We caught up with Courtney at the DevOps Enterprise Summit in Las Vegas, where she was making her case against MTTR in favor of alternative metrics (SLOs and cost of coordination data), practices (Near Miss analysis), and mindsets (humans are the solution, not the problem) to help organization better learn from their incidents.

Show Notes

• Check out Courtney's The Void podcast

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We're still in January and AI might already be the buzzword of 2023 - and for good reason. AI powered startups have been layoff resistant and machine learning engineers are one of the fastest growing jobs, not in tech, but in the entire economy.

This week, we sit down with Pinecone Founder and CEO, Edo Liberty.  An AI and machine learning expert, Edo graduated from Yale with a PhD in Applied Mathematics and worked as Head of Amazon’s AI Labs before founding Pinecone.

Listen as he explains why the biggest AI and machine learning companies in the world - Google, Amazon, Meta and TikTok - use vector search to power their products.


Show Notes

• Pinecone is hiring! https://www.pinecone.io/careers/

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"Is my team solving the right problem?" 

To answer this seemingly simple question, we assembled a panel of some of the smartest engineering leaders we know and asked them how they answer this question with their own teams.

Featuring Rukmini Reddy, SVP of Platform Engineering at Slack, James Stanier, Dir. of Engineering at Shopify, and Smruti Patel, VP of Engineering at Apollo, the following conversation debuted in front of a live audience at the Interact engineering conference. 

Originally an exclusive conversation for Interact attendees, we listened to our fans and decided to drop the full conversation as an episode of the podcast. 

Items of note: 

• This panel was filmed in October prior to many of the recent layoffs that have been in the news. 
• When this panel was recorded Smruti Patel worked at Stripe. She has since taken a job with Apollo. 

Show Notes

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Randy Kern, CTO at Marqeta, thinks that every engineer should "go deep" - all the way to understanding the transistors if you have to. He implores us never to be satisfied with black boxes, believing that it's not only risky not to understand what your code is really doing, but it's not fun either.

We love this episode because Randy's joy is infectious. He reminds us why we got into software engineering in the first place. If you've been looking for a reminder yourself, this is the episode for you.

Show Notes
Marqeta is hiring - check out their career page!

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As your startup scales it's not enough to know what to measure - you have to know WHEN to measure. Metrics that are important in one growth phase might not be in the next.

To help us make sense of it all, we invited Laura Tacho onto the show. Laura is a VP of Engineering & Leadership Coach, and an expert when it comes to startup growth and metrics, having worked with over 125 different companies.

We love this episode because it takes a team-first approach to metrics and then relates those metrics back to the growth of your organization. Whether you are a seasoned engineering leader or an IC trying to understand where your team is headed, this unique take on metrics will set your team up for success - and happiness - in 2023.

Show Notes
Measuring Development Team Performance course
https://lauratacho.com/

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Happy New Year and welcome to Season 3 of Dev Interrupted! 

We couldn't think of a better way to kick off Season 3 of the podcast than with the immensely talented Forrest Brazeal. 

Not only is Forrest the Head of Developer Media at Google Cloud, but he lists being a writer, speaker, cartoonist, cloud architect and AWS Serverless Hero, among his many accolades. 

To top it all off, Forrest is an all around great guy with a passion for education and advocacy. That's why he's working to help educate, train and develop the next generation of cloud engineers. But he needs your help. 

Listen as Forrest explains why so many great engineers get overlooked by companies - and how to stop it. 

Show Notes
Cloud Resume Challenge
Google Cloud Next '22 Developer Keynote: Top 10 Cloud Technology Predictions

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Sit back, relax, grab your favorite beverage and listen as Dev Interrupted co-hosts Dan Lines & Conor Bronsdon recap the Season 2 of the podcast. 

In this special episode, our co-hosts describe their perfect holiday meal, share some of their favorite moments from the past year (personal and professional!) and give a sneak peek at what the audience can expect from Season 3 of the podcast.

From our family to yours, have a wonderful holiday season and we’ll see you on January 3rd for Season 3!

Show Notes
Dan's favorite interview: Charity Majors
Dan's favorite topic: Ship/Show/Ask
Conor's favorite interview: Kelly Vaughn
Conor's favorite episode: Discord

What do you want to see for Season 3? Tell us at:
Dev Interrupted LinkedIn
Dev Interrupted Twitter
email: [email protected]

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Picture this: an auto manufacturer with no clue what parts are in its supply chain, where those parts come from and no ability to recall those parts if vulnerabilities are discovered.

That’s not a reality consumers would accept. So why do organizations (and manufacturers!) tolerate it when it comes to software? 

On this week’s episode of Dev Interrupted, Brian Fox, co-founder & CTO, and Stephen Magill, VP of Product Innovation, join us to talk about Sonatype’s State of the Software Supply Chain Report. 

Listen as Brian and Stephen explain the ins and outs of open source risk management, how companies that aren’t open source maintainers can do a better job protecting themselves and why cybercrime is like “VC funds for the bad guys.” 

Show Notes
8th Annual State of the Software Supply Chain Report

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Sometimes among all the sprints,  the pressure to ship faster,  tools to measure lines of code written,  it seems like we as an industry forget a simple fact: developers are knowledge workers, not robots

To remind us what it means to be a human, we invited some of the most empathetic engineering leaders we know to Interact and asked them to sit on a panel together. The conversation that followed is one of the most insightful and relevant conversations we've heard all year. Whether you are an IC, manager or manager of managers, we promise this conversation will help you become a more empathetic leader and colleague. 

Today's episode of Dev Interrupted features Kelly Vaughn, Director of Engineering at Spot AI; Jean Hsu, VP of Engineering at Range; and Lena Reinhard, an engineering leadership coach. 

Show Notes

• Watch all of Interact on the Dev Interrupted YouTube channel

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Dev Interrupted takes a detour to Vegas!

In a first for the show, we took the podcast on the road to attend the DevOps Enterprise Summit in Las Vegas.

While at DOES, we had the pleasure of interviewing Gene Kim, famed researcher and author of "The Phoenix Project" and "Accelerate".

Also attending DOES were friends of the podcast Bryan and Dana Finster, whose presentation on the Rise and Fall of DevOps inspired us to invite them onto the pod.

Listen to this two-part episode as Gene breaks down all things DevOps past, present and future, while the Finsters present their case for platform teams, project ownership and how to win the trust that binds good dev teams. 

Show Notes

• Recap all of DevOps Enterprise Summit 2022, December 6th-8th

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Bad habits have a way of resurfacing during difficult times. Unfortunately for engineering teams everywhere, this is one of those times.

In this topical episode of Dev Interrupted, LinearB co-founders Dan Lines & Ori Keren discuss the current macroeconomic climate, its effect on engineering teams, and why individual metrics are - and should remain - a relic of days gone by.

Our heart goes out to anyone who has been affected by the layoffs across the tech industry. Please reach out to the Dev Interrupted community if there is any way we can help.  

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When your startup is struggling to find its product-market fit, security is the last thing on your mind - and according to security expert Matt Spitz, that’s perfectly fine!

Matt is Vanta's Head of Engineering and he joins this week's episode of Dev Interrupted to  explain everything you ever wanted to know about startups and security.

Matt debunks the real security risks we face (think S3 buckets, not nation states), how to create a company culture that embraces security and when your startup needs to start caring about all this stuff.

Show Notes

• Learn more about startup security on Vanta's blog

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It's no secret this has been a difficult year for many companies in tech. The truth is, it's easy to be a leader when times are good. It's less easy in the midst of a storm.

That's why we assembled a panel of some of the smartest engineering leaders we know at Interact to talk about the leadership principles that help guide an engineering organization no matter what is happening in the world.

Today's episode of Dev Interrupted features Michael Stahnke, VP of Platform at CircleCI; Lewis Tuff, VP of Engineering at Blockchain.com; and Carolyn Vo, Partner & Head of Engineering at Oliver Wyman. 

Show Notes

• Watch all of Interact on the Dev Interrupted YouTube channel

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Live from Interact, we're bringing you an interview with our favorite CTO, Charity Majors.

Never one to be shy about speaking her mind, Charity is an outspoken advocate for devs everywhere - and this passion made her a fan favorite at Interact.

Listen as Charity discusses her career, why the hierarchy is bullshit (disclaimer: she likes to swear - we like that about her), and why platform engineering is the most exciting place to sit in computing today.

Show Notes

• Learn about the power of Continuous Merge
• Charity's blog
• Join the Dev Interrupted Discord
• Want to try LinearB? Book a LinearB Demo and use the "Dev Interrupted Podcast" discount code.

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Hosts Dan Lines & Conor Bronsdon remind listeners that Interact is today - October 25th - and why it's the must-attend event for engineering leaders.

They also rundown some of the most exciting speakers at Interact, why they are so proud of what the event has become - and which of the two is Robin to the other's Batman.

Join Dan & Conor and thousands of other engineering leaders at Interact.

Watch them live from 8am-2pm PDT today: https://hopin.com/events/interact-october#schedule

You can also register at: https://devinterrupted.com/event/interact/

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How does a platform with 150 million monthly active users build for the future? In a word: Developers.

Discord is betting big that the future of their company, their product and their community is in supporting developers - and they're putting their money where their mouth is.   

On this week's episode of Dev Interrupted, Anjney Midha, Discord's VP of Platform Ecosystem, sits down with us to discuss Discord's past, present and future.

In this incredible episode, Anjney details Discord's recent product announcement, its spiritual connection to gaming, and why a totally moddable platform is the key to user experience. 

Show Notes

• Register for Interact on October 25th
• Join the Dev Interrupted Discord
• Learn about the power of Continuous Merge
• Discord's announcement
• Discord's Developer Portal
• Want to try LinearB? Book a LinearB Demo and use the "Dev Interrupted Podcast" discount code.

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Where has all the focus time gone? Why does there seem to be less of it at big companies than at startups? And do managers really have as little as they claim?

It should come as no surprise to our listeners that we're big fans of data here at Dev Interrupted. The coolest thing about having Dan Kador, VP of Engineering at Clockwise, on the show is that he brings data we already intuitively understood but could not quantify.

Armed with data from 1.5 million meetings, 80,000 engineers and over 5,000 companies, this episode answers every question your engineering team has wondered about meetings - and might just reaffirm every suspicion you've had too.

Show Notes

• Register for Interact on October 25th
• Learn about the power of Continuous Merge
• The 2022 Software Engineering Meeting Benchmark Report
• Sign up for Clockwise at getclockwise.com
• Want to try LinearB? Book a LinearB Demo and use the "Dev Interrupted Podcast" discount code.
• Join our Discord Community 

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Offers:

• Learn about Continuous Merge with gitStream
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The argument about which programming language reigns supreme is about to get a lot more clear with the release of research on the best and worst languages for dev workflow.

In this episode of LinearB Labs, CTO Yishai Beeri reveals what the company’s data scientists have discovered about programming-language productivity following analysis of thousands of dev teams and hundreds of thousands of pull requests.

Industry-changing research on which programming languages linger under excessively long shipping lifespans and which ones are impressively efficient, this pod should help settle debates that have been entirely subjective up to this point.

If your programming language of choice ends up on the wrong side of the spectrum, don’t fret. Yishai and team also came up with recommendations to overcome the hurdles and bottlenecks for languages that require better workflow.

Show Notes